Soul Bound by Cari Z

Author:Cari Z [Z, Cari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

*You two seem appeased!* the master said as they reentered the circular room. The wooden, oval door closed behind them, then vanished. Only three left: one made of what looked like iron, one blood red, and one that seemed more like a curtain than anything else, slightly misty. *I must say, you’re going through the trials at a very quick pace, especially considering there are two of you! Would you … would you like to proceed to the next one? Or—*

“I’d like an actual meal.” Now that his hunger had been awakened in the Trial of Mouths, Caz felt ravenous. He opened his pack up and pulled out the bag of food he’d bought right before coming in, hauling out a pot, a sack of special grain that would soak up water quickly, and a handful of dried fruits and chopped nuts. He turned to Lias and indicated the pot. “You want some of this?”

Lias made a face. “Porridge? No, gruel, and you’re not even going to cook it?”

“I didn’t bring fuel.” Why would he? This was meant to be a solitary experience, not one where he ended up getting judged for every other move he made. “Look, I know you prefer fancier fare, but I don’t have any of that, and I doubt you do either. Didn’t you buy from the same merchant I did?”

“Yes, but I was hoping not to need it,” Lias explained. “I’d prefer to do all the trials quickly and get out, rather than linger long enough to eat…that.”

Caz shook his head. “Little prince,” he muttered.

“We could stand to go a bit faster, couldn’t we?” Lias said with false sweetness. “We’ve done rather well for ourselves so far.”

“Because we’ve been lucky. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared for something worse. Master,” Caz called out to their third party.

*Yes?*

“Which is the trial with the highest kill point?”

*Um … well, technically speaking—*

“Where do people fail the most?” Caz pressed.

*Well, there are a great many difficulties with the Trial of Minds, as I already said, but when it comes to outright damage, I suppose the worst of them all is the Trial of Hands. That’s the one where people tend to, oh … bleed out.* He was silent for a moment before continuing, *But each one has its own unique difficulties! Several candidates went ahead and killed themselves during the Trial of Hearts, and as for the Trial of Souls … well, no one escapes from that unscathed. Please, I really can’t tell you anymore; it’s just not possible!*

“It’s fine,” Caz said, pouring water from his canteen over the mix in the pot. He stirred it a bit with a long metal spoon, then set the top on it and put it aside. “This should be ready in about five minutes,” he told Lias. “In the meantime, we can talk about what we want to do next.”

“I suppose we should,” Lias said, sounding as ungracious as possible about it. “I’m thinking Hearts. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a very strong sense of self-preservation.

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