Safehaven

Chapter 40

"Oi! Anybody in there?" My eyes snapped open and I bolted upright, my heart racing. Realizing that it was only the door, I stumbled out of bed and staggered to the door and thrust it open. Framed in the first rays of the day, Sage stood, leaning against the doorframe. "It's about time you woke up, mate." She raised her eyebrows. "We're supposed to eat breakfast and be ready for testing in an hour." Inwardly, I groaned. The test. With a sigh, I told Sage I would be ready in a minute and I shut the door. I sat down on the other side, back against the wood. Gwindol had woken up and was stretching like a cat. His tongue lolled out as he leaped down from his bed. Mornin'! I didn't even reply. Instead, I slowly got up and started to prepare myself for the day. In a couple of minutes, I was ready to go. Jerking the door open, I took a deep breath before shutting it behind Gwindol and me and heading down the stairs. Quinton, Antigone, Jada, Sage, and Holly were already downstairs. Their soul mates sat beside them. "Good morning." Jada managed. Her eyes had circles underneath them and her hair stuck out at odd places. Her ears were drooped. But still, she smiled. It seemed that nobody had gotten a good night's sleep, even though last night had been relaxing. Without a word, my friends and I started for the door and strode out into the hallway. On our way to the mess hall, no one spoke. The students that we passed were the same way, tired and unnaturally silent. It must have been test jitters. Finally, we made it to the hall, where breakfast awaited. The cooks must have been trying to lighten the mood, because today's breakfast was pancakes with smiley faces and whipped cream. Little bowls full of M and M's and chocolate chips sat next to heaping plates of steaming flapjacks. The smell was absolutely heavenly. Taking our place at the back table, my friends, animals, and I happily dug in. We were still tired and full of anxiety, but at least we would have something in our stomachs. I piled on so much candy and cream, my pancakes weren't even visible. Beside me, Gwindol was content with eating straight out of the candy bowls. Still, we all ate in silence, then waited for Nathen to announce what were the plans for today. When he stepped up to the front of the room, I took a sharp breath. This morning, he looked even worse. His face was white as a sheet and his eyes were bloodshot. Wrinkles covered his clothes like he had slept in them. It was like he just rolled out of bed. I had no idea what was going on. Holly was almost in tears. Over the past few days, she too had noticed how run down Nathen was becoming. Now, whenever she saw him, her eyes would droop with sadness, like she was remembering how he used to be, before Badon died. Before I could think anything else, Nathen spoke. It was a harsh whisper that hardly carried to the front tables. "Now, everyone knows that today is testing day. I can assure you that there is nothing to worry about." There was a pause. "After breakfast, students will individually be called up to the potions classroom and tested. The test will only last a couple of minutes, and students have the rest of the day off after they complete the test. Until your name is called, you are to remain in the mess hall. Thank you." Nathen turned around and hobbled back to his seat like an old man. At once, chattering among the students broke out. Yes, it was awesome that we got the rest of the day off, but nobody wanted to be the first to be called. I turned to my little group. "So, what do you think?" Jada ventured. Antigone shifted in her seat, but remained quiet. "What could be so important?" Holly took over. "What do they want with the elders? I mean, the elders and Galloren's heir did stop Morian before, but what's to say that can happen again? And if they already know that Shiloh is the heir, than why do they need to test?!" Holly snorted, her eyes glowering. "Why on earth do we need to take the stupid test?" I just stared at Holly. Normally, she was layed back and cool. But over the past months, I had watched her become more and more high strung and panicky. Was it the stress? Was it the knowledge of this place even existing? Honestly, just thinking about Safehaven made my brain hurt. If there was an entire world here, than why were students only allowed to see the grounds? I had no idea. "Maybe they just want to make sure." Quinton was always the optimist. Sage chuckled. "Possibly, but then..." She trailed off as a teacher came up to the front of the room with a scroll in her hand. She read a name off the list, and a solemn boy shuffled up to her, head down. It was dead silent as boy and teacher walked out of the room. The silence continued even after they had left. Slowly, the whispers worked back up to chatters. The teacher kept coming back in after a few minutes to call somebody else to their doom. As each student left, there was not a sound. To pass the time, my friends and I chattered and talked. We even had competitions where we would see how many chocolate chips we could stuff in our mouths. But, one by one, the mess hall got quieter and quieter as students disappeared through the doors. Soon, it was my group and a handful of other kids. Eventually, the others kids were called, and it was just us. Typical... When Quinton was called, he went white and started to shake. We all reassured him that he would be Ok, but we really had no idea what to expect. Jada was called, then Antigone, Holly, and Sage. I was left all alone with Gwindol. As we waited for our turn, I became more nervous then ever. What was going to happen? Gwindol just sat beside me like a statue, not even blinking. When the teacher came, she didn't even have to say my name. Gwindol and I slowly got up and shakily made our way over to her. My footsteps echoed off the stone walls. "Follow me." The woman said, as she showed me the way through the doors and up to the stairs to the classroom. As I walked up each step of the staircase, different scenarios flashed through my head. What if this was all a trick set up by Morian to kill us all? What if we were to be hypnotized and made into a child army? My heart began to race. My hands shook. Eventually, we made it to the classroom door. The teacher opened it and gestured the dragon and I in, shutting it behind us. We were alone. The tables that normally held cauldrons were cleared and pushed off to the side. Instead, there was a giant white chalk circle drawn on the ground. Inside of it was a star, which held a little bowl full of red powder. I glanced around the room. There was nobody here besides Gwindol and I. Out of curiosity, I crossed the room to examine the strange little bowl full of powder. As soon as I stepped across the circle line, the chalk lit up gold and surrounded me in light. Gwindol tried to follow me into the circle, but the light wouldn't let him pass. He growled in frustration as he tried to muscle his way in. "It's alright." I told him, though I think I said that more for myself. Cold sweat was trickling down the base of my neck. I spun to the star with the bowl in it. The star was a deep shade of orange. I knelt down next to the bowl and calmly dipped my fingers in the red dust. Call me stupid, but I saw nothing better to do. Instantly, the light from the chalk lines grew even brighter and the powder in the cup turned to liquid. It looked disturbingly like blood. Almost like a nightmare, it raced up my fingers and started to cover my arm. I squealed as I tried to rub it off. It kept growing until the red substance had covered my entire body. Slowly, the light died and the red began to seep into my skin. In a matter of seconds, everything was back to normal. Gwindol stared at me with wide eyes. I shakily stood up and tried to step out of the circle, but I couldn't cross. It was like an invisible wall. Suddenly, I felt like crying. Everything had happened so fast. It felt like yesterday that my friends and I had stumbled upon this magical place. Since then, everything had blossomed into what it was today. A tear collected in the corner of my eye and slid down my cheek. It glided to my chin then dropped to the floor. As soon as it hit the wooden floorboards, there was the intense smell of cinnamon. I immediately felt awake. All sadness and fear was gone. It was like I had been injected with caffeine. As I watched, a strange silver light began to come from my body. It started at my heart, then grew. Soon, I was hallowed with pure silver light. I felt more alive then I had ever been. I arched my back and spread my wings, savoring the good feeling that came when you stretch after sitting in the car for a long time. After a few seconds, the light faded, but the smell of cinnamon remained, as strong as ever. Also, patches of the silver stuff still clung on to my skin. I was about to call for somebody(I don't know why that thought hadn't come to me before) when the door to the hall was whisked open and Nathen stepped through. I took a deep whiff of cinnamon and closed his eyes. When he opened them, his eyes were golden. Before I could even stiffen, he blinked and they returned back to normal. He took in the silver sheen on my skin and nodded in approval. "You passed."