by ERIN BEDFORD
Paul found my vial and tipped it back without a second thought. It warmed my chest that he trusted me so completely. I didn't know anyone else that would just toss back what could be a lethal dosage with such ease.
The potion I'd chosen for this obstacle was the obvious choice, but it was a difficult one to brew, a potion of inflammability. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the other competitors had tried to recreate it as well, but as I watched the others take their potions and down them, I realized no one else had successfully made one like mine. Those who had taken their potions and promptly became ill were rushed away off the field, while Paul cautiously approached the fire.
"How does he know what it does?" my dad asked, leaning forward between Dale and me to be heard. "He doesn't look any different."
"It's about trust, Wesley," my grandmother, Nina, answered from where she sat on the other side of my mother with my grandfather. "And a bit of brains. He has to figure out what's different about his body, like that gentleman there." She pointed at one of the contestants who just tested out jumping before he realized the potion he'd taken had given him the ability to jump over the fire.
"Ah, I see," my dad answered, grinning from ear to ear. "So, what did you do, Max?"
"Just watch," I told him as Paul came to the conclusion that he couldn't jump over the flames. He moved toward the wall of flames where it sat in the middle of the first portion and cautiously moved his hand closer to it. When he realized his hand wasn't burning, he put it all the way in. It didn't take long after that for Paul to jog through the flaming wall and to the other side.
"Magical flame retardant," my dad mused. "Very nifty."
I chuckled. "Something like that."
We grew silent as we watched the contestants move to the next obstacle. This one was trickier than the fire. They had to swim across a long portion of the field in a pool of piranhas. So, it was a mixture of speed and survival. There had been more restrictions on this one as well. They had to touch the water in some way. They couldn’t just fly over it or go around. The potion I'd chosen would help Paul with both, I hoped.
Like before, Paul chugged the potion without a thought and turned to the pool. His face pinched with pain and he doubled over. My family gasped but I waved them off watching him as his skin changed colors and he grew scales. His face elongated and sharp snapping teeth filled his mouth. Before he even finished changing, Paul jumped into the pool and started to make his way across.
"An alligator transformation potion!" my grandfather cried with a joyous sound. "What a good idea, Max! They'll keep those little buggers away for sure."
"Thanks," I said absently, all of my attention focused on Paul. He raced across the water, snapping those jaws of his at anything that came near him. The potion would only last for a few minutes, so he had to get across before it wore off. Too bad my guardian light couldn't leave my side to help him fight off the piranhas or at least give him a heads up. She was tied to me and me alone.
The other students had done some pretty nifty, as my grandfather had said, potions to get past this obstacle themselves. Some of them were transformation potions similar to the one I had given Paul, one a turtle and the other a large fish, the latter not doing much to dissuade the piranhas. Someone else had made their body light enough to walk across the top of the water to try to bypass the whole thing all together. A quick look told me it was one of the Blue Bonnets. Of course, they wouldn't want to get their feet wet. I rolled my eyes inwardly at the way she daintily walked across the pool to the other side just as Paul climbed up on the edge.
Paul's alligator form shuddered and convulsed changing him back into his normal glorious self just seconds after getting out of the water.
"Talk about a close call." Dale bumped my shoulder once more, and I gave him a weak smile in return.
It had been close and while I was anxious about the outcome, my mind drifted to Ian once more. I kept thinking of Ian and where he might be. What was he doing? I wanted to go search for him, but if I left then, we would forfeit the game. Both contestants had to be present, to keep from cheating or whatever.
The crowd grew more anxious as two more contestants were cut out of the event, leaving only three left for the final obstacle. I leaned forward once more, my eyes locking on Paul. This last one had been the most challenging of the three to figure out. The event organizers didn't make it an easy one, that was for sure. I had almost given up on it because the potion I made required you to brew it overnight, and I wasn't sure if they would let me prep that far in advance.
"Don't worry." Dale rubbed my back and murmured in my ear, "It'll work. It has to."
