Annev guessed they’d already caught Therin. With their reaping uniforms covering most of their bodies, the girls were almost immune to the rods; unless Therin had stayed hidden, they’d have trapped him against the eastern wall. It was only a matter of time before they hunted him down, too.
They didn’t separate like we did, Annev realised, feeling foolish. They stuck together so none of us could pick them off. It was brilliant, and totally within the rules of the challenge. It also made Edra’s attempt to reward the winner of the day’s exercise seem like folly. The avatars and acolytes would have done much better by working together, but they had been trained to view all tests as a competition. Even Annev, who had initially tried to work with Titus and Therin, had fallen into that trap.
A wit-apprentice slipped out into the western aisleway, searching for the student that had evaded her trap, and although he was crouched in the shadows against a backdrop of black, the girl’s keen eyes still spied Annev’s cloth-wrapped form.
‘FIVE MINUTES!’ Edra bellowed from the rear of the nave.
The witgirl lowered her black face-wrap, revealing her identity. ‘Two left!’ Faith shouted over her shoulder. ‘One’s in front of me, on the western benches!’
Damn! Annev thought, dodging behind a panel and climbing into the curtains. He wondered briefly if that meant they’d found Fyn but not Titus, or maybe they had found Titus but Therin was still out there. Either option meant that at least one of his friends would pass today’s test, but it also meant …
I’m the only one left to catch! Better yet, if Titus was the other one not found, Annev had won the key. And if it was only Therin left, then they were tied for badges. Annev felt a moment of elation at that thought before remembering his location was known, and all eight of the witgirls were coming for him.
Halfway up to the ceiling, Annev saw three more witgirls emerge from behind cloth drapes or pop up from under the western floorboards. Annev hung motionless from his perch, his ankles pinching the curtain beneath him, holding him in place. As he took a breath, Faith shouted from below.
‘He’s here! Above me!’
Annev cursed. Stopping to rest had been a mistake. He leapt from his perch, grabbed the next curtain, and swung from drape to drape, moving north towards the entrance at a fair speed.
I need even higher ground, Annev realised. Fyn was smart to go for the dais, and Therin and I should have stayed there. Maybe I can hide in the rafters.
Annev was climbing higher when a fifth black-clad wit-apprentice dropped from above, knocking him to the artificial floor. Annev slammed into the planks moments before the witgirl dropped down in front of him. Ignoring his bruised ribs and shoulder, Annev rolled, kicking the girl in the chest and flipping to his feet as she fell back. He feinted right then dodged left behind a curtain and ran back across the western pews towards the dais.
I can use this, Annev thought, remembering the position of the boards. I helped build it. I know which planks are traps. I just need to last a few more minutes without being cornered.
Annev raced for the centre of the false floor he had helped construct, sliding around curtains as he evaded two wit-apprentices who ran past him. He reached inside his tunic and pulled out two of his three remaining Rods of Paralysis, then nearly stumbled as he discovered all but one of the discs around his neck were gone.
How …? And then Annev knew. Therin … when he put his arm around my neck. That bastard stole them! Annev almost hissed in frustration.
Damn it! I can’t win now. If Therin is still out there, he’s won – and if he got caught after we split up, he’s lost my medallions. Annev’s blood boiled, and he found himself retracting his promise to work with his friends tomorrow.
No, he thought, more calmly. I’ll work with them, just like I said I would. I’ll use them. I’ll get ahead with them … and then cast them off. Titus has already said he won’t make a good avatar, and Therin doesn’t deserve my help now. I’m on my own.
But Annev still needed to win this test. He had only one disc now – despite all his efforts – and if he didn’t get at least one more badge, he would not just forfeit the advantage Edra had promised the winner, but fail the test altogether. He had to go on the offensive, and with less than five minutes remaining he had to do it now.
Footsteps pounded on the boards in front of Annev as another witgirl materialised before him. Annev sprinted past, surprising her, then narrowly dodged a second girl. Both apprentices spun, tripping over each other as they tried to pursue him. Annev kept running, skipping over a complicated section of floorboards that he knew were not supported properly.
The girl in the lead had closed the distance between them and sprang for him. No rod was in her hand, but her fingers scissored towards Annev’s spine. Annev anticipated the move, dodged, and dropped hard onto the end of the plank beneath him. It seesawed down, dropping Annev into the church pews and catapulting his would-be attacker into the air.
The small girl twisted as she flew, catching a drape and ripping it to the ground. Annev’s hands pumped out, flinging both stumble-sticks at the young woman as she tried to untangle herself. The first black-and-gold wand thumped against the girl’s chest, but then the black tip of the second wand smacked her exposed cheek and she collapsed.
Annev heard the second wit-apprentice approaching and crouched in the darkness beneath the pews, pulling out his third wand and waiting. A second later she passed the gap in the planks and Annev struck, grabbing her leg and dropping her hard onto the church pew beside him. She met Annev’s eyes just as he tapped her exposed forehead with his last Rod of Paralysis and she went slack. Annev stared at her, suddenly realising he had no idea where she would have hidden her wood token.
‘Sorry,’ he said, pulling the cloth wrapping away from her throat and sliding his fingers down her neck, searching for it.
But there was no sign of it, and he had no time. He tried the same quick search of the first girl he had stunned, turned her over and still found nothing. From somewhere not-too-distant, he heard the other witgirls’ shouts as they closed on his location. Annev looked down at the second young woman’s limp body lying on the church pew. He swallowed, then methodically patted her down. His gloved left hand and the naked fingertips of his right slid down her collar bones and then beneath her breasts in a smooth sweep. Nothing. He ran his hands down across her hips, searching for any tell-tale bumps. The witgirls’ shouts grew closer still as he slid his hands beneath her torso and finally found a bulge at the small of her back.
Whispering another apology, Annev slipped a hand beneath the cloth wrapping and seized the wooden discs, his fingers brushing the girl’s soft skin before pulling out the four hidden tokens. He hesitated, looking at them and wondering if he should take them all or leave her with two as he had with Titus.