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Toby jerked awake. Despite shivering from the cold, sweat ran off him in rivulets.
Where...?
Ozone stung his nose.
Eyelids scraped like sandpaper.
Pain truncated each breath as if someone beat him with a sledgehammer.
His eyes focused enough to see one, then another blue shape, lying still on the cavern floor.
No Spiders.
Lela!
He squinted to see across the darkening cavern to the far wall.
He tried to get up, but the pain forced him down.
Could barely make out a dark form still on the cavern floor.
No.
Two shapes in the distance.
Eyes clouded again.
Frantically rubbing away the mucus, he looked again, but the shapes disappeared.
“Lela?”
“Raymond shifted her home,” someone said.
“Stay back!” Chest pain impossibly rising again.
“Easy, Tobias.”
“Teacher?”
“Stay down.”
“She - hurt?”
“I don’t know.”
“How-”
“I don’t know how she got down here.”
“W - wasn’t part of the test?”
“No. Neither were the Spiders.”
“But-”
Teacher raised a hand. “I don’t know.”
Toby’s hand went to his chest; the Amulet still hung from his neck.
“Ow!” His touch ignited more pain.
He opened his shirt and found a charred and blistered area.
He recognized the design.
Wait.
That meant...
No.
He failed.
Horribly.
He looked at Teacher.
“Congratulations, Mr. Messenger.”
Another test?
Teacher walked a few steps and sat on a boulder. “So, it’s true.”
Toby tried not to respond.
“What did he tell you?”
The words hung unspoken.
“Ask anything.”
Toby expected a brutal interrogation, but this was worse.
“Remember: The One will tell the truth when it suits him.”
“As could anyone.”
The old man winced, but the expression lasted only a second. “Yes, but I have never lied to you.”
Toby’s eyes narrowed. “What happened to my mother?”
“I know only what you’ve told me.”
“Who attacked her?”
“I don’t know.”
“He said Lela.”
“No,” he blurted, but his eyes shifted. “How could she?”
“Raymond said you and she had the Tester’s Amulet.”
Teacher looked off into the distance. He nodded. “We did. It’s also true I had to leave her to meet with Vaiden. Why would Lela attack your mother?”
“To get the Prime.”
He shook his head. “She knew you were coming here. She could have taken it from you any time she wanted and not fought one of the greatest Keepers in history.” Teacher pointed across the cavern to the now-empty ropes and still smoking Spider husks. “Someone put Lela in grave danger, and we don’t know why.”
“To give the Prime to the One.”
“The One can’t become Messenger any more than I can.”
“He said you still could.”
“I tested many years ago. Look it up.”
“You could have faked those records.”
“True, but when your family moved to Earth, I had the Amulet for years.”
“Then how did I get the Prime?”
“We found you, and you know the rest.”
“He said everything was about misdirection.”
“Some of that is true, and part of your teaching. I could have rigged the tests...”
Toby’s head shot up.
The old man nodded. “Bad example. I did not rig the first test, but someone did. And yes, I gave you that test too soon.”
“You wanted me to fail.”
“No, I thought you just wanted to go home.”
Which was true enough. “Why pick me at all?”
“Because it was your turn.”
“I’ve heard some people say, Foreigner. And I am. Why not pick someone else?”
Teacher inhaled and let it out. “Teacher picks who tests and when. Many Teachers were happy to change the order for the right price, so I was passed over many times because my father was not wealthy. When I became Teacher, I made a policy: testing is based on birth date, which angered certain families. There are two other young men who trained for years and are ready to take the first test. Raymond then noted your birth date is sooner.”
“Were those other families mad?”
“You should focus on what’s important.”
So, they are about to be livid now. “Can I ask some more?”
Teacher nodded.
“The One said you are insane.”
“And?”
Was that a joke?
“He said you are in charge of the kingdom.”
“That one again.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He trots out that lie about every few years, but I serve at the pleasure of the Ruling Council.”
“He said they don’t exist.”
“Oh, they most certainly do.”
“Why haven’t I seen any of them?”
“Many reasons.”
“Because I’m a foriegner?”
