Shadowcast

Entrance Exam: Part 8

Terror flooded her brain. For a moment there, she felt powerful. She felt important. Three whole people looked up to her and trusted her. Trusted her! But now, she thought, it was all over. A pitifully short tale that could only ever feature in a writers' magazine about flash fiction stories with downer endings. She shut her eyes from the stinging wind and braced for a deadly impact.

Then, she felt a firm tug at her stomach, and she thought she might lose her lunch. No, her breakfast. Did she have breakfast? No, she forgot breakfast again. That's why she had weak noodle arms. Never miss breakfast.

"Focus, Liza!" Liza shouted. Recollecting herself, she saw the ground approach her, but much slower now.

"Liza!" Wendy cried from down below. She ran out to her falling comrade, arms outstretched. Liza drifted gently into her arms and landed in a perfect bridal carry. Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. "You're okay."

Liza gazed up into Wendy's big, bright green eyes. "My hero," she said breathily.

Wendy jerked back and dumped Liza on the ground, her face the shade of a fine red wine.

"Sorry," Liza said, rubbing her head, "I don't know why I said that."

Alusius looked down at Liza, but didn't say anything. He walked a few steps ahead and surveyed the area in front of them. He brushed his fingers along a thin sheet of metal the size of a playing card, and his eyes lit up with an arcane glow. "The portal is that way," he said, pointing straight ahead.

Once he was a few more steps ahead, Liza turned to the other two. "Do you know him?"

Wren shook his head.

"Just his name," Wendy added, "and that he likes pineapple on his pizza."

Liza nodded. "A man of culture. I'll go talk to him." As her arcane armor flickered away and her hair finally came to rest in her signature bird's nest bob, she approached Alusius. "Thanks for everything back there. We couldn't have taken that thing down if it wasn't for you."

"It shouldn't have been you."

"Huh?"

"Tactically speaking you were the best person for the task. The most expendable."

"-Hey-"

"But morally, it should have been a wizard who slayed that golem. It should have been me."

"Hey man, we can't always choose. And we should find a way to move past this little disagreement. Us wizards have to stick together."

"You are not a wizard," Alusius said, glaring at Liza, "I don't know how you snuck into this exam, but you do not belong here."

Liza sped forward and placed herself in front of Alusius. "I think we started off on the wrong foot. Hi! Nice to meet you! Liza Hawken." She curtsied, but her blouse didn't have enough length to execute it properly. "Let me try that again." This time, she went for an elegant bow. Her hair flopped forward over her face. Her injured leg buckled underneath her, and she stumbled. Alusius stopped for a moment, and then stepped around Liza and continued forward. "A-and you are?"

No response.

Liza stayed in place until Wren and Wendy caught up to her.

"Hey, guys?" she asked, "Where are you from?"

"Besnior," said Wren.

"Also Besnior," said Wendy, "I'm from the east side of the city."

"I'm from the center." Wren picked a piece of dragon gut out of Liza's hair and turned it to dust. "What about you?"

Liza screamed at herself for bringing herself the extra trouble. She managed to keep a lid of confidence on the boiling kettle of fear within. "Darkwood. It's a little farming town in northern Laurentia."

"Laurentia?"

"Yeah."

"That's a long way from here."

"How did you get here?" asked Wendy.

"Well," Liza took a moment to formulate her lie, "Not to brag, but I was pretty bright as a kid. I didn't do well on exams, but I'm pretty smart when it comes to things that aren't tested by the Vox Monstratus."

The memories she had repressed came trickling back to her. The Vox Monstratus, a traveling band of crown-sponsored scholars and historians who taught the peasantry how to read, write, and do math... to prepare them for work in the brand new state-of-the-art factories. At the most inopportune time, her mind began to wander. She tried her best to get her thoughts back on track.

"But I've always had this fascination with magic," she said, "So one of the Monstratus teachers wrote me a letter of recommendation to Sigilspear. I did some odd jobs and saved up enough money to buy an airship ticket over here. There are a lot of people back home who believe in me. So I have a lot to live up to."

"Your parents must be proud of you," Wren offered, "Getting into Sigilspear is hard."

"They would be," Liza said before she could think to stop herself. She wiped the sudden mistiness from her eyes, pressing down harder on the kettle lid as the water threatened to boil over. "But enough about me. What about your parents?"

Wren scratched at his horns. "That's... complicated. Wendy?"

"My parents are good. They do real estate things. Both of them." Wendy looked over at Liza, whose face was still red. "Liza, are you okay? Emotionally? Physically, you're great- you're fine, but is there... something wrong?"

Liza glanced over at Wendy. She gave her a painful smile. "I lost both of them." A tear broke from her brimming lids and rolled down her face. At first she was acting, lying and twisting details to suit her needs. She didn't know how she got to this point, but she knew these tears were real.

"Oh, no no no!" Wendy rushed to Liza's side and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't cry! You're the cool one!"

At Wendy's words, a jolt of warmth shot up Liza's spine. "I-I am?" She looked over to Wren for confirmation. He nodded.

"You're pretty good. A little different, but good."

Liza could scarcely hold back the wave of emotion building in her chest. "Oh god, you guys. Why did you make me process all these feelings right now?"

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Author's Note:

Alright, alright, so the plot has thickened just a little.