I chewed on my nails as I watched Paul down the next potion. The next obstacle required precision and patience. You couldn't just barrel through it like the others. A glass corridor stood before the contestants. It looked perfectly harmless, just a short hallway on the way to their prize. Eight of them sat side by side. One for each contestant. Well, three of them since the other three had been disqualified.
As they stepped up to the hallway, one of the contestants, the other male there who had been changed into a turtle, grabbed his head. He screamed as something happened to him, too far away for us to see.
"It's his eyes." My mom explained, holding up a pair of binoculars. "The potion was an eye opener. It helps to see those things that are unseen."
Fuck. Why didn't I think of that one?
"What one did you do, Max?" my grandmother asked, her eyes never moving from the scene before us. It was like a train wreck to be sure. A horrible horrible train wreck that you both wanted to watch and pull your eyes away from because the anxiety of it all was just too much.
Swallowing, I licked my lips and said, "Not that one. Another one. It heightens the five senses to the point that it practically gives you a sixth sense. An ability to sense danger. A bit like..." I tried to figure out how to explain it to them.
"Spider-Man," Aidan finished for me and I smiled up at him.
"Yes, like Spider-Man."
Just then, a loud scream pierced the air. Every eye in the bleachers turned to the field below. The Blue Bonnet was the one screaming, clutching her hand and falling back out of the glass corridor and onto the grass as blood spurted from her finger. Her missing finger. A silver blade slid back into the place and disappeared in the glass wall of the hallway she'd just tried to enter.
"Stupid girl, trying to feel your way through," a lady in front of us clucked her tongue and shook her head. "They better find her finger, if they want to attach it in time." Her companions agreed with her, but I couldn't be bothered on the matter. I felt bad for her sure, but I cared more about making sure my guy didn't end up in pieces like her.
Paul slowly approached the hallway, but unlike the Blue Bonnet, he didn't put his hand out in front of him to test the path. He paused only one step in, then took a deep breath before blowing it out before him. All at once, several circular blades darted across the path, leaving only a small safe zone in between them to stand. It was quite obvious what the game makers had intended for him to do. I just hoped the added benefit of my potion would help him keep from slicing an important bit off before he made it through.
I didn't pay any mind to the other contestant, entirely focused on Paul and seeing him make it. Paul, the patient guy that he was, blew another long mouth full of air out. The blades darted out again, but just before they flew back into their places, he moved. He did this again for the next section and then next, each time his puffs of air revealing another set of deadly blades to navigate, until he came to the final stretch of hallway. This time, his blowing air out didn't result in any obvious traps, but unlike his competition, he didn't try to walk right through.
The agonizing scream of the Mountaineer filled the air as a circular saw came out and cut him down at the knees. Immediately, the healers came rushing in. Someone spelled the hallway to stop as they dragged the Mountaineer away, leaving Paul the last and only contestant.
&nb
sp; Paul, having noticed the Mountaineer’s unlegging, moved slowly so as not to cause any wind as he leaned down and blew across the lower half of the walkway. The saw that had maimed the Mountaineer came out quick as could be. There was no clear gap on this one, though, both in timing or in walk space. Paul would have to jump if he wanted to get across with his legs enact.
"Oh, Merlin," Mom gasped as she grabbed my shoulders and held on tightly as we watched. My muscles were tight, and my jaw ached from clenching it. I knew I shouldn't worry. They could put the other guy back together, so if Paul messed up, he wouldn't die, but still, who wanted to see their lover cut apart? It had to be an agonizing ordeal, and part of me wondered how it was even legal.
My dad voiced such a concern. “How is this even legal?”
"They have to sign a waiver before going through the games," my grandfather explained over my mom and grandmother. "There is rarely an event where someone doesn't come out bloody or missing a limb. Why, in my day, when I competed, I lost my sight for a whole week." He chuckled like it was no big deal. While it might have been in the long run, right now, it seemed like a very real deal.
