First Year

by Rachel E. Carter

  There was no direct path to our destination, and it seemed that whichever way I turned, a new obstacle was waiting.

  The first route I tried seemed simple enough, until giant bolts of crackling lightening appeared out of nowhere. They struck the ground with frightening intensity, spawning a huge grass fire that rapidly spread.

  There were large barrels of sand nearby. I realized they were probably reminiscent of the barley sacks we’d been required to push and conjure the previous week, an aid to those that could exert the casting necessary to reap their benefits. Unfortunately I knew from past experience it would be a futile effort. The bags were easily twice if not three times the weight of the sacks we’d used earlier on, and I’d been less than successful with those.

  I had no way of cutting a path across the flames.

  Ahead of me some of the first-years, including the prince, were conjuring up two of the barrels. They spilled a trail of sand across the fire. The flames nearest the group were immediately extinguished.

  I considered running after, but I held back.

  My choice was justified a minute later when a desperate boy shoved his way past in an attempt to utilize their opening. I stopped what I was doing to watch the chain of events unfold. One of the first-years pointed. Eve whirled around and sent the surrounding sand flying so that Ralph was encased in a circle of hungry flames. The boy was trapped. Like me, Ralph did not have the magic necessary to conjure an escape.

  I turned away and started off after a group of first-years to my left.

  A minute later I heard Ralph cry out for Piers.

  One down, four to go. Maybe we wouldn’t have to worry about those tokens after all.

  First-years were starting to act merciless. It did not surprise me in the least that Darren’s friends had been the first to lead the charge.

  The new path I took was more challenging than the last, and it was the one more traveled. I was following a horde of scrambling first-years up the rocky side of a cliff. Many members of the constable’s staff hid out behind boulders. I had to be doubly careful. The assisting mages were casting arrows as well.

  Eventually our group reached a dead end. Before us was a raging stream, easily twenty feet across. Its waters were white, dangerous, and not particularly appealing. There was no other way to get around. It was immediately evident that if we were to continue our trek, we would have to cross the slippery logs and moss-covered stones to the other side.

  Like the fire and its barrels of sand, I recognized this challenge as another of Piers’s makeshift obstacles. Only instead of a tightrope and shattered glass, we were now expected to cross a river. The commander and Master Cedric had stuck us in the middle of a real-life obstacle course.

  Cautiously, I started my way across, following the crowd of first-years in front. Seconds into my progress a girl in front of me lost balance. She cast out her magic just in time, a long pole stuck out from the river to hold her in place. As I approached the same slippery rock, I reached out to grab her stake for extra support. It vanished.

  The girl laughed loudly. She was one of Priscilla’s friends. I should have known better.

  I barely kept my balance, and I would have fallen if Alex hadn’t caught my sleeve at just the right moment. Apparently, he’d been forced to take a deviation from his original route as well.

  “Thanks,” I told my twin.

  His eyes were locked on the shore ahead. “Thank me when it’s over.”

  By the time we had crossed the stream, we were even further behind than when we had started. Another group of first-years had passed, having used their combined magic to secure a long climbing rope atop an extremely tall pine in the distance.

  “Ry, behind you!”

  I spun just in time to conjure a defense against the downward swing of my attacker. It was the same servant I had faced during that first day of Combat.

  Our staffs collided with a loud smack. The man rushed off, having lost any advantage now that the element of surprise was gone.

  “That was close,” I breathed as Alex grabbed my arm, dragging me forward.

  “Come on,” he panted. “We’ve got to get to the chest before all the tokens are gone.”

  I rushed after him, breathing heavily as we climbed the increasingly steep face of the bluff. We had just reached a level break when I caught sight of its clearing.

  Just beyond reach, a cluster of first-years was engaged in a full-on assault with Darren and his friends. The non-heir’s group was fewer in number, but it didn’t seem to matter.

  I could see Darren throwing out blasts of howling wind, knocking his opponents to the ground with the sweep of a hand. In a matter of seconds he had disarmed a large group and given his team an opening.

  Meanwhile, Jake and his burly brother William were conjuring daggers mid-air. The blades were quickly embedding themselves in the remaining rivals’ limbs.

  It was a blood bath.

  Alex and I didn’t move, waiting instead for the prince’s friends to finish their attack and pass. I watched from a distance as they ended the skirmish and took inventory of their surroundings. They had just begun to move out when Darren turned around.

  His eyes met mine, and a shadow of a smile played out across his face.

  Moments later the dirt-packed earth Alex and I were standing on began to quake. I jumped back, pulling my brother with me as the ground before us split open.

  In the place we had just been standing was a deep fissure, too wide to jump and too deep to climb. It effectively cut us off from the trail we needed to follow. When I looked back to Darren he was gone.

  “That pompous jerk just destroyed our chances!” Alex burst out.

  I bit back a scream of frustration. The non-heir had gone out of his way to do this. I had the distinct impression that if it had just been Alex it would not have happened.

  “We can still make it,” I said finally. “We just need a running start.”

  “And break both legs in the process?” Alex grabbed my arm. “It’s not worth it, Ry.” He motioned for us to turn around.

