Morningstar

“Wake up,” grave voices announce the next morning.

Slier sits up and crouches, thinking that something is going on. Then, as she scans the tent, she remembers that they are on their way to the location of the final trial. She looks at Vil, who is seated but with her eyes closing every second. She finds two buckets at the tent’s entrance.

“Come on,” Slier says as she takes both buckets. She places them at the end of the tent.

“What are those for?” Vil asks as Slier searches for her pants.

“The one filled with water is for washing our mouths and faces, and the empty one is for going to the bathroom,” she says. Vil stares at both buckets.

“What? They expect us to pee in a bucket?” She grabs the empty bucket.

“Yes,” Slier answers. She begins to roll her sleeping bag. “Hurry up and use it. I have to go.”

“Fine, then turn around,” she says. “I can’t go with people watching.”

Slier rolls her eyes. Vil should be accustomed to things like this. They clean themselves on communal showers. Still, Slier turns around to give her privacy.

Morning gives them only half an hour. In that time, everyone packed their things, ate, and they are on their way. Slier slows her pace when they are walking to get to where East is, which is at the back of the team.

“How was sharing a tent with Phoenix?” Slier asks.

“Weird,” East admits. “We didn’t spoke much. She was cleaning her guns while I drank.”

“You brought a bottle of rum?” Slier asks.

“No,” East answers. “I brought more than one.”

“Give me one,” Slier says. East smirks.

They continue walking under the hot sun for hours. She notices once Hakea’s legs give in. She launches herself, grabbing him before he falls. Icarus notices. “Keep walking,” he tells the team as he moves between them and towards Hakea.

“He is burning up,” Slier tells him. Hakea’s eyes are closing. The heat must have gotten to him.

Icarus places his backpack on the floor. He takes his gray cloak off. Slier cannot help but stare at him. Under the cloak, he wears black pants, boots, and a black shirt that shows most of his arms. What surprises her is the number of belts that he has with knives and daggers around his waist, torso, and legs. It is like East, except that East’s belts are filled with different kinds of guns.

He takes Hakea’s backpack off him and places it on the floor. He covers Hakea with his cloak to block the sun. Then, he searches for something in the backpack. “Drink,” he tells Hakea. “You are dehydrated.” He picks up his own backpack and places it on his back. He looks at Slier. “Keep an eye on him.” He grabs Hakea’s backpack and begins to walk back to the front of the team.

Slier then notices that she could never be a mentor. Icarus has given his cloak to Hakea, which is the only protection that he has against the sun, because he needs it more. He has given up his water ration and decided to carry Hakea’s backpack for him.

Icarus places everyone else from his team before himself, and that’s something that Slier thinks that she could never do.

***

“When are we going to take a break?” Moneo asks. Kobo is also tired, but as soon as Moneo finishes asking, he steps on something hard. He looks in front of him until he understands. What lies in front of him aren’t dunes anymore but mountains with rocks that are the color of the sand.

“Just a little farther,” Icarus assures Moneo, which Kobo thought that Icarus didn’t hear Moneo. “Wait until we reach the top.”

After a few minutes, they are closer to the top. “I smell something,” Kobo whispers.

“What?” Fey asks. Kobo knows that his eyesight, sense of smell, and hearing are better developed than most people. He closes his eyes without stopping his walking. He is afraid that if he stops walking, he won’t walk again. He tries to concentrate on the smell. “Salt.”

They reach the top of one of the mountains. From there, he can see that there is a beach a couple of kilometers away. They have finished the desert. Kobo smiles as he looks at everyone, who are also smiling. No more heat. Now they can get the breeze of the sea.

“The Canal of Sadheim,” Icarus tells them. “It connects the desert of Sadheim with the land of Yosmil.”

Kobo nods, realizing that of all the things that they were taught at Morningstar, the lands weren’t one of them. He doesn’t know anything outside of Morningstar. Maybe it was to keep them from escaping.

The groups move faster down the mountain hill. They are now motivated to leave the dessert. They pass the palm trees, but they slow the pace down when they reach the sea. There are small rowboats by the coast. They are not going to rest. They are going to cross the canal.

“Four per boat,” Morning announces.

Moneo looks at Beta, then Kobo, and then Fey before smirking. It was obvious for Kobo that they four were going in the same boat. They get on one of the boats, and for a second, Kobo is glad that they can sit for a while, even though they have to row.

