I can’t back out now. I can’t let them down. I can’t let myself down. “Of course,” I say, my tone a loaded gun with bullets of confidence.
“Good, so then let’s form up and head out,” Luke says. Everyone disperses and forms into a tight pack. The other two teams are already making their way through the snow toward the foggy forest.
I take the lead, and a very deep breath, and shut everything off physically and emotionally as we start the ascent toward the forest. My flux is at the ready, and my senses are on alert. I think back on everything I’ve learned from Gavin’s books. Werewolves tend to act like wolves, only with a human mentality. They’re highly aware and crave flesh. They also like mind games. We enter the forest, and all at once, I’m taken back to my first day of training when Jaxen and Gavin sent me in here. Only this time, I’m not scared.
I stop and shut my eyes for a moment, tuning into my senses. I’ve smelled the scent of a Werewolf during training. It’s fleshy, dark, and somewhat like a dog. My senses tell me to head to the right. I look back at my teammates and signal them forward. We fall in line with each other and stay close on the path I took so long ago.
We cross paths at one point with Katie’s team. She barely looks at me. Her game face is on, and Chett is right behind her like a protective shield. I want to tell her she’s going in the wrong direction, but Luke’s face appears in my line of vision.
“Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction? The other teams have both gone that way.”
I close my eyes for a moment and tune back into my Hunting senses. A familiar darkness lingers in the other direction. “I sense something in that direction. Something off,” I say, opening my eyes. It doesn’t sit well in my stomach, but then again, no one else notices it, so maybe it’s all in my head. I have to remind myself that there are trained Watchmen watching us. If something was wrong, they would be the first to know.
“An obstacle?” Luke asks?
I look back at him, and it takes me a second to understand what he’s asking. “Yeah, maybe it’s an obstacle I’m sensing.”
“Can we keep going?” a girl with violet hair asks. She’s John’s partner, but I didn’t catch her name. I nod, and we take back off. The path grows narrow and we’re forced to form into a single file line.
After twenty minutes worth of hiking quietly, I stop. We’ve yet to encounter a single obstacle. The other members of my team look bored. I drop down to the ground and peer through the fog. There has to be some sign that I’m heading in the right direction, but when I drop to the earth, I don’t see any tracks. I’m strictly going off the keen sense that we’re on the right path.
“Over here,” T says, pointing her gun to the ground. “A track.”
I walk over to it and put my hand over it. It looks like a large paw…a Werewolf paw. In one sniff, I confirm that’s what it is. T pulls off a necklace with a small quartz on it and holds it over the paw print. “A tracking spell?” I ask.
She nods. “Watch my back.” She closes her eyes and whispers the simple spell. The necklace begins to move in a circular motion over the track. I follow it with my eyes, waiting for it to swing in the direction we need to go. When it finally does, I breathe a little easier. It’s the way we’ve been heading. I look up at Luke and lift my brows.
He puts his hands up. “Hey now, I won’t question you again.” He turns back to the others who are perched against different trees keeping watch. “We’re headed the right way. Let’s go.”
We fall back in line and continue forward with a new burst of confidence. The tracks become more and more noticeable. The trees around us are gouged with deep marks from the Werewolf’s razor-sharp claws. I’d read about Werewolves doing that as a symbol of marking their territory. Adrenaline replaces my blood and fuels my steps. I can sense us getting closer to the shifter, but it almost feels…too easy.
The thought comes a moment too late.
John hits a spellhive. The volation holds the spells in and remains invisible until someone collides with it and breaks the energy hold. Spells fly aimlessly, each meant to scatter the target. We all drop to the ground, but three of our nine have been struck. Their cries are ear-piercing, giving away our location.
Two Watchmen appear in the trees above us. They must’ve set this trap. They study us like test subjects, waiting to see how we’ll handle this situation. I know I’m being closely monitored. I’m a loose cannon. I don’t need this group to survive, not really, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need me.
I send a spell out to dispel the flying magic, putting all of my intent behind it. Spells in every color fizzle and pop in the air, bursting away from us. “Good call,” T says, scrambling over to Luke. He’s hit. She covers her hand over his head and whispers a healing spell, removing whatever curse he was struck with.
