Oh, but his face! Mainard fixed her with the most incredulous glare she had ever seen. He didn’t speak—it seemed he was so shocked he couldn’t, so Yenni went on.

“The illness is the result of a parasitic demon. It feeds on the body’s magical system, weakening it, and pulls strength from the muscles and flesh of the body.”

Mainard rubbed at the bridge of his nose and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Not this claptrap again. Mam’selle Kayerba,” he said patiently. “If demons had returned, surely I, a Magus Grande and member of the magical council, would know about it. This illness has a perfectly scientific explanation that, I will admit, eludes us, but we will find the answer soon enough.”

“It’s true,” Yenni insisted. “My father has made a recovery thanks to the work of our Healers’ Guild, but they haven’t yet discovered how to destroy the spirit—they have only lured it to another host. But with Creshen healers and Island healers working toward a solution we can figure out how to defeat it, and many lives can be saved!”

Mainard’s mouth puckered in disgust. “If your papa has seen a recovery, then he wasn’t afflicted with the wither-rot in the first place. I’ve no doubt he was afflicted with some sort of Island parasite, but a demon? Laughable.”

Yenni took a deep breath through her nose, desperate to soothe her rising temper. She needed her wits about her to do battle with Mainard. “You said, ‘Not this again.’ What did you mean by that? Did someone else come to the same conclusion?”

“That’s none of your concern,” Mainard snapped. “Furthermore, you will refrain from spreading your unfounded superstitions throughout my academy, do you hear?”

“I will do no such thing!” said Yenni, standing. “Do you not see that we can save so many—”

Mainard also stood. “Mam’selle Kayerba! I understand that things are different where you are from, but here there are rules that must be obeyed! Should you cause unrest by disseminating false information there will be consequences. Legal consequences. Is that clear?”

“This is lunacy,” Yenni said through her teeth.

“Is. That. Clear, mam’selle?”

She gave him a curt nod, which was all she could manage without screaming in his face, and marched from his office.

Outside the administrative tower, Weysh took one look at her face and said, “Let’s go for a flight.”