
Demon in the Wood
'Eryk' and his mother 'Lena' belong to a unique and rare class of magic-users known as Shadow Summoners. To avoid detection and persecution, they lead a nomadic life, frequently changing locations and identities, never settling in one place for long. In an unexpected turn, Lena decides to spend an entire winter at a camp, where Eryk learns of a bear that the camp members are hunting. This bear is an amplifier, a creature whose bones can boost a person's magical abilities if killed by them.
Eryk befriends Annika and her younger sister, Sylvi, at the camp. Both are marginalized due to Annika's weak abilities and Sylvi's lack of them. Eryk offers to help Annika find and kill the bear to strengthen her powers. During their quest, they realize Sylvi has also gone after the bear, unaware of Annika's intent to kill it. Upon reaching an otkazat'sya village (a community of non-magic users), they discover the bear already dead, rendering its bones useless for amplifying Annika's powers.
On their return, a perilous incident occurs where Sylvi nearly falls off a cliff. Eryk instinctively grabs Annika's hand, leading to a burst of power that saves Sylvi, inadvertently revealing Eryk's true nature as an amplifier. Despite his confession, Annika lures Eryk into a trap, intending to kill him to harness his amplifying power, as she could not do with the bear. Their confrontation is interrupted by Lev, another camp member who also seeks to kill Eryk for his abilities.
Eryk narrowly escapes, leaving Lev and Annika behind, and cleverly injures himself using a powerful Grisha technique called the Cut. He concocts a story for the Ulle, the camp's chieftain, claiming they were attacked by otkazat'sya. Consequently, Eryk and his mother depart the camp sooner than planned. The book concludes with a hint of Eryk's future endeavors, foreshadowing his eventual creation of a safe haven for Grisha, a place where they need not live in constant fear.