by L. C. Mawson
I’d done it.
I’d really completed the final trial...
Dana regarded me as I walked over to her, her gaze hard and her jaw slightly clenched.
“Well done, Amelia,” she eventually said, the slight strain to her words hidden well enough that you could argue that I was imagining it.
But somehow, I didn’t think I was.
“You have passed this trial and may now be considered an Amazon, if you so wish.”
Before I could ask if that meant they were done with me – that I could go free and never have to worry about them again – the door at the far end of the room opened.
I groaned as Lauren stormed through, though my annoyance quickly turned to fear as I realised that she was dragging Willow behind her, ropes of magic around Willow’s wrists and ankles keeping her from escaping.
“Stop,” Lauren said. “You can’t let her pass. She cheated.”
Dana raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how do you suggest she did that? We were watching her throughout her entire trial.”
Lauren pushed Willow out in front of her with a smirk. “She had her friend cheat for her. I found this one sneaking around outside the course, tampering with the spells. Specifically, the obstacle course spells. Amelia was about to be knocked down, and she slowed the obstacles almost to a halt.”
Willow glared at Lauren. “Someone else had tampered with them first. I was just fixing them before Amelia was killed.”
I was about to agree, but Esme stepped forward, turning to Dana. “The girl is correct, Dana. It’s obvious that someone tampered with both the gravity spell and the obstacle course spells, making it impossible for Amelia to succeed.”
Dana sighed. “Regardless of whether or not it was to help or harm Amelia, if there has been tampering to the trial, we cannot consider the outcome valid. I apologise, Amelia, but you will have to retake the trial.”
My blood turned to ice.
Retake the trial?
I’d barely made it through this time.
At least I would know what was coming...
“And we will, of course, give you a different version of the trial so that you don’t know what to expect.”
Esme turned to Dana before a panic attack could set in. “Dana, this is ridiculous. It’s clear that the trial was harder than it should have possibly been for a significant portion, Amelia more than proved herself today.”
“We cannot allow people to suspect that the trials are not fair.”
“What’s not fair is forcing Amelia back through them when she has already proven herself worthy of joining our ranks.”
“I’m sorry, Esme, but this is my final ruling as Coven Head.”
“Then I challenge it.”
The dead silence of the Amazons told me that Esme’s words were more than significant.
It was as if everyone was holding their breaths.
Dana raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that you want to do this? That it is worth it?”
“I’m sure.”
Dana sighed before nodding and holding her wand to her throat. “Amazons,” she said, her voice vibrating a little, “Lorekeeper Esme has challenged my authority. In the days of old, we would have duelled, but we are civilised Witches, so we shall put the case to the rest of the coven.
“You will be aware of the issue with a young, overly powerful Witch who was tricked into helping Maria Brown. We agreed to test her with our trials, to see if she was mature enough to handle her powers, or if she would need... closer supervision. Unfortunately, the trial was tampered with from the outside. I decided that she should retake the trial, but Esme believes that she has proven herself enough. I do not think that it is fair to allow a Witch into our ranks without going through an untampered trial.”
She turned to Esme, who placed her own wand to her throat. “The tampering was originally to make the trial harder. She was bruised, battered and almost killed by the tampering, and I don’t think there is a single Amazon among us who could have managed better than she did. Her friends managed to identify and reverse the tampering, which yes, in one case, meant making the chamber easier for her to pass through after said chamber almost killed her.
“This trial was supposed to be a test, not deadly and traumatic. Amelia has gone through more than we expect from most Witches, and she has more than proven herself. I do not think that we should subject her to the trial again just to prove what we have already seen. It’s inhumane after the trial almost killed her this time.”
Dana grit her teeth a little, though relaxed before she spoke again. “So, Amazons, what should we do about this situation?”
The surrounding Amazons took out their wands.
All of them glowed blue, except for Sarah’s, which was red.
Small orbs of light appeared around Dana.
Red and blue.
At first, it seemed that there were more blue lights, but as more and more came, the two colours evened out, as several yellow orbs appeared.
All three colours seemed equal to my eyes, but then the red lights began to glow brighter than the rest.
Dana turned to me, her jaw clenched once more. “It seems that the Amazons voted with Esme. Just barely. Amelia, your success in the trial will be upheld. You’ve proven that the incident with Maria Brown truly was just an error in judgement. Something that the whole school shared, but in our time here, we have been unable to find any other breaches of conduct. It appears that Maria Brown was just that good of an actor.
“And that there is nothing to suggest that this school isn’t good enough to educate you with her gone, given your demonstrated control of your powers.”