“I hate water,” Fey reminds them. She is sitting in the back with Beta. Kobo and Moneo are rowing.

“Are you all right, Beta?” Moneo asks after a while.

“What?” Beta asks as she looks up to face Moneo, who is rowing with his back to the front. “Oh, yeah. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What’s the matter?” Moneo asks. He stops rowing for a second and the rowboat begins to turn towards Kobo’s side.

“Moneo,” Kobo whispers, and Moneo returns to rowing.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Beta repeats.

“Beta–”

“Give her some space, Moneo,” Fey defends her. Moneo looks at Fey and then at Beta. He turns around and continues his rowing without speaking a word.

***

Agrion, Draconic and the rest of Morningstar traveled through the canal. They then took a break at the forest near the beach of the land that Icarus called Yosmil. They walked hours and hours through the forest until sunset arrived and Morning called that that was all for today.

Now, Agrion is inside of his tent. He is unrolling his sleeping bag and laying it on the floor. Killam enters as he does.

“There’s a river nearby,” Killam says. “Icarus says that it is safe for us to clean ourselves in it.”

Agrion nods. He didn’t know what he expected with sleeping in the same tent with Killam. Yesterday, Killam helped him build the tent. Then he placed his sleeping bag next to Agrion’s but didn’t do anything. He went to sleep and nothing more.

“I should go,” Agrion says.

“Icarus said that camping partners should stick together,” Killam says.

Agrion changes his mind fast. He doesn’t feel comfortable bathing on the same river as Killam. “Then I won’t go.”

Killam doesn’t turn. He continues placing his sleeping bag. “You don’t feel comfortable being naked in front of me.” Agrion feels his skin beginning to blush. “That’s all right. We can keep distance between us. Nevertheless, you should not go alone.”

Agrion thinks for a second. He should really clean himself. He smells of sweat from all of the hours under the sun. “If you are going to keep your distance, then fine.”

Killam nods. Minutes later, they are walking through the forest. Killam doesn’t speak, and Agrion doesn’t want to speak. When they arrive at the river, Killam looks around to see if they are alone. He then stops in front of Agrion.

“I’ll be over there,” Killam says, pointing at some far place in the river. “Call if you need anything.” He disappears before Agrion can answer.

Agrion looks around once, twice, until he is sure that he is alone. He strips down and makes his way towards the water. The cold water greets him. He almost jumps out of the river because of it.

Halfway through his bath, he looks towards one side of the river and where half a moon is at the sky. He spots the silhouette of Killam’s head. He is keeping his distance. What changed of him? Agrion thought that Killam was going to keep asking him invasive questions. He thought that he was going to look for an excuse to kiss him like last time.

Agrion swims towards him. He keeps his distance, making sure that they cannot see each other besides their faces. “I do not understand you.”

“I try not to be predictable and readable,” Killam answers. He submerges and Agrion covers himself, afraid that he is peeking, but Killam goes back up without a hint that he was trying to see. “Is there something that you wanted to ask?”

“Why did you choose me as camping partner?”

“Because Norm and Shin were going to pick each other,” Killam says. “And I like you so I figured that I wouldn’t mind having you.” As a camping partner. Agrion adds the words in his head.

“B-but you… Then why did you…But didn’t you…”

“Spill it,” Killam says.

“You kissed me and then told me to shower together,” Agrion says without thinking. “And now you are giving me space in the river and at the tent.”

Killam grins. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you are asking me something. Perhaps you like me being direct about wanting you.”

Agrion opens his mouth to protest but stops himself. What if he’s right? He does like how direct Killam is. He has made clear that he wants him. But what if Agrion doesn’t like Killam? What if he only likes being wanted explicitly by someone for the first time?

“I don’t force people on anything,” Killam says after seeing that Agrion wasn’t going to speak. “I know that you agreed to be my camping partner to spite Hakea. He is possessive of you, even though you are nothing of him. You didn’t want to be my partner because of me so I decided to back down. I will keep my comments for myself until you want to hear them.”

“But…” Agrion says, but he doesn’t have anything to say. He doesn’t want him to stop with his comments, but why? What does Agrion want with Killam?

“I am heading out,” Killam says. “You can turn around or enjoy the view. I don’t mind if you peek.”

