“Everything. In the past, when the Gifted still went into the Between to renew the Source, the Five Finals was the way they selected the people to do so. Anyone who ever walked in the Between competed in the Final Five.” His eyes slid appraisingly over her, “Except you, I suppose.”
She cursed Alex silently – just another piece of information he didn’t feel she needed to know. He prepared her to win the Trials, surely he knew she’d have to compete in this other thing? But Jason had finally roused her interest. “Why two people?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “It’s so exhausting.” He said dramatically, “Having to explain everything to you.”
She flushed, trying to think of a blistering comeback, but it escaped her.
“One to protect the Gate, the other to go to the Source. It’s always two.”
It’d come from the most unexpected of sources, but Jason had just given her a way of finally answering the question that plagued her. All she had to do now was find out who Alexander Patrick Cairns went into the Between with a hundred and fifty years ago. She just prayed it wasn’t someone called Mandla.
“So?” He finished lightly, “Want to tell me a little about yourself?”
“Why don’t you go first?” She shot back.
“Not much to tell – I’m an orphan. Bounced around from foster home to foster home until Marcus found me.” He glanced at her, “Your turn.”
She felt a spark of pity come to life within her and she extinguished it viciously – she refused to feel sorry for him, especially since he was most probably lying to her.
“I was brought up in a travelling circus – I doubled between diving twenty feet into an inflatable pool and dancing on horses.”
“Really?” He replied caustically, “Do tell me more.”
“Steer clear of the clowns, the tigers bite and belly flopping into the water is the only way to survive the twenty foot drop.” She replied with the fakest smile she could manage.
“I can barely contain my excitement.” Jason said, leaning forward dramatically.
She changed tactics, “Why do you care? I have to be here, but why do you want to win?”
“Simple – I want to be the best. I intend on winning these Trials, then I’m going to win the Five Finals and you’d better be there to help me do it.” He said simply, the threat implied in his low, smooth voice.
They ate the rest of the dinner in silence.
Chapter 33 – Allyra
The next day was Pierre’s funeral. The enforced isolation meant she wasn’t allowed to attend. The funeral was taking place in the ornamental gardens of the Elemental College, as per the tradition of his Element; Pierre’s body would be given back to the Earth.
Before the dawn broke, Allyra made her way out the dormitory and started to climb the mountains surrounding the Elemental College. She might not be allowed to attend the funeral, but she still wanted to pay her respects.
The mountain was steep and she was still recovering from the exertions of the second Trial, so it was slow, painful going. Nonetheless, by mid-morning she’d made her way to a plateau halfway up the mountain, covered in fynbos.
From her vantage point she could see the funeral ceremony. She picked out Jamie’s blond head standing between the red hair of Eva and the pink hair of Gemma. She was glad that he and Eva had found a way to make up.
The Council members were also there and High Master Zhuang of the Terra College was performing the ceremony, his dark head bowed.
Standing a little apart from the crowd was Pierre’s family, their grief isolating them.
Pierre’s father stood tall and proud, stoic as Afrikaans men were expected to be, even in the face of such loss. His arm was slung over Pierre’s mother, who had her head bowed, a stark white handkerchief held to her lips. Clustered around them were Pierre’s six younger siblings, the youngest surely no more than five years old, all of them with the same sandy brown hair, reminding Allyra painfully of the boy who’d given up his life.
She wished she could go to them, to tell them of their brother’s kindness, of his bravery. They would never know how their son, their brother died in the Trials. They would live with questions over his death for the rest of their lives.
She possessed the answers that might give them some closure, yet she could never share them.
Standing away from the crowd, she felt hollow, as if her chest was collapsing in on itself.
Finally she allowed her tears to fall.
Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t hear Jason step up behind her. Wiping her tears away furiously, she turned to him, a snarky comment ready on her lips. But his stricken expression stopped her. He was pale and somber, his face stripped of its normal arrogance, making him appear vulnerable for the first time.
Jason stepped up next to her and side-by-side they watched wordlessly as Pierre’s body was given back to the Earth. They stood silently; staring down at the Elemental College long after the crowd had drifted away. Lost in shared, unspoken grief.
Chapter 34 – Allyra
The next four days dragged by, each one following much the same pattern. Allyra was desperate for something to do, something to relieve the boredom and the bludgeoning anxiety that came with it.
Locked as she was, in isolation with Jason, there was little to distract her mind. Her choices were severely limited, and in an attempt to avoid Jason, Allyra chose to spend her days training with Combat Master Mabaso.
Master Mabaso was firm, but fair. She tended to shout her instructions in staccato bursts of gunfire, but she was always ready with a kind word and plenty of encouragement.
The same nerves didn’t plague Jason. He seemed perfectly content to allow time to pass idly, watching her training with mild interest and distinct amusement, lounging elegantly in the sun.
The evenings were the worst.
Every afternoon, the two silent women would arrive
