I opened my eyes.

  Above my head was the leaky roof of a barn; beneath my back, prickly, dry hay. I tried to move, but my body responded with such agony that I nearly blacked out again. My head was the worst offender. I cautiously touched the crown of my skull—it was intact, but it was buzzing as if a swarm of very angry bees had moved in.

  What happened?

  We were going to the City of Alchemists... and then, darkness. Ash, fire, screaming... My memory stubbornly shoved fragmented frames at me that refused to form a coherent picture.

  — "Food..." I muttered.

  My stomach cramped, demanding immediate sacrifices in the form of a few kilograms of meat.

  I tried to stand. I somehow managed to get to my feet at the top of the haystack, took a step toward the edge, and... simply plummeted backward onto the dirt floor.

  SQUELCH.

  — "Ugh... what the hell?" I stared at the ceiling. "Why is my body living its own life and refusing to follow orders?"

  Mira appeared above my prone form. She looked down at me, and her gaze did not bode well. I noticed a horrific burn on her palm—the skin was peeled back almost to the raw meat. Without thinking, I reached for her hand.

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  Zink.

  The green light of mana enveloped the wound, and my sister’s palm became perfectly smooth. She didn't even thank me—she just grabbed me by the collar and yanked me to my feet. I swayed like a reed in the wind.

  Mira poked her index finger into my chest, and losing my balance, I flew back into the hay. She loomed over me. Her palm rested on my ribcage, right over the spot where my heart should be beating.

  — "Listen carefully, Zen," she began. "I’m going to disappear for a while. I’ll stop by occasionally to check if you’ve incinerated another continent. I need to fix the mess you made here and find out a few things."

  She squinted.

  — "First, you seriously screwed up. This whole volcano, the ash... I have to clean up after you now. Second... where is your Book of Oblivion right now?"

  — "It’s... I think my children have it," I whispered, trying to recall Planus’s face.

  Mira raised an eyebrow.

  — "Oh, for heaven's sake, Zenhald! Again?! You went and put down roots and spawned relatives again? You're incorrigible... And who is keeping it now?"

  — "Planus."

  Mira sighed as if resigning herself to my utter hopelessness.

  — "Fine. Here’s the deal. I bought this farm. You’re going to stay here with your demons. Quiet as mice under a rug. Lower than the grass, stiller than the water. Got it?"

  — "Got it..."

  — "Now, excuse me," her gaze turned cold. "I have to do this again."

  She ran her hand across my chest. Her palm simply passed through the flesh. I grabbed her arm again, but I didn't squeeze. There was zero point. I felt her cold fingers wrap around my restored heart.

  SQUELCH.

  She clenched her fist, and my heart burst.