  I refused to budge.

  “What is it?”

  I stared at the gap, envisioning a thick fallen pine covering the hole. It would be bigger than anything I had ever attempted, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t work.

  “I’m going to get us across,” I told him. “Just make sure no one interrupts me.”

  Alex opened his mouth to protest and then thought better of it. He knew just as well as I how much time we would lose if we were forced to turn around again. He reached down to grab a jagged piece of loose granite and took a few steps down the path to keep watch for anyone who might pose a threat.

  I set to work, concentrating on my breathing until it became a slow, even pace. I willed myself to lose focus of the distractions around me: the buzzing of summer insects, the humidity of the sun’s ever present rays, the dull and aching sensation of my limbs.

  Slowly the distractions trickled away until all that was left was the image of a sturdy robust pine, a mixture of textured amber and darkened wood. I breathed in the intoxicating scent of its sharp, resinous odor. I tasted the tang of its bitter needles.

  I heard the trunk land, thudding against the dense clay earth. I imagined it spreading across the length of our hole.

  Gingerly, I opened my eyes and saw the log that now covered the gap in front of us. Alex emitted a low whistle, returning to stand next to me.

  “You’ve been holding out, Ry,” he remarked.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t even know I could.”

  Alex took a step forward, but I quickly cut him off. “I don’t want you to break your neck if this doesn’t work.”

  Hesitantly I put one foot forward, and then another, until both feet were firmly planted on the tree. I was still on the part that covered the ground. Now came the hard part.

  I took another step, testing my weight. The trunk felt stable enough, and the coarse bark seemed to hold me well en
ough in place.

  I quickly crossed the rest of the distance. An immense headache started to set in as I watched Alex follow suit.

  He was about three-quarters across when the casting gave out. Without warning, the dull ache in my forehead became a mad pounding. The trunk vanished.

  Alex fell forward, grasping at air. Crying out, I only just managed to catch my brother’s hand before he was plunged into the shadowy abyss.

  I helped him off the ledge.

  “C-close call,” my brother gasped.

  As the two of us stood I apologized. “I don’t know what happened!” My head felt like it was on fire. My stomach was reeling.

  “I’ve seen things like that before,” Alex gasped, “when someone tries to cast above their means!”

  The two of us hurried down the path. I tried to continue, ignoring the pain until it finally became too much.

  Ducking behind a bush, I spilled the contents of my stomach until there was nothing left. A sour odor filled my nose. I wiped my mouth against my sleeve, the headache instantly gone.

  Alex was waiting for me when I returned. He didn’t ask, and I was grateful.

  We didn’t encounter another first-year for a while, but eventually we did make out another group in the distance. Ella was with them, descending the steep switchbacks below. I hadn’t noticed her at first because she was so far ahead, but now I did, her black bangs and bronze skin glistening in the sun.

  I didn’t see Darren’s group below, so I could only assume they had taken another approach. A second later I realized my mistake. There was a cluster of telltale green racing down the ravine much further on. I could see Darren leading his troop along a winding stream, gesturing to what was undoubtedly a large wooden chest at the edge of the river’s fork. It was almost directly beneath the rocky ledge we stood now.

  Our best bet was to take the same path as everyone else, using the gradual round descent instead of a risky climb. With only two groups ahead Alex and I still had a chance.

  I blinked and then swore as I noticed another company of students emerging from a hidden alcove at the bottom of the trail. They must have found a way to go around the overpass. There were about twelve or so in Darren’s group, and this new hoard easily accounted for thirty. Add Ella’s large group of sixty, and that left a shortage of tokens.

  Somewhere behind us were bound to be fifteen or so stragglers, but it was not enough. Alex and I needed to get ahead of the first-years in Ella’s group. Not all of them, but at least ten to be safe. I couldn’t be too certain of the numbers ahead.

  “We are in trouble.”

  I pointed to a steep slope to our left. “We’ll never catch up if we take the same route as everyone else.” We were certain to catch up if we avoided the switchback and used the drop to cut straight down the mountainside instead.

  “You can’t be serious.” Alex stared at the ledge. “That’s easily two hundred feet of granite!”

  I shook my head, vehemently. “I used to climb rocks all the time in Demsh’aa. You know that.” I began to lower myself into the first foothold.

  “I can’t follow you, Ry.” My brother had a crippling fear of heights.

  “Don’t worry,” I told him. “We only need one of us to reach that chest in time.” I braced myself against the cliff’s face. “We can meet back at the first river crossing on return. If either of us gets a token, we can grab an extra for the other.”

  For the next thirty minutes I scaled the side of the cliff as if it were no more than a large boulder back home.

  My hands were cracked and bleeding from the constant friction of rapid flesh against the sharp edges of rock, but I didn’t have time for a slow climb. I had no way of measuring my progress against the rest of the class—the stone wall blocked my view of the trail—and I could only hope I had made the right choice.

  In what seemed like forever, I finally reached its base. Sprinting over the scattered brush, I raced in the direction of a babbling stream.

