Free The Other Prism (The Broken Prism) by V. St. Clair Page A

Frost was deranged, psychotic, and plainly evil, Hayden had spent his entire childhood yearning for a father. The idea that even at his worst, the Dark Prism might have wanted Hayden on his side—that he might have valued his son even in madness—made Hayden’s heart hurt. Everyone else would tell him it didn’t matter either way, but to Hayden it made all the difference in the world.
     
    ***
     
    The prism-users were the first to begin the second day of tryouts, and if possible, the crowd of other students who showed up to watch was even larger than the day before. The only good thing was that Hayden was going into today with a substantial lead in the rankings, so even if he was mediocre in the strength and efficiency tests, his overall score should still be decent.
    The five Masters were sitting on the same stone benches as yesterday, and as soon as Hayden and his four classmates arrived in the courtyard, Master Asher hopped lithely to his feet to join them.
    A hush fell over the crowd in ripples as Asher began speaking.
    “Good morning, prism- users,” he spoke to them as though the six of them were alone in the courtyard. “The first trial of today will be related to strength of will, to see which of you can muster up the most focused willpower on command.” He passed each of them a level-three rose-tinted prism.
    “This test is fairly straightforward,” Asher continued. “I will put you in pairs and you will both stand in front of these black lines.” He took out an ordinary piece of black drawing chalk and put two straight lines on the pavement as he spoke. “When I say ‘go’, you will each cast Push at your opponent. The first person who is pushed backwards across their black line loses. We will go until there is one victor.”
    Master Asher made eye contact with each of them to ensure they understood before pairing them off.
    “Good, now I know there are an uneven number of you, so you’ll just have to take it in turns.” He moved among them, pulling them together in twos until only Hayden was left without a partner. “You’ll take whoever wins between Andric and Cindy. If you lose, you’ll compete against the other in order to rank you. If you win, you’ll advance to the next round.”
    With that he stepped back to give the others space. Andric and Cindy lined themselves up in front of the black chalk lines Master Asher had drawn on the ground, and Oliver and Kevin did the same, equipping their rose prisms.
    “Alright, everyone ready?” Asher gave them one last glance. “And…go!”
    Oliver immediately overpowered Kevin with his willpower and the latter stumbled backwards over his black line and swore. Cindy and Andric were more evenly-matched, both of them edging each other backwards until, at last, Andric’s heel crossed over the line.
    “Hayden and Cindy, you’re up. Andric and Kevin, you as well; I want to know how each of your wills rank comparatively.” Master Asher motioned them back into groups, and now Oliver stepped aside to watch as Hayden took his place, feeling nervous.
    His nerves made him a little overzealous, because as soon as Asher said, “Go”, he thought, Push! with all his might, knocking Cindy flat on her back as she skidded across the black line.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” he hurried forward to help her up, but she smacked his hand away and got to her feet with flushed cheeks.
    The laughter from the crowd made him feel like an idiot, and he turned to face Oliver now, forcibly reminded of the last time he had matched wills against the older boy. Judging by the look on his opponent’s face, Oliver clearly hadn’t forgotten being made to run through the halls in his underwear either.
    The crowd quieted once more.
    “Ready…set…go!” Master Asher had barely finished the last word when Hayden felt Oliver’s spell slam into him like a brick wall. He kept his feet firmly on the ground even as he was pushed backwards, which resulted in him bending