Page 86 of The Song of Sunrise
A sickening crack echoes from below, dull and final.
Then, silence.
Leo’s entire body lurches forward, but Ramona grabs him, keeping him from diving after her. He fights her, screaming his twin’s name again, and again, until it doesn’t sound like a name anymore.
I don’t need to look. I already know.
Lacerta lies shattered on the rocks far below, her life ending in silence, the kind that fills your lungs and never lets go.
A sob tears from my throat. My hands tremble, and the frigid air freezing my fingers falls away, no longer mattering.No, no, no, no, no!
I shudder and turn away, trying and failing to compartmentalize what I just saw.
“My La–Lacerta!” Gryphon weeps. His muscles shake, threatening to throw us off balance. He and Lacerta were close. They would eat together almost every lunch, always picking on one another, teasing, exchanging longing looks… A relationship that ends before it even starts is the most tragic kind because it’s a loss to more than just those involved, but the people around them too.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper to Gryphon, tears freezing on my cheeks. He makes choking sounds, like he is suppressing a scream. I want to stop everything. Break off a piece of plank and stab it at the sponsors who would allow such a tragedy to occur. But the other teams are moving already. I hate myself for saying what I have to say. “We are almost on the other side. We have to keep going.”
He stills, and I can feel his emotions hardening to ice around me, but his Moon’cher powers swell, like a torrent of water behind a dam, waiting to explode.
“No magic! We will get disqualified,” Selene says, sniffing.
We continue forward, our silence accompanied by the tritones of wind gusting through the chasm. We make it across only to find ourselves tied for third place with Leaf and his other two Forest team members, Kauri and Artemis. Ramona and Leo from the River team are still on the ropes, the former hugging the latter and whispering something to him I cannot hear from this distance.
Keep moving forward, I command myself and run to catch up with Gryphon and Selene, already dashing to the next obstacle at full speed.
Castor’s team is first to reach the edge of a murky pool. Within seconds, Castor dives headfirst in perfect form into the water to retrieve the key. Sabra dives for the Jord team next.
The Forest team approaches the pool at the same time we do.
Leaf and I make eye contact. Both of our teams are vying for the same spot. Selene dives headfirst into the water, Artemis following just behind her in a dash of pale skin and dark hair.
Sabra comes up first before Castor, gasping for air, cursing and shaking her head.
No key. There is still time!
She plunges again just as Castor shoots out of the water in a way that might even make the Kingfishers of the RiverTribe jealous. He has always been regarded as one of the best swimmers in the Watch, but to see him in action is a whole other level. He pierces through the water with immense force, slicing through it with ease.
“Come on, Selene!” Gryphon urges, a lethal energy leaking from every pore. Lacerta’s death is spurring a whole different, much sharper, side of him. I lean over, trying to get a glimpse of Selene’s progress only to see dark, contorted shapes in the murky depths.
Another champion flies out of the water.
Selene!
Gryphon tilts his head back and roars in celebration. If Castor is the best Moon’cher swimmer, Selene has to be the second. Her hickory eyes glow with excitement as she hoists herself out of the water and hands me a small ring of keys.
I don’t wait to see if Sabra or Artemis appear from the water next as I turn and run toward the final part of this Summit task. Five large crates sit atop a raised platform, each painted in the color of their team. I run as fast as I can toward the black Terraguard crate, keys jingling as I skip steps, getting there as quickly as I can manage without falling. I throw myself onto my knees and begin to force a key into the lock. It doesn’t budge.
Shit!There are at least seven locks and ten different keys.
Vega is cursing and kneeling in front of her crate next to me. Castor and Pictor yell instructions from behind her, but instead of helping, it’s causing her to panic even more.
Good.
I take a breath and clear my mind, like I would before a Telling, and in a moment, I am calm. I look down at the locks. Then the keys. Breathe. Then back at the locks.
There are small similarities! Some have matching symbols, others are made of the same metal materials, have the same rust patterns, or same type of scuffs. Details so small, yet so obviousif you are looking for them. Within a minute, all seven locks are open. Over the pulsing of blood in my ears, the crowd roars and Hogsmith continues to commentate.
Inside, there is a scroll and five small, corked bottles. I grab the scroll and read:
