Nadia's chest felt tight. "And how are you testing me?"
"You must make a decision in this chamber."
"What kind of decision?"
"The right one, of course."
"That doesn't help me very much," she said.
"Don't worry. We'll help you make that decision."
"We?"
"I'm not the only projection here." He stepped down from the platform and reached out to touch Nadia. She was surprised to feel his touch on her shoulder. Smiling, he said, "I am real in a physical sense."
Nadia took a step away from him. "I still don't know what you want."
"In this room, you must make a sacrifice. You must choose the right person from your life to send down the hole in the center of that platform." He pointed toward a black opening. "It won't be an easy decision."
"And if I make the wrong decision?"
"Then you can't advance to the potion recipe you seek. You can't save me." He stepped toward her. "But don't worry so much. I think you know the right decision, deep down. You have to sacrifice me. I am the great love of your life. A place like this would require you to make the greatest sacrifice, at least in a symbolic sense."
The magical projection flickered a few times, and Markus's image was replaced by Rik's.
"You should sacrifice me," he said. "You've already left me for dead before. Why not actually kill me this time. Besides, you don't really need me. In fact, you're jealous of the time I spend with Markus, the time he doesn't spend with you."
"No, I’m not. You're one of my closest friends, Rik."
He barked a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Nadia. If it weren't for Markus, you wouldn't have a thing to do with me, and that's why you should sacrifice me. This place isn't some test of your deepest character. It's a test of making the sacrifice that helps you the most."
"You're wrong. I couldn't have gotten this far without Rik. I could never sacrifice him."
He shrugged. "Then you'll never save Markus."
A moment later, he flickered, and Kara replaced him. Nadia felt as if a sudden pressure squeezed her entire body. Tears welled in her eyes. She didn't need this reminder of how much she missed Kara, of how she'd abandoned Kara in the ruins of Woodsville.
"You should sacrifice me," Kara said. "You already left me in the Shadowed Land, so I obviously don't matter to you anymore." She shook her head. "I thought we were friends, Nadia. But a friend would never leave me to suffer in that unspeakable place."
"I'm sorry." Nadia struggled to speak through tears. "I didn't know how to save you."
Kara narrowed her eyes. "You didn't even try. All you could think about was your silly vengeance. I told you it would fail. I was right, wasn't I? Admit it, Nadia. You're a failure. You're selfish. You couldn't care less about anyone else. You disgust me."
Even though Nadia knew it was her own doubts speaking to her, she still felt as if she'd crumble beneath Kara's words.
Kara vanished, and Nadia's father replaced her. Nadia still felt anger toward her father, but she also knew that he'd endured agony to protect her from the Imperial Guards. How could that be the same man who'd betrayed his wife to Warrick?
"I deserve to be sacrificed," said her father. "I failed you in so many ways, Nadia. I was supposed to love you and your mother. I was supposed to protect you. Instead, I let my own fear guide my actions. Deep down, I think I understood how you felt, but I couldn't admit it to myself. Not until those last moments when I refused to give in to their torture." He ran a hand through his dark hair, looking weary. "You want to sacrifice me. I can tell. Just do it."
Now Avia appeared before her. Again, Nadia couldn't stop her tears. This place was cruel, reminding her of all the people she'd lost or still might lose.
"You've done well, Nadia," Avia said. "I was always hesitant to support your ideas about killing Warrick, but I can see now how important it is to you. I was wrong, and that is why you should sacrifice me. On the other hand, maybe I wasn't strong enough to guide you. I feel like I could have spared you so much pain and suffering. I'm sorry, Nadia."
The image shifted, showing her Varek, dressed in his castle guard uniform. By now, Nadia didn't bother to hide her tears. At some point, she'd fallen to a squat. Lost in her emotions, she hadn't even begun to consider this task from a logical standpoint.
How was she supposed to know whom to sacrifice?
"I tried to dissuade you from this path," he said. "Look at what it's brought you. Are you happier now than you were in Crayden? Has everything you've endured been worth it?"
Nadia wiped away a tear and faced him defiantly. "Yes, it has been. I've finally found the freedom I wanted for so long. I've found a man I love, a man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I've made other friends, people who will stand by me through anything."
"You mean the friends you've deserted and left behind?"
"That's not fair! I've done the best I could."
He frowned. "Then I suppose your best just isn't good enough."
"Why do you have to torture me like this?"
"We're not torturing you," he said. "You're torturing yourself. We are simply drawing on the thoughts you've buried deep inside your mind. The human mind is a convenient place, isn't it? It lets you pretend that everything's all right when you're really falling apart inside."
She shoved him. "I am not falling apart! Shut up!"
"With all due respect, Nadia, you've got tears running down your face. You've just shoved one of your closest friends, a man who died to protect you. You are falling apart. You just haven't admitted it yet. As long as you have a mission, you can pretend you're all right. What are you going to do when you no longer have a mission?"
"I still intend to kill Warrick. I'll find a way."
"So you're still intent on suicide? I should have expected as much. You disappoint me. Did I die so that you could blindly pursue your own death?" He sighed deeply. "Well, if that's the case, you might as well kill me again. You obviously cared nothing for me."
