by E. G. Foley
Blimey. Is that the level of skill I’m up against? A sense of dread slowly overtook him as he watched the lad negotiate an airy wall of magic floating rings.
The sturdy hoops drifted up and down gently and waved a bit from side to side, which made jumping onto the next one ever more treacherous as the boy climbed higher.
Jake’s heart began to sink. His first thought was, Oh, please, don’t make me go after him. Whoever he was, that lad would be one hard act to follow. He wore a brown sash, but Jake wasn’t sure which talent that meant.
“Nobody said anything about an obstacle course,” he muttered. “Somebody could’ve warned me!”
“Oh, don’t worry, coz, that’s not for you,” Archie said cheerfully. “They’ll change the field when it’s your turn. Guardians always get the obstacle course.”
“Guardian? Oh, is that what he is?” Jake asked in surprise.
Archie nodded. “Brown sash—signifies strong as oak.”
“Ah.” Relief flooded through Jake upon hearing that he would not have to risk his neck climbing up that bit of treachery.
As he watched, the boy reached the top row of the wall of floating rings and vaulted up onto the small levitating platform above it.
The crowd drew an audible intake of breath as the lad steadied his balance on the precarious perch many yards above the turf. He had no sooner picked up the bat waiting for him on the platform when a barrage of clay balls started swooping at him.
The missiles flew at his head and body from all directions, trying to knock him off his precarious perch. He ducked and kicked a few away, but mostly used the bat to pulverize them with a look of great intensity. He seemed to relish the satisfying smash as he shattered each target.
Well, Guardians were the warriors of the Order, Jake mused. He was not easily impressed, but even he could admit that this kid probably could’ve held his own against all five of Dani’s elder brothers at once.
Even without the brown sash, it probably should have been obvious that the lad was a Guardian-in-training. Though only a lad, he already had the tall, muscular build for the role. But then, his height and filled-out breadth might have been due to his age. He looked a few years older than Jake—closer to Isabelle’s age—sixteen or seventeen.
Hmm. Jake wondered why the boy was only having his Assessment now. Maybe it had taken a couple of extra years for his Kinderveil to wear off.
Then he shrugged the question off, still too nervous about his own ordeal to give the other contenders much thought.
“May I please have my telescope back?” Archie demanded of his sister, just as Dani let out another yelp.
“Ow!” She whipped around again as the skunkies retreated and pretended to be engrossed in the Assessment, even though they were clearly fighting laughter.
Now Dani was incensed. “Henry!”
Sitting on the far end of their row, Henry leaned back, saw her point to his fellow shapeshifters acting badly, and called sternly to them, “Excuse me, children!”
When they looked over, Henry gave a rough shrug and jerked his neck, promptly turning his own head into that of his wolf form.
He growled at them in warning with a show of fangs.
The skunkies shrieked and ran away.
Henry shook himself again and returned to his usual self in a heartbeat, the mild-mannered tutor in a bowtie. “That should do it.”
Dani beamed at him. “Thank you, Henry!”
“Any time, Miss O’Dell.”
Jake always found it a bit strange to think of Henry, of all people, turning into a wolf, since in his human form, the bespectacled tutor was the most civilized chap anyone could want to meet.
One might have expected a wolf side from someone like Guardian Derek Stone, wherever he was. But Derek was just Derek.
Aye, heart of oak, Jake mused. It fit. The phrase had always been the highest of compliments in England, signifying strong, steady courage, and indeed, the color brown was well chosen for the Guardians.
Simple, honest, unyielding men. Were there female Guardians, come to think of it? Jake wondered. He didn’t know. But to be compared to any sort of tree was praise indeed when the whole magical world of the Order centered around the ancient Yew Tree.
Where is Derek, anyway? Jake scanned the crowd in frustration. Honestly, he was a bit annoyed that the hero he idolized had not even bothered showing up to wish him luck. He’d been hoping for a little encouragement, maybe a few last-minute words of advice. But maybe some important mission had come along…
“C’mon, Izzy! Give me my telescope back!” Archie demanded. “I don’t want to miss the next part!”
