The Iron Trial

by Holly Black

  Call couldn’t believe it. Even the Devoured knew about his crappy entrance scores.

  “I see through the masks of skin you wear,” the Devoured continued. “I see your future. One of you will fail. One of you will die. And one of you is already dead.”

  “What?” Aaron’s voice rose. “What does that mean, ‘already dead’?”

  “Don’t listen to it!” Tamara cried. “It’s a thing, not human —”

  “Who would desire to be human? Human hearts break. Human bones shatter. Human skin can tear.” The Devoured, already close to Aaron, reached to touch his face. Call leaped forward as fast as his leg would let him, knocking into Aaron, sending them both tumbling against one of the walls. Tamara whirled to face the Devoured, her hand raised. A swirling mass of air bloomed in her palm.

  “Enough!” roared a voice from the archway.

  Master Rufus stood there, forbidding and terrible, power seeming to pour off of him.

  The thing took a step back, flinching. “I mean no harm.”

  “Begone,” said Master Rufus. “Leave my apprentices be or I will dispel you as I would any elemental, no matter who you once were, Marcus.”

  “Don’t call me by a name that is no longer mine,” the Devoured said. Its gaze fell on Call, Aaron, and Tamara as it subsided back to the sulfurous pool. “You three I will see again.” It disappeared in a ripple, but Call knew it still remained beneath the surface somewhere.

  Master Rufus looked momentarily shaken. “Come along,” he said, ushering his apprentices through a low archway. Call looked back for Warren, but the elemental was gone. Call was briefly disappointed. He wanted to scream at Warren for betraying them — and also to disinvite him from his bedroom forever. But if Master Rufus saw Warren, it would be obvious that Call was the one who’d stolen him from Rufus’s office, so maybe it was good he was gone.

  They walked for a while in silence.

  “How did you know to come find us?” Tamara asked finally. “That something bad was happening?”

  “You don’t think I’d let you wander the depths of the Magisterium unwatched, do you?” said Rufus. “I sent an air elemental to follow you. It reported back to me once you had been drawn into the cavern of the Devoured.”

  “Marcus — the Devoured — told us some … he told us our futures,” Aaron said. “What did that mean? Was that — was the Devoured really once an apprentice like us?”

  Rufus looked uncomfortable for the first time Call could remember. It was amazing. He had finally acquired an expression. “Whatever he said means nothing. He’s gone completely mad. And yes, I suppose he was an apprentice like you once, but he became one of the Devoured long, long after that. He was a Master by then. My Master, in fact.”

  They were silent all the way back to the Refectory.

  At dinner that night, Call, Aaron, and Tamara tried to act like their day had been normal. They sat at the long table with the other apprentices but didn’t say much. Rufus was off with Master Milagros and Master Rockmaple, sharing a lichen pizza and looking somber.

  “Looks like your orienteering lesson didn’t go so well,” smirked Jasper, his dark eyes flicking from Tamara to Aaron to Call. Admittedly, they all looked exhausted and dirty, their faces smudged. Tamara had hollows under her eyes, as if she’d had a nightmare. “Get lost in the tunnels?”

  “We ran into one of the Devoured,” Aaron said. “Down in the deep caves.”

  The table burst into chatter. “One of the Devoured?” Kai demanded. “Are they like people say? Hideous monsters?”

  “Did it try to absorb you?” Celia’s eyes were round. “How did you get away?”

  Call saw that Tamara’s hands were shaking as she held her cutlery. He said abruptly, “Actually, it told us our futures.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Rafe.

  “It said that one of us would fail, one of us would die, and one of us was already dead,” said Call.

  “Think we know who’s going to fail,” Jasper said, eyeing Call. Call suddenly remembered he hadn’t told anyone about Jasper being in the Library, and began to reconsider that decision.

  “Thanks, Jasper,” said Aaron. “Always contributing.”

  “You shouldn’t let it bother you,” Drew said earnestly. “That’s just babble. It doesn’t mean anything. None of you are going to die and you’re obviously not dead. For Pete’s sake.”

