He nodded gravely. “That was about fifty years ago and was documented because it happened during Kalista’s Second War.”
“Have there been any other cases where dark magic became tangible inside of a supernatural like that before?” Nightwind asked, shoving his fingers through his dark blond curls.
“Only one other instance where the supernatural didn’t die immediately,” he told us. “It was two warlocks fighting over a relic. One used a dark magic ritual to curse the other, but it turned on him. The warlock who performed theritual became a darker being. He, like the wolf from the war, was able to shift into any animal with his dark magic in the form of dark tar. He could teleport. His regeneration ability was off the charts. He ended up murdering the man he feuded with and stole the relic. Both he and the relic disappeared. That was one hundred years ago, but there have only been rumored occurrences since the wolf’s infection.”
“What’s dark magic look like?” Dreadful asked with a hint of unease shaking her voice.
“It’s obsidian in color and tar-like in texture and sight, and it drips like acid.” Ironwood glanced away at the wall for a few moments, and my heartbeat picked up again. “That’s only when it takes tangible form. Witches and warlocks used to use dark magic without it becoming tangible all of the time. Nobody knows what makes it so chaotic, but that is why, after the war, it became a forbidden magic.”
“What makes it so bad?” another asked.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I mulled over what dark magic was supposed to look like.
Dark, tar-like substance…essentially likegoo—or dripping shadow tendrils.
My blood froze in my veins as images of my mother’s dripping shadows burrowed into my gut countless times.
Dark magic or shadow magic?
I squeezed my fists together in an attempt to stop the panic swelling in my chest.
What if it was both?
Ironwood’s gaze snapped to the demon who had asked, and he grimaced. “Dark magic is unbalanced, and it can’t be destroyed.”
“What happens to it then?”
“There’s a relic that the Supernatural Council has that can absorb dark magic and contain it.” His gaze flickered over me as his brows furrowed. “Dark magic is a crime in not just the Demon Capital but all of Kalista. The punishment is execution.”
Sweat layered a sheen over my skin as my heart pounded in my chest. I was stuck in my memories of my mother’s shadows that dripped and seared into my flesh.
Oh, Fates. I needed to talk to Daryl.
Maybe I was paranoid, or maybe Mother, Penny Bones—a name I only recently learned—was involved in dark magic. Either way, I needed to speak with Daryl about it.
“Let’s focus on ceremonial magic,” Ironwood stated, clapping his hands. “There are different ways to perform ceremonial magic. The most common are magic circles or on altars…”
I tried to focus, but my thoughts were filled with pain-inducing memories of my mother and her dark shadows.
She always kept me chained inside of the cellar, and my only escape from it was from the books she’d given me.
There had been more dark magic-focused books than anything else, and at the time, I hadn’t thought much about it. But I also hadn’t known it was a forbidden magic. All I remembered about it was that it was the ultimate form of magic without consequence, and Mother had spoken highly of it.
There was no way that was a coincidence.
“Coming?” Dreadful tugged at my arm.
“Where?” I blinked a few times before realizing that the lesson was over. Ironwood had dismissed us. I couldn’t help but take a peek behind me to see that Hemlock was already gone.
“We’re going to eat.” She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, that’s okay. I’m really not that hungry.”
“You’re coming.” She tightened her grip on my arm. “I want to introduce everyone to my new friend.”
I had little time to snatch my tablet and stuff it into my bag before she pulled me along with her and the group of nobles toward the cafeteria.
“There aren’t many nobles at this academy,” she told me as we ascended the stairs of Reform Hall. “But this is our group. The rest of the demons here are scum. Literally not worth even a second thought.”
