Josh rapped on the doorframe. “You wanted to see me,” he said quietly. He was surprised by how calm he felt. There were no nerves, but he wasn’t feeling much excitement, either.

“Come in,” Prometheus said without turning around. He pointed to a matching lounger with the remote control. “Sit for a minute, let us talk.”

Josh climbed onto the lounger and hit the button that brought the footstool up. “My dad has one just like this,” he explained. “He has the model with the massage and heat functions.”

“I had that one, but every time I used the massage, I thought there was an earthquake, so I sent it back.”

They sat in silence while Prometheus continued to surf the channels. The Elder only slowed at news and black-and-white movies. “Hundreds of channels and never anything worth watching,” he muttered.

Josh took the opportunity to look at the Elder: the only light in the study came from the flickering TV, which made it seem as if his face was constantly in motion. Now that he was close, Josh could see that Prometheus’s cheeks and chin were crisscrossed with tiny scars that were partially hidden by his beard. There were more scars on his forehead.

“They’re little keepsakes of my time in prison,” the Elder said, his deep rumbling voice making Josh jump.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” Josh had no idea how the Elder had known he was looking at him.

Prometheus rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead. “I rarely think of them now. I could heal myself and make them disappear, but I like to keep them as reminders.”

“Of what?” Josh wondered.

“That some things are worth fighting for… and that everything has a cost.”

“Why were you in prison?” Josh asked. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he added quickly.

The huge man waved his hand dismissively. “An old, old story, too long and too complicated to tell you now.” He paused and added, “You should ask your sister about it sometime. She will know.”

“Because the Witch knew?”

“How long has she known my sister?” the Elder asked. He turned his huge green eyes on the boy.

“Would you believe, we met her once, very briefly, last Friday…” Josh’s voice trailed away. It was hard to even try to think back to earlier that week, when all of this had begun. It seemed like a lifetime ago. “She taught Sophie the Magic of Air, and passed on all her knowledge at the same time. I don’t know how. I wasn’t in the room when it happened.”

“And you’ve no idea why my sister did that?”

“None. You’d have to ask Sophie,” he said, “though I doubt she knows.”

“You don’t look much like any of the other Golds I’ve seen,” the Elder said finally, breaking the long silence that followed Josh’s statement.