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to conserve her strength. The Divine only knew how much longer the Testing might last. 
    “Good,” said Jonas. He waved his hand, and a shimmering halo of silver light appeared around him. “The silver astralfire can pierce magical protections and unravel spells.” He beckoned. “Pierce my protections.”
    Again Rachaelis summoned the power and gestured. A column of snarling silver flame leapt from her hand and crashed into Jonas’s ward. For a moment the ward shuddered and hissed, power struggling against power. Then the ward collapsed, and Jonas stumbled back a few steps, astonishment on his face. 
    “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” said Rachaelis.
    Jonas barked out a laugh. “No. But you’re a strong one. My own fault. Talvin warned me.” He looked at her, and the amusement drained from his face. Then he gestured again, and vanished in the silver flash.
    Rachaelis blinked. There were three kinds of astralfire, and she had only used the first two. But why had Jonas left? Had she failed somehow?
    She looked towards the dais, and saw the dead dogs move.
    Her breath seized in her throat. The dogs climbed to their feet in jerky, halting movements, as if manipulated by unseen strings. Blood still dripped from their slashed throats. As one their heads rotated to face her, and she saw a hellish glare in their eyes, as if hot coals burned within their skulls.
    Demons. The dogs had been possessed, had risen again as ghouls. 
    The dead dogs stalked towards her in eerie silence, still moving with that ghastly jerking motion.
    Rachaelis wanted to run, to find someplace to hide, but the stone hall was bare. She heard the dogs’ claws tap against the stone floor as they drew closer, muzzles peeling back from fangs, the stink of blood growing overwhelming…
    Wait. The Testing. Three kinds of astralfire, blue, silver, and white. Blue harmed material things. Silver destroyed magical spells. And white harmed immaterial creatures, things from the astral realm.
    Like demons.
    The ghoul-dogs were almost upon her. Rachaelis screamed, flung out her hand, and loosed the power. A sheet of white flame shot from her fingers in a fan, slamming into the dogs. The ghouls shuddered, limbs flailing, and the red glare in their eyes vanished in a searing white glow. They collapsed the floor as the white astralfire devoured the demons, reducing the ghouls to dead flesh once more.
    The fire winked out, and Rachaelis stared at the dogs, breathing hard, watching them for any trace of movement.
    Instead she saw a silver flash, and Magister Jonas reappeared. 
    “You have passed the third trial,” said Jonas, and an ornate stone archway appeared out of nowhere on the dais. “You may proceed to the next.”
    “That was,” said Rachaelis, still looking at the dead dogs. “That was cruel.”
    Something flickered in Jonas’s eyes. “You may proceed to the next.”
    Rachaelis walked around him and entered the arch, taking care not to step in the puddles of blood.
    When the silver light cleared, she felt sand beneath her bare feet, coarse and gritty. She stood in a small arena, similar to those that hosted gladiatorial games in the city. Rows of tiered seats rose over her, stretching away into a colorless black sky. 
    Arthain Kalarien stood in the overseer’s box, hand resting on the railing. 
    “The fourth trial of the Testing, Initiate,” said Arthain, his voice booming over the sands. “Mastery of astralfire is well and good, but often you will need to defend yourself in situations of life and death, in trials that will wrack your mind and body alike.”
    He gestured at iron gates below the railing.
    “When those gates open, you will be attacked by twelve gladiators. Eleven are illusionary. One is real. And he has been promised his freedom, should he rend you from your life.” 
    Rachaelis blinked. The Magisters wanted her to kill a man?
    “Defend yourself!” said Arthain, and the iron gates swung open with a clang.
    Men rushed out,