“Pretty cool,” Hagar said. “Though I’m not sure what good controlling one rat is going to do us.”
“You will,” I said with what I hoped was a mysterious smile. Hagar didn’t understand the implications of the experiment I’d performed. I’d just taken a huge leap forward. I still wasn’t quite at full strength, but now I had far more tools at my disposal.
“Be careful,” Hahen warned me. “I can see the fire in your eyes, and I know what you’re thinking. Don’t push yourself. You have to survive to win the Gauntlet.”
“I know,” I assured the rat spirit. “Thank you for your help, honored Hahen. This would not have been possible without your guidance.”
“Nonsense,” Hahen said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You’ve done most of the hard work. I simply provided you with moral support and a steady supply of materials for your experiments.”
I was so excited by what we’d achieved that I almost missed the flicker of the light as something passed over the courtyard. I tilted my head back and shielded my eyes against the noon sun with one hand. There it was again. A long, sinuous shape descended from the sky, its wide wings casting shadows across the school as it approached.
Elushinithoc was back.
“What’s he doing here?” Hagar asked.
As if in answer to Hagar’s question, Niddhogg burst through an arched doorway and streaked across the courtyard toward us.
“Guys!” he shouted in a ragged voice. “It’s happening! The dragons, the other schools—”
The shadow darkened the courtyard, and the sound of heavy, leathery wings flapping against the wind battered my ears. Dust devils swirled around us, and the rats wearing my bands fled into the topiaries around the courtyard’s perimeter. Elushinithoc settled on the roof overlooking us, wings outstretched, his long tail dangling down to the ground.
“Welcome, challengers,” he bellowed. Doorways opened on all sides of the courtyard and the other teams emerged from the shadows. “It is nearly time for the second challenge of the Empyrean Gauntlet. Prepare yourselves. When the blue portals appear, you may begin.”
And, with that, Elushinithoc leaped from the roof and soared into the air. The dragon circled above the courtyard once, twice, then streaked out of sight with a single powerful flap of his wings.
“Hey!” Clem called from the doorway behind me. She, Abi, and Eric staggered into the courtyard.
Their shambling steps were clumsy and halting, as if they weren’t sure the ground beneath their feet was stable. They weren’t the only ones who were unsteady on their feet. The other contenders seemed every bit as confused and shocked as I felt. It took a couple of minutes for everyone to sort themselves out into teams. We eyed each other warily, unsure what the rules were for the situation we’d found ourselves in. The team from Shambala watched everyone as if certain open combat was about to break out. The Yzlanti team had circled up around their injured teammate, who looked pale and far too weak to be out of bed. A heavy jinsei plaster covered his chest, and I wondered how he could walk, much less compete, with such a severe unhealed injury.
“My father is going to be so angry,” Abi said. “I was supposed to help him with the service today. The dragon didn’t even give me time to say goodbye before he whisked me back to school. It wasn’t a pleasant trip, either.”
“That’s the understatement of the year.” Eric swallowed hard and rubbed a hand across his stomach. “Feels like he turned me inside out. I still might lose my breakfast.”
“At least you’re all dressed for the occasion.” Clem didn’t have her robes. Instead, she was wrapped in a tight sheath of a red dress, and her hair was done up in glamorous, wavy curls. Her ornate makeup was like a mask that made her eyes deep and mysterious, and her lips glistened a glossy red. “We were headed to the theater. How can I fight in this getup?”
“How fast can you get to your room and back here?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Clem kicked off her high-heeled shoes, clutched them in her left hand, and took off for the door from the courtyard. “I guess we’ll find out!”
She wasn’t the only one who wasn’t prepared for the challenge. Some students were dressed in casual clothes, others had been snatched out of their beds in their pajamas, and at least two that I could see wore nothing but swim trunks. If Elushinithoc wanted to keep us on our toes, this was certainly one way to do it.
I studied our opponents, trying to size them up. My core was the most powerful one in the courtyard, which wasn’t a surprise. I’d advanced more quickly than most students, thanks to my unique core. I’d also paid the price for that advancement, as a twinge from my damaged core reminded me.
If I could hold it together for a few more months, the Flame would heal me.
If, that was, the heretics didn’t take out my entire clan before then.
“Jace Warin?” While I’d been mulling over my future, the dragon team had wandered over to us. Their leader had a surprisingly melodious voice, and I was relieved to see she wasn’t preparing to attack me.
“That’s me.” It was difficult to judge whether the dragons’ leader was being friendly or threatening. Her slit pupils and sharp features looked predatory to me, like an alligator sizing up the other animals.
“You fought the terrorists at Kyoto?” she asked.
“Yep.” I was always uncomfortable talking about what had happened in Japan, because it always involved lying. While everyone knew that I was an Eclipse Warrior, they definitely did not know that a horde of the original abominations had tried to punch their way back to Earth to
