Page 227 of Dark Souls

“Combat sessions?”

“Luka used to train me every morning when we were on the run from the slayers. Is it still really necessary?” Hana groaned.

“Yes.” Luka’s sharp reply offered no room for argument.

“Fine. So are you just going to ignore the fact that in order for me to have Casmira back, Ronnie and I must be fully bonded?”

“Yes,” he answered again, his jaw ticking.

I scoffed, looking back at Hana as the three of us walked through the foyer. She shook her head with a smile. When he heard us coming, Ronnie came out of the dining room with my grandpapi.

“Are you headed to the Academy now?” I asked as Grandpapi hovered in front of us, rubbing his stubbled jaw.

“Actually, no. I’m taking the day off. There is something I have been meaning to talk to all of you about, and now I have you all together, I think we should head into my office.”

He climbed the stairs, expecting us all to follow without any more of an explanation. We all looked at each other, clear confusion on our faces. I shrugged my shoulders, grabbed Luka’s hand and started leading them up the stairs behind him. My heart beat with trepidation because when my grandpapi called you into his office, it meant it was serious and for your ears only. That put me on edge.

Once we were all sitting on the sofas, me and Luka on one and Hana and Ronnie on the other, he sat in his armchair and clasped his hands together, bringing them up to his lips as he stared at us all.

“Grandpapi, what is going on? You are starting to freak me out.”

He looked directly at Luka. “Tell me about the raven.”

“What?”

“The raven that brought that hidden camera to Ilaria. Ilaria said it was your pet?”

Luka frowned, peering down at me in question.

“I met it at the manor once. Well, I think it was the same one. It helped me to find the cellars,” I explained.

“It isn’t my pet,” Luka said bluntly. “It came and went as it pleased. I never believed it was always the same one. But… it has helped me. Many times. After what it did in the cave, I started to wonder if it was actually the same creature this whole time but that seemed impossible. Why do you ask?”

Grandpapi leaned forwards and pulled a purple sheet off a large object on the table between us all, revealing a cage with a raven inside. The bird flapped its wings and cawed as its beady eyes took in its surroundings and our faces.

I glanced over at Grandpapi. “Is this the same raven?”

He nodded. “I captured it. After we found you two, I went back to the Knowlton manor to look around. It was there.”

“Why did you capture it?” Luka growled, shifting his body forwards on the sofa to move towards the cage protectively.

“Because…” Grandpapi sat forwards, matching Luka’s position. “I don’t believe that is really a raven.”

“What? What do you mean?” I frowned, exchanging baffled glances with Hana and Ronnie. Luka was the only one who didn’t look surprised by my grandpapi’s words, as if he had already come to the same conclusion.

“Ravens are intelligent and curious creatures, but never before have I seen one do something as clever as that necklace stunt. I ran some tests. I took one of its feathers and detected the presence of powerful magic at play. This is no ordinary raven. In fact, I don’t think it is a raven at all.”

I glanced over at the cage, my lips parting as I stared at the strange creature. It cocked its head and beat its wings.

“The magic I sense is a transmogrification spell, meaning this is not its true form. When a transmogrification spell is used, it changes an object or person into something else entirely. You know how humans roleplay witches and say things like, ‘I’ll turn you into a toad?’” Ronnie nodded. “It’s one of the oldest spells around, but there is an unwritten rule within our community that we don’t use it on people. Morally, it is just frowned upon. Mainly because it traps the original form as if it is frozen in time and the spell is hard to reverse without dire consequences.”

“Meaning?” Luka stared at the bird, his nostrils flaring. “It won’t survive if it is turned back?”

“It depends.”

“On what?”

“On a number of factors. How long it’s been under the spell, the purpose of its change and, of course, what it was before. If it is strong enough, it may survive the reverse. But there is no guarantee.”

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