Together, the two slowly made it down the pathway and into the main building. It seemed like the leaf he was chewing reached maximum efficacy rather quickly and then maintained it fairly well. It had worked so quickly at first that he had been a bit worried. If it had kept going at that same rate, half his body would have been numb before he even made it out of the infirmary. “Does this plant—whatever it’s called—does it matter how much you chew? Like, does chewing more of it strengthen the effects?”
She glanced up at him from underneath his arm and then back down at the path before answering. “Yes,” she answered quietly. “And don’t talk too loudly. Someone might hear you.”
“So what? What does it matter if . . .” He trailed off as the implications of what she said hit him. He swallowed down another mouthful of the flavorful liquid and said, “So this is basically a drug then.”
“All medicines are drugs,” she quickly replied. “It’s just about how people use them.”
He smiled smugly now that he knew he had reached the right conclusion. “So, this is a recreational drug then.”
“Yes . . .” she answered uneasily. “But . . .”
“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “I’m not going to ask why you had it or how you got it. But it’s good to know that not everyone around here is as hard up for pain as I imagined. By the way, this is about the most relaxed training facility I’ve ever heard of. Isn’t everyone supposed to be on watch at all times?” Madison glanced around at the people gathered in the large field. Like he had seen them all do before, they were mostly relaxing and playing games amongst themselves. For people who were supposedly being trained for life and death fights, they didn’t seem to be taking it too seriously anytime he saw them.
“It’s worse during class hours,” she said, looking in the same direction he was. “There’s a sort of unspoken rule that most people leave each other alone after a certain point. It’s fair game to start a duel or attack anyone at any given time, but there’s also a social consciousness that you have to obey as well. You wouldn’t jump someone who was seriously ill or already injured, right? You’d undoubtedly win, but someone else would challenge you right after. Even if you won that duel as well, someone else would step up right after that. Things have a way of sorting themselves out in the long run. You wouldn’t be doing yourself any favors by going against the social norm.”
“You mean like stepping into someone else’s fight and ending things prematurely?” he asked wryly.
Shayna didn’t answer as she helped him up the stairs and into the main building. Despite the numbing effects of the plant he was chewing on, it took a good bit more time than usual—and that was saying something considering how many trips he had made up and down those stairs while nursing an injury. He realized that he might not actually feel pain, but he was still aware of the fact that he could probably cause himself serious injury if he fell down or stepped the wrong way; so, as a result, he made sure to take his time when he felt it was necessary.
“I think I understand,” Madison continued as they reached the top and stepped into the building. He knew she wasn’t likely going to acknowledge what he had done again, so he just pushed past it. “I just keep catching people during the off-hours, that’s all. No one wants to be the guy to buck the system, so they all end up playing nice whenever I see them.”
“Mm . . .” She nodded, and he felt the small movement more than saw it. “I know you haven’t seen anything yet, but it can actually be pretty intense. Some people take the training more seriously than others, of course, but the classes can be hard. Being knocked around, beaten up, and abused is basically day-to-day life. No matter what’s fair, most people don’t want to go through that twenty-four hours a day. There’s also a rule that the dormitory is off-limits, by the way.”
It was Madison’s turn to nod his understanding this time. “Yeah, I get that. Wouldn’t want someone to kill me in my sleep.”
They turned down the second hallway and pushed through a door, and Madison was greeted by the sight of a long hallway. He was already becoming familiar with it, having visited not too long ago, and he was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they had reached it. He wasn’t sure if he was simply getting better at manipulating the magic that protected the keep or if it was because Shayna was with him this time. Perhaps it’s a combination of the two? Is it stronger when there are two of us . . .?
“This is . . .” Shayna muttered under her breath when she recognized where they were. “What?” she asked in surprise, looking up at him curiously. “You mean this is where you wanted to come? But why . . .” Her demeanor suddenly changed from confused but caring to outright alarmed. “You can’t go in there like this!” she insisted, stamping her foot several times even as she helped support his weight. “What are you thinking? How can any one person be so stupid? We’re going back right now!”
“No,” Madison said resolutely. “I’m going in there.” He nodded toward the testing room and took a half-step forward before she pulled against him, stopping him dead in his tracks. “Ow!” he complained, grabbing ahold of his side.
“That’s what you deserve, you idiot! What are you thinking by—”
“Oh!” a second voice exclaimed from behind, cutting off Shayna’s protest.
“What are you doing here?” Davion asked, his deep voice echoing down the empty hallway. “You’re supposed to be in the infirmary, where I left you.”
“Am I?” Madison asked innocently, craning his neck to look back over his shoulder at the hulking man. “I’m also supposed to be unconscious for another month, but hey, that didn’t pan out too well for me. Weren’t you supposed to be escorting Alyanna to see her father?” He switched to an accusation as quickly as he could to get the focus off of himself. No one had told him to stay put—not that he would have anyway—so he wasn’t technically breaking any direct order or any rule by leaving.