"That's not true," she said through tears. "I loved you like a father."
He didn't respond. Instead, his image vanished, and Warrick appeared in his place. Nadia took a step back, thinking for a moment that Warrick had appeared before her. But, no, he was just another projection.
"I see you still want to kill me," he said. "What will it take to make you see the futility of your quest?" He smiled. "Of course, I suppose you can kill me now, at least symbolically. All you have to do is send me down that hole. Maybe you'll feel better afterward."
For a moment, Nadia considered it. Seeing Warrick's face stirred such anger that she started toward the hole, but then she stopped herself. She couldn't let her emotions guide this decision. That was what the magic wanted her to do. It was trying to keep her from seeing the logical answer.
Tylen's image replaced Warrick's. He faced her with that arrogant smile of his. "I bet you didn't expect to see me here. You probably never expected to see me again. I'm sure that's what you hoped for. You deserted me after Crayden. You couldn't see that I was facing my own struggles, that I'd been forced out of my comfortable world."
He shook his head. "No, all you could see was your own mission. I wouldn't have been that bad of a husband. You had to know that a lot of what I said was an act meant to make your father happy. I wouldn't have made your life hell."
"I doubt that," Nadia said.
"Are you so sure? Remember. I am speaking from your own thoughts. You've had your doubts about me. Deep down, you've wondered how your life might have been if you'd abandoned your quest to defeat Warrick and married me instead."
"I never would have married you."
"Perhaps not," he said. "Perhaps I never could have held a place in your life. You already made that clear once. Why not do so again? Sacrifice me."
Nadia tried to make sense of this riddle but couldn't think of anything. How was she supposed to decide when she had so many options and they all made strong points? It was no
wonder people couldn't get to this place's secrets.
Tylen vanished, and the person who replaced him was the last person Nadia wanted to see. Her mother stood before her, smiling softly, looking at Nadia with deep affection.
This was the woman whose death had guided Nadia's life. Nadia missed Kara, Varek, and Avia, but not the same way she missed her mother. Four years had passed, but that day still felt like yesterday. She saw, once again, her mother's head rolling on bloodstained cobblestones.
A crippling wave of emotion washed over her. She hit the ground, tears streaming down her face as she wished there were a way to end this torture.
"I know you've missed me," said her mother. "You've been so strong. You've carried on my mission admirably. I don't fault you for your failures, Nadia. You tried, and that's what matters. Even I knew that White Fire was a long shot."
Nadia could barely speak. "I still failed. Warrick's still alive."
"Perhaps it was always meant to be that way. We're talking about an immortal sorcerer. I never thought killing him would be a simple task. You had to feel the same way."
"Maybe I did." Nadia was shaking on the cold stone floor. "I-I don't know."
Her mother pulled her into a hug. Though Nadia knew the projection wasn't real, it was comforting to feel her mother's arms around her. The projection even smelled like her mother, and with that thought, more tears streamed down Nadia's face.
"You should sacrifice me." Her mother pulled out of the hug. "My death is what started you on this path. It is only fitting that I die once more."
Her mother disappeared, and Ander showed up in her place. She wiped away her tears and stood to face him. Strangely, she no longer felt as attracted to him as she had before. Now that she knew she loved Markus, she saw Ander as a friend. Nothing more.
"I'm the last projection you'll see," he said. "Once I disappear, you'll have to make your choice. After that, the projection you choose will appear and go down the hole. Please choose wisely. I don't want to see you fail."
"I miss you," she said. "I wish you had come with us."
"I had my own mission. Besides, if I'd been along, you never would have found your love with Markus. You would have felt conflicted between the two of us. I'm happy that you've found love, that you finally let it into your life. You need love, Nadia. Everyone does."
Nadia was growing tired of this. "So why should I sacrifice you?"
"Because I'm a symbol of what you've given up. The love we shared that night at the gathering will never return. You've found something better to replace it, but you'll always wonder what could have been. For that reason, you must sacrifice me. It is the only way to convince yourself that you've chosen the right man."
With that, Ander vanished. Nadia was alone in the large chamber.
For the next hour or two, she paced along the platform, looking down into the gaping black hole. She thought over all the arguments she'd heard, trying to find the logic in them, but she had trouble remembering what everyone had said. Her emotions had gotten the best of her, and she cursed herself for that.
No matter how long she paced, she could not come to a decision. Her mother's arguments seemed the most convincing, but she still thought she might have to sacrifice Markus because he was the person she'd come here to help.
On the other hand, that reasoning felt too simple. Would a place like this have such an easy solution? No, she had to think about this more deeply.
But how could she know what this place wanted from her?
She felt lost and adrift, and more than once, she had to stop and take deep breaths to rein in her emotions. There had to be a solution she wasn't seeing.
Then it struck her in a flash of insight. You must choose the right person from your life.
Every projection was someone from her life, but so was she. The Markus projection had not said "one of us." It had been very careful with its wording, giving her a subtle clue.
"I'm ready," she said. "I'm going to sacrifice myself."
