Beyond the Veil [Complete Short Story]

Chapter 3

"Are you alright?" The familiar voice caused Evelyn to stir in her fevered dreams, cutting like a knife through her nightmares. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking in pale light of the apprentice quarters.

"Edwin?" she muttered, her throat dry and voice cracking.

"I'm here," Edwin assured her as her eyes began to focus. She looked up to see her friend's form hovering over her bed. His short brown hair was disheveled and his dark eyes were watching her intently. His brows were pinched together in an expression of concern. As she tried to sit up, he stopped her. "Careful!" he warned. "Just try to relax," Only then did Evelyn realize the aching pain in her body, sore as though she had been bruised all over. A splitting migraine filled her head with an unpleasant foggy feeling. "What happened? Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, old friend." They exchanged relieved smiles. She was truly still alive and well, if a little worse for wear. "Please, I need a drink of water," she requested. Edwin complied, helping her sit up slowly, then handed her a glass of water. She graciously accepted the drink and gulped it down. Edwin waiting until she had satiated her thirst before addressing her again.

"That Templar friend of yours, Cameron? He carried you in here a few hours ago — said that you passed out after your Dream Walk succeeded," Edwin explained. "He seemed rather worried about you," he added.

"Have you been here all this time?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"Of course!" Edwin seemed offended by any notion to the contrary. Evelyn nodded.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," she apologized in earnest as she began to rise. Edwin gave her his arm as support. Her legs wobbled but the fog in her head had begun to clear, and the ache in her limbs would be stretched out as long as she kept moving around.

"Are you certain you should be up and about?" he asked her worriedly.

"Yes, I feel fine now, thank you," Evelyn replied.

"Was it truly as dangerous as they say?" Edwin asked her out of the blue.

"The Dream Walk? It is... harrowing," she replied with a sigh.

"I know that they try to prepare us, but enough apprentices don't return that I fear they must not tell us something." He paused and looked Evelyn directly in the eyes. "What don't they tell us?" he asked her.

"You already know that your spirit enters the Spirit Realm through the Veil using concentrated Mana, and that you have to defeat or otherwise overcome a demon, however, what they didn't tell you is how demons can take human form," she explained.

"Human form?" He gasped. "You saw a demon in the form of someone? Who was it?" he asked, excited and worried at the same time.

"High Mage Jaspin," she replied.

"Really?" Edwin exclaimed excitedly, "You saw the former High Mage?"

"Yes, but remember what I said: he was a demon in disguise," she warned.

"Right... your life was in danger..." Edwin sheepishly trailed off.

"It's alright; I didn't let that demon trick me for long," Evelyn explained. She worried about scaring her young friend, however he would eventually have to take the Dream Walk, too, and she felt it important that he know enough to keep himself safe. Evelyn knew that she wasn't supposed to talk about the Dream Walk to the apprentices who had yet to undergo the trial, however she didn't want to lose another friend to the foolish trial — and that fire demon. What was he? She wondered to herself. His last words were burned into her mind: True tests never end. What did he mean? Evelyn knew that she may never know — but she had a feeling that the truth would reveal itself to her eventually.

Evelyn looked to her friend who seemed to be mulling things over in his head, as his eyes darted around at the other apprentices in the Apprentice Quarters. It would be Evelyn's last night in this room, as they would move her into the Mage Quarters tomorrow to indicate her new rank and status as a full-fledged Mage. She would miss the late night conversations on the bed with her best friend, though. They had both grown up in the tower together, looking out for one another over the years. As youth, they had often gotten into mischief together, playing simple magic pranks on the Senior Mages. Into their adolescence, they had stuck together despite gossip that they must be involved — they had been nothing more than malicious rumors, as the two thought of each other as they would a sibling. Now, into their early adulthood, they were of age to undergo the Dream Walking test. Evelyn had been selected to undergo the Dream Walk before him as she was a couple years older, although it was based solely upon how ready the Senior Mages deemed an apprentice to be.

"You'll be ready when they summon you," Evelyn assured Edwin. His eyes darted back to her as he looked her over. "What is it?" she asked, puzzled by his intense expression.

"It almost feels like something is different about you," he commented.

"How so?" she asked.

"I don't know." He paused and considered it, then shook his head. "Something just seems off from normal — though not in a bad way," he assured her. "Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly, making Evelyn jump. "I was supposed to tell you when you woke that High Mage Ivan wished to speak with you — I think he wants to congratulate you personally." High Mage Ivan was the highest ranked in their order. Below that were Senior Mages, then Mages like newly-appointed Evelyn, then at the bottom were Apprentices like Edwin.

"I shouldn't keep him waiting then," Evelyn replied. Edwin seemed nervous suddenly as he began wringing his hands. "What's wrong?"

"Could we... talk in private soon?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Of course; when I return?" she suggested.

"That would be best," he replied, then left to contemplate his own thoughts and fears. Evelyn watched him go, worried about her friend's state of mind after learning of the dangers in the Dream Walk.

Evelyn ignored the aching of her limbs as she left and began to climb the High Mage's tower stairs. She may already be regretting her decision to move around so soon. However, it was already evening, and Evelyn had already wasted away most of the day by sleeping.