Gifted

16

"Today's the day, maggots," Kazi boomed. "Today you have the chance to join the ranks of the House of Bellator for good. But before that happens, you need to face the Crucible and come out on top. If you don't, then you'll have to pack your bags and leave. This House is no place for weakness. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the recruits answered.

They were lined up in the training hall and standing to attention. Above them, the viewing balcony was packed with people. Erin recognised a few of them as those who had visited the recruits throughout their training, including Toby's Madam Kelly. She anxiously scanned the faces for Isaiah's easy smile, but she couldn't find it.

"You'll enter the Crucible individually," Kazi continued. "If you make it out the other side, then you pass. You can't take in anything to aid yourselves. You must rely on the skills we have taught you to get you out safely. Are there any questions?"

"No, sir!"

"Good. It is my belief that you all have the potential to be victorious. Trust in yourselves and you will succeed. Let's get going."

The recruits queued up by that long door, and one-by-one, where waved inside.

As the unofficial group leader, Erin was last in the queue. The training hall was awkwardly quiet with none of the recruits felt brave enough to talk, and no sound escaped from the Crucible itself.

The crowd on the balcony grew steadily smaller as the line of recruits got shorter. Erin guessed the watchers went to wait for their relevant recruits on the other side, but she couldn't be sure.

"Isaiah's not here," Erin whispered to Toby who was in front of her in the queue.

"He'll be watching, don't worry," he whispered back, squeezing her hand encouragingly.

She hoped he was right. She shuffled about nervously, trying in vain to hide her anxiousness.

Soon, only Erin and Toby were left.

"Come on, boy, let's see what you've got," Kazi said, gesturing towards the Crucible door.

"Good luck," Erin whispered.

Toby looked up to the balcony where he received an encouraging nod from Kelly, then slipping tentatively through the long door.

Erin stood alone with Kazi, the balcony above them now empty. Erin shifted her feet uneasily, avoiding eye contact with the drillmaster.

"Keep your head together, Erin," Kazi said gruffly. "Stay composed and you'll do fine."

Erin looked up at him in surprise. It was the first time he had used her real name since she first arrived in the House.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," she said awkwardly.

She stood there in silence a while longer until Kazi received some invisible cue.

"It's time," he said. "Give it everything you've got."

She took a shaky breath then opened the door. Inside was nothing but darkness. She stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her.

The darkness was suffocating. Her breaths were shallow and echoed loudly in her ears. She waved a hand in front of her face, but her eyes detected no movement in the thick blackness. Erin fumbled behind her, trying to find the door she had just come through to orientate herself, but she couldn't find it.

Far away in front of her, a small light winked into existence. It brightened until it illuminated a plain wooden door, an island of light in a mire of darkness. Erin crouched low and licked her lips. She waited. Nothing else emerged from the dark, so she started to slink slowly towards the door. Her head whirled around, looking this way and that for any incoming threat. Her pulse thumped hard in her ears and with it came the boiling heat of her magic, eager to be let out. She was tempted to let it consume her and rush towards the door as fast as she could, but Kazi's words made her keep her nerve.