The Elemental Trial

by Claire Luana

  But it wasn't just a girl. It was Cass.

  17

  I stood frozen to the spot, my feet glued to the ground in my sparkly shoes like they were stuck in cement. My eyes raked over the girl’s retreating form. Her blonde curls were pulled into a knot behind one ear, her lean body wrapped in a dress of cerulean silk.

  “Jacq. Jacq?”

  Orin gave me a little shake. His arms were still wrapped around me, his head tilted towards mine in an almost kiss. “Are you well?” Orin asked, straightening. “You just gasped and went all stiff. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I looked back to the doorway where the girl had just disappeared into the hallway. “I’ve got to go.” I pulled my body from Orin’s grasp, hiked my miles of tulle up into my fists, and plunged into the crowd. It was as if the faeries formed a shield before me. Dancing bodies materialized in my way, spinning and smiling. I wanted to scream with frustration as I ducked and wove between them.

  Finally, I broke free of the dance floor and had a clear line between me and the door. My heart was in my throat as I skidded into the bright hallway, squinting against the sunlight.

  “Jacqueline!” Before me, in a skin-tight evening gown of scarlet fabric was Patricia, her blonde hair cascading around her bony shoulders. I sidestepped around her, peering down the hallway. It was empty. There was no way Cass could have made it out of sight in the few seconds lead she had on me. Right?

  “Jacqueline.” Patricia gripped my arm with cold fingers, pulling my attention back to her botoxed countenance. “The king is about to make an announcement about the next leg of the trial. You need to come back in.”

  “But…” I trailed off, the adrenaline draining from me like a deflated balloon. Had it been someone else? Had my mind filled in a vision of Cass because I longed to see her?

  I looked down at my arm where Patricia’s perfectly lacquered fingernails bit into the flesh of my arm. A silver ring encircled her middle finger. A rose and thistle, studded with garnet and amethyst stones. That damn rose and thistle again. More Brotherhood jewelry? Just what was a celebrity’s connection to a group of stuffy old magicians who wanted a return to the glory days of faerie/human relations?

  “You have to go back in Jacq,” Patricia repeated, and I didn’t have the energy to argue with her. I didn’t know why I would. Maybe I was chasing a ghost.

  I turned back towards the ballroom, and Patricia let me go with a simpering smile. “I think you’re going to like this next leg,” she said as if she were my best friend sharing her secret crush. God, I hated her.

  I stumbled back into the ballroom, my thoughts foggy and confused. Orin met me by the door, his expression concerned.

  “You two don’t go anywhere,” Patricia said brightly as if we were little kids. I thought she might bop Orin on the nose. “The king and I have an announcement to make!”

  “Can’t wait,” Orin said, rallying a half-decent impression of excitement. “What the hell is going on?” he asked under his breath as Patricia sauntered away.

  I swallowed, struggling against tears that were threatening to form. Suddenly being here in this stupid dress felt like a complete waste of time. What if Cass was in trouble? Her letter to Gen had made it seem like they were working against someone—what if whoever it was had gotten to her? I wished more than anything that I could just talk to her. Make sure she was okay. “I thought I saw Cass,” I admitted.

  “Your sister?” Orin’s eyes went wide. “Why would she be here?”

  I shook my head, biting my lip to keep myself centered. “I don’t know. When I went out to find her, there was no one there. Maybe…maybe I imagined it.”

  “You all right?” Orin and I turned to find Dulcina regarding me with what seemed to be genuine concern.

  I nodded, forcing a smile. “Maybe I had too much of that sparkly wine. I thought I saw a ghost.”

  A clinking on glass sounded, and I looked up to see the king and queen standing on a raised dais in the corner of the room, Patricia beaming beside them. As pretty as Patricia was, the sylph royalty totally showed her up. They practically glowed with ethereal magic and effortless beauty.

  “Would our Fantastic Faerie Race contestants please gather round,” Patricia called out.