“In a moment!” She followed the black-haired boy’s every move through the lens.
“Why? What’s the next part?” Jake asked just as the clay balls ceased their attack and gave the lad a brief chance to catch his breath.
“They’ll want to test his Guardian instincts,” Archie said eagerly. “Y’know, sensing when his assigned charge is in danger. This chap’s really good. I wonder who he is.”
“So do I,” Isabelle murmured with unabashed interest.
Jake frowned toward the field, feeling increasingly intimidated. Then a thought struck him. “Say, Isabelle, I know you’re busy ogling him, but do me a favor and read his emotions for a second. Was that kid scared about his Assessment, too?”
Please tell me I’m not the only quake-buttocks coward sitting here today.
Izzy tried, then shook her head. “Sorry, can’t read him. Must be too far away, or there are too many other people here, too many emotions getting all mixed up together.”
“Well, you’d better stop gawking at him before Aunt Ramona sees you. Her Ladyship will not approve,” Archie warned his sister.
Isabelle handed him back his telescope. “Fair enough. But please note I’m not the only one,” she said wryly. “If you haven’t noticed, every girl here is staring at him. He’s gorgeous.”
“No, they’re not,” Jake said indignantly, for he was the one who usually got all the girls’ attention. He pretended to hate it, of course, but…
“Give me that, I want to see him.” Now it was Dani’s turn to snatch the telescope out of Archie’s hands. “I’ll tell you if he’s good enough for you, Izzy.” After a moment, she said, “Hmm…”
Jake huffed. “Et tu, carrot?”
Dani handed Archie back his telescope and flashed Isabelle a grin. “Well, he’s not ugly. But whether he’s worthy of our Isabelle, it’s too soon to say,” she reported. “We’ll have to figure out some way for you to meet him!”
Isabelle turned beet-red. “I couldn’t possibly!”
“But we have to,” the younger girl said reasonably. “You can’t like him until we find out if he’s boring or an idiot or rude like most boys. Ahem.” Dani sent Jake a look.
He smirked at her.
Isabelle shuddered. “No, Dani. That’s not how it works for a young lady of my station. I mean, I can look…but my parents will introduce me to any boys that I’m allowed to talk to.”
“Or none, according to Father,” Archie remarked.
“Father’s only joking when he says that, I’m sure!” Isabelle retorted, her cheeks still as pink as her parasol.
“Huh. Well, I’m sure he and Mother have already composed a long list of requirements for any future suitor who, for some strange reason, would want to court my sister,” Archie muttered.
“She’s not old enough yet!” Jake reminded them, protective of his delicate empath cousin. “She’s only fifteen. Miss Helena says she’s got another year yet before her debutante ball.”
“Excuse me, I’m sitting right here. Must you rudesbys discuss me as if I were not present?”
“Isabelle’s in loooove!” Archie announced in a singsong.
Jake guffawed and then joined in, and both boys enjoyed teasing her for a while.
“Ohh, look at the handsome Guardian!” they mimicked.
“I am going to throw the tw
o of you off these bleachers,” the aristocratic miss said politely through gritted teeth.
They laughed harder when she turned and glared at them from underneath her parasol.
“Hey, Arch, she’s turning redder than my Gryphon. If this continues, think her head might explode?”
“Maybe! Izzy, if your head explodes, can I dissect your brain? Please? For science, sis. It would only be for science. I don’t believe a thorough dissection of an empath’s brain has ever been conducted.”
“Leave her alone, you pair o’ heathens!” Dani warned while Isabelle hid from all the world behind her parasol.
“Aw, don’t worry, Iz,” Jake relented with a grin. “I’m sure the glorious Guardian kid doesn’t want to meet you, anyway. You know their kind, all business. Your undying love would go unrequited, and then you’d catch consumption and waste away like a tragic heroine in a penny dreadful.”
“I am going to strangle you.” Isabelle peeked out from behind her parasol with a scowl. “At least I’m not jealous of him!” she shot back.