“I’m fairly certain Ryder warned you about breaking people out of the infirmary before they were cleared to leave,” he said disapprovingly. “Does everything always have to be a fight with you?”
Madison’s face twisted around into a scowl. “Technically, I broke myself out, not someone else, so that doesn’t apply to me. I left of my own free will and without her help, so don’t think about giving her any crap either.” He rested his hand on Shayna’s head protectively like he would a little sister as he spoke to make it clear whom he was speaking about.
“Shayna has enough problems without you encouraging her,” Davion warned.
“And we did see my father off,” Alyanna added. “There wasn’t much need to stand on ceremony since he is leaving to head straight back home. Time is precious now, after all. Our people will be informed that their lord’s son is dead, and my father must be there to deal with the ramifications of that.”
“So, what are you doing here then?” Madison asked. “Shouldn’t you be filling out the paperwork or something? Cleaning the royal apartment?”
“No, the mess you made has already been taken care of,” she quickly chided.
“She insisted on returning to you,” Davion explained, ignoring their taunts. “Although, I admit I never expected to find you here. Are you so eager to return to this place after what happened last time?”
Madison snorted. “You know as well as I do that I’ve been back since then.”
Shayna gasped from underneath his arm and actually staggered a step away from him, causing him to sag as he suddenly had to support his own weight. Looking up at him with wide eyes, she asked, “Why?”
“Why what?” Madison replied. Why is she suddenly acting like I told her I was going to take part in some extreme sport? I’m not exactly jumping out of airplanes without parachutes. “What’s the big deal?”
Shayna suddenly jumped in front of him and planted herself between Madison and the door he intended to enter. “You’re trading your life away in there,” she said accusingly, pointing a finger at him. “Nothing in there
is real! It’s just an illusion! For every hour you spend in that place, you lose even more time here in the real world!”
Madison was actually caught off-guard by the sudden shift in her demeanor. Once again, her emotions had swung full tilt and then skyrocketed to the maximum in an instant. “I know that,” he said carefully. “But considering I was going to lose a month anyway to this”—he patted his side lightly where the wound was—“then giving up even a day or two seems like a fair trade if this works.”
“If what works?” Alyanna asked, walking around and joining Shayna and then looking to him curiously. “Is it possible for you to heal yourself in this place?”
“I see you have this in hand,” Davion said from behind, and Madison could have sworn that he heard a bit of amusement in his voice. “Good luck.” After that, he turned and left, leaving the three of them alone in the hallway.
Madison stared down Shayna for a moment and then finally decided to be the one to break the silence first. “I’m going in one way or another, Shayna. Don’t try to stop me.”
She glared at him for a moment and then growled low in her throat. It was a tiny noise, so soft that it was almost imperceptible, and then she opened her mouth to speak.
“Just come with me,” he offered before she could say anything to rebuke him. “If you’re that worried, just come with me. If this gets messed up, you can just drag my body back here and then beat me up all you want. I won’t even stop you.”
Alyanna continued to watch him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity, but Shayna seemed to lose all her initiative and deflate. She bounced back quickly, however, balling up her fist before crossing her arms over her chest and looking magnanimous. “You’re just lucky that I was here today, you know that? You’d never have made it this far without me. You should already be thanking me! But, I guess I can’t turn you down if you have to keep asking me for favors. You’re going to owe me big for this, you know.”
“Yes, how altruistic of you,” Madison muttered under his breath. Then, more loudly, he said, “Let’s go then.” Shayna slipped back into her spot underneath his arm, and they made their way down the hallway and into the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shayna asked after he had swung the door open and they were greeted by the sight of the pitch-black room. “You know it’s really unusual to invite people along in here, right? Much less two of us at once—that’s practically unheard of.”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. Warren explained to it me along with everyone else, but it’s really alright. I don’t know what you guys have to go through, but this is pretty tame. Besides, you both know my secret already, so I don’t have to worry about that.”
“What . . .?” Alyanna was apparently lost since no one had bothered explaining anything to her. Yet, despite that, she was just following right along—which was fine by him.
He actually wanted a chance to talk to her alone, and this was the best opportunity he was going to get. I’ll bet Davion didn’t count on the fact that I’d be coming here. If they wanted to keep us apart for any reason, this is the worst place we could possibly be since its most likely the one place they can’t spy on us.
“Just . . . follow along. You’ll feel right at home.” He stepped into the room and was immediately slammed in the face by the blast of frigid air that was quickly becoming familiar. His body reacted to the sudden temperature drop, and his flesh prickled up before deciding that it wasn’t really that cold. He had been dripping wet the last time he came here, so the freezing air wasn’t enough by itself to give him much of a problem. More importantly, he had been pretty banged up when he limped in here last time and had somehow managed to leave feeling fit and spry. That had been a short time before he met Alyanna.
He heard the door click shut behind them as it closed silently, and he was struck with that same strange feeling of being briefly submerged in water that made his skin crawl, and the frozen world materialized in front of him. He quickly stepped away from the entrance and strode into the clearing, leaving Shayna and Alyanna standing just inside the door.