  “Actually,” Dulcina said under her breath, as we navigated through the crowd towards the front of the room. “There’s less oxygen up here in the aeries. It’s not uncommon for a human to see hallucinations. Or have their minds play tricks on them.”

  Orin raised his dark eyebrow at me. Was it possible? Was my vision of Cass just a hallucination sparked by a tightly corseted ball gown and lack of oxygen? I wasn’t sure if that would be a relief or not. Maybe I was so desperate to see her that I was imagining things.

  The attendees had formed a little semi-circle before the dais, and the eight remaining contestants came to stand in the open space. Ario and Molly looked dashing in matching black, and she shot me a fake smile. Tristam looked like James Bond in a white tuxedo jacket with a vest and tie of gold that complimented his golden locks. He looked annoyingly good in formal wear.

  Though, so did Orin, I thought. I narrowed my eyes at the prince and threaded my arm through Orin’s.

  Orin looked at me in surprise, but then pulled me a little closer, patting my hand on his arm. I was grateful for his steady presence.

  “The next leg of the Elemental Trial will be a test of intelligence,” the sylph king announced, his voice smooth as silk. “We sylphs are not a people of impressive battles or wild feats of danger. But we are known for our intellect, for our keen logic. To pass through the halls of our court, the contestants will have to best our smartest mind. The Sphinx.”

  Murmuring voices rose around us, and I looked about, confused. The Sphinx? Like the huge statute in Egypt? Next to me, Orin had paled.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “It’s an ancient creature,” Orin whispered back. “Known to guard the most precious of treasures.”

  “How bad can it be?” I asked.

  “If you didn’t answer its riddles correctly, it would eat you.”

  Great. So basically, we’re fucked. “They won’t let it eat us, right—?” I started to ask, not at all sure that John and the studio execs wouldn’t delight in just such an outcome. I should have known that this leg was too good to be true. Us humans were just as easy to kill in a ball gown as an FFR uniform. Easier, actually.

  “The Sphinx will present three riddles to the contestants. The first team of four to answer correctly will get a point,” the queen chimed in, not to be deprived of her moment in the spotlight. Team of four. So we were still paired with Dulcina and Phillip for the time being. As long as Phillip didn’t get near any matches, they were probably my preferred team to be paired with.

  “Each question correctly answered will award you one point,” Patricia went on. They had this little show choreographed. “If a team of four answers no questions correctly, the Sphinx will present one additional riddle. If you do not answer it correctly, you will be eliminated.”

  My eyes whipped up at that. What? An elimination round? This wasn’t The Bachelor! Though, I guess elimination was preferable to getting eaten…

  The other contestants were whispering among themselves. Orin and I exchanged a pained glance. I guess the Fantastic Faerie Race was not content to let a leg pass without some sort of drama. Be it backstabbing fae or death by dragon or an ancient faerie beast peddling impossible riddles, they were going to keep their Number 1 spot in the ratings. Orin and I just had to figure out a way to keep our spot in the race.

  18

  Patricia beamed at us, no doubt for the benefit of the cameras trained on the stage.

  "Once you have finished your task the feast will be served, so hurry up and get your thinking caps on because we're all hungry, right?" She looked around with a chuckle at the crowd of people who all cheered. No pressure then. Get the questions right and do it quickly!

  One of the walls o
f the ballroom began to move, pulling back so the ballroom was now twice the size. Behind the wall, spotlights shone out, nearly blinding me with their brightness. Patricia stepped down from the dais and beckoned us forward into the light.

  As Orin and I were the closest, we were the first to follow. The crowd parted as we snaked through, flanked by cameras. Once I'd passed the spotlight's glare, I saw what I was up against.

  The Sphinx wasn’t a stone statue as I expected. It was some sort of spirit creature—a magical hologram of shimmering light. The light creature was strange to behold, with the chiselled features of a man, the body of a great lion, and the wings of an eagle. It was formed of every shade of pink and purple, colors that moved in a mesmerizing pattern when the creature itself stirred. The image was so lifelike…it looked real, more than a creature of spirit or magic. I don’t know…maybe it was living? I wasn’t sure. This was all above my pay grade. At least there was one thing I was fairly sure of. “It doesn’t look like it can eat us,” I whispered to Orin.

