The Other Prism (The Broken Prism) (35 page)

“My
elders
?” Hayden snorted dryly. “You’re two months older than me.”

“
Yes, and all the wiser for it. Now come on.” He was already halfway to the door by the time Hayden stood up and put his shoes on.

“Hey, Zane,” he called out softly, his thoughts catching on something.

“What?”

“How come you’re making such a point of helping me with this search? Not that I don’t appreciate it and all, but what’s in it for you?”

Zane looked at him like he was an idiot and said, “Your dad forgot that he had friends. I don’t want you to do the same.”

There was nothing Hayden could think of to say to that, so he followed his friend to the common area to look for desserts.

***

The final trial of the Eastern Inter-School Championship was upon him at last, and Hayden looked forward to the end of the competition with pure joy. If he never saw Davis again, it would be too soon.

Just one more test to get through and it’ll be over. Even if I lose, at least it will be over.

He pulled on his new Team Miz
zenwald robes for the last time and joined his remaining two teammates in the dining hall for breakfast. Once again, the Masters were present to wish them luck and give them last-minute advice. Asher didn’t talk much, which Hayden appreciated, since he was feeling overwhelmed with adrenaline right now. Oliver was a sickly shade of green.

Finally, just as Hayden was preparing to say goodbye and depart with the others, the Prism Master spoke to him.

“You know, after Reya failed out of the last round, she claimed to have experienced a flux in her powers like some of the other competitors.”

Hayden had no idea what to say to that, but the Prism Master remained silent, so he felt compelled to speak.

“Uh, I don’t know…maybe they’re all lying to avoid being embarrassed?”

“Perhaps,” Master Asher answered neutrally. “In previous years, we’ve occ
asionally had people complain of foul play to cover their own shortcomings.”

“But not this many?”

“No, not this many.” The Prism Master sighed. “Hayden, be very careful while at Branx. I don’t know if something is amiss or not, but if it is, then this is when it will be at its worst.”

“Why is that?” Hayden asked, alarmed.

“Because you are going into the Forest of Illusions. Not very far in, which is good, but there will still be powerful magic in the atmosphere. If something is…off, magically-speaking, being so close to the Forest may amplify it.”

“Do the other Masters think something is wrong?” Hayden asked quietly, glancing around at the others.

“Some of them; Master Willow in chief,” the Prism Master replied. “He does not believe that Reya would lie for the sake of her reputation, and I’m inclined to agree.”

“Then why can’t something
be done? Why don’t they halt the trials for an investigation?”

Master Asher smirked humorlessly and said, “Hayden, we’ve been investigating this for some t
ime now. None of our colleagues at any of the other schools have found a problem, and neither have we.”

Hayden frowned thoughtfully and said, “Then maybe everything’s alright.”

“Let us hope so,” Master Asher agreed darkly. “But be careful, all the same. If something feels wrong, get to safety and never mind the competition. And don’t forget about your defensive charm, in case you need my help.”

Hayden nodded and touched the charm absent-mindedly, growing much more nervous than he was before
this ominous farewell.

“Alright then, good luck to you.” Asher clapped him on the back and stood up, following the others out ont
o the lawn to translocate them to Branx.

If the other Masters imparted warnings to their students, it didn’t show on their faces. Hayden grouped up with Oliver and Darren in the translocation circle at the main courtyard, looking at his surroundings as though it was the last time he would ever see them.

Don’t be ridiculous,
Hayden chided himself.
The worst thing that’s happened to anyone so far is getting kicked out of the competition. It’s not like anyone has even been seriously injured.

That made him feel slightly better, and he closed his eyes and took a calming breath as the translocation took hol
d, and then the cherry and pear-blossoms surrounding the main courtyard at Mizzenwald were gone.

The three of them were standing directly in front of a low stone building, practically at the front door. On either side of it was a row of identical structures, indistinguishable from the one they faced except that this one had a coat of arms inscribed over the door. It took Hayden a moment to realize that the rows of buildings were actually turned at an angle so that they
formed a wide ‘U’ around them.

“This is a school?” Darren asked with doubt.

“It must be, or the Masters wouldn’t have sent us here,” Oliver answered calmly, still looking around the grounds. The grass was kept fairly short, and was uncluttered by trees or obstacle courses for familiars like at Mizzenwald, nor were there any arenas like at Valhalla and the other schools.

“Why are there so many buildings though?” Darren questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe they have a building for every subject or something.” Oliver shrugged and approached the door in front of them, using his weight to open it and crossing the threshold.

They stepped directly into an entrance hall with three doors leading out of it. The one with a high archway obviously led into a ballroom of some sort, another looked like a dining hall when Hayden moved closer to look inside, and the third was closed and locked. There was no one else in the building with them, as far as they could tell.

“Uh…did we get the day wrong or something?” Darren asked nervously.

“No, we did not get the day wrong,” Oliver snapped, frowning in distaste. “Obviously the people of
Branx set such little store by common courtesy and punctuality that they’re incapable of even preparing their own school in time for the championship.” He sounded absolutely disgusted with the poor manners of Branx.

Just as Hayden was about to suggest they go outside and try one of the other buildings, someone opened the door they came in through and said, “Oh good, you’re here.”

“Yes, though I’m not sure why we bothered, as your welcome leaves something to be desired,” Oliver said imperiously, and their relieved escort looked momentarily cowed. Apparently Oliver was a stickler for manners and proper decorum.