Agrion turns around as Killam swims towards the edge of the river. He hears water dripping. He turns his head and glances at Killam before realizing what he is doing. Killam catches him and smirks. Agrion turns around and submerges into the water, letting the river consume his shame.

***

The next day, they traveled through the woods for hours. They took a break before entering a cave. Shin doesn’t like caves anymore since the previous trial. He now knows that everything can happen inside of them. He moves closer to Ilya. If someone is going to get poisoned through flying darts today, it won’t be her.

Quin’s team is directly in front of them. Shin tries to look between the students. “You are searching for Ollie, aren’t you?” Ilya asks.

“No,” Shin lies. He loved Ollie before she broke up with him and began dating Jas, who killed himself. He hasn’t seen her since the day at Morningstar’s cathedral. He wants to make sure that she survived the third trial.

“That’s just pitiful,” Tilray says.

“Tilray,” Norm says, disappointed of her comment. Shin pulls his middle finger at her.

“What? I am right,” Tilray says. “She broke your heart, and she was obviously dating Jas while she was dating you. You should not care for her.”

Shin sighs. “I know. I just… can’t stop thinking about her.”

“Why? Was she your first kiss? Your first girlfriend? Your first time?” Tilray asks.

Shin takes a second but nods. Killam begins to laugh. “Killam!” Ilya scolds.

“What? No wonder why he is so infatuated,” Killam says. He turns to Shin. “I suggest that you rip off the bandage and move on. Kill her in your own mind.”

“That’s heartless,” Norm says.

“I know,” Killam answers.

Shin decides to block them. He knows that what Killam said is right, a little cruel but right. He should forget about her. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. She doesn’t deserve Shin feeling for her.

Morning stops walking. He raises a hand. “Mentors,” he whispers. He signals with his own hand to the front. Shin sees Icarus meld through the crowd.

***

Icarus knew what Morning’s signal is. He places his hood around his head and melds through the crowd. Those signals mean that there is someone or something in front of them. He spots Quin running next to Signe and Kemba. Demetrio is behind them.

The light of the torches doesn’t reach far enough. The cave turns dark, but they are all trained to fight in the dark. Icarus sees light in front of them. There are a couple of people in armor heading their way towards the group. Icarus pulls one dagger out. He launches on top of the person holding the torch and stabs him on the stomach. He moves away before someone could react.

They all draw weapons, but Quin, Signe, and Kemba have arrived. Icarus doesn’t pay attention to the mentors fighting. He focuses on his targets. In seconds, he and the other mentors cleared them. Icarus then gets near his last victim. He removes the hood that’s covering his head and face. His heart stops.

“They are children,” Kemba whispers.

“No,” Quin says. “They must be around sixteen or seventeen years old.”

“Children!” Kemba repeats.

“But they have weapons,” Signe says. “They don’t look all that tired. They must be from somewhere nearby. What’s the closest city?”

“Zladale,” Icarus says. What is Morning planning?

Demetrio grunts. Icarus sees that he is holding three bodies and is piling them up. “Don’t stand there. Help me pile them so that we can get rid of the evidence.”

With no chance to stop them, Icarus makes a silent pray for the fallen people before gathering them, throwing them on a pile, and watching the bodies burn.

***

“Time to set camp,” Morning says.

East is glad about that. The woods led to a cave and then to more woods. He is tired, but he won’t show it. He helps Phoenix set up the camp fast, hoping to sleep more. If he has counted the days well, tomorrow is the final trial. He needs all the energy that he can get.

Once they are done, East sets his sleeping bag. He pulls a bottle of rum from his backpack and opens it. Before he can take a sip, Phoenix interrupts him, “Drinking again?”

“It helps pass the time,” East says. He takes a gulp. “Want some?”

Phoenix stares at him for a second. “If I die tomorrow at least I spent the night before drinking.” She grabs the bottle and takes a sip. East watches her face sour. “This is strong.”

“If you say so,” East answers. He has been drinking for years with Slier. He is accustomed to drinking strong drinks. He hands the bottle back to Phoenix. He should talk to her, get to know the person that Tilray hates the most. “You hate Tilray. What happened between you too?”

“I’m not drunk enough to answer,” Phoenix says.

“Come on,” East says as he takes the bottle back. “It is our last night. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? Let’s just be honest. If we survive tomorrow, we won’t speak about what happened in here tonight.”