I look to the others. John and his violet-haired Witch were both struck. The other two bonds crawl toward them, offering aid. I make my way toward Luke and T, keeping an eye on everything around us. The Night Watchmen disappear back into the trees above us.
“It looks like the Watchmen are setting traps of their own,” I say, dropping to Luke’s side.
His face is paled and his arms and legs are limp. The curse must keep him from using his extremities. “My brother told me they would,” he mutters. “He said it happens to all the novices. It’s a hazing ritual.” He groans as T pulls the rest of the curse from him, the spell leaving in a wisp of smoke from his mouth. “We have to be more careful.”
“Agreed. I think we’re close to the shifter, so hopefully we won’t run into anything else,” I say.
“Don’t hold your breath,” T says. “No one gets through these trials without being tried first.”
After we recuperate, we’re back on our feet and heading in the same direction. This time, I send out small currents of volation in the air, testing for any spell traps that may have been planted. The scent of the shifter grows stronger with every step we take. The tracks fall into a close pattern, all leading toward a cave in the distance. The same cave I saw when I first ran through the forest.
I turn to the others, gaining their attention, and then point to it. Smiles light up their faces. We’re going to win this. We pick up the pace and head straight for the cave, our goal in sight. T cloaks us with a protection spell. I feel it the minute it settles over my skin. Our scents and sounds are concealed from the Werewolf. We’re almost invisible.
As we approach the cave, the rest of my teammates come up to my side, forming a horizontal line. “We have to be quick and precise. We get one shot with him not knowing we’re here. I’ll go in first and bind him with a spell,” I say.
“I can do that,” T says. “My specialty is binding and trapping spells.” Luke nods, agreeing with her.
“Okay,” I say, backpedaling. “Then the three of us will go first. The rest remain out here and keep watch. If something goes wrong, we’ll need you out here to catch him. After T binds him, Luke, use your volation. I’ll fall in line the moment you do and shoot the flare.”
“Solid plan.” He pulls the flare from the side of his pants and tosses it to me. “Let’s go,” he says after I catch it, starting for the cave.
A loud bang sounds off in the distance, and we all drop down into a crouch. Another loud bang sounds again, and I look to the sky. It’s not a flare. It’s the same sound I heard the night I was attacked, the same sound the Darkyn Witches used.
I look into the cave as an angry growl emerges from its shadowy depth. Pain-filled screams fill the air from where the bangs came from, and all I can think of is Katie. What if one of those screams is hers? What if she hit a trap she can’t recover from? What if the Darkyns are here?
I have to find her…help her.
I take a few steps, moving toward the screams, but am stopped by a hand. “Whoa, where you going?” Luke asks.
I look down at his hand and back up at him, my gaze as sharp as the flux in my hand. He lets me go. Another loud ba
ng sounds a little further from where the first two sounded, followed by a fiery orange glow. Fire. More cries pierce the air. The rippling rush of heated air blows past us. Whatever just happened, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t normal.
“We have to go,” I say, looking to them. “We have to help them.”
“We’re right here, Faye! We have the Werewolf in our grasp. The win. Come on,” Luke says. I look around at the others and they’re all searching my face for an answer.
“This isn’t what we’re about, Luke. We’re supposed to work together. We’re supposed to protect one another.” I make sure to connect eyes with each one of them. “I’m going. You can either come with me or follow Luke and win. To hell with this trial.”
“You’re only saying that because of what you are, because of what you’re trying not to be,” Luke says the moment I turn away.
I freeze in place. “And what’s that?” I ask, my back to him.
“A freak.”
I’m in his face so fast with a spell up around us that his Witch doesn’t even have time to respond. Volation feeds the blade of my flux and the spell surrounding us, keeping the rest of my teammates out. “A what?” I ask.
His eyes are wide and his body is trembling against the blade I have pressed against his stomach. “You heard me. You don’t need anyone. You defy the decree of our Coven, and yet you’re allowed to coincide with us. You’ll probably be shipped straight to Ethryeal City after this.” He blinks a million times, and then adds, “But the rest of us, we need this win. To pick our classes, we need that choice.”
