House of Ravens (The Nightfall Chronicles Book 2) (20 page)

My hand sweats against Kai's, and I pull out of his grip to rub it against my robe.

"Without further delay, here are your scores."

The eScreen behind the podium shifts from an image of the Castle V logo to an Initiate and their marks for each class. We clap politely as each student is displayed, and we wait for our names. Wytt's face appears on the screen, his impish grin larger than life. He got tens in Law, Order and History, but average to poor in his other classes. Jaden smacks him on the shoulders. "Might want to reconsider your stance on the Inquisition."

Wytt scowls at him.

Corinne's next and no one is surprised at her tens in APD and EMT. Her Combat score was the lowest, but still she's happy with her average.

Jaden gets sevens in everything. "How is that even possible?" I ask.

Jaden puffs up his chest and smiles. "I have mastered the art of being mediocre."

I chuckle. "Indeed."

Kai's scores come up next. Tens in Combat and Survival, decent scores in everything else.

I'm happy my friends have done so well.

Lana did better than I expected, getting a nine in Espionage and excellent scores across the board. Wytt hugs and congratulates her. She smiles big, and I feel a twinge of sympathy. She's working so hard and her parents don't even care.

Akio's face appears, and we all wait nervously. His combat score is a six. It's not bad, and it turns out to be his lowest grade. He receives a ten in Survival. Life experience helps a lot, it seems.

And then my face appears and I freeze, sucking in my breath. I get tens in Tactics and Espionage. Nines in Combat and Survival. My APD score is my worst. A three. I get a four in Law, a six in Order, and sevens in EMT and History. My overall score isn't great, but considering my double life, and how hard I've been training, I'm pretty happy by the results.

Once all the scores have been displayed, our quarter is basically over, other than the trial. Wytt hoorays at the top of his lungs and we all cheer as we leave the hall.

"We must celebrate!" he says. "Eat, drink and be merry—"

"For tomorrow we will surely die."

I'm dreaming about mazes and mirrors when something lands on my face. I wake, unable to breathe, struggling against a large dark form pinning me down. There's a cloth over my mouth and nose that smells chemical, and it's clouding my mind. Something sharp pricks my arm and warmth spreads through my body. I hear murmurs of voices, someone says my name—

And darkness.

***

I groan, my eyes still closed against the light of early morning. The ground beneath me is hard and lumpy. My head pounds, and my body wakes slowly with pins and needles shooting through flesh.

A bird tweets in a tree nearby, and in the distance a waterfall crashes against a cliff. With reluctance, I open my eyes and lift my tired, sore body off the ground. The light blinds me for a moment, then color trickles in until I can see clearly. I'm outside, the sun is just coming up, and I'm surrounded by an expanse of tropical forest.

And I'm alone.

I look down, taking stock of myself and my supplies. I'm still in underwear and my Nox Aeterna shirt, and next to me is my backpack. I search it, finding jeans, shoes, socks, a bra and jacket. I also find a black box with a silver V on it, and a flare gun with one flare.

From everywhere and nowhere a voice fills the sky, startling me. It sounds like Grandmaster Gabriella, the leader of the Teutonic Order. "Rise and shine, Initiates," her voice says through hidden speakers. "You are officially participating in your first Trial. You have three days to find the Teutonic base on this island and enter it. Once you cross the threshold within the seventy-two hour time frame, you pass. If you give up by shooting your flare, or fail to reach the base within the allotted time, your Initiate training will come to an end. If you won a Boon from an Order, you will have it with you now."

The speaker crackles before her voice resumes.

"Good luck, Initiates, and Godspeed."

***

I dress quickly, then open the small black box. Inside is a note that says,
Good luck! ~Templar Order
. I pull open the tissue to find my eGlass. I slip it on.

"Hello, Scarlett."

"Evie! It's so good to hear your voice. Here's the deal. I'm at my Trial, and they've dropped me on some island. I need to know where I am. Can you get a satellite view?"

While she does her thing, I stick the box back into my backpack and sling the bag over my shoulders. First things first, I need to find a water source. My stomach growls. A marshmallow tree would also be fantastic.

I start walking toward the sound of the waterfall when Evie chimes in. "I'm sorry, Scarlett. Something is blocking the satellite feed, and I can't override it."

