Page 65 of Black Wing and Shadows
Melamora’s gaze swept the rows. “Destroyed… or forgotten. History has a way of burying what we don’t wish to remember. If humans have rediscovered the process—or worse, improved it—then the war you’re preparing for is unlike any your parents or grandparents faced.”
A hush fell. Even the most arrogant looked uneasy.
I sat frozen, her words scraping down my spine. Nosferatu. I could still hear my father’s voice from years ago, spinning it like a fireside tale to scare me before bed.If you ever hear scratching at your window, don’t look.
Back then I’d thought he was teasing. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
Had he known? Had he told it like a story because he didn’t want me to see the fear in his eyes? He’d always been careful with what he shared—too careful. Every story I’d ever heard from him suddenly felt like a half-truth wrapped in a blanket of lies.
The hall was quiet around me, cadets shifting uneasily, but all I could hear was my own pulse. If the Nosferatu were real—if the humans had truly made them—then my father had kept far more from me than I ever guessed.
And gods, what else had he told me without telling me?
“What do you make of this?”I asked Zane.
“I’ve heard the rumors but thought they were rumors or stories… now maybe not.”
“My dad told me stories of them when I was younger, but said it wasn’t real.”
“I am sure he didn’t want to scare you.”
“He left me unprepared instead.”
Melamora led the class through more heated debates, some cadets challenging the news she shared with us. My head ran around circles. I don’t know what I can even do about this, I couldn’t let something I had no control over, control me. I needed to focus on today. I needed to focus on my training.
***
It took me three weeks to finish level five. The final challenge—swinging across short ropes in strong winds—was much more complex than I expected. I finally completed it at the end of week four, just in time. The following week, we lost our barrier. Lorenzo was the first to fall when it was gone, breaking his femur and tibia. His scream was so loud I felt like I still heard him the next day. He was stitched up and returned the following week. His fall reminded us to go more slowly.
Last week, I slipped while running toward the ledge at the end of level five, but I managed to grasp it and pull myself up. I kept telling myself,‘I can do this.’Several cadets had already fallen and couldn’t be saved. We wouldn’t know the final count until all the Riders finished the Rite of Passage, but it seemed we had lost at least five cadets.
Clara and Sadie managed to complete the course by the end of the third week. Clara slipped once during week four but recovered quickly. Akira struggled with me, especially with the physical aspects. Despite being two inches taller, she was still shorter than most female Riders.
During sparring, she had more losses than wins, but she showed improvement every week. We went to the gym in the evenings to do more training. Micah, Lorenzo, and Jackson had been completing the pass since the second week, but when they tried to move too fast, each one made errors and slipped somehow.
It was our second-to-last day of practice before we finished, meaning we were just one step closer to the Rite of Passage. All seven of us gathered at the base of the mountain pass, forming a circle.
“I think our time is a little slow, but we are also graded on how many of us complete it as well as timing. If all seven of us make it, we should have good timing and not be in last place. Every time we tried to speed up, it cost us time because someone slipped. I know my height affects my speed, and I’m sorry for that,” I told our group.
“Electric Feather’s First Squad!” Jackson shouted.
“Electric Feather’s First Squad!” we all echoed.
As fall approached, the weather began to change. The wind grew stronger, and there were more rainy days. That day was no different—there was fog in the air, with light rain. Standing at the base of the mountain, you couldn’t see more than halfway up it. At that point, Professor Quillet was just there to babysit us. He didn’t offer any guidance or advice. Instead, he timed us to let us know our individual times. Lorenzo decided to start us out. He climbed up the stone ledges and walked across the first beam.
Even at this low height, you could see him sway a little with the wind gusts. He held both arms out for balance as he moved smoothly across the beam. When he reached the end, he climbed onto the ropes and breezed right through. Once he pulled himself onto the start of level three, Clara decided to go.
Lorenzo had already crossed the second beam, which had a steep angle, jumping the first gap onto the ledge. Clara made her way across the first set of ropes, climbing onto level three. Jackson moved forward and started across. He moved the fastest across the beam, as if he had been born for this. Clara made it to the jump and leapt across, just like she had been doing. Jackson had already turned and was making his way across the ropes. Once he climbed up, I started across the beam.
Getting across the beams hadn’t been a problem for me. My short height helped me move without much wind. Lorenzo should be finished, but looking up, I could only see the hanging logs. Clara should be at the last set of ropes, so I started making my way across the ropes—
“Ahhhhhhhhh.” Clara’s screams rattled through my ears. Please let her grip something before she falls completely. I couldn’t freeze. In fact, I needed to move even faster. What if she didn’t and fell, hitting me on theway? I was only about ten feet from the ground, so it wouldn’t be as bad, but her hitting me wouldn’t be great. I glanced up to see if I could spot her before I started moving across the ropes. She was still screaming. It was echoing off the mountain, and she got closer.
I was pretty sure I heard banging as she fell. I was on the last few ropes before the screaming was right there. I looked behind me and saw her fall to the ground. My heart sank into my stomach. Sadie’s face immediately went pale. Micah vomited on the ground. I held onto the rope with all my strength. From my position, I could tell she was no longer alive. Her neck was contorted unnaturally, and her legs were bent at the knees. Her soul was now with Betha.
I couldn’t just stay there hanging. I had to keep going. Losing a squadmate sucked, but we were at a war college that was preparing us for death. I climbed onto level three and walked the beam up. Sadie climbed up and onto the first beam.
I was quite sure I heard Micah crying below. I also suspected they had started dating, though they hadn’t made it official. Most first-year students didn’t get into relationships, mainly because our living situation was terrible. Unless you were sleeping with a cadet leader—third or fourth-year students—privacy was scarce. Still, that didn’t stop anyone.