  No more than a quarter mile out I could see a crowd of first-years rushing back. Flashes of red and orange—telltale copper coins the size of my palm—glittered from tightly clenched fists.

  I shoved my way past the group, not caring to apologize as I made my way toward the chest. I ran the two minutes it took to reach its wooden coffer and snagged two medallions. There was still a large handful left.

  “Well, well, the lowborn is a thief.”

  My elation broke as I came face-to-face with Priscilla. She had been missing from Darren’s party earlier, I realized dimly. Judging from the gathering of others behind her, Priscilla must have been leading the large mass from the switchbacks.

  I quickly closed my hand around the two coins I had taken. I started to push past but Priscilla shoved me forward.

  “There’s enough for both of us!” I hissed, not wanting to draw attention. People would not take kindly to the fact that I had taken more than my share.

  Priscilla grabbed my wrist, and I jerked it away.

  “She grabbed two!” Priscilla shrieked.

  Angry faces filled my vision.

  “It’s for my brother!”

  “Does anyone think it is fair that she is trying to sabotage us?” Priscilla demanded.

  “No—I wasn’t…” I paled, nervously inching backward, only to find myself surrounded by the hoard. Where was Ella? Alex? Any of my friends from the study group?

  Anxiously I scanned the crowd, but I could find no friendly faces. My friends had either already grabbed a token or were too far away to be of any help.

  “Give us your tokens, Ryiah.”

  I glowered at Priscilla, angry that she was playing the part of the people’s savior even though we both knew it was her furthest intention. Her only loyalty was to the prince. She was just using the students here in her personal vendetta against me. Our last encounter was coming back to slap me in the face.

  I should never have baited her.

  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Ruth and Jordan at the edge of the mob, but they both sadly shook their heads. There were too many others for them to come to my aid.

  The last thing anyone wanted to do was find themselves in the same position I was.

  I had no way out. If it had just been Priscilla I would have tried to escape. She was more powerful than me, but I might have stood a chance were it one-on-one.

  Twenty-on-one was a whole other story.

  I’m sorry Alex. I tossed my brother’s token to Priscilla.

  “I said both coins.”

  “But I—”

  “You should have thought about that before you got greedy!” The dark-haired beauty scanned the crowd, smiling maliciously. “Does everyone agree Ryiah should pay the price for her crime?”

  A unison of nods.

  “This is ridiculous!” I argued. “I have earned my—”

  “You steal, you suffer the consequences. Give us the other coin, Ryiah.”

  Glaring, I hurled the second copper at her.

  “Now, does anyone want to help me make sure she doesn’t get her hands on anymore?”

  Several hands shot up, and I froze.

  “Wait,” I argued, “I gave you what you wanted—”

  She smirked. “Really, Ryiah. You act as if we are doing this out of spite. Please understand we are only doing what we think is fair.” She stepped forward and snapped her fingers.

  Instantly, my hands were bound, and a thick cloth strip muffled my cries. Priscilla took another step forward and leaned in close so that only I could hear her next words: “Darren told me the truth about where the two of you go each night. You might try to play coy, but I know your end game. If you ever come near my prince again, I’ll make it my personal promise you don’t last the year.” She glanced back at her volunteers. “Now who wants to help me move her?”

  I was tied up and bound to the base of a towering oak, a mere fifteen paces from the wooden chest and its now empty contents.

  After Priscilla and
her entourage left, there’d only been five medallions left, but in a matter of minutes another grouping of first-years had appeared, snatching the last of the tokens.

  I tried to cast myself free, figuring a couple of flames were all I needed to weaken the ropes, but there was no magic left. I had drained my powers crossing Darren’s fissure.

  So there I was, tied to a tree with a giant piece of parchment above my head that read “hoarder.” Thanks to the label none of the passing first-years had bothered to help, no doubt deciding it was not worth their time to try and help a girl who had enough enemies to tie her to a tree in the first place.

  After ten more minutes passed I spotted Ella and my brother. Unable to draw their attention through anything but muffled shouts, I waited for them to notice me. Ella was the first, interrupting Alex to point in my direction.

  They both came running to my aid.

  As soon as Alex read the sign above my head, he ran a hand through his messy locks, hanging his head.

  I pointed to the empty chest.

  Alex swore. Ella angrily hurled her dagger at the ground.

  “We’ve got to…head back,” I coughed between huge gasps of air. “Our only chance… Piers said he and Cedric… would keep everyone… that didn’t have a coin…until he had his five.” I stopped and pointed to the tunnel everyone had been using to return.

  “There’s only been one person to come through here since the chest emptied,” I finished, “which means there’s still some others left. If we get back first, before the others without a token, maybe Piers will go easier on us?”

  “Well, it’s better than hiking back up that mountain,” Ella said, somewhat reluctantly.

  The three of us started towards the dark passageway. As we walked I explained how I had ended up bound to a tree.

  “Priscilla really does hate you,” Ella observed. “That’s the second time she’s gone out of her way to torment you.”

  I winced as I tripped over a small rock, grabbing onto my friend’s arm to keep from falling. “She thinks I am after Darren.”