Chapter 3

Three hours later, Instructor Trado collected our exams, and we filed out of the room and into the hallway. The hall just outside our classroom, usually full of the sounds of other students' voices, was completely silent. We dared only to talk in whispers as we passed into the entryway.

The guards at the door dismissed us, and we walked through the doors of Third-Level Academy. I looked back and realized this would be the last time we'd ever walk through these doors. As students, anyway.

"We're done," Kalle said with a sigh. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," I breathed.

"You're only done if you didn't fail," a voice said, and I followed the source of it to find Tristan Eavan, our dark-haired, smirking classmate who, if anyone, would be the most likely to fail the test. I hadn't seen him turn in his homework in two years.

"Are you saying that you did, Tristan?" Shiri's voice teased.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Tristan smirked at her.

"I'd be surprised even if you failed," Kalle said, sticking one hand on her hip. "That was the easiest test I've taken in the last year."

"Are you kidding?" Cas asked. "There was nothing easy about that test, Kalle."

We walked through the academy's huge metal gates, and I glanced up at the number three split in half by the opening between them. Soon, I thought, if I passed my exam, I would walk through identical gates but see a four.

"Well, there were a couple of things, at least," a girl with chin-length hair the color of lilies said. Another one of my longtime classmates - Elen Orvar, otherwise known as our mediator. "That last section went by pretty quickly."

Cas shrugged. "I guess you're right. But the middle section was terrible."

"Kalle just thinks she's better at this than all of the rest of us," I said. Kalle rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile.

"So does anyone want to do something? To commemorate our last day of Third Level?" Shiri asked, turning around and walking backward so that she could face everyone.

"Of course," Kalle said. "We should go to the plaza and find somewhere to eat."

We walked in the direction of the plaza, discussing the many stalls and buildings that offered food there. Shiri wanted fish. Tristan refused to eat them, saying they were Terminus demonspawn. Cas couldn't care less what we ate. Elen kept trying to reach a compromise.

"What do you think, Miranda?" she asked me finally.

I pictured the plaza and its food stalls, but for some reason I couldn't come up with anything. "I don't know."

"You're no help," Shiri whined. "You should've said fish."

"Let's go to that big main restaurant on the corner," Kalle said. "They have everything, don't they?"

"Won't they be pretty busy at this time of day?" Elen asked.

"Probably. But we have time."

We entered the plaza. It was around noon, and the square was crowded with people out on their lunch breaks. Cutting a path through the crowd, we moved toward the far corner of the square, where the tallest buildings stood. The one we aimed for, the one that held several well-known restaurants and shops, was angular and green, with gold letters stating Cornerstone just above the entrance.

Inside, it was just as crowded as it was outside. The line at the counter at the Cornerstone's main restaurant snaked back and forth at least five times. We resigned ourselves to standing in line and focused on making conversation, mostly by commenting on the people ahead of us.

"What do you think he uses that sword for?" Shiri asked, pointing to a guy not too far away. A huge red blade was strapped to his back, imbued with several symbols. His head was shaved at the sides, and raised pink scars crossed his face and neck.

"Who knows? He looks like a bounty hunter," I said.

"No." Kalle shook her head. "Mercenary, for sure."

"Really? What about the System's Eliminators?" Shiri asked.

"The System doesn't hire people who look like him," Kalle pointed out. "And look at those symbols on his sword. They probably came from the Lost Caves. He has to be a mercenary."

"Kalle," I said. "The Lost Caves are like a gold mine for bounty hunters. What reason would a mercenary have to go there?"

"Great Triad above, you two, it's just some random guy. It's not like he's going to tell us what his job is," Tristan groaned.

Kalle and I dissolved into laughter, and Tristan rolled his eyes. Shiri scanned the line ahead of us and pointed out someone else. "Over there," she said, cutting Kalle's and my laughter short. "Another one."

I followed the line of her hand to a woman loosely holding a crossbow. The crossbow was red, too, and had symbols engraved on the hilt, similar to the man's sword.

"Weird," Kalle said. "I've never seen weapons like that before."

"I haven't either," Shiri said.

A shadow flickered at the corner of my vision. I spun to my left, expecting to see someone standing just over my shoulder, but instead the line continued on at a safe distance behind me. I blinked, glancing over the room before turning back to Kalle and Shiri and the others.

"What on Terminus was that, Miranda?" Kalle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I said. "I just thought I saw someone there."

Kalle and Shiri looked at each other. I recognized the look, but it didn't usually result from something I had said. I knew it because it had passed between Kalle and me often in the past. Seeing Kalle direct it at Shiri made me vaguely uncomfortable.

"Guys, the line's moving," Cas pointed out ahead of us.

Kalle called out an apology and moved forward. We followed.