Ripples of emotions pass through me. Rage slams into guilt. Anger crashes into hurt. I know there are eyes all around me, watching me, waiting for me to snap. They’re waiting for me to hurt him so I can fail and be shipped away, just like he said. I can’t let them win. I can’t let my emotions win. I can’t break my promise to Cassie.
I drop the spell and step away from him. “Say whatever you need to justify your actions, but words won’t change them. If any one of your fellow novices die because of your selfishness, it’s on you.” I turn and run toward the flames, desperate to find Katie. I’ve already wasted too much time fighting with Luke. What if she’s…? No! I won’t think the thought.
An arm grabs me, stopping me. “Where are you going,” a familiar voice asks, a voice that slides over my skin and enters my heart. Jaxen pulls his mask off his face, worry and anger painted on his features. “You need to leave. This isn’t a part of the trial, Faye. This is real and very dangerous. Darkyns are here. Get back to the Academy.”
“No!” I shout, snatching away from him. “If this is real, then they need help. Katie’s out there. She could be hurt, and I’m not going to waste another minute arguing with men who think they know it all. I’m going whether you like it or not.” I turn back and run in the direction of the sounds of terror. I don’t even bother to ask where Jezi is. It’s none of my business, and frankly, not my concern at the moment.
He falls in step with me, anger in his voice. “You should have listened to Luke, taken the win, and headed back to the Academy. No one expects any more from you. What you’re about to walk into, it’s what you encountered with Gavin. Are you ready for that?”
I risk a glare in his direction. “You should learn to keep certain opinions to yourself. I’m not a coward.”
He pulls his mask back over his face, his voice dropping. “No, unfortunately you’re not.”
When we near the flames, the flare signals overhead in the sky, ending the trial. Luke went through with it. I want to feel disgust and hatred for him, but I don’t. I understand. He needed the win. Every novice did.
Bodies of Watchmen and novices lay all over the snow. Fire licks up through the trees, blazing into the dark night. Screams echo all around as a pack of Werewolves rip and tear apart the bodies. My mind’s a twisted ball of string, trying to unravel its way to the truth of what I see before me, but I can’t make any sense of it. There’s no way I see crimson-colored snow. There’s no way I see Todd’s body ripped in half with Jia’s hands trying ineffectively to put him back together with a spell. There’s no way I see Katie crawling toward me, blood covering her face, with a Werewolf at her feet.
My emotions flip back on.
“CHETT! FAYE!” she screams, reaching a hand out toward me. The Werewolf has her by the feet, dragging her away from me before I even snap back to reality.
“KATIE!” I shout, racing for her. I don’t see Chett anywhere. A dark blur rushes the Werewolf from the side, throwing him into a tree. Jaxen. His flux plunges into the Werewolf’s heart, and he twists, sending volation through the blade. When he’s done, he turns and carefully lifts Katie in his arms and runs toward me. Darkyn Witches, more than the eye can count, descend down through the trees.
“MOVE!” Jaxen yells at me, forcing me to stay in the present. I spin, following his steps down through the forest and back toward the Academy. Two Werewolves are on our tail, clambering and pawing their way down the hillside. I steal a glance over my shoulder. Fangs are bared. Slime oozes from their jowls. Hate fills their yellow eyes.
I reach for a dagger, something I can bear parting with, and turn again to gather the first Werewolf’s whereabouts. After a quick glance, I turn and throw, aiming straight between the eyes. The Werewolf jumps off the trunk of a tree, his body flying through the air in my direction, but I expect this, and the dagger hits its mark.
I jump back as the Werewolf plummets lifelessly to the ground, but I’m not quick enough. He collides into my legs, throwing me off balance and sending me tumbling down the hillside. Shots ring out through the air behind me as my hands fly out. They dig into the earth, searching for something to grasp onto.
