you,” Maeve said. “That’s one less thing we’ll have to worry about.”
“My pleasure, always, Mrs. Flynn,” he said.
“If you’d like dinner or a drink, help yourself, on the house.”
“Thank you. But I’m sorry I have to refuse. I have a few errands to attend to before she is tested.”
He said his good-byes, and so did Maeve. I got back to eating.
I don’t know why she waited for so long, but about five minutes later, Maeve knocked on the door. She opened it. “May I?”
“Come in.” I left my fork in the empty bowl and picked up the coffee cup. “This is your place, right? Your inn?” The food and coffee were doing wonders for clearing my head.
She nodded. “Our guest rooms are often used for people recovering from the demands of magic. Though we get our ordinary travelers through the place, too.”
She walked over to the chair where Jingo Jingo had been sitting and pushed it back against the wall where it probably belonged. Then she sat on the edge of my bed. “You were listening,” she said.
“Hound ears.”
“He says your father is not inside you. Which is good. Removing a soul is a difficult, painful procedure. It is nice to have some good news.”
I think Zayvion had told me that once. After experiencing what Greyson had done, I didn’t want to get anywhere near soul removal for a while.
“So what’s the bad news?” I asked.
“It has been decided by the Authority that you will be tested tonight.”
I guessed I should be frightened or worried. Instead, I was tired enough to just accept it and move on. After all, I’d just faced down a half-beast ex-man who killed my father. Or at least killed most of him. Twice. I could handle a little test.
“What about my classes with you?”
“I’m afraid there’s no time for that now. The things you’ve done on the hunt with Zayvion, Shamus, and Chase, and the things Chase said you did to Greyson, makes it too dangerous to allow you to continue using magic untrained. Or perhaps at all,” she added softly. “Chase demanded you be tested or Closed. There are some who support your Closure. But more who believe we should test you. All agree we can not wait.”
“I didn’t do anything to Greyson,” I said.
She half nodded. Not an acceptance or rejection.
So it was clear I wasn’t going to convince her of my innocence. “Can you tell me what to expect?”
“The test will be held here in the lower level of the inn, where there is an appropriately Warded room. Many of the Authority will be there, including Sedra.”
“She’s the president of the Authority, right?”
“She is the head of it, yes. You will be asked to stand and defend yourself, magically, against one opponent.”
“It’s a wizard’s duel? Seems like a silly way to decide who can be a part of the secret magic club.”
That, finally, got a smile out of her. “It is a magic-user test. Carefully orchestrated to measure you. Both of you will be instructed to draw upon every capability at your disposal. You cannot hold back, Allie. No matter what. If you want to survive the test, you must be relentless. Show us your true colors.”
That sounded familiar. My dad had told me something similar, although he’d told me to use anyone and anything I had to to survive. “I’ll do what I can,” I said.
“Good,” she said, “I expect you to do so.”
“How much time until the test?”
“It’s four o’clock now. We’ll begin at eight. I think it would be best if you got some sleep.”
“Can I talk to Zayvion?”
“No.” She reached over and took the tray off my lap. “I can send Shamus in, if you’d like.”
“Okay. And I need to make a phone call.”
“We can do that.”
She stood, got halfway to the door.
“Maeve?”
“Yes?”
“What happens if I don’t pass?”
There wasn’t even time for her frown to register before it was replaced by a neutral line. “You’ll be Closed.”
“How Closed? Just my memories of this place? Of the Authority?” What I didn’t say, what I didn’t ask was, Will I forget you and Shamus? Will I forget Zayvion? Will I lose the ability to use magic? I realized my chest hitched at that thought. I didn’t want to lose them. Didn’t want to lose Zayvion. And I didn’t want to lose this life I was living, even though this life was currently kicking my ass.
“Very, very Closed,” she said softly. “You don’t want that to happen, and I don’t want