Code of Shadows

Test 4 (Part 38)

The stairs continued to climb upwards. It started to get drafty as the tower narrowed. The walls around us became glass, and I stared curiously around at the grounds of the academy. Everything was layed out perfectly from up here. I could see everything. Then a thought came into my head.  This part of the tower could never be seen from outside. Magic must have been obscuring it.

I reached out with my magic. I was blinded by the amount of energy that was swirling around me. Each tower glowed and I watched as the wolf on Bromley ran around the towers base glowing as brightly as a sun.

I kept climbing. I watched the battle field, now just a large green lawn with small moving dots. 

I abruptantly stopped as I almost ran into the mentor. I blinked several times, and the walls around me materialized back into stone all at once. It made me wonder if what I had seen had just been an illusion.

There was a door in front of us now. The mentor opened it, and ushered us inside.

It slammed behind us, and we all jumped. It was dark in the room, and nobody wanted to move.

It took a moment, then a small light came into existence above our heads. A crystal the size of a small shack sat in front of us. I looked back up to the orb amazed. It then started to speak.

"Welcome to the fourth test. We will be testing your magical abilities or more well known as your magical level. Will someone please step forward and place their hand on the narrnumer?"

Everyone took a step back leaving me standing in front.

I took a moment for myself, then took a deep breath and took several steps closer to the enormous crystal.

I felt a small mental nudge towards the narrnumer. Belle must still be paying attention, just not attached to my mind.
I took another step forward and bent down.

At the base I saw an indented hand print. My nerves started to spin crazily.

I cautiously reached forward, then stole my nerves for a moment and thrust my hand onto the cold stone.

For a moment nothing happened, then the crystal changed colors, or more like lit up. It started at a dark red, then it flashed through orange and slowed at yellow. It wavered into green for a moment, dropped back down into orange. Then it finally settled on yellow.

The crystal chimed, then went clear again. I stepped back. Half terrified and half amazed at what had just happened.

"Score recorded. 574," the orb said. It hovered a little closer to crystal. "Will the next person please step up." I sighed in relief.

The other girls looked at each other.

"You go first," one of the girls said.

"No, you should," another voiced.

"Why should I, I was the last one into the room!" the girl exclaimed. "What about you?" she pointed at the other girl that was slowly backing away from the two bickering girls.

I turned around in search of the last girl. I spun one more time before I finally found her, crouching in front of the crystal.

Her hand was inches from the indentation, and she was shaking. She looked back at the three girls, then she looked at me. I nodded, and she sucked in a breath.

She placed her hand on the crystal and the crystal light up the room again. The bickering girls didn't notice.

The crystal was now at a orange-ish red. It wobbled for a moment, then dropped to a crimson red.