Markus appeared again. "That is an acceptable course of action. You may jump down the hole."
"You aren't going to try to convince me I'm wrong?"
"You've had time to make your decision. You've obviously thought it through."
Nadia's chest felt tight as she took a few tentative steps toward the dark hole. She stood at the edge, staring down into the abyss, feeling as if she'd throw up.
"What if it's the wrong decision?" she asked.
"Then you'll die."
That confirmed Nadia's suspicions. This was the decision that would cost her the most, so it had to be the right decision. It was also the kind of decision that someone like Warrick would never make. Surely Warrick had been to this place, but he hadn't made it beyond this chamber.
Nadia took a deep breath and jumped.
Chapter 39: New Companions
Ander and Captain Davis continued their lonely journey across the Plain of Storms. Every day was much like the one before. They faced fierce storms in the afternoon, but then the weather would become strangely calm.
It was unsettling, but Ander wasn't going to complain. They'd encountered a few wild animals, which they'd killed and roasted over a fire from Ander's staff. By now, Ander's strength had returned. He was ready for any challenge the plains might throw at him. He had to be.
One afternoon, as they crested a large hill, they looked down into a broad valley. Fires burned in that valley, scattered between tents fashioned of animal skin.
"Think they're friendly?" asked Captain Davis.
"I have no idea."
"Should we risk it?"
Ander's stomach rumbled. "If their tents are any indication, they've had better luck finding food. I could do with a good meal, couldn't you?"
"Well, when you put it that way."
"Look at it like this," Ander said. "I don't think anyone living in this place would be associated with Warrick. No, this seems like a place for outcasts."
"Or spies."
"It's possible." Ander stared down at the camp. "But I'm sick of being alone. Not that you're bad company. It's just that we've run out of things to talk about."
"Not the most logical reason to venture into a potentially dangerous situation."
Ander gave him a look. "Do you always have to think like a guard captain?"
"That was my job." The captain shook his head. "Though I failed miserably."
Ander put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get started on that path again."
"Don't worry. I won't. I think I've moved past it now."
"How about this?" Ander said. "Maybe these people could help us. They have to know the plains better than we do. They might even have some knowledge of the desert."
Captain Davis clapped Ander on the back. "Now that's a more logical reason."
"You were just looking for an excuse to agree with me, weren't you?"
The captain smiled. "Maybe. I suppose I could do with some new company too."
They started down the hill, and soon Ander could make out people milling about. They didn't appear to have any sentries. Nor did they appear hostile in any way.
Once they got close, a rough-looking woman with dark and wild hair walked toward them. When she spoke, her voice was guarded but not unfriendly. "Who are you?"
"We're travelers," Ander said. "We're trying to cross the plains."
The woman examined them. "You aren't Imperial spies?"
"No," Ander said. "We're as far from spies as you could be. We have a plan to get rid of Warrick. We just need to get across the Empire so we can carry it out."
The woman's expression became curious. "That's strange. It wasn't that long ago that we encountered some travelers looking to do the same thing."
Ander's stomach fluttered. "What were their names? Were they Nadia, Markus, and Rik?"
The woman raised her eyebrows. "You know them?"
"They're friends of ours."
Her expression relaxed completely. "Then you're welcom
e at our fire. I'll find Dave. He's our leader. We're known as the Hunters, and we've taken on the responsibility of keeping these plains safe for travelers like you." She gestured toward the middle of the campsite. "Come. Sit by our fire. Tell us of your adventures."
Ander and Captain Davis made their way to the fire, accompanied by the woman.
"I'm Mara," she said, directing them to a spot where some of the other Hunters were seated on the ground, eating meat that smelled delicious.
Ander pointed at the meat. "May we have some?"
"Of course. Everything we have is yours to share."
Ander didn't need to be told twice. He and Captain Davis both cut off chunks of meat and ate like savages. Ander almost laughed. Back in his life as a nobleman, he would have been chastised for eating like this, but that Ander belonged to a different life now.
He ran a hand through the brown beard that he hadn't shaved since they'd left Mountainside. It was strange to think he looked like any commoner now. Of course, he'd never cared much for the nobility in general. Most of them had sold their souls so they could reap the benefits of supporting Warrick.
Mara returned a short time later, followed by a middle-aged man with a thick brown beard. The man stepped toward Ander, holding out a hand. Ander's hand was covered in grease, but he figured this man wouldn't care.
"I'm Dave," said the man, taking Ander's hand. Dave's grip was powerful, and his hand was covered in calluses. "I'm the pack leader here. Mara tells me you know Nadia and the others with her. That true?"
"Nadia and I are great friends," Ander said. But could we have been more?
"Then you're great friends of ours," Dave said. "What can we do to help you?"
Ander hesitated. How much could he ask of these people? He didn't want to anger them by asking for too much. "Well, we could use your knowledge of the plains."
"Why're you crossing the plains?" Dave asked.
Ander took a deep breath, wondering how much he should reveal. If these people had befriended Nadia, then surely they knew of her plans. At last, Ander said, "Nadia's plan to kill Warrick failed. Now we have our own plan to get rid of him."
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