Rain wailed down on them in thick currents. Everything was soaked — their clothes, their packs and everything inside. Even the path they walked was getting harder to move on by the minute.
But there was nowhere to stop and make camp. This area was steep and there was no choice but to keep moving.
Lexi stopped and turned back to check on the boys.
Valen stood above Ariel on the path. It was a troublesome area on the path — too steep to call it a path but not steep enough to call it climbing. A fall wouldn't be fatal but wouldn't leave its victim unscathed.
Then, Ariel's foot slipped.
Lexi's eyes widened in fear and her heart skipped a beat.
But Valen caught it in time — or rather, caught Ariel's hand. He lifted him over the edge of the rock and gripped him by the shoulder to steady him. Ariel's eyes were wide, and his body still. He was petrified but calmed faster in Valens presence.
Though she couldn't hear them over the sound of the rain, she knew Valen made sure her friend was okay. The boys rose to their feet and continued the hike.
She knew Ariel's muscles must be sore — her own were practically screaming at her. Had it not been for the infernal blood that coursed through her veins, she wasn't sure she would be able to handle this trial.
Lexi let out a shaky breath. She had to calm herself. The situation wasn't dire and she knew they'd find flat ground soon
Still, her fear wasn't completely unfounded. Lexi wasn't afraid as to whether they'd make it there, but rather what might be waiting for them when they did.
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of it. She turned on her heel, her gaze aimed at the soft ground, recognizing that they were alright.
But when she raised her head, she saw it in the distance.
Its silhouette was massive yet slipped between the trees like something that didn't belong in there. Its blood red eyes pierced her. From this distance, it had no face. No mouth or features.
Only its eyes --- hungry.
But its presence --- watching, waiting --- made her skin crawl.
It wanted her to use her power more.
To become more desperate and reliant.
So that when it was close enough, it could devour her mind whole.
Lexi's lungs seized in her chest. She gasped for air, clutching her chest with eyes wide. If she blinked, it would disappear and she never wanted to let it out of her sight.
The monster.
Her monster.
Then, the pelting rain dropped into her eyes, blurring her sight. And when she frantically wiped the rain away, it was gone.
"Are you alright?" Ariel yelled over the rain, suddenly beside her.
Lexi jumped, startled.
She locked eyes with Ariel, blinking. Then, her eyes wandered to the forest beyond his silhouette.
Nothing.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Valen commented, placing himself on her other side.
"I'm fine," Lexi responded, averting her eyes as she walked forward.
Ariel shared a sideways glance with Valen, affirming they both caught her odd reaction, but they quickly followed after her.
After some time of walking in silence, the rain let up again, leaving the candidates to suffer in the cold remains of winter. Lexi wrapped her arms around herself, still able to feel some of the cold through the protection of her ancestry.
She could see her own breath in a puff and hear her comrade's teeth chattering behind her. They needed to stop and make camp soon. She knew they were close to the top of the mountain. So why hadn't they yet reached the second checkpoint?
That's when she spotted a light in the distance.
"Light!" She cried out and took off running towards it.
The boys chased after her, their movements stiff in the frigid night air. They ran toward the light until they found it. With huffing breaths, they came upon a fork in the path, and a wooden sign nailed to a wooden post between them. An oil burning lamp hung from its peak, swaying in the wind as it illuminated the area — brighter than she expected.
"This must be the second checkpoint," Lexi spoke aloud as she approached the sign.
She lifted the lamp off its hook and used its light to read the words carved into the wood.
"It says 'Larva' at the top. And then 'The false immortal fears the candor of shadow. Step forth, and feed your darkness," Lexi read aloud, her face scrunched as she tried to understand its meaning.
She stood, wracking her brain for anything she remembered about Forsyth, but nothing came to mind. The boys waited patiently as she considered the riddle.
"Perhaps it's a riddle with another meaning hidden in the words and not something from the history books," she said. "'Feed your darkness' sounds like indulging in something dark about ourselves."
Lexi took in a sharp breath, and when she exhaled, she turned quickly toward the boys.
"I think we should turn back, and find the other path," she announced. The boys gazed at her, their expressions weary and unsure, but she continued, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Ariel stared at her, holding his fingers close to his mouth for warmth.