I’ll bet his mom taught him never to eat applesauce with the drizzling spoon,
Hayden reflected on his breakfast with the Council of Mages with embarrassment.

“We didn’t expect you to be wandering around the dance hall,” their escort responded, leading them back out onto the lawn. “The event is taking place at the Forest of Illusions, so everyone else has assembled there.”

“Then why did we get translocated all the way over here?” Oliver retorted coolly.

Their guide raised his eyebrows and said, “No idea. You’ll have to ask
your Masters when you get back.”

“Excuse me,” Hayden interjected, before Oliver could think of something sarcastic to say in response. “Is the Forest safe to be in right now, with the threat from the north?”

“There haven’t been any attacks yet, or even sightings of the northern sorcerers in decades. Besides, we’ll be on the far outskirts of the Forest, as far from the coast as possible.”

Hayden and Oliver exchanged a brief glance, and Hayden knew that they were both thinking about the oculi that had appeared at each of the Great Nine schools. For whatever reason, the Masters at
Branx didn’t seem to think it was important to burden their students with that knowledge.

They cut through the space between two buildings and Hayden frowned at how far away the Forest o
f Illusions was. If he squinted he could see trees in the distance, but it would take them an hour to walk there if they were lucky.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Darren grumbled in surprise, and Oliver frowned.

“Don’t worry, we can take the Arc,” their guide explained.

The three of them looked at each other in confusion; it was obvious that none of them knew what the Arc was. Their esco
rt grinned at their obvious ignorance and said, “Look up.”

Hayden tilted his head back and gasped at the faint purple arch of light that seemed to extend from where they were standing all the way to the distant Forest of Illusions. It was like a rainbow with only one color, and they were standing near the base of it.

“What in the world
is
that?” Oliver asked in amazement.

“It’s the Arc; one of the benefits of residing near the Forest of Illusions,” the guide explained. “There are two lodestones that make it possible, you see?” He pointed to an unimpressive
lump of rock that was resting near them. “There’s a lodestone here, and another at the Forest. They form a magical resonance between them, which allows for quick transport.”

Darren frowned and said, “I thought lodestones were magnetic. Don’t they just collect iron?”

Their escort laughed and said, “Some of them do, sure. But this is the Forest of Illusions, and these lodestones work like magnets for magic instead of iron. Look, just do what I do, and you’ll get pulled to the right place.”

Without waiting for them to ask any more questions, he stepped directly into the beam of faint purple light, directly in front of the lodestone, and was jerked through the air along the Arc.

Hayden looked at the others and said, “That doesn’t seem safe at all…how do we land without breaking our legs? What if we fall halfway across, when we’re at the highest point of the Arc’s arc?”

Oliver pursed his lips and said, “Never mind that. If that mage from
Branx can use it then so can we.” He squared his shoulders and stepped into the light, and was immediately rocketed into the sky just like their guide.

If this trial involves arrogance, then Oliver has got us all beat hands-down.

Darren went next, and finally it was just Hayden standing there beside the lodestone. Hoping that he wasn’t about to die a painful (and embarrassing) death, he closed his eyes and stepped into the light.

It was like an invisible hook grabbed him from behind and jerked him backwards. He felt his feet leave the ground and opened his eyes in panic, stifling a scream at how high up he was. He could see over the tops of the buildings as he flew backwards at speed, his stomach swooping sickeningly as he crested the acme of the Arc and made his descent, still unable to see what he was flying towards. The ground approached rapidly and he braced himself for impact, landing on his feet and staggering a little, but managing to remain upright.

Suppressing the urge to collapse in relief, he looked around and felt his eyes widen in surprise. The entire school was fanned out across the grass here, all turned towards a copse of trees that bent away from them. It didn’t look terribly impressive, other than the fact that the trees weren’t moving in the breeze like everything else in the area. Hayden didn’t know what he had been expecting from the Forest of Illusions, but it was something more than this.

The Masters of the major arcana we
re walking around in their white robes, making sure everyone was seated and settled and showing the competitors where to stand. Hayden was led through the crowd and positioned around the edge of the copse, about ten feet from Davis on one side and Oliver on the other. He had no idea what they were going to have to do for this trial, but it looked as though all of them were going to compete at the same time. He caught Farrah’s eye and she smiled and waved, though the person next to her looked so ill that he crouched down and dry-heaved for a moment on the dusty ground.

“Competitors,” the Master of Powders began, “welcome to the championship round of the Eastern Inter-School Championship. Today’s trial will decide which of you from each major of focus will bring victory to your school.” He paused for a round of applause and cheering from the crowd. “Your test today is simple, in theory. All you must do is
be the first to reach the championship trophy for your major.”

Hayden exchanged a glance with Darren, who looked as skeptical as he felt. The copse had mayb
e ten trees in it; he could see through it to the other side. Hayden had no idea how they were going to hide five different trophies in there, or how they would avoid bumping into each other just to get to them. Davis flashed an evil grin in his direction, but Hayden was too nonplussed by the challenge to worry about it.

“I should warn you that you may encounter magical creatures or monsters during the challenge,” the Powders Master continued. “I cannot overemphasize the fact that these are
not
constructs, and are capable of hurting or killing you if you are lax. However, blue lights will mark the boundaries of the copse at all times, and my colleagues and I will be patrolling the area as well, to ensure that no one is injured too severely. The Resonance Crystal has been placed inside the boundaries as well, so that you can be located quickly if you call out for help.”