… And her shoulders drooped when nothing happened. Wherever she was, she actually was.
“Finn’s water survival skills did not prepare me for something like this,” she muttered, pivoting carefully on her rock and squinting into the distance. Not even her Meyarin sight could pick up anything on the horizon. Even if she were willing to risk going for a swim, there was no way for her to know which direction to head in. She’d be travelling blind.
Just when she decided that perhaps her only means of escape was to use one of the two walks left in her Shadow Ring—something she was loath to do, having not enjoyed the experience the first time—a cloaked figure materialised before her.
With a startled scream and a reflexive jump, Alex overbalanced and tumbled straight into the water.
She noticed two things almost immediately.
The first was that it was cold. As in, nearly bone-shatteringly cold. The second, perhaps worse, was that it was salt water, causing her stab wound to flare up as if Kyia were pouring the antidote onto it all over again.
Blinded by the renewed agony and freezing from the temperature, Alex couldn’t yet pay any mind to the cloaked figure who stood still and silent above the now lightly rippling waves. Her sole focus was on getting out of the water.
Shaking, gasping and spluttering, it took Alex an exasperating number of attempts before she was able to heave herself up onto the narrow rock and keep it balanced under her weight.
Chilled to her core and dripping rivulets of water, Alex panted heavily as she slowly managed to rise from her crouched position and up to her feet.
“It is a pity you fell,” said the figure, a male voice being the only identifying feature. That, and he was tall—very tall. “This will be much more challenging for you now.”
There was no compassion in his bland tone. He might have been commenting on the colour of the sky, for all the inflection there was in his voice.
“Wh-Who are y-y-you?” Alex managed between chattering teeth.
“I am here to see if you are worthy of my time, Alexandra Jennings.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “Y-Y-You’re C-Caspar Le-Lennox’s f-friend?”
“Friend is an inaccurate descriptor,” the man said in his monotonous voice. “But for the purposes of this conversation, yes, I am acquainted with the Shadow Walker. And yes, that is why I am here, when there are many things I would prefer to be doing right now. None of which include taking on new students, least of all one not of this world.”
“H-H-How do you know w-where I’m from?” she asked, seeing no point in denying her origins, since the cloaked figure obviously had some kind of power. Not only had he redirected her Library doorway, but he’d also appeared out of nowhere and was currently standing on the water’s surface as if it were solid ground.
“It matters not what I know,” he said, an impatient edge to his voice now. “As far as you’re concerned, all that matters is what comes next.”
He held out his gloved hand and a glass materialised between his fingers, filled almost to the brim with what appeared to be crystal clear water.
“Take it,” he said, passing it to her.
Fingers wet and shaking, Alex was barely able to keep her grip on the glass.
“Now, hold it at a distance.”
Brow furrowing, she stretched out her arm, the rock under her feet wobbling in the water at her repositioning.
“Your task is simple,” the man said. “Do not spill anything.”
“What?” Alex asked, pleased that she was able to get the word out without stammering. Her body was still frozen, but her blood was slowly pumping heat back through her veins.
“If a single drop falls into the lake, you will have failed,” he told her. “And if you fail, you shall never see me again.”
Alex gaped at him. “You’re joking, right?”
Silence was his only response, enough to show how serious he was.
“How long am I supposed to stay like this?” she demanded, the water in the glass already dangerously close to spilling thanks to her shivering body—which was thankfully beginning to settle, if slowly.
“There are three phases to this test,” he said, ignoring her question. “This is the first phase. If you manage to complete it, you’ll move on to the second. Remember, not a drop.”
And with that warning, he disappeared.
Cursing under her breath, and then not so much under her breath, Alex took stock of her situation.
When it came down to it, she could give the metaphorical finger to the cloaked man, toss the stupid glass of water, and activate her Shadow Ring to get the hell out of there. But he might be the only person who could help her strengthen her gift enough to save the world. So while she longed to throw the water into his face, she instead decided to play along with his task.
If it was a game he wanted, it was a game he would get. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t invent her own rules.
Carefully going back over everything he’d said to her, Alex was confident that she had found what Niyx would call a loophole.
Crossing the fingers of her free hand and desperately hoping she wasn’t about to unintentionally disqualify herself, Alex drew the glass to her lips, guzzling down every last drop of water.
The moment she was done, the figure appeared again, but this time she was prepared enough that she didn’t topple back into the lake.
“Explain yourself.”
Two words, neither giving Alex any indication as to whether she had just ruined all chances of him helping her.
“You told me I’d fail if I spilled a drop into the lake.” She jiggled the empty glass. “There’s no possibility of me doing that now.”
Alex wanted to raise her thumb to her nose and wiggle her fingers while sing-songing a mocking ‘nah-nah-na-naaah-nah’, but she thought that might be pushing it.
Once again, the silence stretched on between them.
“Faster than anticipated,” he finally said in a gruff, yet somehow still monotonous voice. Alex wondered if that was what passed as praise until he continued, “I’m not sure whether you’re impatient and careless, or cunning and courageous. Either way, what you did was impudent without knowing more. You’re fortunate the glass only contained water.”
Alex decided not to admit that she hadn’t considered what the liquid was before swallowing the contents. “I prefer the cunning and courageous assessment. But that’s just my opinion.”
Ignoring her—yet again—the man said, “You’ll find there is no ambiguity with the guidelines of the second phase.”
The glass in her hand was suddenly filled to the brim again. “Once more, you are not to spill a single drop,” the man said. “But this time you are to complete the task while standing on only one leg. I advise using your non-injured one, but if you desire an added challenge, then by all means, disregard my suggestion.”
When Alex just looked at him in befuddlement, he barked, “Arm stretched out, leg up. Now.”