It didn’t take him long to get drawn up in the stories portrayed in the book. The first chapter explained how magic always needed a balance and angels were that balance. Where there was light, there was also darkness. And where there was light and darkness, there were always shadows. Except that idea wasn’t elaborated on which frustrated Aidan.

The chapter was basically saying that in order for magic to continue, angels were thus created in order to contain the most violent parts of magic in order to keep balance on earth. Not only that, but it was said that angels held the secret to having a balanced aura because, in order to contain and use the violent magic, a proper balance had to be obtained.

What Aidan didn’t get is why shadows always seemed to counterbalance that idea. Shadows…

Angels couldn’t exist in shadow form, according to the myths. There was no proper balance for shadows because shadows couldn’t be balanced.

Aidan suddenly threw his upper body on the table after letting out a frustrated noise. His head was hurting because the book wasn’t explaining anything. It just kept going on about how light and dark needed a proper balance and anything in between was impossible for an angel.

But that was stuff Aidan already knew. He didn’t need to read about angels to know about them. It had been the most talked about subject at the orphanage. At a basic understanding, Angels of Light knew all the mysteries of light magic just as Angels of Darkness knew all the mysteries of dark magic. There hadn’t ever been talk of them existing in order to control the magic. And if shadows were impossible, why was it talked about so much?

He heard Fabien laugh before he righted himself. “What’s so funny?” He demanded.

Fabien nodded his head at Ignote who seemed completely oblivious to the world. “The director is just wasting our time, Aidan. After what happened last night, she doesn’t want us anywhere near those wards or the technology that monitors them.”

Aidan’s eyebrows drew together in utter confusion. “What are you talking about?” 

Fabien rolled his eyes before pointing to the highest part of the library. “There’s a reason all this sounds like child’s play.”

Aidan tore his eyes away from Fabien and looked at Ignote, studiously ignoring them. He let out a sigh before standing and heading towards the staircase, making sure to bring the book with.

Fabien followed after and didn’t say another word until they had climbed to the fourth level and settled on the opposite side from where Ignote was sitting.

After Aidan settled down in one of the two chairs at a small, round table, he crossed his arms in annoyance. “Do you know her?”

Fabien raised a silver eyebrow in amusement. “A bit. Which is why I know Aridella isn’t serious when she wants us to catch up on Angel myths. Besides, all the myths about angels are different. But that’s not why we came up here.”

Aidan glanced down at the book before saying, “All right, then. What’s going on?” 

“Last night I met a man named Zarif. The technology he made to monitor each ward failed which caused magical interference, preventing Ravick and I from portaling to your exact location. I also lied to you about what pelren really are.” Fabien stated in a serious tone; something Aidan wasn’t quite used to hearing.

Aidan found himself leaning closer. “What are they?” 

Fabien took a deep breath before continuing. “Pelren is the name of the demons you fought. But they aren’t common by any means. About two centuries ago, the people in power found out that pelren were highly dangerous and super intelligent and, if persuaded correctly, could be used to carry out a person’s orders.

“However, the dangerous part of pelren is that they don’t come from the physical part of our world. We haven’t learned about it in our classes yet, but there’s a metaphysical world within the magic we use. It’s a place where the darkest parts and lightest parts of magic can be found. Demons live there but take on a different shape when brought into our world. It’s why the color of their skin is so putrid and their poison so deadly.

“It takes a really powerful person to open that dimension, if you will, and pull out demons, specifically pelren. Based off that, it’s perfectly clear what’s happening. Someone is attacking the university and has continually done so for quite some time. Aridella is being cautious. She doesn’t want anyone to find out.”

When Fabien finally finished speaking, all Aidan could do was stare at him. “I’ve never heard of a metaphysical world before. How am I supposed to trust you?”

Fabien met Aidan’s eyes and silently willed him to understand, to trust him. If only he had Aidan’s trust, then things wouldn’t be so difficult. “Have I ever given you cause to distrust me?”

Aidan narrowed his eyes in anger. “You still haven’t taught me—” 

“That’s because of my condition.” Fabien interrupted in a soft voice. 

Aidan leaned back in his chair, ignoring Fabien’s words. “So, assuming what you say is true, does that mean Zarif is a suspect?”

Fabien shrugged a shoulder. “He could be. It was his technology that failed and four pelren attacked you. But,” he stated, skepticism heavy in his voice, “Zarif didn’t come across as overly powerful. He was practically flaunting his specialty to me.”

“Maybe it’s someone from the sidelines.” Aidan wondered at random. He honestly didn’t want to deal with this and begrudged Fabien for even mentioning it. “What would happen if I asked someone about pelren?”

Fabien’s eyes snapped to Aidan’s; the faintest hint of panic hidden behind those mysterious eyes. “Please don’t. I’m not lying to you so please, don’t ask anyone.”

Aidan’s eyes widened at hearing the near panic in his voice. “What am I supposed to do, Fabien? What you’re saying isn’t believable.”

Fabien let out a frustrated sigh. “Pelren can only be killed by something more powerful than itself, Aidan. The fact that you took out all four says more to whoever’s behind this. Wards carry significant amounts of magic. Unless a person has complete control, wards have to be created by multiple people with multiple layers of magic. You can ask Ravick about it later if you don’t believe me.”

Aidan rolled his eyes and motioned for Fabien to continue. “Humans can only hold so much power before it becomes too much. A demon, on the other hand, doesn’t have a limit to the amount of power it can store. In fact, the stronger the better. Pelren are meant to store massive amounts of power and use it for destruction. If enough of it is collected, there’s no telling what kinds of horror could take place.” Fabien ended in a quiet voice.

Aidan stared at the ground for a long while before he looked at Fabien. He wanted to trust him. But trusting him meant more than just being acquaintances, which is how their relationship felt at the moment. Trusting him meant truce. And Aidan already knew how much false pretenses could hurt.

There was still something that had been bothering Aidan since the beginning of Fabien’s story. When he finally turned his eyes to Fabien’s, apprehension was loud and clear in his gaze. “If pelren are so rare, can you explain to me why I was attacked by thirty of them when I was a child?”

Fabien’s eyes widened in alarm. “Thirty? How did you manage to survive?” 

Aidan looked away, tears threatening to form. “I don’t want to talk about that.” 

“Aidan, I’m not lying. I can prove it to you.” 

“How?” Aidan snapped with newfound anger. 

“I can show you.”