Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wyatt
The morning air has a chill to it, the grass has a touch of white frosting on the tips, winter is very much on its way.
Weeks have passed by in Nu’cov, my days now filled with training, training, and more fucking training. Ronan is relentless, I swear he doesn’t understand what the word ‘rest’ means. The man never stops, and because he never stops, neither do I—unfortunately.
Every exercise is a life-or-death scenario.
Every morning, I have laps around the valley, and every day I’m pushed further. Don’t get me wrong, I no longer fall to my knees and spew my guts up, so I must be doing something right.
Afternoons are for weapons training, my favourite part of the day.
So far, I have learned how to use swords, daggers, and bows.
Bows are my strength and probably my favourite.
Not that I’m bad at the others, I just find it easier, like an extension of my arm.
Ronan grumbles, telling me not to stick with what I’m comfortable with, and I guess he has a point.
So, I leave bows until last, where I get to show off, just a little.
Everyone has taken to asking me to aim for certain parts of the target, which I hit without much effort. Caelan decided I should begin working with moving targets, and once I can do that, I can start on smaller patrols.
I’m not worried, the quicker I hit all those targets, the quicker I get to the real work. He knows I want to get out of here and find Nia and Elana, but he stipulates I must pass the trials first.
Evenings are filled with hand-to-hand combat, which is when my growing ego takes a huge hit. I am getting better, but these folks have been training for years, since childhood or younger, depending on where they came from.
Iza and Lilah have been working tirelessly on my second trial, which Arel let slip last night, is an obstacle course. I almost laugh until the others begin chuckling at the mention of it, they know Lilah and Iza better and know what tricks to expect.
Apprehension sinks deep into my bones every day, waiting until they are finally ready.
The sun has barely risen from its bed this morning, and I’m eager to start running to build up some heat.
At least the mountains block most of the wind.
At the training field, there’s a gathering crowd today.
Even from my hut, I can hear the raised voices.
I rush down to see what the commotion is about.
Iza pushes through the crowd when she sees me approach. “It’s time,” she jeers. Arms folded across her chest, armed to the teeth like usual, even within the safety of Nu’cov, she refuses to lay her weapons down.
“Time for…?” I already know the answer, but as far as she knows, I know nothing about the trial.
Kaleb wraps his arm around my neck, walking me away from the training field, to the far left of the valley, past the magical tree. Thankfully.
Iza walks to my right, whispering to Lilah as we near an enormous pitch. Not what I imagine an obstacle course to be, but after the first trial, I’m learning to go with the flow.
Nothing is as it seems, is a good motto to live by here.
Iza motions for me to follow her up a ramp to the edge of a ridge. In front of me stand tall pillars, planted deep within a river below. I don’t think I’ve seen this place at all.
Was it always here? Surely, I would have noticed it on any of my runs.
Iza turns to me. Her dark brown hair whipping in front of her golden-brown face, “This is your second challenge.” She points out to the course before me.
“An obstacle course that Lilah and I concocted. The rules are simple: if you fail one part, you’re done.
The object of the course is to retrieve a golden chalice at the end. ” She smirks, “Simple, right?”
She picks up a basket from the ground, clutching a large piece of meat.
I watch her curiously. She tosses it into the ravine below, and before it has a chance to land, large jaws jump from the water and snatch it from the air.
I stumble backwards, falling to the ground.
I don’t need to see what is in the water, its teeth are enough for me to know what lurks there.
She cocks her head while sneering at me. “I wouldn’t fall in if I were you.”
The stuff of my nightmares.
Zopdil.
Large reptilian beasts, with slimy skin that changes colour to blend into their surroundings, allowing it to hide in the watery depths or on sandy shores. Males and females have different tales, males being a spear and the females being a spiked club. Which one this beast is, I’m not sure yet.
I remember hearing stories of it when I was younger and being attacked by folk pretending to be one. I’m not sure when this happened or how old I was, but it was enough to scar me for life.
This beast, with its long jaws and razor-sharp teeth, is supposed to be able to jump twenty feet in the air. Luckily, it can’t live outside of water for long, only enough to snatch its prey from the shoreline.
How in the veils did Iza find one?
“Ready?” She moves aside, allowing me to step towards the edge. I gulp, looking down at the water below.
