Page 56 of Fading Sun

The Abbot glares at me. “This is against the rules of the trial,” he says.

“Then I guess we’re making our own rules.” I shrug and look to the others. “Let’s try again?”

“How do we make sure these guys don’t attack again while we try?” Blaze asks.

Damien scans the room, his gaze settling on the disarmed and wounded monks. “We’ll tie them up and put their weapons in a pile at the other side of the room,” he decides. “Use whatever you can find to hold them down. Ropes, belts, even torn pieces of cloth from their robes. We can’t have them interrupting the trial.”

Morgan springs into action, approaching the closest injured monk and using her dagger to cut strips from his cloak. Damien finds a sturdy rope among the debris scattered around the chamber, likely left over from previous temple activities.

Blaze reluctantly removes his dagger from the Abbot’s throat, although he keeps the tip of it facing him. “Sit down, and put your hands behind you,” he says. “Now.”

The Abbot complies, his eyes darting around to assess his options, finding none.

Having no time to waste, I tie up the monk nearest to me, making sure the knots are tight enough to hold him down, but not so tight as to cut off his circulation.

His eyes meet mine, filled with a mix of fear and defiance, but he remains silent.

I feel bad. Truly, I do.

But they attacked first.

And we need to get through that portal.

The next monk I move toward has a broken wrist and leg. I’m as careful with him as possible, making sure to not aggravate his injuries.

Damien handles three of them, his movements efficient and devoid of unnecessary harshness.

Blaze, after ensuring the Abbot is securely tied, helps Morgan with the last two monks.

“Remember, we’re not the enemy,” Morgan says as she backs away from them. “We’re just trying to stop a greater evil.”

From the way the Abbot scoffs, I doubt he believes it.

However, I’m sure that if we unleashed shadow souls on this chamber, he’d change his tune pretty quickly. So, I don’t worry about it.

The only thing I need to worry about right now is opening the portal to the mystical realm.

Blaze checks the Abbot’s knots one last time. “They’re secure. We can focus on the trial now,” he says, although he keeps his dagger pointed at the Abbot as he retreats to his disc.

Damien retrieves a crystal from the chest and heads to his disc. Even though his previous one is still intact, my light hit it during our first attempt, which means it’ll explode if hit again.

Morgan goes back to her spot, and I return to mine, holding my new crystal tightly in my hand. I’m glad the monks are sitting down—otherwise, they could end up in the line of my fire.

“Ready?” Damien asks as Morgan and Blaze level their crystals with mine.

“Ready.” I take a deep breath, my magic coursing through me, filling the crystal with a radiant glow.

Then, once it feels sufficiently full of light, I focus as hard as I can and channel it into a narrow beam toward the one in Damien’s hand.

Amber

The light bends and refracts through Damien’s crystal.

Unlike last time, I hold on to the light with my mind, controlling it in a single beam toward Morgan’s crystal.

Come on, I think, concentrating as hard as I can to nudge it toward Blaze’s.

It misses its mark by inches and hits the wall, sizzling and leaving a black mark on the stone.

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