If only they'd also included my laptop. "Do you have any idea where we are?" I ask her.

Evie scans the area around us. "I would place you somewhere in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean," she says.

"So maybe Hawaii?" I ask. "Or somewhere near it?"

"Your vegetation suggests that is a plausible option."

The vegetation starts out normal enough. Coconut trees and banana trees and other tropical life.

But as I move deeper into the forest, things get… strange.

I pass by a row of purple bushes with green berries on them. The berries are spotted yellow and come in a variety of star shapes. I don't touch them, but I scan them and ask Evie, "Can you identify these?"

"No," she says. "These should not exist."

"And yet they do," I say, backing away from them. If anything screams poison, it's those berries. "How am I supposed to know what's safe to eat and what's not if they've filled this island with genetically modified plant life that's not identifiable?"

"Do you need to eat berries?" she asks.

"Well, no. Not specifically. But I could be out here at least three days, and I have no Life Force. I can't go that long without something."

The water finally comes into sight, and I see Amber near the water's edge filling up something. "Hey!" I wave my arms, still too far out to reach her. "Amber!"

She looks up from the water, then turns and runs off in the opposite direction.

Weird. Granted, we aren't exactly best friends, but why wouldn't she want to work together in a place like this?

I reach the water but realize I have nothing to purify or carry it with. I look around, hoping to find something useful. The bushes rustle behind me, and I turn to face Garin. He smirks. "Looks like the wannabe Princess is finally alone." He cracks his knuckles and punches a fist into his hand like we're in a bad movie.

"Do you really want to do this right now, Garin? In the middle of a Trial?" I stand and walk toward him. "I don't need a sword to defend myself," I say.

With a surge of power, I push my body forward so fast the wind rips through the air, and I stop just in front of him, my hand on his throat. "So I'll ask again, do you really want to do this right now?"

His eyes go big, and from behind us someone claps. "Well done, lovely maiden. I always enjoy seeing the bullies taste their own bitter medicine."

Wytt walks up to us with a big grin on his face, and I let Garin go.

"Hi!" I hug Wytt, and he squeezes me tight. "Have you seen Kai? Corinne, or the others?"

He shakes his head. "You?"

"I saw Amber earlier, but she ran off. Other than that, just this thug." I point at Garin, who glares at me.

"Hey you got Evie," Wytt says. "That's brilliant."

I tap at my eGlass. "Yeah, but she's not much help so far. What about you?"

He hands me a small book, and I flip through it. "Inspirational Quotes from the Pope?" I ask.

He nods and takes it back. "The Inquisition felt this little gem of wisdom would help me find my way. Allow me to share the beauty." He opens to a random page and reads, "To those who strive for greatness, I tell you, strive for goodness and greatness will follow."

I laugh. "That's… lovely."

"It's rubbish," he says. "Worst Order to get a Boon from ever."

"We should keep moving while we have daylight," I say. "Maybe we can find the others. The base would need to be near fresh water, so I suggest we follow the river and see if we can get a feel for where we are and how big the island is."

Wytt nods. "Sounds like a plan."

We both look over at Garin. I wave. "See you around."

Garin jogs over to us. "No way. I'm coming with you. Better odds."

I frown, about to argue, but Wytt shrugs. "He's a jerk, but he's right. We're safer in groups."

I sigh. I haven't forgotten about Garin beating me up, but I also want to win this Trial. "Fine. You can come. But if you so much as blink at us wrong, it's over."

He nods, and the three of us start walking. While we do, Garin picks up three sturdy sticks and uses a sharp rock to carve points into the tops of each.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Making spears for us," Garin says. "Have you noticed how quiet the forest has gotten?"

I hadn't, but now that I listen I realize he's right. It's spooky quiet.

"That's not normal," he says. "There's something out there. Something bad. This is the Teutonic Trial, and that means combat."

He hands me a makeshift spear, and I grip it in my hands. "Thanks. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed."

He hands one to Wytt. "Being raised by a single mom in a bad neighborhood, you learn to be resourceful."

The walking becomes monotonous, and Wytt distracts us by reading out of his book of quotes. For hours. And hours.

"Okay!" I say, spinning on him. "That's enough from the Pope. How about a story? Or a song? Or even silence. Just please, for the love of all that's holy and just in the world, no more from the Pope."