  “I agree. I think the real creature is located elsewhere, and this is just its image being projected here. Maybe it’s too big to fit in the room,” Orin suggested.

  That was a relief. The light sphinx was intimidating enough; I couldn’t imagine standing in front of the real thing.

  Patricia guided us up some stairs to a stage. I navigated them as best I could while hiking up my huge gown and keeping a side-eye on the Sphinx. I didn’t trust the thing not to pop out of some other dimension at the last minute or something crazy. This was Faerwild, after all.

  I turned once I reached the top and paled, realizing that we were going to have a live audience for this leg. The guests hadn’t come just for a ball or a feast; they were here to watch us. My stomach seized. Of course, I knew that the race was being watched by millions of people around the world, but I couldn't see them, so it was easy to pretend they weren't there. This was different. I was keenly aware of the hundreds of eyes on me.

  As Patricia lined us up and introduced us all—like we needed any introductions. Everyone knew who we were—the whole place erupted in applause. When Patricia called out my name, I gave a small wave and smile.

  The crowd went wild, hollering my name. I tried to gauge the level of the reaction for each of the eight competitors. Not that I cared about fame, as such, but I allowed myself a moment of smugness when the clapping died down a little as Sophia was introduced.

  "Now," Patricia began when all the contestants were lined up and introduced. "The test begins."

  I'd thought that we'd each take a turn talking to the Sphinx, but I was wrong. The spirit shot right through us like a cold breeze and assembled itself above the crowd. They oohed and ahed at the creature above their heads. I guess it made sense. If it had stayed where it was, the audience would be looking at our backs. This way, they could see the confused expressions on our faces when we didn't have a clue what the Sphinx was talking about.

  Patricia explained the rules to us again, as well as the crowd. “You will be able to see the Sphinx speaking, but only our contestants will hear what he has to say, as a spell has been cast on this stage to eliminate cheating. You will, however, be able to hear the answers the contestants have to give, and for those of you that like riddles, I will read them after the question has been answered correctly.”

  She stepped down, leaving the eight of us to face the Sphinx. Behind the folds of my gown, Orin’s fingers found mine. He squeezed once, before letting go. My stomach flipped again, this time from butterflies.

  "My first riddle..." The voice of the Sphinx boomed out around me. It seemed to take up every corner of the room and come from nowhere at the same time. It was strange to think

  that only those of us on stage could hear what it had to say.

  I come in many colors, and I'm rarely on the ground.

  It's always very hot, whenever I'm around.

  You'll want to run the other way, whenever I'm in view,

  But I'll be your best of friends when you have a barbecue.

  Dragon! It was easy. I shouted the word out as a number of the other contestants did the same.

  The Sphinx laughed. "My riddles are too easy for you. Yes, you are all correct. The answer is, indeed, a dragon. Four of you answered correctly, but Molly Rhodes spoke first. One point is awarded to Molly's team. "

  The four of them cheered and hugged each other.

  I furrowed my brow. I’d known the answer. I was just too slow to shout it out. I'd be quicker the next time!

  Patricia read out the first riddle for the benefit of the audience who hadn't heard it.

  "My second riddle..."

  I stood to attention, ready. I wasn't going to let Molly or any of the others beat me this time, and if the sphinx's questions were all as easy, my worries over elimination were definitely unfounded.

  What is a head, but also has arms?

  What sees over cities, and buildings and farms?

  It is hard like a fortress but soft like a glen,

  Known far and wide, but not among men.

  What has gold on the top and a heart that's the same?

  I'm on top of it all, so what is my name?