A hush fell over the field and bleachers as we all watched to see if Paul would make it. His fingers curled and uncurled as he seemed to be gearing himself up for it. He had to jump quite high without any room to run to build up momentum. It kind of made me wish I'd given him the jumping ability from the first obstacle.
But Paul surprised us all. Instead of trying to jump straight over it, he put his hands up on one side of the hallway and then his legs up on the other side, bracing himself so that he was suspended only by his hands and feet over the pathway of doom. After he took a moment to ensure he was steady, Paul began to inch his hands and feet forward until he was above where the blade would come out. That’s when his foot almost slipped.
I swore my heart stopped as I braced myself for seeing him cut to pieces... but at the last second, Paul used the momentum of his impending fall to flip his body out of the hallway and onto the grass beyond.
Cheers erupted throughout the field, and I found myself on my feet and rushing down the bleachers before I knew it. I had to see Paul and wrap my arms around him. I needed to know with my body that he was truly and irrevocably safe.
It was harder to get to him than I thought it would be. Everyone else wanted to get down there and congratulate him or check on their own contestants, and it was minutes before I got to his side. When I did though, I pushed passed the examiner and threw myself into his arms.
"Oh, my God, Paul! I was so scared! I thought you were going to get hurt for sure."
Paul chuckled and held me close. "I did too for a moment there. I won't be thanking my brother for skipping out on this ordeal anytime soon. In fact, he's going to owe me big time."
I laughed with a mixture of relief and just a wee bit of hysteria as I kissed his face and held him tight. Ian definitely owed Paul for this one, but then again, he would be the one who had to face the trials, and I wasn't a hundred percent that he would have been able to pull it off the same way.
As it were, the fates were in our favor today, regardless of who played the part.
Chapter 19
The last game was just a few days away, but first, I had to deal with finals. Nothing haunted my dreams more than a multiple choice test. I'd have rather watched Paul, Ian, and the whole lot of them go through the last game again than try to figure out a true or false answer.
Speaking of Ian... the jerk came strolling into the second game celebration like he hadn't just up and left us hanging high and dry. The guys and I were sitting together in the quad where the Headmaster was going around congratulating the students and asking about everyone's wellbeing. I could tell the old man was preening from our latest win by the way he kept smacking Paul and me on the back and talking about the good old days.
"And this young man," Headmaster Swordson cried out as Ian strolled up to our group, "where have you been? Your brother put on quite a show. Quite a show indeed." He laughed and clapped Paul on the shoulder once more hard enough to make him wince.
I held back a smile at how uncomfortable Paul was with all the attention as he nodded and smiled at the Headmaster.
Ian scanned our faces, pausing on mine before he turned to the Headmaster. "An unfortunate turn of events caused me to be detained. I heard that I missed a lot of excitement."
"You missed a lot more than that," I bit out between my teeth as my hand tightened on my red Solo cup. Dale, who sat to my left on a couch they had conjured up for the occasion, placed his hand on my thigh and gave me a reassuring squeeze.
Ian's shoulders bunched up around his ears as he avoided my gaze. For a moment, I thought he'd tell me where he'd been but...
"Pencils down," my divination professor called out, jolting me out of my thoughts.
I sighed and let go of my test so it could float up to the professor's awaiting hands. At least Ian had the decency to look contrite, not that he had given me any answers about his whereabouts after that or any of the days since then. Aidan had been as quiet about it as ever, but seeing as he was magically bound to keep Ian's secret, I couldn't put too much blame on him.
So, maybe I was punishing Ian for holding back and leaving Paul and me high and dry. Maybe I was giving him the silent treatment for the last two months. Could you blame me? He dodged my questions without so much of a how do you do. I understood that he had to keep things secret for his schoolwork, but when it started to affect our relationship, then enough was enough.
"How'd it go?" Paul asked when I appeared in the cafeteria a short while later. He and Dale sat at a round table, their trays already loaded with food.
I shifted in my seat, laying my face on my hand with a groan.
"That good, huh?" Dale chuckled as he popped a fry into his mouth.