  Call saluted Drew with his fork. “Thanks.”

  Tamara put her cutlery down. “Excuse me,” she said, and slipped out of the room.

  Aaron and Call immediately stood up to follow her. They were halfway down the corridor outside the Refectory when Call heard someone call his name — Drew, hurrying along after them. “Call,” he said. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  Call exchanged a look with Aaron. “You go ahead,” Aaron said. “I’ll go check on Tamara. Meet you back at the room.”

  Call turned back to Drew, pushing his tangled and cave-dusty hair out of his eyes. “Is everything okay?”

  “Are you sure that was a good idea?” Drew’s blue eyes were wide.

  “What?” Call was totally confused.

  “Telling everyone about that. About the Devoured! About the prophecy!”

  “You said it was just babble,” Call protested. “You said it didn’t mean anything.”

  “I just said that because —” Drew searched Call’s face, his own expression turning from confusion, to concern, to dawning horror. “You don’t know,” he said finally. “How can you not know?”

  “Not know what?” Call demanded. “You’re freaking me out, Drew.”

  “Who are you?” Drew said, half in a whisper, and then backed up a step. “I was wrong about everything,” he said. “I have to go.”

  He turned around and ran. Call watched him go, totally bewildered. He resolved to ask Tamara and Aaron about it, but by the time he got back to the room, exhaustion had clearly overtaken them. Tamara’s door was shut and Aaron was asleep on one of the couches.

  CALL WOKE UP to the sound of someone moving outside his door. His first thought was that it was Tamara or Aaron working late in the common room. But the footsteps were too heavy to belong to either of his friends, and the raised voices that followed were definitely adult.

  He couldn’t help hearing Alastair’s voice in his head. They don’t have any mercy, not even for children.

  Call lay sleeplessly staring upward until one of the crystals set in the walls sputtered into brightness. He took Miri out of her drawer and slid from the bed, wincing as his shoeless feet hit the cold stone floor. Without the heavy blankets, he could feel the chill air through his thin pajamas.

  He hoisted Miri just as the door opened. Three Masters stood in the doorway, looking in at him. They were dressed in their black uniforms, and their faces were grave and serious.

  Master Lemuel’s gaze flicked from Call’s face to the blade. “Rufus, your apprentice is well trained.”

  Call didn’t know what to say to that.

  “You won’t need any weapons tonight, though,” said Master Rufus. “Leave Semiramis on your bed and come with us.”

  Looking down at his LEGO pajamas, Call scowled. “I’m not dressed.”

  “Well trained in preparedness,” said Master North. “Less well trained in obedience.” He snapped his fingers. “Put the knife down.”

  “North,” said Master Rufus. “Leave the discipline of my apprentices to me.” He moved closer to Call, who didn’t quite know what to do. Between Drew’s bizarre behavior, his father’s warnings, and the Devoured’s creepy prophecy, he was feeling deeply unsettled. He didn’t want to give up his knife.

  Rufus’s hand closed around Call’s wrist, and Call let Miri go. He didn’t know what else he could do. Call knew Master Rufus. He’d eaten meals with him for months and been taught lessons by him. Rufus was a person. Rufus had saved him from the Devoured. He wouldn’t hurt me, Call told himself. He wouldn’t. No matter what my father said.

 
An odd expression flickered across Rufus’s face and was gone immediately. “Come along,” he said.

  Call followed the Masters into the common room, where Tamara and Aaron were already waiting. Both of them were in their pajamas — Aaron was wearing a T-shirt that was practically transparent with washing and sweatpants with a hole in the knee. His blond hair stuck up like duck fluff and he looked barely awake. Tamara looked tense. Her hair was carefully braided and she wore pink pajamas that said I FIGHT LIKE A GIRL across the front. Under the words was a screen print of cartoon girls executing deadly ninja moves.

  What’s going on? Call mouthed to them silently.

  Aaron shrugged and Tamara shook her head. Clearly, they didn’t know any more than he did. Although Tamara seemed to know enough to look like she was going to jump out of her skin.

