I did not want to take this assessment.
“Jace, don’t be difficult.” A strong taste of Ishigara’s hostile tone crept back into her words, along with a razor-sharp glint in her eye. “Every student at every school takes this test during their third year. It is more than tradition, it is law. You will take this test.”
“Can we at least discuss my results when this is over?” I wanted a chance to argue my case if the contraption decided something absurd.
“Of course.” Ishigara’s tone was still frosty. “Now, take the handles, and cycle your breathing as you normally would.”
“The delamination.” That could be my escape from this stupid test. “If I cycle, it could get worse.”
“I’ve spoken with the medical staff. Brief cycling, all that is required for this test, will not cause you any harm.” Ishigara pushed the device into my hands. “Take the handles and begin.”
With a sigh, I took the wheel from Ishigara. Its handles were so cold they stuck to my palms and sent shivers racing up my arms. The ball at the center of the wheel throbbed in time with my pulse.
That wasn’t creepy at all.
“Good,” Ishigara said softly. “The wheel attuned to you quickly. Shouldn’t be more than a minute of cycling before it has your results.”
“Good,” I echoed. “I’m already tired of this game.” My breath flowed smoothly in and out of my lungs in the familiar rhythm of meditation I’d performed thousands of times before. I was careful to take only shallow breaths and let the jinsei flow through and out of my core with as little resistance as possible. If I strained myself taking this stupid test, I’d be furious and so would my clan’s elders.
The wheel siphoned jinsei from the channels in my hands. With every cycling breath, it stole a little more, and the ball at its heart shone brighter. By my fourth breath, the ball jittered in place. On my sixth breath, it slid out of its position and rolled in a slow circle around the center. With every breath after that, the ball’s circle grew wider. Segments of the wheel lit up as the ball rolled over them, then faded as it moved away. The ball picked up speed and spun around the wheel’s outer edge so fast the flashes of the wedges became mesmerizing strobes. I couldn’t have torn my eyes off the contraption if I’d wanted to.
I stopped counting breaths after the thirtieth exhale. The ball’s frantic spinning held me in thrall. The cold grips of the wheel had warmed in my hands, and something tugged at the edges of my thoughts. There was something out there. Waiting. Watching. It measured me with every breath, and the weight of its attention pinned me to the bed.
As quickly as it had started, the ball stopped spinning.
And split into seven smaller balls. One mote of light vibrated at the center of each of the wedges, and the entire wheel glowed with a silver radiance that stung my eyes.
Ishigara’s breath caught in her throat. She snatched the wheel out of my hands to get a better look at it. The instant I lost contact with the handles, though, the orbs of light vanished and the light illuminating the wedges faded away to nothingness.
“What sort of trick did you just pull?” she demanded.
“I didn’t do anything,” I insisted. The single ball that had started at the center of the wheel had vanished. A scorched spiral marred the metal surfaces of the wedges. “Something’s wrong with that thing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Elder Brand stalked in, his boots thudding heavily on the wooden floor with every step. A whiff of sulfur followed him through the room, and rivulets of grit cascaded down his filthy pants to the floor. “Professor Ishigara, I was surprised to hear you’d taken it upon yourself to break the agreement we had regarding Jace’s assessment.”
The professor took an audible gulp. She tried to fold the wheel back into its original configuration, but the slats had warped during my test and it wouldn’t close. She cursed under her breath and tucked the device under her arm.
“Our agreement was that he would be tested.” She shrugged and stood up. The professor was toe-to-toe with Elder Brand, and her eyes sparked dangerously behind her glasses. “I tested him.”
“We agreed you would consult the clan regarding his assessment. His delicate condition requires special care.” A dangerous hint of steel lay beneath Brand’s calm and cool tone.
“I sent word that the testing would begin at the appointed time.” Ishigara straightened her spine, and threads of jinsei glimmered behind her. “It’s not my concern that you couldn’t be bothered to send a consultant until that time had nearly passed.”
Brand said nothing for a moment. He eyed Ishigara like a crocodile trying to decide which end of its prey to devour first. Finally, he let out a dramatic sigh and threw up his hands.
“What’s done is done. I apologize for not coming sooner. The clan has been very busy dealing with issues that affect all of Empyreal society, but I really should have dropped everything and raced here to watch you administer your petty little test to my clan member.” He gestured for the wheel, and Ishigara handed it to him. “It seems your tool wasn’t up to the task of judging Jace. He didn’t fit into any of your neat little pigeonholes, did he?”
The tension between Brand and Ishigara was so thick it sucked the air out of the room. I wanted to tell the two of them it was okay, I was used to being the weird one out. I was the only Eclipse Warrior. My whole life had been a science experiment conducted