Wytt laughs and shoves the small book into his pocket. "Not a fan, huh?"

I shrug. "There's something about him. I don't know. He rubs me the wrong way when I see him in interviews."

When we pass by a coconut tree, we agree to stop and pick some coconuts for the food and hydration. We use large rocks to knock the them off the trees, then break them open. We save several for later, and each take one to drink and then eat the meat out from inside. I can't stand the taste, but I know my body needs something, and it does help clear my head.

We hike for several more hours, mostly in silence, though Wytt and I do talk about where to go, how to find the base, and Garin chimes in from time to time with his thoughts.

When the sun begins to set, Garin looks up and frowns. "We should stop somewhere for the night. Build a camp."

"We should keep walking," I say. "We can't waste a third of our time. We don't even know where the base is yet."

He doesn't argue, but I can tell he wants to. Wytt looks back at him and leans in to whisper, "He's probably right. We don't want to be stuck out here when it's fully dark. We won't be able to see anything, and we don't know what's out here. Better to sleep a few hours and start again in the morning."

I hate stopping, hate slowing down when we haven't accomplished anything, but I sigh and agree. "Let's look for shelter."

It doesn't take us long to find a cave carved into the side of a mountain.

"Be careful," I say. "It may be occupied."

Wytt raises an eyebrow and takes a step back. "How about we just sleep under a tree or something?"

"Too exposed," Garin says. "We need something we can defend."

He steps into the cave, and I follow. Something scurries through the darkness and shadows. Garin throws his spears and an animal screeches, then silence. I shiver. We don't even know what that was, and he's already killed it without thought.

There's still enough light to see a bit in the cave, and Garin holds up his hunt. It's a small lizard with feathers. "Looks like we have dinner."

I want to argue, but then I smell the blood, and I nearly leap on it and suck it dry right then and there. "Make mine rare."

***

We stayed up far too late last night trying to warm ourselves in front of the fire as Wytt told us ghost stories. Just as I had sunk into a deep sleep, the sun comes up, and a foot nudges me in the shoulder. Garin stands above me, packed up and ready to hike. "Get up, Sleeping Beauty. We can't afford to sleep the day away."

I want to slap him. I'm the one who pushed to keep going last night. But I get up, eat, drink from a coconut, and head out with Wytt and Garin for more exciting walking.

"I'm surprised at this," I say a few hours into the day.

"At what?" Wytt asks.

"This!" I look around at more of the same. Trees, bushes, plants. "I get the survival element of it, but it seems… random. How are we supposed to figure out where the base is in three days, unless the island is small enough to completely discover all its parts in that time? There's got to be something we're missing."

Garin scoffs. "Just like the entitled to think that things should be easier because of who they are. Do you think most people get life handed to them on silver platters, Princess?"

I glare at Garin. "And just like a bully to think that his sad background gives him an excuse to be a jerk. You don't know anything about me, my life or my friends. You don't know what we've had to go through, or what pain we've endured. You complain about being from a single mom, of having to struggle? At least you still have a family. My whole family died. And I didn't grow up with silver spoons, I grew up in rural Montana. So just shove that chip you're carrying on your shoulder up your—"

Wytt grabs my arm and I stop, listening.

He covers his lips with a finger and points to the left. I turn to look, but see nothing through the dense foliage. Whatever I thought I heard, I can't hear anymore, and I let out a breath.

Wytt looks around, still too spooked to speak for a moment. "You did hear that right?"

I nod. "Yeah, it sounded big. But far away. I think we're okay for now."

Wytt nods and we start walking. It's another long series of taking one step, then another. I've lost track of how many times I've wanted to unleash my wings and fly over everything to see where we are, but I can't. Too many people would see me. So I have to keep walking. So slow. So tedious. So ineffective, because for all we know we're walking in the wrong direction.

Wytt pulls out his little book of quotes and starts reading again. Garin groans, and I laugh. "Remind me to punch Ragathon when we see him again," I say. "How could he think this would be helpful?"

Wytt shrugs, flipping through the book. "Look, it even has a dedication. 'To the nineteen nights who saved one hundred and fifty witnesses
.'
But it's weird, they misspelled Knights."

His words drift through my mind, as they have for the last hour, but this time they stick. I whip my head around. "Read that again."