“Fuck off!” I called back. “I’m done with this.”
Septimus’ eyes narrowed. “You’re done when I say you’re done.”
“Then tell me I’m done. I swear, if I have to do one more fucking lunge–”
A shrill beeping rang throughout the room, cutting my words short. The sound startled Rayna so much that she lost her balance on a beam and clattered to the floor.
She rose to her feet angrily as the sound cut off. “What the fuck was that? It’s not fair for me to start over.”
Septimus rubbed his hands together, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’re in luck, mortals. That noise was the sweet sound of the end of the obstacle course.”
“Thank the gods,” Moric muttered. He dropped down from the rope – my latest downfall – and wiped the sweat dotting his forehead.
Lana swept her hair to one side, panting as she dropped from one of the rungs that had been fitted on the wall for scaling. “I’m starved. I can’t wait for dinner.”
I dropped an arm to the ground to scoop up my tunic, which I had abandoned around the second time I had had to restart the obstacle course. Lana and Moric had already begun heading for the door when Septimus cleared his throat.
“Not so fast, candidates,” he said. “There’s been a slight… change in plan. Your second Trial will begin now.”
Nine pairs of eyes snapped to him. And then chaos broke out.
“The second Trial isn’t supposed to start until tomorrow!” Rayna yelled.
“You can’t expect us to compete right now!” one of the more muscular men in her group called out. “We haven’t even eaten tonight.”
“It’s outrageous!” a woman in the first squad shouted. “We were told the second challenge would take place tomorrow.”
“And now you’re being told it will start tonight,” Septimus said. “Things change. Roll with it.”
“We’re exhausted! You’ve had us running around this obstacle for four hours,” Rayna cried.
Lana shook her head and said, “That’s part of the challenge, isn’t it? We’re tired, we haven’t eaten, we’re dying to crawl back to our rooms. They want us to feel like this going into the Trial. It’s fucking cruel.”
Septimus whistled long and loud to quiet the chatter. “You can shut up and listen, or you can all be the ghoul’s next meal. Your choice.”
There was complete and utter silence.
Sweat rolled down the side of my neck. It was so hot in here I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“You will have the next thirteen minutes to all work together as one team to solve a riddle. If you manage to provide me with the correct answer, I’ll let you go up to the mess hall, where a feast has been prepared in honor of the completion of the second Trial – fresh rolls and lamb, cold beverages and crisp, crunchy summer salad. There are even roast potatoes this evening.”
My stomach ached like a hollow pit. I knew exactly what Septimus was doing, yet his words conjured up a picture that distracted me so wholly from the Trial ahead that I feared I had lost before it even started.
“If you provide me with the incorrect answer, however,” Septimus continued, “I’m afraid the ghoul will have its own second Trial feast.”
Moric gulped audibly beside me.
“The riddle is simple, but take some time to discuss amongst the nine of you. All you have to do is let me know how many letters there are in the alphabet. I’ll be back in thirteen minutes to hear your answer.” Septimus strode toward the exit, shutting the door behind him.
“It’s so obvious.” One of the men in Rayna’s group marched toward the door. “Everyone knows there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet.”
“Wait!” Rayna called out, before he could shout for Septimus. “What alphabet?”
The man turned back to her, walking forward slowly. “The Grilish one, obviously.”
“But what if they’re not talking about Grilish, Caleb? The elven language, Rrasur, has thirty-seven letters.”
Caleb scratched the side of his head. “So, how are we meant to know which alphabet he’s talking about?”