“They grew weary of the endless parade of unsuccessful Messenger Candidates. Ready or not, you will meet them now.”
What did that mean?
“Does anyone live outside the Barrier?”
“No one from this kingdom. Our farmers trade with a few far to the north, and we think they survive because, apparently, the One can’t travel that far.”
Toby wanted to ask more about Raymond and Lela, but how far could he push? Toby changed the subject.
“Why did my parents leave Dúnbarnaugh?”
Teacher nodded but took a second to answer. “You were a few months old. Two of your father’s cousins were next in line to test, but both disappeared. Another cousin died right before the first test. It looked like an accident, but it was not. Chase was next, but far too young. Your parents and I discussed the options but found only one. I used the Tester’s amulet to shift all of you to Earth.”
“Does the Council know you did that?”
“I informed them.”
“When?”
“After it was too late for them to interfere.”
“And they didn’t fire you?”
“They did. Then some on the Council wanted to end testing altogether, but the people want an end to the nightly attacks, so they hired me again.”
“They think I can stop that?”
Teacher shrugged.
“Why doesn’t the One send his people to Earth?”
“He has.”
“Do you know who?”
“No, but someone attacked your mother.”
“Hermes?”
“Yes, and something called a yeth.”
“Pardon?”
“We think he sent a type of predatory lizard. Send to England to hunt down Messenger Roland. Some people thought it was a dog and they called it Barghest. A hellhound.”
“How does he control them?”
“We don’t know.”
“But if Hermes is part of him, and the One can’t cross the Barrier-”
“We don’t know.”
“Why did Hermes show up now?”
“You mean on Earth?”
Toby nodded.
“I think Hermes can also feel the Call.”
Toby remembered something else. “Is it common for Teacher, Tester, and Keeper to be from one family?”
The old man held his gaze and seemed impressed. “This is the first time on record. I became Teacher ten years ago. Raymond became Tester four years ago, and Lela is in her second year. We didn’t plan to serve together, but we have,” he searched for a word, “a unique call to service.”
This next question could be trouble, too.
“He...” Could he risk it?
“Go ahead.”
“He said you drink.”
Teacher nodded. “No, I was a horrible drunk. Sober eight years and,” he searched, “two months.”
“I saw you stagger that night in my room.”
He slapped his more damaged right leg. “This one has a mind of its own sometimes.”
Was that the connection?
“Go ahead.”
“The tapestry?”
He nodded. “My Selah was a healer, Raymond was three, Lela was a baby, and I had just become Tester when a sickness ravaged the Realm. We think the One was behind it but could prove nothing. An extract of dog bane helped, and Selah needed supplies...”
***
Selah said, “I will not fight about this.”
“Then stop fighting,” Tester Sklavos said. “You can’t go alone.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you do.”
She shook her head.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, ye can’t.”
“Now, who’s fighting?” He did nothing to hide his smile.
“Ye have to prepare for the next Candidate.”
“Yes, but you need the help, and I...”
“What?”
“I need a break.”
“Ye all right?”
“I’m fine.”
She touched his arm. “Are ye?”
“I... It’s just...” He didn’t know how much to tell. “We knew this job was rough, but I’ve had to do some...” He shook his head.
Keeping silent somehow made the appalling acts less real - until he tried to sleep.
She reached across and stroked his arm.
He nodded. “I know it’s the only way.”
Her smile always made it better: she didn’t marry a monster, nor would she stay with one.
If only he could see himself through those eyes.
“Show me what to do, and we’ll be quick.”
“No stupid chances.”
In mock astonishment, “Me?”
She poked his ribs and fell into his arms.
***
Sklavos insisted they wait until moonset. The forest would be darker and they’d have less time before sunrise, but even Hermes and the Spiders can’t see in the dark.
They crept out the southern gate and moved westward from shadow to shadow, then across the open ground toward the forest just outside the Barrier.
“Remember; the leaves are sharp, and the thorns are poisonous.”
He nodded.
They approached the Barrier.
Stopped and waited for any sign of movement.
