“real” pain—no marks were on my feet or legs. I’d survive this test, but Rockabill itself wouldn’t survive if I failed.
Finally, I made it to the sigil. Graeme was back up, leering and whacking off at me, but I ignored him as I pushed at the mirror. Okay, in all honesty I sort of fell forward onto it, but it worked.
Swinging the door open, the room around me winked out into darkness as I once again plunged forward into nothingness.
This time, I didn’t even bother testing a mage light. I just flung my arm out into the darkness and lit up my surroundings like it was a beach wedding.
I was still on my hands and knees where I’d landed. Hard. There were definitely going to be some interesting bruises decorating my body after today.
For some reason, that thought made me think of Anyan, still trapped as a dog. He was the one who always healed me… The thought of those big hands rubbing over my body made me miss him fiercely.
We have to reverse that spell. Then I thought of what Blondie had said. We need the creature’s power.
Stumbling to my feet, I got my bearings. This new room was just as stark, white, and unnatural as the other one had been. Although, instead of an oval of lights, this room was dotted by four enormous statues set up to form a square. The figures stood so tall—I barely made it to their knees—that it took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.
It’s those ancient Alfar, I realized. Melichor and Tatiana stood on one side of the square, looking as forbidding as their ghostly shapes had before. Across from them, forever their seconds, stood Glynda and Straif.
As I walked into the room, I felt magic swirl around me. The statues all turned, as one, to look down. I froze, blinking in their gaze like a deer in the proverbial headlights, but they didn’t move again. Their eyes seemed still to be unseeing stone, but one never knew.
Once the statues had finished moving, a light shone down from above to land smack in the middle of the square made by the statues. Within that light floated what looked like a pedestal.
I moved forward slowly, carefully, imagining Straif’s huge hand reaching down to smoosh me like a bug. When I got to where the pedestal stood, I stared in confusion.
It wasn’t really a pedestal. Instead, a thin, gilt rapier floated horizontally, looking from the side like the pedestal top. And under that floated a vertical scabbard. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this test must be about sticking the rapier into the scabbard.
The problem was that lying prone over the scabbard’s mouth was a white dove, its wings outstretched like some sort of feathery crucifixion character.
“Shit,” I swore, under my breath, as I stared at the conundrum. Meanwhile, the dove watched me back, its beady little eyes rolling as its breast fluttered in panic.
First things first, I thought, studying the sword. The rapier looked razor sharp, and so very thin, but I knew the damage it would do to that white breast. I moved around it, trying to see how it was floating, but it was obviously magic.
When I reached for the pommel, I couldn’t help but emit a low chuckle. The rapier’s grip was surrounded by a large, circular shield that was the same shape as the sigil we’d just chased all over Rockabill. Grasping the sword, I pulled, nearly falling back on my ass when it came to me with no resistance whatsoever.
I stood there, sword in hand, staring down at the bird. The bird stared back.
What kind of test is this? I wondered. Is it testing my resolve? My cruelty? My willingness to sacrifice? Or is it the complete opposite? Do they want to see my mercy, my kindness?
I studied the faces of the statues around me for some clue as to the true nature of this test. Because if I got it wrong, my little corner of the world was doomed.
What would they have honored? I wondered, scrutinizing the ancient Alfar’s enigmatic stone expressions. The Alfar I’ve known are either distant or monstrous. Either they wouldn’t care that I murdered what amounts to a fancy pigeon or they wouldn’t even notice.
What had Blondie said about these ancient Alfar? I remembered her mentioning something about power, and about cruelty. But certainly there had to have been wisdom, too, for the Alfar not only