“Is this your way of asking for sex?” Phoenix asks. East almost spits the rum.

“No offense, but you are not my type.”

“Right, your type is Tilray and Slier,” Phoenix answers. “You like bossy women.”

“Slier? What makes you think that Slier is my type?”

“Wait, aren’t you two together?”

East scratches his head. “Of course not! She is my best friend.”

“Ah, then I guess that I misread the situation,” Phoenix says. She places her legs under her. “I mean, the way that you look at each other would have fooled anyone.”

“I don’t look at her like that! I look at her like any other person,” East says, throwing one hand in the air.

“No, you don’t,” she says. “You look at her as if you could stare at her for hours and not get bored. You look at her as if she was a masterpiece sculpted by the greatest sculptor of all time.”

East takes another sip. What if she’s right? No. She shouldn’t be. “The same way that I looked at Tilray before?”

“Before she dumped you? No,” Phoenix answers. “I’ve never seen you look at anyone that way. That look is reserved for Slier.”

East sighs. “Give me something. Tell me something that is enough to know that you are trustworthy.”

Phoenix stares at him. “Promise that it won’t leave this tent. Promise that no one will know.” East makes an expression of zipping his lips. “I… I’m gifted. I have an ability.”

East’s eyes widen. “Are you a witch?”

“What? No,” she answers. “I can create and manipulate fire. That doesn’t make me a witch.”

“It does,” he says. He remembers that Morning made him a witch hunter. Does he have to hunt Phoenix? Morning said that all witches were bad, but how can Phoenix be bad? How can she deserve to die? Maybe Icarus was right. Maybe not all of the witches are bad. Then he remembers a night when he saw someone light a flame. “I remember. I saw you once use your flame. You were walking in the dark and Slier and I noticed you, but we were too drunk to do anything.”

“To do anything?” Phoenix asks.

“Morning told Slier and me to hunt witches at Morningstar,” East says. He sees Phoenix hand go to her small shotgun at her waist. “No. Calm down! I won’t hurt you. Icarus believes that not all of the witches are bad. He believes that there are good witches somewhere in the world. I… I am starting to believe that. Because how can you be bad? How can you be the monster that Morning described?”

Phoenix still wraps her hand around her gun. “How can I believe you? How can I know that this isn’t a way to make me lower my guard so that you can strike me when I’m vulnerable?”

“Because it isn’t!” East says. He sets his back straighter but doesn’t move. He doesn’t want her to do something drastic. “I have no reason to hurt you! How can I make you believe me?” Her eyes don’t back down, and for a second, East can see it. He can see the fire that she spoke about inside of her. “I love Slier!” Phoenix’s eyebrows stop frowning for a second. “I love her. I never said it out loud. I never even said it to myself, but I do. I love her. Now, can you please let go of the gun?”

Phoenix takes a second but loses the grip on her gun. “I am trusting you, East. If you make any move, I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” He offers the bottle. “Drink?”

***

“Wake up,” a grave voice announces. Wither sits up. The sun isn’t even out yet. Why are they waking them up? “Come out of your tents.”

Wither looks at Lexan, who looks sleepy. Still, Lexan stands up and walks outside. Wither follows quickly, not wanting to stay behind. Outside, he sees everyone coming out of their tents. They are all moving towards the campfire where Morning is.

“Today, the final trial will begin,” Morning says. This awakes Wither in an instance. “Out there, there is a city. Surrounding the city are each of my brothers and sisters, each one with their five remaining teams. When the time comes, each team will make their way into the city. Your goal is to kill every person from the opposite academies until three teams, or sixty people and three mentors, remain alive in each academy. The Times will be counting every remaining person. When an academy’s number diminishes to sixty students and three mentors, a flare will be sent to the sky, representing the color of the academy. If that shot it fired, you won’t be able to kill people from that academy. They have passed the trial and will graduate.

“You will be wearing an armband,” Morning says. A cloaked figure hands Wither a yellow armband. “That will identify you from your enemies. Everything is allowed. You will use whatever weapon you want. You can kill whoever you like except the people with the same armband. Any question?”

Wither looks around for someone that is willing to ask a question, but no one is. He gulps loudly. This is going to be a bloodbath.

“Prepare yourself with what is necessary, and leave the rest behind,” Morning says. “Prepare yourself because the final trial begins in half an hour.”