She then turned to Willow. “You, however, interfered with our trials.”
“Someone else interfered with them first,” Willow bit back.
“Be that as it may, you should have alerted us, rather than taking matters into your own hands. We understand that many of the Witches here are younger than most who would ever apply to the Amazons, so we were going to allow those who underwent the initial trial to try again in the future, through the old channels. However, you have proven today that you are too reckless, and will therefore never be allowed to take the trials again.”
Willow glared at her. “I wouldn’t want to join your elitist club anyway.”
Esme placed her hands on her hips. “Really, Dana, this is unheard of. We do not ban people from the trials based on follies of youth.”
“She has already failed the trial. I am simply not bending the rules for her going forward. And you have already used up your chance to challenge me. Unless you have another Amazon who has been with us for over a century and who would also like to waste their chance over some teenager, then my word is law.”
“For now.”
Dana glared at her before shifting out, the other Amazons, including Lauren, following except for Esme and Sarah.
I immediately rushed over to Willow as the magical restraints faded away.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” she said before wrapping her arms around me, her grip tight in a way that told me that she was very much not fine.
And it was my fault.
I just held her, my own grip as tight as hers.
Eventually, she pulled away and gave me a small smile before nodding to Esme with a raised eyebrow.
Right, there were other things to worry about...
I turned to Esme. “What happened?”
“I challenged Dana’s authority, forcing her to call a vote of the Amazons. They sided with me.”
“Right, no, I got that part. But it seemed like there was more going on. When Dana said she was in charge, you said ‘for now’.”
Esme sighed. “That was perhaps beneath me. But yes, her losing that public vote suggests that her leadership is not in line with the rest of the Amazons. But the vote was close. She and her allies have been ignoring the change coming. The discontent among a lot of Witches. But they can ignore it because
it comes from younger Witches. The ones who question the current system, and especially those who don’t remember why so many of us are afraid of Humans.
“But this vote? They can’t ignore it. They were beaten. And that’s going to scare them. Things are going to get a lot harder now.”
“Harder?”
She gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. You passed the test. The Amazons will have to find another pretence to draw you into things.”
I wasn’t convinced.
But that was tomorrow’s problem.
Sarah turned to me and Willow. “Come on. We should go and get you two cleaned up.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Are you sure that you’re okay?” I asked Willow as we both sat in the infirmary, with Sarah patching us up with healing spells.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled. “I don’t know how Humans survive without healing magic.”
“I didn’t just mean that. I meant, are you okay with... With Dana banning you from retaking the trial?”
“Well, I already assumed that I wouldn’t be able to, and it’s okay. I meant what I said, having seen the reality of the Amazons, I wouldn’t want to be one of them. And if giving that up was the price I had to pay to keep you safe, I would happily pay it a thousand times over.”
“That might not be the only price.”
I frowned as Gail entered the room, Auntie Jess beside her.
She gave Willow an apologetic look as she approached. “The Amazons are putting pressure on me to expel you. Tampering with exams is a potentially expellable offence, so...”
I frowned. “The obstacle course almost killed me. Surely saving another student’s life counteracts the tampering.”
Gail sighed. “It’s a potentially expellable offence, but given that Willow is an exemplary student, and has otherwise not misbehaved in any way, I have decided that detention for the next month will be enough. The Amazons aren’t happy with it, but there isn’t room to argue, given that it’s in line with previous decisions.” She fixed Willow with a stern look. “But it will only stay that way if you remain an exemplary student. Understood?”
Willow paled and nodded. “Yes, Miss. I understand.”
Gail turned to me. “The Amazons are wrapping up the rest of the trials now, but they have assured me that they will leave once they’re done.”
“So, that’s it? I’m safe now?”
“Well... After Esme challenged Dana, things have become volatile. You’re safe for now, but I don’t know how long that will last.”
I nodded, happy to take safety for as long as it would last.
“And Willow was the only person who got in trouble?”
Gail raised an eyebrow. “Can I take that to mean that you had other friends involved in this?”
I refused to answer.
“Yes, Willow was the only student caught tampering with your trial.”
Esme then shifted into the room.
“Ah, Gail, I was just about to look for you.” She turned to me and Willow. “You two will be pleased to know that Charlotte also passed her trial. She and your other friends have gone to celebrate and are waiting for you.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
As much as I didn’t like the Amazons, Charlotte wanted to join them, and she deserved to.
Esme then turned to Gail. “I’m sorry that I don’t have better news, but it seems Dana has moved more quickly than I anticipated. She’s called a leadership election to cement her position.”
