A piercing clap filled the air, and I was falling into a long tunnel of darkness. I clapped my hands over my mouth, knowing I could never surrender.
Wind whipped across my face. My limbs twisted and flailed as I continued to plummet into the shadowy abyss. My flesh was being ripped apart by an angry storm, my stomach was lost in my throat, and I was falling, falling, falling.
I shut my eyes.
So this is what it feels like to die.
“Make it stop! Make it stop!”
Startled by the clamor, I opened my eyes. I wasn’t falling, dying, trapped in some bottomless pit. I was sitting on the grass beside my brother, Ella, and nineteen other first-years.
Across from me a red-haired boy was shaking violently. Like everyone else, his eyes were clouded.
Moments later he cried out again, “Please, just make it end! I yield!”
I watched as Master Cedric came forward and had Sir Piers hold the first-year in place, emptying the contents of a clear vial into the struggling boy’s mouth. A second later the boy was alert and hunched over the ground, heaving.
Sir Piers turned to Master Cedric who stood a couple paces away. “Well, that makes number four—five counting that boy at the start. I guess we can administer the antidote to the rest of them now.” He paused. “Ascillia, see to the rest.”
The mages and Sir Piers began to make their rounds, slowly bringing each student back to consciousness. Ascillia was the first to reach me.
Her eyes widened. “How did you—”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you even experience a state of delirium?”
I nodded and watched as Master Cedric joined her.
“She woke on her own, fully conscious,” Ascillia told the master, still staring. “Her eyes aren’t dilated, and she doesn’t have any sign of residual effects…”
“That is unusual,” the master said softly. “But not impossible.”
“How can this happen?”
Master Cedric finished his assessment and glanced at his assistant. “Occasionally, we underestimate the potential of those around us…” He paused. “I believe today is one of those days.”
Her jaw dropped. “You mean to say her magic did this?”
The master was silent for a moment, then: “Perhaps.”
CHAPTER NINE
The week before we began our chosen factions was the first time off any of us had received since we entered the Academy.
Of course, it wasn’t really free. Now that orientation was over, we were five students down and too anxious to do anything except nervously calculate our odds. In seven days’ time we would be selecting a faction. A decision that would dictate the remainder of our year, and nothing had driven that home more than that final day of Combat.
“Do they really think we need a week to choose?” Ella made a face as Alex and I joined her at the table for lunch. It was our second day into the week, and it was obvious everyone had already made up their mind.
“They are probably hoping the nerves will get to us.” Alex smiled weakly. “Can’t say they’d be wrong.”
I squinted at my twin over my second mug of tea. Even though we weren’t expected to attend lessons, most of the class, my friends and I included, had continued the normal routine. Which meant I was just as tired as any other day at the Academy. “Do they really think we will resign after that day in the mountains?” I groaned. “If we didn’t then, we aren’t going to now.”
But my brother was right.
By the end of the week seven more students had left. I would have thought that after two months of hard work and resilience, self-resolve would be contagious. But a week of reflection had taken its toll. Several young men and women weighed the price of a robe against their family, friends, and a comfortable career back home. For some, magic lost.
Following my brother and friend, I hurried to the atrium where the rest of our class was waiting. Today was not only the day we would be electing our factions, but also the return of the second through fifth-year apprentices and their faction’s leaders. We had seen several new faces in passing the past few days. The possibility of meeting Jerar’s future mages was too tempting to ignore. I had so many questions, and an apprentice would know first-hand how arduous year one could be, and maybe, just maybe, they could offer some advice.
Or so I thought.
“Today I have exciting news,” Master Barclae announced. “In two months’ time we have gotten rid of some of the dead weight that has been holding the rest of you back. As of this evening, two more first-years have decided to pursue opportunities outside of our school, bringing the total to fourteen.”
I looked around the room and saw several people doing the same, but I was unable to identify the missing faces from the crowd. There were too many of us as it was.
“I am happy to say Sir Piers and Master Cedric have not disappointed me in their latest endeavor—”
Piers let out a boisterous hoot and toasted the Master of the Academy.
“—And I hope they continue to pull even larger numbers in the months that follow.”