Chapter 67 – All Eyes on the Shadow
The Crimson Hollow had shut behind them.
But its memory had not.
Results were posted after three days.
Outside the Hall of Merit, an obsidian slate glistened with pale silver lettering: the names. Students hovered around it, some laughing, some in stony silence, some with forced attempts at concealment.
Luceris leaned over at the group with a grin. "Top ten, put in a bet. Ten silver on my choice."
Then he noticed the first-place name:
Ariz (Solo Clearance Score: 287 pts)
Below him:
Luceris Vael (Team Clearance Score: 231 pts)Serika Vaernis (Team Clearance Score: 229 pts)
Luceris let out a low whistle. "Well damn."
That week the Academy was abuzz with rumors. The name Ariz went around council meetings and whispered faculty meetings.
He had run a trial no one else had initiated. Returned from the Hollow altered. No one could describe it, save to tell that the Observer's Eye had opened—on him—and then shut.
He received a red-sealed letter at his dorm.
Summons.
Velgraith turned it over to him with a yawn. "Upper sanctum awaits. Don't keep them waiting. They are allergic to impatience."
"What do they want?"
"To see the shadow they cannot explain."
The sanctum existed carved into the center of the mountain—a round hall of suspended runes and obsidian mirrors which never reflected accurately. Five tall-backed thrones were placed in a crescent, though just a single one was occupied.
A woman was standing there, poised in black and red silk. She radiated a glow similar to polished opal; her eyes were deep garnet.
"Ariz," she said. "I was expecting someone taller."
He never blinked.
She left the platform. "Do you know who I am?"
"No."
"Good. Makes life interesting." She eyed him round as an appraiser examines a cutting. "You draw dangerous attention to yourself. The Cardinal who crossed the Bloodmoon border twenty-one days ago didn't get far. Residue of magic put us on the trail to a burned-out village. A forgotten place, disturbed not but a short time back."
Her eyes didn't match her smile.
"You didn't land here to be a student, right?"
"I arrived to grow."
"Into what?"
"Something that light can't burn again."
She watched him for a breathless moment.
Then she turned.
"You're dismissed."
He returned to his dorm to find Luceris stretched out on his bed, turning the pages of a scroll.
"Still alive," responded Luceris. "I was starting to worry. If you'd died, I was claiming your boots."
"You must go."
"Why?"
"Because she's behind you."
Luceris turned.
Serika leaned in the doorway, arms folded, face impassive.
"Ah," Luceris replied, jumping to his feet. "I'll just make my dramatic exit then."
He tapped Ariz's shoulder as he walked by. "Don't die. Or do. Write a poem either way."
The door shut behind him.
Serika stood stock still for an instant.
She walked across the room slowly.
"Tell me exactly what occurred in the Hollow."
Ariz gazed upwards.
"You already know."
"I know what I saw. I'd like to know what you turned into."
He sat with his eyes steady. "It's not what I've become. It's what I'm becoming."
She looked at him for a very long time.
Then drew nearer.
"Then refrain from keeping me waiting."