Sage:
Ok so not what I was expecting. At all. Magnus stepped up to my side as we all took in the room before us with a bit of awe. Ok a lot of awe.
It was almost a cathedral, high towers stretching up to the sky. Inside, I couldn't see the top. Stained glass windows glittered and flashed in my line of sight and I blinked against the sudden light reflected off the colours.
Magnus looked disorientated but less so than me. He reached for my hand but I pulled away. Not now.
He frowned.
"You're pissed."
I rolled my eyes. He's wasn't helping me focus.
"I'm not pissed," I said angrily.
He gave me a knowing look. How was it that he could always read what I was feeling?
"Of course you are. But I don't know why. So tell me."
I began walking around, my boots clacking on the stone floor, my hair rustling with an invisible wind. He followed.
"Seriously Sage. What is it? What did I do? I can't think."
Suddenly I was hit with a wave of rage, rage so strong I nearly stumbled. I stormed closer, jabbing a finger at his chest.
"That's the thing Magnus, you never think. You just act. You took on those guards like they were nothing. I get that you have this whole new super strength thing but get a grip. I might have new speed and agility but do I go around shoving it in everyone's face who annoys me? No. I don't. You could have been killed!"
He stared at me for a moment, surprise etched into his face. It seemed like an age before he spoke again, his voice quiet but not weak.
"That's what this is about. You didn't want me to get hurt."
He said it like a statement and my anger soared again.
"Of course I don't want you to get hurt. Just like you spend your time protecting me because you care, which, by the way, I don't need. I won't allow you to throw your life away because I care."
He was still staring at me, an almost curious look on his face, edged with something I couldn't quite comprehend.
His voice was quieter still.
"I didn't know you did care that much."
I threw up my hands in exasperation.
"Damn it Magnus, of course I care. You've been my best friend all my life, you may as well be my brother. Why wouldn't I care."
His face was suddenly wiped clear of emotion, the curiosity blanked out, a slate wiped clean. His voice was hard now, lacking the openness it had earlier.
"Yes. Well. We should look around," he gave me a lopsided smirk, "wouldn't want to be unprepared."
Then he walked off, leaving me more angry than before, confusion echoing through me. That invisible wind blew again, cooling my blood. He was stressed and tired. We all were. But that didn't stop me feeling like I had missed something.
I pushed that thought out of my head as the main group of people approached. We all gathered together. Magnus avoided the look I gave him, instead fixing his gaze on Tyler. I sighed silently. Ok then.
Suddenly, a loudspeaker blared to life, the noise so at odds with the beauty around us.
"You are the last ones. The final test is upon us. Except it's not a test. It's a choice."
Silence.
"There are two doors leading from here. The right one will take you home. You will be back in the normal world, back to how you were before. Everything will go back to normal. Or you can take the left door. It will lead you onwards. To the unknown. But you will be rewarded with power. It will be dangerous. It's highly possible you will die. But you will be known, powerful, capable of defending yourself. You have an hour to decide, or you all die anyways." Then the speaker went dead.
There was a stunned pause and then we all started talking at once.
Magnus was looking at me with wide eyes and I saw horror reflected in them. The same that was in mine, but for a completely different reason. I knew he wouldn't do it. He would want to go back to our old life. I made a split second decision and I think he saw it in my face because he grabbed hold of my arm.
"Sage no. Don't. Don't do it."
I looked at him with something like sadness in my own eyes. He wouldn't choose the left one. He would choose the right. I wanted to do it as well. So badly. But not enough.
I smiled at Magnus, my friend through so much. Then I turned and started walking. Towards the left. Don't get me wrong, I'm not obsessed with power, but I knew that I couldn't go back to my normal life. Not after everything that had happened.
And so I walked towards the door and wrenched it open, walking inside, the shouts behind me fading away, just as a hand grabbed my arm and together we fell into the darkness
