The next morning I woke up early. I hadn't slept very well last night with my dreams haunted by blood and ash. I dressed and headed downstairs, mentally reviewing everything that I'd learned last night. I practice several hand motions for some more advanced spells that I attempted with Andrew's help last night. Carver sat at the bottom of the stairs looking completely relaxed.
"You ready for this?" I asked, chewing on my lip.
"Yeah," Carver smiled. "You don't have to look so nervous. It's just a silly assessment. Plus, you've literally known about magic for less than a week, so don't stress".
"I know you're right," I sighed, sitting down next to him. "I just keep thinking about what Weston said to me, and I just want to prove him wrong, you know? I want to show him that I'm not some helpless little girl."
"Don't listen to Wes," Carver ran a hand through his hair. "He's just worried about the coven."
"You mean this coven that doesn't even exist yet?" I grumbled.
"This isn't something you can get out of Cordelia. It's something all of us were born into whether we want it or not"
"That just doesn't make sense to me," I grumbled. "Surely their hundreds of people better suited to this than me."
"I promise you everything will be ok," he squeezed my shoulder gently. "Most of us feel the same way even though we were raised knowing that this is what we were all born to do."
Before I could respond, the Headmaster and Professor Thatcher heading toward us, speaking in hushed tones. They fell silent as soon as we were in earshot.
"Miss Pendragon, I'll be administering your exam. Mr. Pendragon, you'll be with Professor Thatcher," the headmaster said before motioning me to follow him downstairs.
We went into an empty classroom where he handed me a scroll of parchment, a pen and told me to write down everything I knew about the history of warlocks. I sat down at a desk and began to furiously write down what I'd read last night, starting with the formation of the high council by Uther Pendragon. As I wrote, I could picture the words in the textbook, and it was like they flowed from my brain to my hand as it flew across the paper. I had just started writing about the witch wars of 1778 when the bell rung, breaking my concentration. I stood up, handing my paper to the headmaster. He surveyed it with a smile.
"I see you've been studying with Andrew Fairfax," He chuckled, and I nodded. "He's a good student. If you stick with him and keep up this level of work, I'm sure you'll do great here". I blushed, pleased with the praise. I always prided myself on striving to be the best at whatever I did. That competitive drive helped me become one of the best dancers my age and get my GED when I was fifteen.
We headed upstairs and out into the back; we walked down to a massive stone arena located at the edge of the grounds. As we walked closer, I could see that there were cracks and scorch marks in the stone and large chunks completely gone in a couple parts. "This is the practice field several of our upper-level classes practice their combat skills." We walked through an archway and onto a large grass field. He waved a hand, and hedges emerged from the ground, creating what looked like an intricate maze.
"Here, we have an obstacle course. You'll use your affinity and any spells to try and make it through. It will start fairly simple, but the further you go,, the more challenging it will get. I'll be watching and will terminate the test when it gets to be too much for you to handle" he smiled encouragingly, giving me a little push towards the maze.
The branches of the hedge parted for me as I stepped through the opening and into the maze. I walked a couple of steps before turning back, but the hedge had already closed behind me, and the only way to go was forward. I touched the ruby pendant around my neck as I hesitantly moved forward. I'd worn it hoping that it might bring me luck, although it seemed silly now.
I called on my affinity, conjuring a fireball and tossed it toward the hedge, hoping that maybe I could just burn the maze down and the test would be over. As the ball got close to the hedge, the beaches struck out at slashing me across the cheek and batted my fireball to the ground where it fizzled out. I guess burning down the hedges would have been too easy, but I figured it was worth a shot.
I continued down, moved down the path when a wave of pointed sticks vaulted through the air towards me. Instinctively I threw my hands out and watched in awe as a tidal wave of fire incinerated the sticks. The ashes fell, covering me as I continued onward.
The pendant was now warm against my skin as I went through a list of spells I had read through last night. I did recall a charm to help the caster find something. While that spell was supposed to be used to find objects, perhaps it could help me find my way.
After a couple of tries, I think the charm finally worked work and the path before me was illuminated in a soft golden glow. I followed it, casting the shield spell that Carver had taught me. I bristled as a strong wind shuttered through the maze rustling the leaves on the hedges when I walked into something solid. I focused on the path to see what was blocking my way, but nothing appeared there. Stretching my hand out in front of me, I felt my palm press against a cool see-through surface.
Sighing, I turned back to find another way around them to find my path blocked by two watery figures. I pressed against the barrier in front of me attempting to find a weak spot. Panicked, I lobbed a fireball at one of the figures, but all that did was create a layer of smoke, making it almost impossible for me to see. I looked around wildly for anything that could help me when I noticed that the smoke defined where the barrier was. It looked like the barrier was about seven feet tall before coming to a stop.
Quickly I tried to think of a spell for flying, but I hadn't come across one. One of the watery figures latched onto me, attempting to pull me into it wanting to consume me. Panicking, I cast one of the first spells Carver had taught me for levitation. I kicked the watery beast off me as I floated upward through the thick smoke. I saw the edge of the barrier go by my feet, but the smoke was too thick for me to see much of anything else. I levitated higher, hoping that I could get an idea of how much farther I had to go, or even just levitate above the maze to the finish.
When I reached the top of the hedges, I ran into another barrier. Wincing, I rubbed my head as I tried to see anything that might give me a clue about how I was doing. I wasn't even sure if I was going the right way let alone anywhere close to finishing this stupid maze. Sighing, I floated back down past the first barrier.
Grunting, I hit the ground hard, feeling my energy fade quickly. I heard Carver's voice in the back of my mind reminding me that every spell cost the caster energy. I would have to rely on my fire affinity from here on out.
Swaying, I grabbed the hedge for balance, and the golden path in front of me flickered. I guess this was why that particular spell wasn't used for finding directions.
I tried to straighten up and move on, but something tugged at my wrist. I wanked and tried to pull free, looking back to see what had latched on to me. Vines from the hedge crisscrossed up my arm, pulling me towards it. I struggled, trying to break free, throwing fireballs at the hedge, which only tugged harder in response.
Larger gnarled branches snaked out towards my feet. I kicked out, trying to keep them back. Losing my balance, I fell forward. I cried out in pain as my shoulder was wrenched out of its socket by the unyielding vines still attached to my arm. It pulled me backward, capitalizing on my unsteadiness. I fell backward into the hedge, several more vines and branches wrapping round my waist and limbs securing their prey.
I struggled as they pulled me into the hedge. My temper spiked, and the pendant around my neck burned the skin underneath it. I had not come all of this way to be undone by shrubbery. The burning spread from the pendant across my chest and through my limbs. I shrieked in a mixture of fury and pain, feeling as if my very soul had been set alight.
The branches roughing my skin burst into flame, and the others retreated. I reached for them wanting to burn everything till there was nothing left but smoke and ash. I saw nothing but fire and longed to truly become one with it. To not have my soul be on fire, but be made of it.
Yes, a soft voice in my head whispered, fanning the flames in my soul. This is what we do to those who dare to threaten us. I recoiled from the voice, realizing with a start that it was not my own. The heat retreated from my limbs, though the pendant still burned hot against my skin.
I collapsed onto the scorched earth, darkness creating along the edge of my vision. I was no longer surrounded by the lush green maze but was alone, completely naked in a scorched arena.
Curling up in a ball, I lead my head back as the darkness settled over me. You did well, little dove, but it's time to rest now; a soft female voice comforted me. Sleep now, and in time, we will bring this world to its knees.
Authors Note: Hey guys thanks so much for reading! Please, please, please vote if you want to read more :) Also, comment with your favorite characters and favorite character relationships that you want to see developed over the next chapters :)