Relic (The Books of Eva I) (11 page)

I crack my whip, and direct my team to the west. The first Testor to reach the Testing flag garners extra points
in the first Advantages. Those points belong to me. Having worked so hard to prove that an Aerie Maiden is just as capable as a Gallant of becoming an Archon, it’s my
duty
to win them. For me, and for Eamon.

Racing across what remains of the Tundra, I aim for that spot on the Frozen Shores. The closer I get to it, the more wildly the flag seems to flap in the bitter, fierce
unalaq
. I also notice something else near the flag … a series of black smudges on the white landscape. What in the Gods are those?

As I strain to figure out the nature of the black stains, I unconsciously push my team even faster. Then I see: twelve Scouts in their black uniforms flank the Testing flag.

What a welcoming party. My stomach lurches at the thought of facing the Scout from the other night again. I almost want to turn around. The Tundra suddenly seems more inviting than that lineup of black. But I remind myself that this win is key. I square my shoulders, invoke my
brother’s name, and say a small prayer to the Gods.

Even though I’ve been schooled in humility my whole life, I can’t keep a victorious smile off my lips as I hurtle the final distance to the flag. I’ve come in first. In fact, I haven’t seen another Testor all day.

I engage the sled’s claw-brakes, dismount, and tie my team to a spiky ice formation. It’s eerily quiet and deathly cold as I trudge toward the black-clad figures, ready to receive some sort of commendation. Only then do I see that the lineup does not consist entirely of Scouts, although the Scout from my early-morning visit is present. And I miscounted. Jasper stands alongside the Scouts: the thirteenth in their perfectly formed row.

I nearly lose my footing. He got here first. How in the Gods did he do it?

The last time I caught sight of Jasper, it was the end of yesterday’s
sinik
, and he was far behind me. Not a single Testor has been on my heels all day. How could he have possibly made up for the lag without notice? He appeared out of nowhere on that first
sinik
of the Testing, too. It’s as if he’s operating from a map I’ve never seen. A map that no one has seen, for that matter. Not even Lukas.

I know Jasper is just doing what’s he supposed to. Still, it upsets me, as he’s now won the first three Advantages. Have all his pronouncements—about me as his Maiden, about a shared future—been a ruse? Some kind of game designed to soften me? The thought seems crazy; I don’t think anyone really perceived me as a major threat. Until we got out here, that is. Did he just play at being the perfect Gallant the other night at the iceberg so that I’d administer to him and salve his wound? He had no idea I had remedies, so how could he? I look at him, trying to read his eyes, getting madder by
the tick. But he’s staring straight ahead.

“Testor, join the ranks,” a grey-haired Scout at the line’s center booms, interrupting my cynical thoughts. I guess this is what counts as congratulations in the Testing. There are no extra points for reaching the Testing flag second.

I search for an opening in the queue. A Scout close to Jasper motions for me to join the line next to him. I’m still not sure how to feel about Jasper right now, but what choice do I have? To sidle up instead to the Scout from the nighttime visit? He scowls at me. So Jasper and I stand side by side, almost touching, but with a fissure between us. And not only because The Lex demands it.

Then we wait.

I guess we’re biding time until the other Testors arrive, but no one explains. No one talks or moves. I pray to the Gods that the other Testors get here fast, because this stillness is excruciating. And cold. It feeds my exhaustion and general miserableness. Not to mention that my dog team is bedraggled and starving. Even Hansen and Rasmus, normally the most well-fed of the bunch, are looking uncomfortably lean.

I watch the Sun move across the sky, and silently count the bells. The sunlight begins to wane, and I think the first horn of the evening must sound soon. Maybe in a bell or so. As if on some unspoken cue, the Scouts gather at the line’s center, gesturing for Jasper and me to stay put while they convene.

After a few ticks, they reassemble. The elder Scout announces, “We have made a special decision, although, of course, it complies with The Lex. You two Testors will be permitted to begin building your igloos, so that you may have some shelter by the final horn of evening.”

How generous. We’ve been standing around for bells, and they will give us a single bell to build an igloo. Of course,
we also have to build a fire, gather food, and feed our teams. An experienced Boundary person like Lukas could fashion a rudimentary igloo in no time. Until today, I would have guessed that Jasper would need a full day for the task, but now, I’m not so sure. He’s full of surprises.

Realizing that the Scouts could have given us the usual fifteen ticks from the first and final horns of evening to seek refuge, I nod in gracious acceptance of their ruling. Jasper does the same. We are dismissed.

Instead of running to tend my dogs, as Jasper does, I head to an area of the shoreline where a solid iceberg buffers the seawinds. I like the natural protection it offers, but it must provide a lot more. Lukas taught me over and over the importance of finding
igluksaq
, the perfect snow for igloo-building.

I take off my gloves and feel around. In a sheltered area just under the lip of the iceberg, the snow is too hard; it will be difficult to cut and won’t warm up properly. Another spot seems promising, but the snow proves to be very grainy and won’t stick. I am going to have to move some distance from the iceberg’s perimeter to find the elusive
igluksaq
. Soon my fingertips are numb. The gloves go back on.

Pulling out my
iglu
knife, another gift from Lukas, I begin the laborious process of cutting snow blocks. My mind wanders to Jasper. Where is he building his igloo? Does he feel badly about beating me out in the first Advantages? And I ask myself more of those same, deeper questions again. Does he feel guilty about duping me into tending his wound, if that’s what really happened the other night? He seemed embarrassed about showing me his leg, but was it a clever charade? This is silly Maiden-think, I tell myself. I must refocus on the task at hand, or risk losing to Jasper
once more. I should be asking myself how he beat me. Exhaustion has made my mind cloudy and weak.