I finally catch a low-lying branch and jerk to a stop. I tuck my head against the frozen earth as the lifeless Werewolf tumbles over me, his weight pushing what little breath I have left out. His body lands awkwardly on my ankle and I scream. White hot pain shoots up my leg. My grip tightens against the branch and I clench it with numb fingers. I’m holding on with everything I have so that I don’t get taken down the hill along with the Werewolf.
Another gunshot fires, closer this time, and then two hands latch onto my back, hoisting me up by my jacket. I’ve never been so happy to see Jaxen’s face as he tucks his gun back in its holster. “We have to keep moving.” He assesses me from head to toe with eyes that fill with more pain than I’ve ever seen, more than I can take. A million decisions flicker in those eyes, and then his mouth presses into a firm line.
I work a quick healing spell on my ankle. Enough to hold me over until the bone can be set. I reach for the right words and let them fill my mouth, the ones I know will satisfy him, and say, “I’m good.”
But he knows that’s only the partial truth. I can see it in the way he hesitates, the way his lips slightly part, the way he grimaces, swallows, and then picks Katie up and pulls her tight against his chest. He curses and hangs his head, then stands up. Wood creaks and cracks like a thousand whips striking behind us, and I look up in time just as a tree nearby begins to fall.
In our direction.
We take off into a mad sprint, hanging onto the edges of life with little hope to come out of this alive. Boasting shouts bellow through the air, riding on the tail of wild, dangerous laughter. Darkyn Witches. They seem to float in the air behind us, as if riding a wave downhill.
The fallen tree strikes the ground just feet behind me. The impact’s so great that I’m thrown up into the air and Katie flies out of Jaxen’s hands. Before I can yell, before my feet even touch the ground, he drops and slides, catching her as she lands back into his lap with an uncomfortable thud. Air slams out of his lungs, and he winces as I hit the ground and roll. I’m on my feet a second later as a spell hits the tree next to me.
“What about the others?” I ask, trying to keep in step with him.
“The Elite are handling it. I don’t know what the hell that was,” he says, barely out of breath.
Katie groans against his chest. “An ambush,” she mutters out before she succumbs to darkness. I regret looking at her the moment I see blood gushing between her fingers. My stomach trips over itself and forms into tight knots. I shift my eyes away and take a deep breath, instantly regretting it because I can smell it. There’s too much blood, so much that I can taste it. My best friend is dying, and there’s nothing I can do to save her.
I keep the pace with Jaxen until we approach the edge of the forest line and cross the foggy barrier. The Academy has never looked so welcoming. So safe. Elite Watchmen Hunters line the forest’s edge with guns in their hands. Witches stand behind them, casting spells to prevent the Darkyns from entering campus grounds. We pass through them and keep running with fear on our tails.
Chaos swarms the campus as bodies are hauled into the infirmary. Elders are scurrying about in their robes, each documenting the injuries and taking accounts of the incident from those who are still alive and able to speak. Katie’s taken from Jaxen’s arms and rushed into the room where extreme wounds are handled, either with spells or with surgery. But this isn’t just an injury. She was attacked by a Werewolf, and I have no idea if she’s been bit, or if there’s even a cure for that.
Clara storms over to me in a pink silk nightgown, her hair pulled back in curlers. Her arms are crossed, and her face is a slate of professionalism. “What happened?” The tone she takes suggests that I know the details.
“I…I don’t know,” I say, looking around the room. There’s so much blood. It’s everywhere. I’m swimming in it, drowning, clawing for air. I can’t reach Katie. I can’t help her. She’s gone, taken from me. I can’t find my sanity. I can’t find my reasoning. I can’t breathe.
I turn away from her and run for the door. I don’t stop when I reach outside. I keep running, plunging through the snow as wet heat stings my frozen cheeks.
“Faye!” Jaxen calls out behind me. His voice does something to me, and I stop and spin around to face him. I know I’m crying. I can feel the wetness rushing down my face. I can feel my lungs gasping for air in between sobs. I can feel my body on the verge of collapsing, but he’s there, and I’m in his arms and being lifted into the air. He shushes me, carrying me somewhere I can’t see because my eyes are too blurry to focus.
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