Simple, don’t fall.
Don’t die.
Taking a deep breath, I look to the pillars in front of me, spaced about two feet apart.
That shouldn’t be too hard to jump. I vault to the first pillar, and as I land on it, the others begin alternating between rising and falling.
Eyeing up the second pillar, I watch it rise and fall, waiting for the right time to jump.
When it rises, I quickly step out and land on it.
A bead of sweat runs down my forehead, and I wipe it away to stop it stinging my eyes. Three more pillars to go.
My heel slips on the edge when I land on the third pillar, and I sway with my arms out, trying to catch my balance. The audience gasps. Swinging my arms, trying to stabilise myself, cheers erupt as I land on the fourth pillar.
The last one is moving faster, stones from beneath my feet crumble and fall to the water, the Zopdil jumps as the pillar lowers close to the surface, snapping its jaws at my feet. Panicking, I kick my feet out, using all my strength to push the beast’s body away from me.
Club tail. Great.
I tense at the snap, willing the pillar to rise again.
But it doesn’t, the pillar I’m stuck on remains near the ravine.
My only option is to wait for the final column to fall close enough that I can make the jump.
My eyes never leave the pillar as it falls.
Just as I’m about to make my jump, the Zopdil leaps between the pillars, hitting me with its spiked club tail, scratching down my arm, almost knocking me off my feet.
The last pillar is still low enough for me to make the jump, leaping across, water splashes as the Zopdil jumps again.
Its jaws open, ready to snap my body in half.
My fingers dig into the ridges of the pillar, my knuckles blanching at my grip, trying to gain traction to pull myself up.
I feel my hands becoming sweaty, my heart thunders in my ears, and I can’t hear anything other than its drumming.
The Zopdil’s jaws snap shut at my feet. I use the beast’s body to give me momentum, digging my heels onto its closed jaw. Hoisting myself up, my arms are aching and bloody from scratching them on the stones. I scramble to my knees as the pillar rises a safe distance away.
Barely having a second to catch my breath, the pillar begins its descent again. Refusing to go near that beast another time, I lunge for the ridge.
Rolling over, I land on my back, gasping for breath, as the pounding within my ears ceases. I hear the cheers from the crowd.
Glad I could provide a good show.
After catching my breath, I scramble to my feet. Looking out at the crowd, I search for Iza and Lilah.
“What the fuck?” I shout, throwing my hands in the air. I see them giggling to each other; the sight makes my blood boil. I almost died down there, while they think it’s funny. The anger stirs in me, forcing me to the next part.
Turning around, I’m faced with a large stone wall.
Tall enough that I can’t even see the top, and the sides only lead to me falling to my death.
At the base is a small, narrow tunnel. I squat down, peering inside, but I can’t see a thing; it’s pitch black, no light whatsoever.
I look around, trying to judge how deep the tunnel is, but I can’t see anything past the cliffside.
I glance over my shoulder at the crowd again, Iza and Lilah are still chuckling to themselves. I push forward into the restricted tunnel, which is covered in dust, making it hard to breathe. Crawling on all fours, I halt when something scuttles down the tunnel wall.
Frozen on my knees, I wait to feel if it’s still there, but there’s nothing, so I continue to crawl further.
My skin turns to ice as something brushes against my arm, then again against my other arm.
Unexpectedly, little feet trail over my arms and legs.
Something crawls onto my neck, its tiny legs scurrying on my skin.
My yell echoes in the tunnel, piercing my ears. Up ahead, a glint of light breaks through the darkness, a nook where I can escape. I rush forward as fast as my hands and knees can manage on the rocky ground.
Scrambling for minutes that feel like hours, I finally reach the saving light at the end. The second I am out of the tunnel, I shake my arms everywhere, throwing spiders from my body, swatting them away.
I shiver, still feeling their little feet crawling on me.
I hit my arms and legs until they’re sore, and the sensation numbs.
Dusting myself off, my nose is almost swiped from my face when I look up, finding huge mechanical axes swinging in an alternating sequence.
Sunlight glints off the steel in a threatening manner.
They’re fast, how can I get past them? I count seconds between each swing, my eyes bulge, realising every third swing, the axe’s pace slows.