Gaius and Cleo arrived at Maddie's room a few hours later, only to find the door closed. When Cleo knocked lightly a student came down the hall and told them that Maddie was sleeping. They were no strangers to their friend's occasional dark moods and propensity to sleep in response to stress. So, even though they desperately wanted to discuss the morning's incident, they turned away.

They made their way to their normal spot in the greenhouse, holding their conversation until they sat down on the bench. Cleo took a deep breath and let it out.

“We need to talk about Maddie, I suppose,” she said. Hesitancy was unusual for Cleo, who was normally very strong-willed.

“I guess we should,” Gaius replied, then fell silent. Between living through them and having class, they hadn't yet had the chance to talk about the incidents of the last two days.

“She has a very unusual magic,” Cleo finally n said. Gaius snorted.

“That is an understatement as big as your beloved lighthouse.”

The comparison made Cleo smile despite herself. Gauis continued.

“Whatever it is, it's incredibly powerful, too. She ran almost across the whole island. This is the girl who got winded climbing up stairs the other day--”

“--to be fair, we were all winded, you most of all.”

“Anyway, as I was saying before the insults started flying, she's not an athlete, but she ran faster and longer than the strongest Druids here. She must have run for close to an hour straight. If her magic can let her do that…”

“It's something I've never heard about, much less seen. It's like it's a new form of magic that's never been done before. And then the sky this morning. That was an awesome sight that I wouldn't ever want to see again. Do you think they're related?”

“They can't be. If Maddie's magic could cause something like that, it would be the most powerful magic ever seen! Although…”

“What?”

“Well, let's analyze this. Let's look at all the moving parts.”

“Well, first Maddie couldn't access her magic. Even Corentin couldn't help her.”

“Then she met this guy who told her she was a demigod. At least, that's what she said he told her.”

“I believe her. And I'll give her the benefit of the doubt when she said he threatened her.”

“Phh, that was a total lie. But whatever he said really scared her. You can't fake terror like that. And when Corentin finally pulled her magic out of her--”

“--the same kind of terror,” Cleo finished. “I don't think he should have done that. You could see on Maddie's face how hard he was pulling on her. Whatever mental force he was subjecting her to was more than she could handle.”

“He's a teacher and a powerful mind mage. He knows what he's doing.”

“Even the smartest, most accomplished people can be wrong. I've seen many people come and go in the Museum who were experts in their fields but still made mistakes. Sometimes their entire life's work was built on a mistake and had

to be rethought.”

Gaius thought about that.

“I wouldn't want that to be me, that's for sure.”

“So, let's continue. The only piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit is that strange display this morning. Maddie didn't cause it, it didn't seem aimed at her. It has to be a coincidence.” Cleo said the word with distaste.

“Do you really believe in coincidences?”

“I...believe in them. I just don't like them. They don't fit into a world of logic and order.”

“I agree. Things should have a cause and effect. You don't think it was Tereus’s doing?”

“If he could do that, he would have just taken Maddie away with him. I don't think anyone has that much power, even a demigod.”

“Then we're talking about a god…”

Gaius shook himself out of that thought.

“I don't even want to think about that. If the gods are getting involved, it's way above our level. What can we do in that case?”

“Just be there for our friend. It's what we've been doing all along.”

Gauis nodded. “Then let's. “