  I stood in silence, not having the first clue what the riddle meant. The sphinx had led us into a false sense of security with the dragon question. This was going to be much tougher than I thought. At least, no one else had blurted the answer out yet. I looked to my right. Sophia had an expression on her face like someone had farted right under her nose, and Tristam didn't look much happier.

  “Do you have any ideas?” Dulcina whispered, pulling Phillip and me into a huddle. Orin, to my left, joined us.

  “What has a head and arms?” Phillip recited in a low voice. "Doesn't everything? every living thing, at least. It could be a person?"

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Not necessarily, lots of things have heads that aren't living.”

  “Such as?”

  “A pin, a piston...”

  “A pimple,” Orin butted in unhelpfully.

  Ew!

  “The top and the heart is made of gold. What does that part mean?” Dulcina gave a panicked expression. Time was of the essence, but none of us had the first clue what any of it meant.

  “I think it's something to do with the sylph court,” I said, reciting the poem back in my head. “We’re high up here, so we are on top of it all. That also means we can see over the buildings and farms and whatever. And there's plenty of gold.”

  “What about the hard and soft part?” Dulcina asked. I could see she wasn't very convinced with my answer. Neither was I, to be honest, but I was spitballing here.

  “The wind is soft, but the stone is hard, like a fortress,” Phillip answered for me, which surprised me. “And it would be known all around Faerwild, but not on Earth, among men.”

  I peeked over at the other team who were deep in hushed conversation. If we didn't answer soon, they'd get it.

  “It's all we have unless anyone else can come up with anything better?” I was joining Dulcina in her panic. I couldn't be eliminated now, not over a stupid riddle.

  Dulcina and Phillip both shrugged, so I looked to Orin.

  “It's not the sylph court,” was all he said, shaking his head.

  “So what is it then?” Dulcina demanded, but it was clear he didn't know the answer any more than I did.

  Dulcina held my hand as I walked to the front of the stage. All eyes were upon me as I delivered my answer to the Sphinx.

  “Our answer is the sylph court,” I said clearly.

  “Incorrect!”

  The Sphinx's voice seemed louder when he spoke this time, or maybe it was just the added gasp of the audience that amplified it.

  Crap!

  “We know!” Tristam said, stepping up next to me.

  Double crap!

  He looked at me and grinned. His smug superiority made me want to punch him in the face. Again.

  “The answer is my father. The name is K
ing Vale Obanstone.”

  That couldn't be right. Heart of gold? Was he freaking kidding me?

  “Correct!” the sphinx announced, eliciting another round of excited applause from the audience.

  Double, triple, quadruple crap.

  “That was a shitty question!” Orin hissed.

  I didn't have time to agree because Patricia was already sashaying her way onto the stage.

  "Ladies and gentlemen. As one team has yet to answer a question, they are in danger of being eliminated. The score is two points to zero, and if they don't get this right, we might be saying goodbye to some of our contestants."

  I felt the pressure in my hand as Dulcina squeezed it more tightly. I didn't know what her story was, but it was clear she didn't want to leave tonight any more than I did.

  “My third and final question...”

  I closed my eyes. I'd known the last answer I'd given was a stupid answer, but it was no more stupid that Tristam’s…and his had been right. I wondered if the king himself had some hand in coming up with the questions—maybe this whole damn thing was rigged. I got the part about the head—he was the head of the kingdom, and the arms must refer to any weapons he had. I saw now that the fortress was stone like his last name, while glen was a synonym for vale, his first name. The gold on the top was obviously his crown, but to say he had a heart of gold? Well, that was pushing it, to say the least. The guy was an asshole of the highest order. Just like his son.

  The sphinx spoke, and I stilled my thoughts, listening intently.

  What will never be in Faerie but is always in the world?

  What can sometimes be straight and sometimes be curled?

  What starts every life lesson and you'll find it in school?

  And you’ll really want to use it if you fall in a pool.

  What the merry fuck?

  “Don't you have schools in Faerwild?” Phillip asked, causing Dulcina to shoot him a filthy look.