Alyanna gasped. “This is . . .”
“Magic,” Madison finished for her. He quickly glanced around the clearing, finding everything exactly as he left it. He also found who he was looking for sitting at the chessboard. “Hey,” he said, calling out to his doppelganger. “What’s the trick with healing in this place?”
“Who are you . . .?” Shayna asked as she and Alyanna stepped away from the entrance and into the small clearing, their footsteps crunching underneath them as they came. The snow was only falling lightly, and it looked to be sometime in the early morning, so they were given a clear view of everything. Just as his had the first time he had been here, their eyes darted around from one object to the next, taking everything in: the weapons rack, the globe, a chessboard, a bookshelf, and a large fire pit with an equally-large flame. The grass-woven mat was empty in center of the clearing except for the flag that was still there, flapping away by its own magical means.
“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just talking to myself,” Madison replied.
“This is so . . .” Shayna trailed off for a second time as her eyes landed on his twin.
“Magical?” Madison offered for a second time.
Alyanna gasped yet again. “There are two of you!” she exclaimed. “How is that possible?”
“Magic?” Madison responded.
“I can see why you seem to think they’re not very bright,” his twin remarked.
“Hey!” the two girls said in unison.
“Aha . . . I never said that,” Madison said slowly and defensively. “Honest.”
“But he’s you, and you are him!” Shayna insisted. “This is your test, so everything here is reflective of what you think and feel!”
“This is the testing room.” Alyanna seemed to have finally picked up on where they were and what was going on. “They told us about this when my father was discussing the possibility of my staying here. I thought that this was supposed to be a means of advancing from one point in your progress to your next? A deeply-personal and touching experience that could only be conquered once sufficient growth of the soul and of character had been reached?”
“Uhh . . . Yeah. Sure. Let’s just go with that. So, about this healing thing?” Madison asked again, dismissing her flowery description and getting back to the reason he had come here to begin with.
“You tell me,” his doppelganger said flatly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Madison grumbled. He was already making his way across the clearing toward the giant fire pit. After a moment, he heard Shayna hurry along behind him, and he felt her help support him once again. “So, last time I was here was after those assholes decided to jump me. I was pretty beaten up, but by the time I left, I was good as new. So, there’s definitely something about the magic in this place that will heal me.”
He normally wouldn’t have wanted to share such information, but after everything the two had already gone through, he felt like it might be an olive branch in their relationship. That was one of the reasons he had invited her inside to begin with. He knew full well that Alyanna was right: this was like viewing a part of someone’s mind and heart and soul as far as everyone else was concerned. So, by having her tag along, it was him being about as open with her as he could be.
“Ok here,” he said, stepping away from her and leaning up against the raised fire pit. He stared at it for a moment and considered what it would mean if he was wrong. His doppelganger had explained before that it only knew what Madison knew, so the reverse must also be true as well: if Madison knew something, the doppelganger must also know it as well. If he was going to learn to draw out the information the clone wanted to teach him about fighting, this was as good a place as any to start.
He stepped up onto the lip of the firepit and then into the flames before anyone could say something. He felt the heat flare up around him and envelop his skin in the same way that the cold did when he ente
red this room but in an entirely different way. Rather than the blistering inferno that it appeared to be, the flames felt warm and soothing like an afternoon spent lounging in the late-spring sun. He felt the tension drain out of his tired and sore muscles almost immediately, and it was akin to being in the greatest sauna he had ever imagined. He felt the skin tighten up around his wound and then an intense burning sensation there. It felt like someone had slapped him with a blistering hot iron, but the intense pain disappeared as quickly as it had manifested, and all he had left was the ghost of it being there.
He stepped from the other side of the fire pit and dropped down into the snow before striding back around to the others. “Like a charm!” he declared, nodding to himself.
Shayna stared at him and then lunged forward, beating her fist against his chest. “Idiot! What are you doing?!” she screamed. “You could be have been killed!”
Madison caught her fist and stopped her from beating on him. “No way! That was even better than I imagined! Wait a minute, were you really that worried about me?”
“What?” Shayna suddenly shrank back from him as the charge struck her. “Me? Worried? About you? The only thing that I’m worried about is you staying alive long enough to pay me back everything you’re going to owe me after this, you idiot!”
Madison grinned as he turned away. He’d already elicited the response he wanted, and there was no point pushing her too far at the moment by teasing her too much. He turned to Alyanna, but rather than paying him any attention, she was staring off into the sky. Most of the view was blocked by snow-covered trees, but she seemed to be enthralled by what she saw nonetheless. He studied her for a moment and then said quietly, “I get it.”
She glanced at him briefly before turning her attention back to the sky, but she nodded slightly. “It reminds me of home. It looks just like this in the early winter mornings on very rare occasions. The snows usually come starting in early autumn if not late summer, and the winter storms can be fierce and last months, but . . . on very rare occasions, we get a simple snowfall just like this. The world is quiet and still . . . Our people take this as a sign of things to come.”
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