Chapter 15: Finn's Documents

Finn Quicksilver kept his promises.

Three days after their initial conversation, he appeared at Caden's door with a leather satchel that clinked when he moved—documents sealed in protective cases, their contents preserved against time and discovery.

"Everything my grandfather saved," Finn said, spreading the materials across Caden's desk. "Most of it's coded, but I have the cipher. And this—" He held up a journal bound in black leather. "—is his personal account of what he discovered before the Blackwoods destroyed our family."

Caden picked up the journal, feeling the weight of secrets in his hands. "Have you read it?"

"Cover to cover. Multiple times." Finn's voice was flat. "It's worse than I told you in the dining hall. Much worse."

They spent the next several hours going through the documents, with Finn translating the coded passages and Caden piecing together the horrible picture they painted.

The Blackwoods hadn't just created the Breach. They'd *fed* it.

Every century or so, when the seals began to weaken beyond what maintenance could address, the Blackwood family conducted a ritual. A sacrifice. They selected individuals with magical potential—usually commoners, usually orphans, people who wouldn't be missed—and offered them to the entities beyond the Breach.

"They call it the Tithe," Finn explained, his finger tracing a passage in the journal. "Blood and magic, given willingly or not, to satisfy the hunger of the things on the other side. In exchange, those entities reinforce the seals themselves. They want the door to stay open, you see. A permanent gateway is more valuable than a collapsed one."

"They've been sacrificing people for a thousand years."

"Dozens of people. Maybe hundreds. My grandfather found records going back to the original deal—names, dates, the magical affinities of those chosen. Most of them were young. Powerful but untrained. Easy to manipulate."

"Like students at the Academy."

Finn nodded, his expression grim. "The Academy was built for two purposes. The public one—training hunters to hold the Breach line. And the private one—providing a steady supply of candidates for the Tithe. Students who fail their trials, who are deemed too dangerous or too difficult to control, they don't just disappear. They're selected."

Caden thought of Viktor Stormguard's aggression, Damien's warnings about accidents during training. How many students had been chosen for the Tithe over the centuries, their deaths attributed to training incidents or monster attacks?

"Does Damien know about this?"

"I'm not sure. The Tithe is the Blackwood family's darkest secret—even within the family, knowledge is limited to the head of house and their designated heir. Damien is the second son. His older brother, Aldric, was supposed to be the heir, but he died three years ago in a Breach expedition."

"Convenient timing."

"Very. My grandfather suspected Aldric was killed deliberately—that he learned about the Tithe and tried to expose it. Lord Blackwood couldn't risk his own son betraying the family secret." Finn's jaw tightened. "That's around when my grandfather's luck ran out, too. He was getting too close to the truth."

Caden set down the journal, his mind racing. The picture was becoming clearer, but it was also more terrible than he'd imagined. The Blackwoods weren't just planning to use the Breach for power—they were actively sustaining it through human sacrifice, maintaining a deal that had killed countless innocent people.

"When is the next Tithe supposed to happen?"

"That's the thing." Finn pulled out another document—a chart covered in astronomical calculations. "The Tithe happens when certain stars align, when the barrier between dimensions is thinnest. The next alignment is in eight months. Just before the end of the academic year."

"They're going to sacrifice students before graduation."

"That's my theory. It fits the historical pattern—the Tithe always happens during the Academy's active term, always targeting students who won't be missed." Finn met Caden's eyes. "And with a void mage now enrolled? I'm willing to bet you're at the top of their selection list."

The void stirred in Caden's chest, responding to the threat with cold hunger. For once, he didn't fight it.

"Then we have eight months to stop them."

"Stop them how? The Blackwoods control half the kingdom. They have agents in every institution, allies in every noble house. Even the Academy itself is compromised—Headmistress Vane might not be directly involved, but she certainly knows more than she's telling."

"We find proof. Real proof, not coded documents that could be dismissed as forgeries. Something that forces the other nobles to act." Caden's mind was already working, spinning possibilities. "Damien wants to stop his family too. Between his inside access and your information network—"

"You want to build a coalition." Finn looked skeptical. "A void mage, a disgraced heir, and a first-year student with a grudge. Against a conspiracy that's survived for a millennium."

"Add a commoner swordsman, a half-elf healer, and a noble girl who lost her mother to void magic. Maybe Professor Thorne, if I can convince him to come out of hiding." Caden stood, energy crackling through him despite his exhaustion. "It's not enough. Not yet. But it's a start."

"You're serious about this."

"The alternative is letting them sacrifice students every century forever. Letting the Breach stay open until the seals finally fail completely." Caden met Finn's eyes. "I didn't ask for this power. I didn't want any of this. But if I'm the only one who can stop it..."

"Then you have to try." Finn was quiet for a moment, then nodded slowly. "My grandfather tried to expose the Blackwoods alone, and they destroyed him. Maybe the problem wasn't the goal—it was the approach. A single person is vulnerable. A network might survive."

"So you're in?"

"I'm in." Finn extended his hand. "House Quicksilver may be ruined, but the Quicksilver name still means something. And if there's a chance to avenge my grandfather while saving lives..." His smile was sharp. "That's a chance worth taking."

They shook on it, two young men bound by secrets and determination.

Outside, the fallen star pulsed with ancient power.

And in the depths of the kingdom, Lord Blackwood began preparations for a Tithe that would never be completed.