By the time he was halfway up, his thighs burned, and it felt as though the air wasn’t thick enough to sustain him. He looked around and felt guilty disappointment to see the others making better progress than he, while looking as though they weren’t finding the climb nearly so difficult. Before the day began, he had worried if he would be capable of fighting when he got to the top. Now he worried his heart might fail and he would drop dead before he even got close.
He wasn’t going to be shown up by the others, however. At one time, other people had admired him, and he didn’t intend to be considered an embarrassment now. He put his head down and drove with his legs, one step at a time, doing his best to ignore the distance he still had to cover.
CHAPTER 27
Solène arrived at the crafting gallery as the bell in the Priory’s small campanile chimed the hour signalling the end of supper. She hadn’t eaten—filled with nervous energy, she had no appetite. She hadn’t been in the crafting gallery before, and found herself in a large, high-ceilinged room much like the fencing hall, but without the racks of training weapons.
She was surprised to see the Prince Bishop standing with dal Drezony and three magisters whom she had not yet met. Could his interest in her be that great? Other than those five, the hall was empty.
Dal Drezony walked over to welcome her. “Are you ready?”
Solène nodded, a flutter of nerves starting in her stomach.
“You are allowed to pass these tests one at a time, which means that anything you can do today will count and will be a remarkable achievement considering you’ve only just arrived.”
Solène nodded again. “I’m ready,” she said.
“Good.” Dal Drezony turned back to the others. “We’ll begin with the spell of perpetuating illumination.”
It took Solène a moment to understand what dal Drezony meant, but once she did, she relaxed. She recalled dal Drezony saying the Fount looked like a blue glow, and as soon as the thought popped into her head, everything around her was bathed in blue, coruscating light—something she had never seen before. For an instant, she wondered why that had happened at just that moment, then pushed the thought from her mind and focussed on her task. She smiled with satisfaction as the Fount disappeared, leaving in its wake the golden light of the small, glowing orb—the one she had created without a container.
“What do I have to do next?” she said, turning to dal Drezony.
Dal Drezony smiled, her gaze locked on the light. Solène realised that the other woman had started to count the moment Solène had started to speak. After a moment, dal Drezony’s smile grew wider.
“That will be sufficient,” she said, then turned to the others. “I think we can consider that a pass?”
The three magisters nodded in agreement. Two men and a woman, they stood huddled together in their cream robes; their expressions inscrutable. Solène wondered if they were surprised, frightened, or indifferent, then realised she didn’t care. She had seen and heard enough to know that the Prince Bishop’s opinion was the only one that really mattered. Unfortunately, he was equally unreadable, staring at the magical light, which still showed no signs of diminishing. There was something discomfiting about the way he looked at it, but Solène couldn’t put her finger on exactly what.
“We’ve left out some objects,” dal Drezony said, gesturing. “For the levitation test, you must lift one—any one of your choosing—to a height no lower than your knee, and hold it there until I tell you to stop. You should try to keep it as motionless as you can.”
Solène glanced at her light, which still shone brightly, boosting her confidence. Several dumbbells and weights of varying sizes had been laid out on the floor; she wondered if she should read anything into the selection. As soon as she focussed on her desire to lift, they all rose.
Surprised, she nearly gasped, trying to conceal her reaction from the watchers. The objects juddered in mid-air and she had to fight to regain her concentration. She brought the weights up until they were level with her eyes, then held them perfectly still. She had only intended to lift one, and the fact that they had all moved unnerved her.
While it was satisfying to have more power than she’d expected, the over-reach also indicated the lack of control dal Drezony had spoken of. At dal Drezony’s nod, Solène lowered the weights to the floor. She felt a little light-headed and had to take a step to steady herself, but she didn’t think anyone noticed.
“It was only necessary to lift one, but we appreciate the demonstration of what you can do,” dal Drezony said. “Now, the third test. The push.”
She drew Solène’s attention to a large burlap sack filled with some sort of bulky material. “This approximates the weight of an average-sized man. You need to push it back a minimum of three paces.”
Solène concentrated on the sack. She thought of Arnoul, of his hands reaching for her, and with a cry, she hurled her will against the sack, blasting it across the floor more than twice the required distance. When she had composed herself, she was relieved to see that she hadn’t turned it into a pig.
“The barrier next,” dal Drezony said.
The others remained conspicuously silent, closely watching every move Solène made. She did her best to ignore them, but it wasn’t easy. This test gave her the most cause for concern. She had never attempted anything even close to creating any sort of “barrier” and had no idea where to start. She furrowed her brow. How did she do everything else? Desire seemed to be the key, and anything that made the desire stronger was a boon.
Closing her eyes, Solène imagined herself in the clearing on the road to Mirabay when they had encountered the highwaymen. One of them was pointing his small crossbow at her. She visualised his finger on the trigger, starting to press, the lever starting to move, the tense string waiting to fire the bolt. Even as she imagined the click of the trigger and the thrum of the bowstring, she allowed her instinct for survival to guide her mind. Her heart quickened.
“Impressive,” dal Drezony said. “I’ve not seen one so strong as to be physically visible before.”
Solène opened her eyes. A glowing blue hemisphere surrounded her.
“Your Grace, would you like to do the honours?” dal Drezony said.
The Prince Bishop smiled, and nodded.
“Maintain the shield now, Solène,” dal Drezony said.
Panic flashed through her but Solène nodded. Would they actually do something like fire a quarrel at her? Would her shield stop it, or was it simply an illusion?
The Prince Bishop walked forward, drawing the dagger from his belt. Reversing the weapon, he tapped the pommel on the shield. There was a dull thud at the impact and the glowing blue energy indented at the point of contact, as though the dagger pressed against something soft. He pressed harder, but the shield didn’t give. Solène’s heart raced; she willed the shield to hold with all she was worth.
The Prince Bishop turned back to the others. “I can’t get through,” he said. “It’s absolutely solid.” He re-sheathed the dagger and returned to his earlier position. “Time for the final test,” he said.
Relaxing, Solène released the shield. Her vision swam and it was all she could do to keep her balance. She forced a smile in dal Drezony’s direction, though she couldn’t really see the woman, just a blur. What was happening to her?
“The final test,” dal Drezony said. “The stillness.” She called out for an attendant, who came into the hall carrying a wooden cage. When he set it on the floor and opened it, a startled chicken ran out. Solène’s vision had returned and she laughed when the animal dashed across as the floor. If she didn’t manage to complete this test, someone would have quite a job chasing it down.