"W-we have to get through," he said through a chattering breath. "The temperature dropped rapidly. The sun is going down and it's only going to get c-colder."
"He's right," Valen agreed, his body shaking slightly from the cold. "We can't afford to stop now."
Lexi inhaled the cold air and exhaled warmth. She knew that it was getting cold, but she didn't realize how severe the change really was. And on top of that, they were soaking wet from the rain.
Valen stepped around her, inspecting the riddle for himself.
"I don't know much about King Caylor. Only that he was from the time before the Empire. His portrait hangs in the Hall of Warriors," he said, his eyes narrowing as he brushed his thumb inquisitively across the inscribed word Larva. "I remember Caylor was a poet who used his words to uplift his people. He often referenced a person's inner darkness and that one had to step into the shadows of the mind to relieve themselves of societal bounds."
"Perhaps this is a good thing?" Ariel tried.
"This is a trial," Lexi snapped at them. "A trial that nearly killed one of you just hours ago. Don't even think about letting your guard down. Surely this test is designed to kill us if the last one didn't. We can't go through."
"We don't have a choice, Lexi!" Ariel exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut as hard as possible. "I just want to go home. I'm not made for this!"
Her eyes flicked to Valen for help in making Ariel see sense, but he did not meet her gaze. Valen thought like a soldier --- a human one with no ancestral power to shield him from the elements.
They were wet and cold.
And that was making them desperate.
Lexi swallowed hard.
There truly was no way around this. The mountain was pitch black, and the weather worsened by the minute. Even a master tracker couldn't find their way through the mountain in such conditions.
Going around was not an option.
This time, there were no shortcuts.
"Fine," Lexi said, admitting defeat. "We'll pass this checkpoint together, but don't say I didn't warn you."
Lexi turned to face the crossroads. The boys stood on either side of her, gazing uncertainly down each path. Silence stretched between them as they each asked themselves the question:
"Which way do we go?" Ariel asked aloud for the group.
"We can't split up," Lexi replied, sternly before anyone even thought about bringing it up. "I'm sure that's what this test is designed for. There could very well be something in the shadows, waiting to pick us off one by one."
"So, then what do we do?" Ariel asked, facing Lexi.
They gazed at each other for a moment, before both instantly glanced at Valen.
"Don't look at me," Valen scrunched his face. "I'm a sword, not a scholar."
Lexi rolled her eyes with a smirk. "None of us are."
But as she gazed into the shadows, her smirk faltered.
Her instincts told her the rightward path was the correct path to take, simply because it was closer to the route she was sure was safer — the one Prince Darrin was taking. But instincts alone weren't enough to make up her mind. If she was going to direct her friends, possibly toward their deaths, she wanted to at least exhaust every possible option first.
"We need to consider that this test is designed to kill us without being obvious," Valen said, interrupting her train of thought. "That means we can't think too hard about it. The answer must be right in front of us."
Lexi rolled his words around in her mind for a moment, and then an idea struck. She stepped back several paces for a better view of the area and when the puzzle piece fit into place, excitement filled her chest.
"'The false immortal fears the candor of shadow,'" she reiterated. "What is the reason that we can't go around the checkpoint right now?"
"There are probably more infected in the woods?" Ariel asked.
"It's too cold to wait it out?" Valen raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, to both of those things, but the answer is because it's too dark," she answered. "It literally says it in the riddle. What did we all feel when we saw the light?"
Ariel blinked, her logic resonating with him. "Hope…"
"Yes!" She answered. "This test is meant to challenge our instincts. That means we need to go against what's most human to us, turn out the light and make it dark."
Ariel swallowed hard, his eyes wide with fear. "But if we turn the light off and you're wrong…"
We'd be engulfed by the darkness once more, Lexi thought to herself.
Ariel was right.
The matches in their packs were soaked.
Still… she thought.
Lexi knew he was scared, but every instinct within told her she was right. With the lamp in her hand, Lexi gripped the knob.
This was her only idea.
She wanted so badly to be right.
If she was wrong, she would plunge them all into permanent darkness once more.
Her fingers tightened around the metal, hesitating as she held their fate in front of her.
I'm right, she told herself. This is the only way.
And with a click of the knob, Lexi snuffed out the last bit of light on that mountain.