the clues and find a lever that opens a door in one wall. I slip out quickly and head left, sprinting down the narrow corridor of the maze. I’m not wasting a goddamn second or letting anyone else get to that coin before I do. I run into a few obstacles similar to those in the obstacle course we ran, but I won that challenge for a reason, and it’s easy enough to jump or climb or dodge.
A few times, I notice something flickering nearby, like a spell trying to come to life, but then it dies. Whatever the others are doing to distract the mages, it’s working.
I’m going on instinct as I navigate the maze, but I’m almost positive I’m on the right track. And I don’t have time to stop and doubt myself or second-guess everything. Like the guys have been telling me, I have to believe in myself.
Calling up my sonic boom, I hold it at the ready, and when I run into the illusory opponents—humans at first, but then a chimera of all things, and giant wolves—I unleash it on them, running along the walls with my spider climb to keep out of range.
The funny thing? About halfway through, I realize… I’m actually having a blast. This is what the competition is supposed to be, right? Underneath it all? It’s supposed to be a chance to meet people from other schools and to have fun.
Now that the mages who are out to destroy me aren’t able to do their thing, I find that’s what I’m doing. And I have no idea how my opponents are faring, but I’m doing pretty well. Using my magic and my wits like this, pushing myself to the limit—it’s exhilarating. I’m in shape, I’m a good fighter, and I’m smart. And I finally get to show that to the world, to let them see that Elliot Sinclair ain’t too shabby.
I round the corner, dodging some swinging axes—wow, okay, holy shit—and spy the center of the maze.
Up on a dais in the middle floats the coin.
I start to go race toward it, but a sudden thought has my footsteps slowing. Is this really it? If this is the big finale, they wouldn’t be that obvious about it, would they?
Another contestant runs into the center from a different section of the maze, and my heartbeat kicks up a notch as he sprints toward the coin. Shit. It’s Ryan, the water elementalist who nearly beat me on the obstacle course. He grabs the coin—and the second his fist closes around it, a strange bubble forms around him, lifting him up and out of the maze. I watch him drift away with wide eyes as he runs his hands frantically over the inside of the bubble, searching for an escape. His hand is empty, I notice. The coin has vanished.
Well, that couldn’t have been the real coin, then. If it were, the competition would’ve ended the moment he grabbed it.
I approach the dais cautiously, examining it. The thing about the escape room was that it would trick me into thinking I’d found a clue when really, I hadn’t—I had to look closer to find the real clue inside the fake one.
The floating coin was the decoy, but somewhere around here is a clue that will lead me to the real coin.
My heart pounds hard in my chest, and I’m painfully aware of the seconds ticking by. Any minute now, another contestant is going to make it through the maze into the center, and the more people who make it through, the worse my chances of being the one to find the coin will get.
The dais is made of a gray stone, rough and unpolished. The rubber of Ryan’s shoe left a scuff on one side when he jumped up to grab the fake coin.
Wait.
Keeping my gaze fixed on the spot so I don’t lose track of it, I walk around to that side of the large platform, crouching down to examine the small black mark.
This didn’t come from a shoe. It looks almost like the side of a panel or… or a button.
Bracing myself for a bubble to scoop me up if I’m wrong, I press my fingertips to the spot on the dais. There’s a strange hiss, and the top layer of stone seems to evaporate into smoke, revealing a hidden compartment underneath.
The small gold coin inside glints as sunlight strikes it.
My mouth goes dry, and I blink down at the thing stupidly for