“What?” Jake retorted.
“You’re jealous of how talented he is!”
“Don’t be daft, I’m not a Guardian!” he said, though now, it was his turn to turn a bit red.
There was no fooling an empath when it came to whatever one was feeling. Of course, that did not stop Jake from scoffing in denial. It was really no fun having his insecurities called out in front of the others.
“I’m not in competition with that mumper,” he grumbled, no longer laughing. “I’m going to become a Lightrider, remember? Lightriders outrank Guardians, anyway. Whoever he is, he’s good at what he does. For that, I give him credit. Beyond that, I couldn’t care less.”
“Maybe you should care, actually,” Archie remarked in a thoughtful tone, waiting to watch the final challenge in the boy’s Assessment. “After all, if you become a Lightrider and he becomes a Guardian, he might save your life someday.”
“Fat chance o’ that!” He scowled at the boy genius. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Arch, and what do I need him for, anyway? I’m the one who killed Garnock the Sorcerer, remember?”
“Shhh!” Dani scolded.
“Just sayin’. I don’t need some idiot Guardian kid watching over me. I’ve got Red and you lot, and besides, I can bloody well take care o’ myself.”
“Sorry!” Archie exclaimed. “Cheese it, Jake, don’t be so touchy. No offense intended.”
Dani had turned to the lady sitting on the other side of her. “Excuse me, do you know that boy’s name?”
The woman consulted the program and gave her an answer, though the applause was too loud for Jake to hear what she had said.
“Ah, thank you. Maddox St. Trinian,” Dani echoed, turning back to them. “A good name for an Order knight.” She gave Isabelle a big, unsubtle wink, and once again, the older girl’s face turned strawberry-red.
Jake snorted. Girls really were the silliest creatures. Determined to ignore his dread over whether he would be called next, he folded his arms across his chest and stoically waited to see the final bit of torture that the Elders had planned for Maddox St. Trinian.
Better him than me.
Still standing on the levitating platform high above the ground, Maddox waited while one of the Elders waved a wand, raising four columns in the distant corners of the field. The stone pillars surged up out of the turf like weird, fast-growing trees, and Jake was startled to spy a gnome standing on top of each one.
The columns stopped growing when they reached half the height of the platform on which the aspiring Guardian stood; he was in the middle, well above them.
The Elder walked out to the center of the field and spoke a quick spell to the ground right beneath his feet.
“That’s Sir Peter Quince,” Archie told Jake and Dani. “He’s a frequent master of ceremonies for the Assessments.”
Sir Peter was an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man, a bit doughy, with short-cropped hair, tortoiseshell-rimmed spectacles, and an orange bowtie to match the orange trim on his long black scholar’s robe, signifying his status as a wizard.
With another wave of his wand, Sir Peter caused a fifth pillar to rise, fatter than the rest, in the very center of the Field of Challenge. He stepped onto it and let the growing column carry him straight up until it came alongside the floating platform where Maddox St. Trinian waited. With a broad smile, Sir Peter beckoned to the Guardian-in-training to join him. Maddox did so, stepping off the platform with an air of total self-assurance.
“How are you feeling so far, Mr. St. Trinian?” Sir Peter asked in a rather smarmy tone through a metal speaking trumpet.
He held it up to the boy’s mouth next so the crowd could hear his terse answer: “Good, sir.”
“Typical Guardian, man of few words,” Archie remarked while everyone applauded to encourage the lad through his final test.
Sir Peter smiled. “I think the crowd likes you.”
“I don’t,” Jake opined in a mild tone.
But at least he could see why they chose Sir Peter to serve as master of ceremonies. His amiable manner no doubt helped to put the candidates at ease.
“So, let me explain the final step in your Assessment, Maddox,” he said. “In this challenge, we will test your most vital Guardian instinct: the ability to sense when your charge is in imminent danger.”
Sir Peter gestured around at the nervous-looking gnomes perched atop the four columns. “Do you feel you’ve been able to establish the necessary bond with the temporary charges we’ve assigned to you?”