Seeing nothing for a long time, he stepped across the warm, glistening Barrier, like stepping through a warm waterfall, except he wasn’t wet.
He couldn’t catch his breath, and Selah joined him seconds later.
She smiled, took his hand, and they crept silently into the underbrush.
The dense growth tangled with his feet, but they had to go deeper: dog bane preferred the darkest parts.
She led the way, finding trails he would never have suspected.
“Right here,” she whispered. She showed him the long, thin leaves. “Watch the edges and those spines.” She pointed at the stem. “Grab the leaf at the base,” she showed her technique, “and pull down.”
He watched her expertly shear a leaf from the menacing stem. He tried and sliced his finger.
He turned so she wouldn’t see, and he pinched the sliced edges together.
Many foul words came to his mind as the toxins added insult to injury.
He kept quiet.
The bleeding would stop, eventually, so he tried again. He pulled and slipped his first leaf into the bag.
Her bag was already half full.
He pulled many more, and then he felt something on his arm. He jumped, and she giggled. “We have enough.”
She led the way out but stopped at the wood’s edge; they scanned the area.
“Let’s go,” she said.
They picked their way out of the dense undergrowth, now just meters from the Barrier.
Like a black fog, the cloud enveloped them. A glowing, handsome face appeared in the cloud. “Out for a stroll, Sklavos? Good evening, Selah. How are Raymond and Lela?”
Neither spoke.
A black tendril struck Sklavos mid-chest but didn’t knock him down.
The face-like cloud smiled again. “Let’s try again. I asked a question. You answer. How are you doing?”
Neither spoke until several tendrils snaked out of the cloud.
“We are fine,” Selah said quickly. “And you?”
“I am well. Thank you for asking.”
The face-like cloud moved around, so Sklavos and Selah faced away from the castle.
The One opened a small path to the Barrer. “I’ll let one of you go.”
“Go!” Sklavos said.
“I’m not-”
“Too slow,” said the One as the gap closed and laughed.
A handlike cloud seemed to dab a tear, and he said, “That never gets old. So now the failed Candidate tortures current Candidates?”
Sklavos didn’t respond.
The One rolled his eye-shaped clouds. The tendril struck Sklavos in the chest, knocking him several meters toward the Barrier.
A hand-shaped cloud appeared and produced a glowing jewel on a chain.
It licked his lip-shaped clouds and said something.
The tiny crystal flared.
As Sklavos was about to pull Selah behind him, she dove into the beam.
***
“The blast blew us both across the Barrier. She died instantly, and I’m alive because the One can’t shoot through the Barrier.”
“That crystal, is it an amulet?”
“Some call it his youth amulet. Some think it collects the life force, whatever that means, and stores it for him as food. We don’t know.”
“Carrick?”
Teacher nodded. “When the One fired, Griffin and the other guard were fully across the Barrier. Only Carrick’s right side and Chase’s ankle were.”
Toby reflected for a few minutes. “The day I accidentally shifted out beyond the Barrier, was Raymond attacked by a Spider?”
“Yes.”
Toby pressed on. “What happens when someone fails the test?”
Teacher’s eyes flared, like every other day. “For the last time, no one fails.”
Toby stared, waiting for the rest of the tirade.
Teacher sighed. “They, like me, were not chosen.”
“You don’t choose the Messenger?”
“Of course not.”
“Who does?”
“The Amulet chooses.”
The Prime felt heavier around his neck. “So, it’s alive?”
“Some say yes. I don’t think so.”
“You glared at me after each test.”
He nodded. “With this face, everything is a glare. I was merely waiting for the Amulet to reject you.”
“How many get past the second test?”
“You were my first.”
“You didn’t know the right answer, either.”
“No, my candidacy ended there, too.”
Toby nodded, but only some things fit into place.
Too much to consider.
He thought back to the last line of the prophecy “... of trusted have dread.”
Toby was deeper in thought when the old man stood up.
“One more. Please?”
“Go ahead.”
“If Lela hadn’t been here, do you think I could have made a red beam?”
“I don’t know.” Teacher stood up, “Now the work begins,” and limped toward the cave opening.
“Excuse me?”