"Agree with you there," Neal said, nodding. "I've seen magic do terrible things to people. Corrupting souls, blackening hearts..." Turning people into snails and tearing out hearts. Nothing good, not from his father. He shook his head, going quiet for a moment. "I want proof that there is good magic out there. Good, without such destruction."

He flipped through a few more pages, looking at the illustrated faces of magicians whose names had been etched out. "Magic destroyed my family."