Havoc had been pulling against Call’s grip. Call let go. He felt too numb inside to care whether Havoc launched himself at Master Joseph and tried to bite his face.

But he didn’t. Instead, Havoc went over to the table where Aaron’s body lay, gave a heartbroken sniffle, and curled up under it.

“I don’t understand,” Tamara said, fighting tears. “What’s the point of this? Nobody can raise the dead! Constantine couldn’t and that’s why we have the Chaos-ridden.”

“Constantine could have,” said Master Joseph. “He was but days away from that breakthrough when the Third Mage War broke out. Then, because of the Cold Massacre, he was forced to start again. But he — you — can do it now. The knowledge was in his soul, and his soul is here, in you, Call!”

Call looked at Aaron on the table. For the first time, what Master Joseph was saying didn’t seem so crazy. Death was terrible — Alastair was still mourning Sarah and it had been more than a decade since she’d died. Call would have liked to have had a mom, even if she had some reservations about him. And all the people who hated him did so because Constantine Madden had taken someone from them. If he, Callum Hunt, could really bring people back from the dead — not halfway back, as with the creepy Chaos-ridden, but actually, really back — they would forgive him. They’d forgive him for anything.

And he could have Aaron for a best friend again. Aaron, alive and laughing. Aaron, reborn. Tamara wouldn’t have to worry about making the wrong choice in saving him. Call could stop missing him. Everything could go back to the way it was.

“Here’s the bargain I am prepared to make,” Master Joseph continued. “Callum, you stay here and work to bring Aaron back from the dead. Alex will help you, since he is the architect of this unfortunate accident.”

Call started to point out that Aaron’s death was no accident and Alex was a murderer, but Master Joseph kept speaking.

“You will have access to Constantine’s notes and my experience. Once you bring Aaron back, you can decide to take up your destiny to end death … or you can depart for good. If you choose to go, Callum, I will let you. I will accept that there isn’t enough of Constantine Madden in you and I will release you from his destiny.”

For a moment, Call wasn’t sure he was hearing Master Joseph right. After all this effort, he would just let Call go?

“What about Tamara and Jasper?” Call asked. “And Aaron?”

“All of you,” Master Joseph promised. “Tamara, Jasper, Aaron, Havoc. You can all leave. All I ask is this — you bring Aaron to the Assembly and let them see what we’re capable of. If they still want war, so be it. But I have a feeling that seeing a loved one brought back to life will change their minds. Because if you can bring back your friend, you can bring back their friends, too. Their husbands and wives. Their parents. Their children. Everyone has lost someone. Everyone, deep in their hearts, wishes they could have a little more time to live.”

Tamara cleared her throat. She had stopped looking over at Aaron on the table, although Call could tell she wanted to. “That seems fair,” she said.

Call felt a wave of relief. He was glad it wasn’t just him. If Tamara wanted to do it, then it must be okay to want it, too.

“But, Callum,” Master Joseph went on, “if you find your heart stirred by what you’ve done, if you find the Assembly to be the cowards they are, afraid to plumb the depths of chaos magic and afraid to let anyone else do it either, then you must stay with us.

“Tamara and Jasper, I will train you while you are here. We need smart young mages like yourselves. You’ve heard a lot of things about the Enemy of Death’s followers. You’ve probably been made to think that we’re villains, but once you’ve been here for a time, you might come to see us differently, just as you’ve already been able to separate Call from the terrible stories about Constantine Madden.”

“You’re going to train us?” Jasper asked. “In what?”

Master Joseph smiled at him. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten that I taught at the Magisterium once. I turned out many fine apprentices, most of them completely uninterested in chaos magic. I taught the parents of some apprentices in the Magisterium today.”

Call imagined those parents weren’t exactly bragging now about having been Master Joseph’s students. He wondered if their children knew.

“Do you accept this deal?” Master Joseph asked Call.

Call looked at Aaron’s body and wanted to say yes. If there was any chance to bring back Aaron, he wanted to take it.

But this wasn’t just a lot of points on his Evil Overlord list. This pretty much was the list. The whole thing. Saying yes to this made him an Evil Overlord. And not any Evil Overlord. It made him the Enemy of Death.

Still, Tamara hadn’t objected and she wasn’t objecting now. Even Jasper wasn’t saying anything against it. They wanted Aaron back, too. Call knew they did. Constantine had wanted to bring his brother back but that had been different. Aaron was a good person. Aaron shouldn’t be dead.

“Yes,” Call said. “I’ll do it. I’ll bring him back.”

Master Joseph’s smile was electric. Alex, meanwhile, glowered menacingly.

“There is one complication I didn’t mention,” said Master Joseph.

“You can’t change the deal,” Tamara insisted.

“Oh no. Nothing like that.” Everything friendly had gone out of Master Joseph’s demeanor. He looked hard and cold and terrifying, like he had when Call had first met him. “It’s only this — if you run again, I will destroy Aaron’s body so that there’s no chance he will ever come back. And if you run after that, I will kill one of you. I will stick to the terms of our deal, so long as you three stick to them as well.”

Jasper drew a sharp breath. “You can’t kill Call,” he said. “You need him. He’s your chaos mage.”

“Alex also has the power of chaos now,” Master Joseph replied in the same frightening voice. “And we have the Alkahest. Not only will I kill Call if I must, I have the means to do it. And to take his power.”

He thought of Master Joseph’s grim words at dinner: Let’s give Call an opportunity to find who he is — if he doesn’t, I will strip the power from him myself.

“I’m sure, however, that it won’t come to that. Now, go to bed.” The terrifying look was gone and Master Joseph was back to normal. At least, normal for him. “We will begin our studies in earnest in the morning.”

With that, he ushered them away from Aaron’s body, locking the door behind him.

With a last look back, Call headed toward the stairs. As he climbed them, he felt thoroughly exhausted. He’d started the day in prison and had ended it agreeing to do the one thing he’d thought he’d never do, try to raise the dead.

When he got to the top, he started toward the door to his room but wasn’t sure if he could face it. He turned to Tamara, who was heading into the pink room.

“Can I sleep on your floor?” he asked. “Your room is the only non-creepy one.”

“Me too?” asked Jasper, seizing on this idea.

Tamara gave a small smile. “Yeah. That would be good.”