My nose crinkled up in disgust. "I don't know how you can eat right now. Tests always make me queasy."
Dale shrugged and took a big bite of his pizza. "I like tests. They're riveting. Makes me build up an appetite."
I eyed his overflowing tray and arched a brow. "I can tell. How about you?" I glanced over at Paul. "Do tests get you hard?"
Dale choked on his soda. He coughed and beat his chest as he gasped for air. "I never said that," he croaked between breaths as his eyes watered.
I wrinkled my nose at him. "You didn't have to. You nerd boner is visible from here, babe."
"Why you..." Dale growled, his eyes flashing with mischief.
Paul laughed as Dale reached over and grabbed at my sides, tickling me until I begged him to stop. I ended up in his lap somehow where something hard poked me in the butt.
"I might be a bit jealous.” I wiggled with a coy smile. “I don't know if this is for me or for your teacher."
Dale groaned and held me tight to his lap. "You... Definitely you."
As we laughed and joked, Aidan and Ian walked up to our table. My laughter died as I locked eyes with Ian and then quickly turned my gaze to Dale. As I stroked my fingers through his hair, I murmured, "You need a haircut."
Dale's eyes drifted from Ian to me and back before he settled on me. "Want to do it for me?"
I laughed harshly. "Not unless you want to bleed."
"Yeah, trusting Max with scissors near your head... not a good idea." Ian chuckled as he and Aidan took a seat across on the other side of the table.
That easy laugh didn’t disarm my anger with Ian, so I turned my gaze to Aidan instead. "How were finals? Make anyone cry during the flying test?"
Aidan's lips twitched. "No."
"Of course not." Ian clapped Aidan on the shoulder and grinned. "You should know by now this guy is a big softy. He'd let Merlin himself use him as a human shield if he asked."
"So, that means it's alright to use him that way, too?" I snapped as I finally spun towards Ian. "Because he'll let you? Is that what you're saying, Ian?"
Ian's smile fell, and he stumbled over his words, "No, I didn't mean
that. I just meant—"
"What?" I interrupted. "You just meant what? That since he's your friend, he wouldn't care if you forced him to keep your secrets?"
"Max," Paul mumbled next to my empty chair. "Let's not do this here."
I ignored him, glaring full out at his brother. "Did you ever think once that your secret could hurt him in other ways? That it would put a strain between us?"
"No, I...” Ian stumbled over his words as he spoke. “Max, you have to understand...”
"No, I don't!" I snapped and stood up as I shook my head. "I'm tired of trying to understand. You keep your secrets, okay? Just let me know when you want to be part of this relationship again."
"Max..." Dale tried to reach for my hands, but I pushed him off.
"No, I'm going to go. I have to pack still and get ready for tomorrow." My eyes shot to Ian and narrowed. "Some of us are still trying to win this thing."
I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I turned on my heels and marched through the cafeteria. I only got as far as the hallway before a hand grabbed my elbow. I spun around expecting to see Paul or Dale trying to appease me, but when I saw Ian, all I wanted to do was scream.
"Go away." I spun back around and kept walking, but Ian kept step with me. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Good,” he replied. “I don't want to hear you yell at me some more. So, you can just listen." Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Ian tuck his hands into his pockets, his eyes focused straight ahead.
"What makes you think I want to hear what you have to say?" I shot back, my voice as hard as ice. "If you're just going to give me more vague non-answers, then save your breath. I don't want to hear them."
Ian shrugged. "Maybe not, but I'm going to say it anyway."
We walked for a bit more before Ian actually spoke again. When he did, even though I told him that I didn't want to hear it, my ears strained for every word.
"Look, I know this is hard,” he began slowly and thoughtfully. “It's hard for me too, but the profession I want to get into requires me to be secretive about my work until I can reveal it to the public. There are so many witches and wizards out there that would kill to figure out what I'm working on, to get any kind of breakthrough that would lead them to infamy in the Dark Arts. I can't risk it getting out before I have succeeded."
