Edda slumps into her bed and begins to sob. Damn him! Ximena hears her thoughts streaming unimpeded through the psych-link. Damn him and his cold logic! It’s… hopeless! Doesn’t matter what I say–or do. Nah, nothing is going to convince him. Pure Sin!
Edda takes a deep breath, trying to get a grip on her emotions, drawing discipline from her training. Goah, it’s so much easier in dreams! But she needs to calm down and rest. It is an important night, the most important so far. The final trial is about to begin, and she needs to have a clear head and be ready.
What if Elder Yog disqualifies me? The thought crosses Edda’s mind like a bullet through a brain, shattering away the modest inner peace she had gathered. Her breathing quickens. Goah, if I’m out… She whimpers loudly at the thought. She stands, and paces her bedroom back and forth, over and over again, eyes on the wooden floor. Breathe, she thinks, and she gasps. Breathe!
If she doesn’t pass the trial… If she doesn’t make the Path in the Shadow… What’s left for her to do? Her father is too stubborn. Her family is crumbling, and she cannot allow the only certainty in her life to falter. What can I do? Ximena almost gags at the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. Without the powers of persuasion, without the powers of a Mind Walker, what can I do?!
Twenty-Three
The Final Trial
“Happy days of light, Edda, Speese,” Gotthard says, walking towards them in the dark, flat ground of the staging permascape.
“Hey, Gotthard.” Edda gives him a sidelong smile. “Happy days of light.”
“Did I hear right?” Gotthard gives Edda an admiring smile. “You killed one of the…?” He points at the two marai that stare squarely at Edda from a distance. “Whoa! You are really something, dowry sister! That’s the big boss around here, you know?”
Edda’s lips twist into a grimace. “Yeah, I know. She almost disqualified me. Thankfully, very few of us actually made the Third Step.” She gestures at the few remaining young colonists next to them. “Plus, apparently, it’s got to be an even number of mensas, so…” She shrugs.
“Happy days of light to you too, Speese.”
Aline gives him a sulky nod, but says nothing.
“Sorry to hear that your rat lover didn’t make the Path,” he says, his tone clearly saying he is not sorry at all. Ximena can feel his amusement through the psych-link. Apparently, it is tethered to him in this section. “The conflict of wills can be painful, you know? It is not for everybody.”
“Do gather, human candidates,” Rew calls. Luckily, Ximena thinks, because Aline seemed about to leap on Gotthard’s neck and rip it into gory chunks.
The remaining candidates approach slowly and take position a few yards in front of Rew and Yog’s two bodies. Rew’s eight Walkers form a line behind them. For the first time since the trials began, Ximena realizes, there are more mares than humans. Almost double the number.
“Be proud, Human Walkers of the Path of Light,” Rew says. “Six of you have made it to the final trial, may it be fruitful for us all.”
Ximena feels Gotthard’s excitement burbling inside. More than excitement. It is almost… hope. He has really made it to the final! The power of the Shadow Path so close—within reach. If he gets it, he could show those—
“The final trial begins now,” Rew continues, “and will conclude in twenty-four days.”
Twenty-four days, Ximena thinks. A multiple of six, of course. Since this is the night of the twenty-first of December—aws Gift Eve—the trial will run until, hmm, Ximena tries to make a mental calculation, but fails; sometime in mid-January.
“Do form in teams of two,” Rew says. “Do it now.”
Gotthard exchange a glance with Rutger, and walks towards him, of course. The remaining four young candidates were already arranged in couples. Ximena almost chuckles; there’s no doubt, no discussion as to who pairs with whom.
“Very good,” Rew says. “Thus, Redeemed van Dolah shall partner with Woman Speese, Redeemed Siever with Man Kraker, and Senior Elder Smook with Junior Elder Smook.”
Rew turns her white eyes to Yog and regards her in silence for a few seconds, as if secretly communicating. The two bodies of Yog begin reverberating with a single female voice, her tone as pleasant as usual. “Only one team shall be deemed worthy to pass the trial. Only one team shall qualify to be led into the Path in the Shadow and serve as Walkers of the Mind.”
Gotthard smiles, turns his head to meet Rutger’s anxious gaze, and winks. Nice display of confidence, Ximena thinks. If only Rutger knew that Gotthard is melting inside.
Rew speaks now. “You do have twenty-four days to unequivocally prove your worth. You shall demonstrate that humans can indeed exceed the skills of marai when dealing with other humans. And you shall do so by using your gained Walker skills to plan and execute a disruption in your society such that humanity shall be moved a step away from its demise. The team that achieves the largest impact shall be deemed worthy to be led into the Shadow. You do have a question, Redeemed van Dolah?”
“Uh, y- yes.” She looks as nervous as Gotthard feels, perhaps more. “How can we, uh, get together in dreams, and into each other’s heads, and so on? We still don’t—”
“Indeed. You have not been initiated yet in the melding of minds; the Second Wake is the domain of the Shadow Path, thus each candidate team shall be assigned a support Walker.” Rew gestures back with one of her arms. “Walker Moih shall support the team of Elders Smook, Walker Qoh shall support the team of Redeemed Siever, and I shall personally support your team, Redeemed van Dolah.”
“Ah, so you will help us, yeah?”
“Indeed. We shall do as you do request. Alas, we cannot provide the crucial ingredients you need to succeed: the human psyche. Only by drawing a cunning plan from the well of
