items on it. The first I recognized as the Iris, but the other was new – and hard to miss. It was an enormous gold cuff with a vibrant green gem set in the center. The cuff itself had to be over six inches wide, with swags of gold chains hanging from it, and gaudy decorative carvings all over the thick metal face.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the bejeweled monstrosity.
“That,” Alex laughed, “is – or will one day be – Ryland’s Sciath.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding! That thing wouldn’t fit around his leg!”
“No, I’m serious,” he said, though he was smiling. “You have to understand, it was forged centuries ago for a ‘great and powerful warrior’, not a skinny ten year-old.”
“Ha!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s hideous! It looks like something from the set of Braveheart. Is he actually going to have to wear that thing?”
“Only for today. We want him to have it on for the test, just to be on the safe side. After that, Min can reset the stone into something more appropriate. The stone is the only thing that really matters anyway, that’s where the power is. Resetting can take a while, but like I said, Ryland won’t need a Sciath until his Awakening, so we have plenty of time.”
I giggled again, picturing Ry with this massive hunk of metal on his puny little arm. Poor kid would never be able to swim again, at least not without plummeting straight to the bottom.
“Becca?” Alex said after a minute.
“Hmm?” I looked up, still grinning, but sobered when I saw how serious he had become.
“Anderson and Ryland will be here soon and we should get ready, but I wanted to ask you,” he looked down and scratched the back of his neck, which I’d noticed he always did when he was nervous or uneasy, “are you busy tonight? There is something I need to talk to you about.”
“Sure. Is everything OK?”
“Oh, yeah, everything is fine,” he assured me, with a smile that made my knees shudder. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”
“It’s not going to hurt, is it?”
“It’s not going to hurt,” I assured Ryland, as we stood in the small rotunda outside the Inner Chamber. Jocelyn had a few last minute things to tell everyone before the test that Ryland couldn’t hear. Mr Anderson had stepped in to listen, and Ry and I were waiting for him to come back and get us.
“And I don’t have to do anything?”
“Nope, nothing. They are going to put this big bracelet on your arm, then give you a small metal circle to hold, and then it’ll be over.”
He kept fidgeting with his jacket button, nervously. “You’re sure that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Then why is everyone acting like it’s a big deal.”
“Who told you it was a big deal?”
“No one told me it is, but they keep telling me it isn’t, and when something really isn’t a big deal no one ever says it isn’t, they just don’t say anything. People only say things aren’t a big deal when they really are.”
I had to hand it to the kid, he was perceptive. “You’re thinking too much,” I said, trying to play it down. “I promise, you won’t even know anything is happening. And wait until you see all the cool stuff that’s in there,” I added, trying to move his focus.
Before he could argue again I heard feet on the other side of the door and realized Mr Anderson was coming to get us.
“Everything will be fine,” I said, stepping behind him, and placing my hands on his shoulders. “Just relax. You will be back in your room before you know it.”
The lock clicked and the door swung open, and there was… Jocelyn. It wasn’t Anderson at all. My hands tightened on Ryland’s shoulder, but my mouth stayed closed.
His eyes were on me for a split second before they darted away. He stooped down on his haunches, to be eye-level with Ry. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” came the timid reply.
“Don’t worry, it won’t take but a second.”
As Jocelyn backed against the open door, so that we could pass by, I did my best to keep my expression impassive, and ignore the way his warm affectionate tone with Ryland sent stabbing pains to my stomach.
Ryland took a step toward the door, but then spun around and whispered up to me, “Are you sure it won’t hurt?”
I rolled my eyes. “Would I let anything hurt you?”