Allanon, Wil, and Mareth face Bandon in Paranor, but to save Flick's life, Wil and Mareth have to find the Warlock Lord's skull— which is hidden back in time, in the Shady Vale of thirty years ago, where Wil meets his father as a young man. Cogline reveals Eretria's heritage to her. Jax seeks out some old friends, but runs into the Crimson.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Some of the Shady Vale residents, like Heady's father and brothers, are less accepting of Shea Ohmsford (an Elf adopted by the Ohmsford family) than others.
- Death of a Child: Desmin, a small boy, gets killed by the Crimson.
- Enforced Method Acting: Allanon and Mareth make Wil believe that they've had a falling out so that Wil won't reveal to Bandon that she's entered Paranor behind them. Justified in that Bandon can read Wil's mind, so his acting really did have to go all the way to the core to be effective.
- Evil Feels Good: Eretria is uncomfortable to find that she enjoys using her powers of demon domination on the imprisoned Mord Wraith.
- Grandfather Paradox: Mareth worries that unless they get Shea and Heady to reconcile, Wil might cease to exist.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Eretria is revealed to be a descendant of Armageddon's Children, a group of half-demons.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Mareth and Wil are really not very good at coming up with aliases for themselves in a hurry.
- Magitek: Cogline claims to have imprisoned the Mord Wraith using a mix of science and magic. It appears to involve electrifying the bars around its cell.
- Nice Guy: Shea is a mild-mannered fellow who doesn't hold a grudge against the people who bully him, and who fusses over his guests.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: An especially brutal example. Jax went to Sheema and Desmin to give them gold to help them get by in honour of their father, who was one of his men. However, the Crimson were following him to question him, and they casually kill Desmin when he gets in their way.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Wil clearly inherited his mother Heady's Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold.
- Time Travel: Wil and Mareth find themselves thirty years in the past.