I frowned. “But wait, people sided with you in that last vote. Surely that means that she’ll lose.”
“No, thirty-four percent of Amazons sided with me. Thirty-three sided with her, and thirty-three didn’t vote. While all Amazons could consult on the decision to come to the school to investigate the incident with Maria Brown, almost no one did. Which means that almost no one even knows who you are. She’s relying on the fact that those non-voters are her supporters and that they would vote in a leadership election despite not voting here.”
“And what happens if she’s right?”
“Then I doubt you or this school are going to get away with the resentment she now feels towards you. Not that you’ve gotten away completely for now, either.” She turned to Gail. “Dana went to the Council of Light and petitioned them for a long-term third-party presence at the school. She said that while her investigation found nothing, it was too short term. I think that if she hadn’t felt the need to call the leadership election, she would have stayed herself.”
Gail pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please tell me that they’re sending Guides.”
“No, unfortunately, they felt that the Slayers have more resources to spare for such an endeavour.”
Gail shook her head and muttered, “Fucking Slayers...” She then sighed as she pulled her hand from her face and placed her hands on her hips. “The Slayers have had it out for this school from Day One because we took Demon money and resources when the Council refused to give us any.”
“I know,” Esme said. “Which is exactly why Dana went to the Council, knowing that that would be their suggestion. She’s not happy about this. She’s never been against the school as a project, but the head of the Amazons is supposed to be the strongest Witch around. With Maria Brown awakened, that’s now in question. And don’t think the fact that you chose to protect Amelia went unnoticed. She could have been the key to more power for the Amazons, but now she’s free to make her own choices.” She turned to me. “Assuming you never take up the offered place among us.”
“Yeah, no, I’m staying well away from that.”
Esme smiled. “Good. You should make your own decisions, but my advice? All covens rely on the Amazons to some degree. Your aunt has the right idea in staying out of it completely.”
I nodded.
I hadn’t really thought about what I would do post-school, but there was something in me that twinged at the thought of no coven ever being safe for me.
“So, these Slayers,” I said, looking to change the subject, “will they be investigating me, like the Amazons did?”
Esme sighed. “They’re just here to investigate the school, and the Amazons did their own investigations into Maria Brown, but if the Slayers decide to re-investigate... Well, you did help her cast the spell. And if they can tie you to either Queen Freya or Maria in a meaningful way...”
“Then is it really still safe for me to stay? I put everyone in enough danger with the Amazons.”
Gail shook her head. “No, you’re staying. If this school cannot protect those who need it most, then it is worthless as an institution.”
Esme gave her an apologetic look. “I hate to say it, but I cannot stay. I need to contest Dana in this election, or she will run unopposed.”
Sarah turned to Gail and Esme. “I’ll stay. I still have a patient, anyway.”
Gail raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you were close to figuring out a cure.”
“I am, but the Amazons don’t know that.” She turned to Esme. “And as much as I want to help you in the elections, most Amazons like the school. I think you might be better off with me seen here, helping, rather than at your side.”
Esme nodded. “Of course.” She then turned to Gail. “I wish that I didn’t have to leave so soon, but I do. You should get busy preparing. The Slayers will arrive in a week.”
Want to continue onto Book Three?
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Author’s Note
Am I once again writing this note long past the point where I should probably be asleep?
Yes, and this time it’s self-inflicted.
If you’re so tired that drinking coffee in the evening seems like a good idea, maybe don’t do it on an empty stomach, and maybe don’t just pour in the instant coffee by eye if, like me, you always put too much in.
But, you know, lessons learned.
And maybe I’ll g
et some more of the next book written tonight.
Or maybe I’ll just end up bingeing UpIsNotJump videos...
Probably a combination of the two, to be honest.
Either way, I should get back to it. See you next time!
(Figuratively, obviously, I can’t actually see you...)
Special Thanks
I just wanted to give a shout out to my Patreon supporters as well as everyone who has left reviews of my books!
My Patreon supporters are a massive help to me being able to do this as my job (or, well, one of them... Cue a joke about being a millennial in this economy while I cry over my two degrees...) and reviews are a massive help to me being able to do this emotionally. Seriously, they make my day and everyone who has left one deserves cookies!
Want to Keep in Touch?
If you want to connect with me and other fans of the series between books, I have a weekly newsletter where we discuss things like the best fantasy soundtracks to work to and which vampire lore is the best, and there’s also a closed Facebook group where I talk about secret projects that aren’t ready to be shown anywhere else just yet. And finally, when I can find the time and space to stream, I can occasionally be caught hanging out on Twitch and we would love for you to join us in chat some time!
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