  “Seat yourselves,” said Master Lemuel. “Please don’t dawdle.”

  “You can clearly see that none of them were trying to …” said Master Rufus in a low voice that faded out at the end as though he didn’t want to speak the rest out loud.

  “This is very important,” Master North said as Call, Aaron, and Tamara sat down together on one couch. Tamara yawned hugely and forgot to cover her mouth, which meant she was really tired. “Have you seen Drew Wallace? Several people told us that he followed you out of the Refectory and he seemed upset. Did he say anything to you? Discuss his plans?”

  Call frowned. The last time he saw Drew was way too weird to talk about. “What plans?”

  “We talked about our lessons,” Aaron volunteered. “Drew followed us into the hall — he wanted to talk to Call.”

  “About the Devoured. I think he was really scared.” Call didn’t know what else to say. He had no other explanation for Drew’s behavior.

  “Thank you,” said Master North. “Now we need you to go back to your rooms and put on your uniforms. We’re going to need your help. Drew left the Magisterium sometime after ten tonight, and it was only due to another apprentice getting up for a midnight glass of water and finding his note that we discovered he was gone at all.”

  “What did the note say?” Tamara asked. Master Lemuel glowered at her, and Master North looked surprised to be interrupted. Clearly, neither of them knew Tamara very well.

  “That he was running away from the Magisterium,” Master Lemuel said quietly. “You know how dangerous it is for half-trained mages to be loose in the world? And that’s to say nothing of the Chaos-ridden animals that make their homes in the neighboring woods.”

  “We have to find him,” Master Rufus said, nodding slowly. “The whole school will help search. We can cover more ground that way. I hope that explanation is sufficient, Tamara. Because time really is of the essence.”

  Flushing, Tamara rose and headed toward her room, and Aaron and Call went to theirs. Call slowly drew on his winter clothes: his gray uniform, a thick sweater, a zip-up hoodie. The adrenaline of being woken by the mages was burning off and he was starting to realize how little sleep he’d had, but the idea of Drew stumbling through the dark made him blink himself awake. What had made Drew run?

  Reaching for his wristband, Call’s fingers trailed over Alastair’s cuff and the mysterious note to Master Rufus. He remembered his father’s words: Call, you must listen to me. You don’t know what you are. You must get away as soon as you can.

  He was supposed to be the one running, not Drew.

  After a knock, the door to his room opened and Tamara came in. She wore her uniform, and her hair was pulled into two braids pinned tightly around her head. She looked a lot more awake than he felt.

  “Call,” she said. “Come on, we’ve got to — what’s that?”

  “What’s what?” He glanced down and realized he still had the drawer pulled open, Alastair’s wristband and letter on full display. He fished the wristband out and leaned back, pushing the drawer closed with his weight. “I — this is my father’s wristband. From when he was at the Magisterium.”

  “Can I see?” Tamara didn’t wait for an answer, just reached out and plucked it from his hand. Her dark eyes widened as she looked at it. “He must have been a really good student.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Those stones. And this —” She broke off, blinking. “This can’t be your father’s wristband.”

  “Well, I guess it could be my mother’s….”

  “No,” Tamara said. “We saw their handprints in the Hall of Graduates. They both graduated, Call. Whoever’s wristband this is, it ends at Silver Year. There’s no gold.” She handed it back to him. “This bracelet belonged to someone who never graduated from the Magisterium.”

  “But —” Call broke off as Aaron came in, his wavy hair pasted down to his forehead. He looked like he’d splashed water on his face to wake up.

  “Come on, guys,” he said. “Master Lemuel and Master North went on ahead, but Rufus seems about to break the door down.”

  Call shoved the wristband into his pocket, remaining conscious of Tamara’s curious gaze on him as they followed Master Rufus through the tunnels. Call’s leg was stiff, the way it was most mornings, so it was slow going for him. Aaron and Tamara were careful to match their speed to his, though. For once, he wasn’t mad about it.

  On the way out, they ran into the rest of the apprentices being led by their Masters, including Lemuel and North. The kids looked as confused and worried as Master Rufus’s apprentices did.

