all the more challenging. Why would the Aeternae continue to help us if we couldn’t help them?
“Can you please elaborate?” Derek replied.
“At first, we thought the Black Fever was a virus,” Amal said. “We took numerous blood samples and went in deep, on a molecular level, much like we did with the day-walking protein. It took many days and repeated studies, but we’re both confident in our conclusions now.”
Amane walked over to the window. She could see the entire city from here, with its glistening towers and dark gray roofs, its snaking alleys and lush parks. “The Black Fever manifests as a disease. The symptoms, the physical decay—we had no reason to think it would be anything other than a really pesky virus. Only it’s not. We’ve isolated the Black Fever strand, and we’ve taken our time in studying it.”
“We’ve poked and prodded each molecule. We went deep into the cells, only to discover they’re not exactly… cells,” Amal added. She placed a different dish under the microscope, and Derek took a moment to look through it. “Notice the star formations.”
“Black stars. Five-pointed,” he muttered.
“Exactly. We thought those were of organic origin. They’re not,” Amane replied.
“Then what are they?” I asked, my blood running cold.
“We’re not quite sure yet. I’m inclined to say mazir… you know, their weird magic,” Amane said. “Those microscopic elements—the very core of the Black Fever—they’re supernatural, for lack of a better word. It looks like a disease, but it’s more like a fast-spreading curse. We’ve tested the so-called cells repeatedly, and they don’t respond to any of our treatments. And trust me, we’ve tried cures for every single known biological agent out there, including those made by Ta’Zan.”
“And his creations were quite complex and dangerous, too.” Derek sighed. “So, the Black Fever isn’t a sickness. But it’s spreading like one.”
“Yes,” Amal replied. “I’m wondering if it was devised a long time ago by one of the non-Aeternae. I don’t see the Aeternae doing this to themselves, especially since they need strength in numbers against their occupied domains.”
I took a seat in one of the chairs, inches away from the microscope. “How would a non-Aeternae be able to wield mazir magic? I thought it was pretty limited even among the Aeternae. It’s only Petra, along with the whole Visentis dynasty, and several other figures in the upper echelon of the empire, Valaine Crimson included.”
“We don’t know how mazir truly works, if you think about it,” Derek said. “From what we know, it’s taught. Maybe learning the craft isn’t really limited to the Aeternae. Maybe it’s all about access to the knowledge itself, like with swamp witch magic.”
“And if a non-Aeternae actually got their hands on this curse and unleashed it, would the ten-thousand-year cycle be a part of the spell, or is there someone who helps the cycle repeat itself? After all, it’s the non-Aeternae who are identified as carriers of the Black Fever,” I replied.
There were a lot of pieces missing from this puzzle. And the pieces we did have didn’t connect as flawlessly as we’d hoped. The pathology of the Black Fever itself was still quite the mystery, beginning with how it activated itself and how it spread.
Derek looked through the microscope again. “These look weird…”
“If it is indeed a curse, we’ll have to change the way in which we approach this problem,” Amal warned us. “Should we tell the Aeternae about this?”
I couldn’t stop my eyes from narrowing as I looked her way. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, if we tell them now, and they become convinced it’s definitely mazir, they’ll consider themselves more capable of addressing and fixing it. They might not think we’re needed anymore,” Amal said. “If we keep this to ourselves for now, we can continue to study the problem while one of you gets us access to some mazir knowledge. Enough to test these elements and see if they react. We’ll start with swamp witch magic, in the meantime.”
“The point is that we want to buy ourselves some time,” Amane explained. “If they don’t find us useful in stopping the Black Fever anymore, they might decide to send us away before we finish developing the day-walking cure. Before we get a chance to punish Zoltan and stop the Darklings altogether. I doubt any of us want to leave before we avenge Nethissis’s murder. Besides, if they think it’s mazir, it’ll put Petra, Valaine, and other practitioners at risk, too.”
Derek raised his head from the microscope and scratched the back