I concentrate on stacking block after block in the round pattern necessary for the solid foundation of my new home, shivering with each painstaking placement. The word “home” sticks in my mind. The very word conjures up the aroma of hearty elk stew and bread cooking in the hearth. It reminds me that I’m not just freezing, I’m starving, too. True, this igloo will be my home for the duration of the Testing, but part of me wonders whether it’ll be my last.

Early the next
sinik
, Jasper and I stand on the edge of an ice crevasse, so deep it looks as though the Gods themselves slashed the Earth to its core. The Gods have not blessed us in the Triad’s selection of this Testing Site. This particular kind of crevasse—sheer and straight down—is known to be the most difficult when it comes to archaeological digs.

The Scouts ring us, ready for us to Claim our position and descend into the abyss. Boundary Climbers stand behind the Scouts, ready to assume posts on the crevasse’s ice walls. Their job in the coming
siniks
is to watch and record, but never help. Not that the Scouts or the Boundary Climbers will guide us in any way to the artifacts the Scouts believe are buried within the fissure; no, that would break The Lex. The Claim is up to us.

This is a moment that most Testors dream about: it’s a
huge advantage to win the first Descent into the crevasse. Every Testor wants to find artifacts in a chamber, cave, or on an ice ledge, all within the ice wall. Otherwise, you spend the entire excavation phase of the Testing trying to dislodge objects from the ice while dangling from a rope, something even the strongest find hard to manage. But for me, this moment is one that I’ve been dreading since I made the Commitment. Am I really prepared for a climb so dangerous? Even with all of Lukas’s training on the ice formations within the Aerie? Look what happened to Eamon.

I stare down into the vivid, blue chasm. It is beautiful in the sunlight. The large split in the ice sheet undulates in its descent, widening and narrowing unexpectedly. I cannot see a bottom, and in fact, one may not be reachable. Testors always return with reports of crevasses without ends. I try not to think about it. My job will not be to locate the bottom, but to discover a spot within the ice wall that hides artifacts from the time of the Healing. Or, Gods willing, a true Relic like my father’s mirror.

Kneeling down closer to the edge, I study the patterns the way Lukas taught me. Down deep, the crevasse widens on the right side, which might indicate the formation of a natural chamber. Maybe a chamber surrounding a large object? It’s my best guess, and I decide to Claim it.

As I begin to stake out the area with the wooden posts specially prepared for this occasion, I hear a rumble in the distance. I stand up and turn to see three Testors arriving at the Testing flag. Even though they’re far off, I’m pretty sure it’s Aleksandr, Benedict, and Neils; I studied them in my mirror often enough over the past few
siniks
. The circle of Scouts breaks formation. I figure that they’re deciding who will record the Testors’ arrival as required
by The Lex.

Jasper and I wait.

In the commotion, I notice that Jasper is trying to catch my eye. I ignore him, but he keeps clearing his throat. Although I’m confused and upset with him, I don’t want him to get caught Lex-breaking. I look around to make sure the Scouts aren’t watching me, and I meet his gaze.

With his eyes, he signals me to Claim the left side of the crevasse. That side is coated with water ice, a frozen liquid flow of water. That makes it a more treacherous climb than the right, where I’ve begun to stake. Should I switch based on Jasper’s advice? Can I trust him? Is he trying to help me or not? Before I commit to a course, I want to see where Jasper is going.

As the remaining ten Scouts encircle us again, he retrieves his wooden stakes from his pack and Claims a spot on the left side. Right where he told me to Claim. If I follow Jasper’s lead, I will be ignoring Lukas’s advice, which feels like a betrayal. But Lukas isn’t here to assess the crevasse, and neither is Eamon. And Jasper’s been training for this moment practically his whole life. I whisper a small prayer to the Gods, beseeching them to help me decide. Whose advice should I follow? Lukas’s or Jasper’s?

Abandoning my stakes, I creep around the crevasse again, studying the light and the ice in the Sun. Maybe She’ll give me some sort of a sign with one of Her rays. I linger near the area Jasper has Claimed. For the first time, I notice wavy patterns in the water ice of the sort Lukas had told me to look for. Maybe Jasper is correct. And anyway, if I think about it, would Jasper Claim the more dangerous side unless he truly believes more artifacts are buried within its walls?

Still torn, I decide to follow Jasper’s lead. I walk back
to the crevasse’s right side, and bend down to pull out my stakes.

“Testor, replace those Claim stakes,” a voice behind me bellows.

I don’t need to turn. I recognize the voice. It’s the Scout from the other night.

Standing up, I turn around and face the Scout. Do I dare defy him? If I don’t, I’ll be stuck with the right side of the crevasse. I also know that if that Scout wants me to adhere to my initial right-hand Claim, I definitely want to Claim left.

The Scout spoke to me, so I can speak back. Voice quivering, I say, “The Lex says
let no Claim be complete until the last of the twelve stakes is planted
. I have only planted ten stakes, so it is within my Lex rights to remove them and replant them for my Claim.” Not many Testors have scrutinized The Lex as I have. It was a necessary step in convincing the Triad to permit my Testing, but I didn’t think I’d use that knowledge out here. I was wrong.