  A few more turns and they came to a door. Master Lemuel opened it and they stepped into another cave, this one with an opening at the end that wind blew through. They were going outside — and not the way they’d come in that first day. This cave was open at the far end. In the stone was set a pair of giant metal gates.

  They had clearly been forged by a Master of metal. They were wrought iron, tapering to sharp points at the top that almost brushed the cave ceiling. Across the the gates, the metal bent into words: Knowledge and action are one and the same.

  It was the Mission Gate. Call remembered the boy strapped to the stretcher of branches, his skin half burned off, and realized that in the confusion, he’d never noticed much about the gate itself.

  “Call, Tamara, Aaron,” Master Rufus said. Beside him was tall, curly-haired Alex, looking uncharacteristically somber. He wore his uniform and a thick cloaklike coat over it. There were gloves on his hands. “Alexander will be leading you. Do not leave his side. The rest of us will be within shouting distance. We want you to cover an area near one of the Magisterium’s less-used exits. Look for any trace of Drew, and if you see him, call out for him. We think it more likely that he will trust one of his own Iron Years than a Master or even an older student like Alex.”

  Call wondered why the Masters thought Drew would be more likely to trust another student over them. He wondered if they knew more about why Drew had run away than they were letting on.

  “Then what do we do?” Aaron asked.

  “Once you’ve spotted him, Alex will signal the Masters. Just keep him talking until we arrive. You and Master Milagros’s apprentices will go east.” He waved across the crowded grounds, and Master Milagros started toward him, trailed by Celia, Jasper, and Gwenda. “The Bronze Years will head west, the Copper Years will go north, and the Silver and Gold Years who are not assisting Masters will go south and north.”

  “What about the Chaos-ridden animals in the woods?” Gwenda asked. “Aren’t they dangerous to us, too?”

  Master Milagros looked toward Alex and another older student. “You won’t be alone out there. Stick together and signal us immediately if there’s a problem. We will keep close by.”

  Already, some of the apprentice groups were moving out into the night — summoning glowing orbs that flew through the air like disembodied lanterns. A low hum of whispers and mutterings accompanied them as they made their way into the dark woods.

  Call and the others followed Alex. When the last apprentice passed through the gate, it shut with a disturbingly final clang behind the
m.

  “That’s the sound it always makes,” Alex said, looking at Call’s expression. “Come on — we’re going this way.”

  He headed toward the woods, along a dark path. Call stumbled over a root. Aaron, always looking for an excuse, summoned his sparking blue ball of energy, looking pleased that it would be useful. He grinned as it spun above his fingers, lighting the air around them.

  “Drew!” Gwenda called. Echoes of other Iron Year students could be heard in the distance. “Drew!”

  Jasper rubbed his eyes. He was wearing what appeared to be a fur-lined coat and a hat with earflaps that was slightly too big for his head. “Why do we have to be put in danger just because some dweeb decided he couldn’t handle it anymore?” he demanded.

  “I don’t understand why he’d leave in the middle of the night,” Celia said, her arms around herself, shivering even in her long bright blue parka. “None of this makes any sense.”

  “We don’t know any more than you do,” said Tamara. “But if Drew ran away, he must have had a reason.”

  “He’s a coward,” said Jasper. “That’s the only possible reason for leaving.”

  The forest floor was covered in a thin dusting of snow, and the trees hung low all around them, Aaron’s blue light illuminating just enough to emphasize the eeriness of the sharp branches.

  “What do you think he has to be afraid of?” Call asked.

  Jasper didn’t answer.

  “We’ve got to stay together,” Alex told them, conjuring three golden balls of flame that whirled around them, charting the outer edge of their party. “If you see or hear anything, tell me. Don’t run off.”

  Frozen leaves crunched under Tamara’s feet as she dropped back to walk with Call. “So,” she said softly, “how come you thought that wristband belonged to your father?”

  Call looked at the others, trying to decide if he was outside the range of their hearing. “Because it came from him.”

  “He sent it to you?”

  Call shook his head. “Not exactly. I … found it.”