Maddox leaned toward the speaking trumpet. “Yes, sir. They’ve been following me around for the past two days like baby ducks.”
The crowd chuckled at the serious boy’s humble tone. The girls giggled, charmed.
Jake rolled his eyes.
“Good,” said the Elder. “Well, what we’re going to do is release four identical battering rams at the same time, Maddox, one aimed at each column.”
“Battering rams, sir?” Maddox echoed in surprise.
“Not castle-storming size, only about yay long.” Sir Peter held up his hands about four feet apart. “Just big enough to destroy the columns the gnomes are standing on. The trick, however, is that only one of these battering rams is real. The others are a harmless illusion. It’s up to you to determine which one is real, and which of your ‘baby ducks’ is in true need of rescue.
“As you can see, the columns are too high and the gnomes are too small to get down by themselves. So, choose well, young Guardian, for you’ll have only a few seconds to decide which of your charges is in actual danger.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ll swing to the gnome’s rescue using the ropes provided—oh, and avoid getting hit by the battering ram yourself along the way. Your goal is to rescue your gnome before his column is destroyed and he, er, falls to his death.”
A worried murmured ran through the stands.
“Don’t be alarmed, ladies and gentleman,” Sir Peter assured everybody. “We have a full medical team on hand in case of any…unfortunate accidents. The danger has to be real to activate the Guardian instinct. Let’s have a round of applause for our brave volunteers. Ladies and gentlemen, the gnomes of Merlin Hall!”
Everyone clapped for the suicidal gnomes who had agreed to go along with this. Jake somehow doubted they had been given much choice, no matter what Sir Peter said.
“All right, then, if everybody’s ready—stand back, please, audience. Any onlookers will please clear the edges of the Field of Challenge! Yes, very good, thank you very much. Safety first. We don’t want anyone losing fingers or toes or hoofs or wings or tentacles or what-have-you.”
The few stray spectators who had been standing around the edges for a better view took a big step backwards.
Sir Peter nodded. “Excellent. Now then.”
With a shouted spell and a big wave of his wand, he caused a sturdy metal framework slightly like a cage to rise out
of the ground around the borders of the field, surrounding the four columns. In a wave of sparkling magic, the steel posts sprouted higher and the horizontal beams stretched until the sturdy metal framework grew together over the middle of the field.
With the top part firmly locked into place, there was a second’s pause, and then various long, thick ropes descended, dangling here and there, each one tied around the crisscrossed beams.
No one line was long enough to reach the columns, which meant Maddox would need to swing from rope to rope to rescue the endangered gnome.
The the Elder worked a final spell, and four menacing battering rams materialized out of thin air, resting up into the metal framework, waiting to be released.
“Good luck to Maddox St. Trinian!” Sir Peter said through the megaphone. Then he jumped off the towering center pillar and, robes flapping in the breeze, floated down gently to the ground. He strode off the field, returning to his seat by the Old Yew.
Up there on the middle column, Maddox closed his eyes and lowered his head, looking inward, no doubt, to find whatever his Guardian instinct was telling him. Jake had seen that look of quiet concentration on Derek’s face many times.
All four gnomes appeared extremely nervous. They probably hadn’t been told, either, which of them would be in mortal danger so that none of them would accidentally give it away.
The whole crowd held its breath as a great, ominous rumbling sound came from the metal framework overhead.
Maddox’s eyes flicked open with blazing intensity. He leaped off the platform, caught hold of a rope dangling to his left, and swung with all his might toward the north column, even as the four identical battering rams were released.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Rival & the Prodigy
The gnomes screamed.
It was impossible to tell which battering ram was real as their long chains uncoiled with an ugly, clanking hiss overhead. Simultaneously, they plunged out of their moorings.
All eyes were on Maddox as he flew through the air with the battering ram chasing right behind him. He had made his choice and there wasn’t any chance of turning back or changing his mind. It was all or nothing. Even Jake held his breath as the aspiring Guardian turned his hips and kicked his legs sideways to swerve toward his destination.