Emily awoke early from an uneasy sleep, sunlight pouring into the room. Despite it being early, she was the only one there. Lewis, Arthur, and Olivia must have snuck out without waking her.

Dressing quickly, Emily headed for the door. Everything about this village made her feel uncomfortable, even more so since she had watched Lewis fight for his freedom. As soon as his trial had been over, Lewis returned to silence, choosing to turn his back and sleep rather than talk as they sat discussing what they had seen.

It was already starting to get hot, with the sun beating down on the village as Emily wandered aimlessly. She followed the grassy paths in what she hoped was the direction of the village square. Around her, the villagers that she passed seemed to melt away into the shadows. None of them even dared to look at her. What could they be thinking? They had witnessed Lewis strike down some of their hunters with a flaming spear.

Even she was terrified by what she had seen. She knew about Lewis’ powers, of course, but to witness the spear burst into flames in his hands scared her. What else had they taught him to do at that tower?

When Emily finally found her way to the village square, it was deserted except for a handful of people who were moving long wooden tables into lines. Amongst them was Olivia, deep in conversation with the man who had taken them to their accommodation, Achak. There was no sign of Lewis or Arthur anywhere among the other villagers.

‘Have you seen Lewis?’ she asked as she approached, suddenly becoming aware that she had interrupted a private conversation as they both fell silent. Olivia turned away slightly, but not before colour rose in her cheeks.

‘He has gone hunting with your brother,’ Achak supplied.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t wake you,’ Olivia said, her cheeks now back to their usual colour. ‘I thought you could use the extra sleep with everything that has happened lately.’

‘It’s fine; I’m sure Lewis and Arthur could have used some extra sleep though,’ she said as she watched Olivia and Achak spread the thin hides on the table like a cloth.

‘It is tradition for a new Elder to go on a hunt before his initiation ceremony,’ Achak said. ‘Your brother decided to accompany them under his own free will.’

‘Your last tradition almost got them both killed,’ Emily pointed out.

‘I did not agree with the decision of the Elders, but there was nothing I could do,’ Achak said. ‘All I could do was try to keep you safe,’ he added with a glance in Olivia’s direction. Olivia ducked her head, hiding her face from view behind her hair. Emily was sure that colour would be rising in her cheeks behind her mousey locks.

‘When will they be back?’ Emily asked, following Olivia and Achak to the next table.

‘It depends if the Gods have favoured them on the hunt today,’ he said. ‘They will return when they have their prize or the initiation starts.’

Emily didn’t get a chance to question Achak about what made up the initiation ceremony. On the far side of the village square, there was a commotion. A group of hunters, led by Nirra, were forcing their way through a small crowd that had gathered silently.

Between them, the hunters carried three deer, and behind the deer were Lewis and Arthur, the former with a bow in his hand. While the hunters looked overjoyed, Lewis merely had a look of relief on his face.

‘That went better than last time,’ Lewis muttered as he and Arthur joined the three of them.

‘What happened last time?’ Emily asked.

‘The hunt returned with nothing for the first time in living memory,’ Achak said before any of them could answer her. ‘Congratulations on your success.’

‘Thank you,’ Lewis replied, sitting down at the table. He had looked tired ever since they had left Porthton, but now he looked completely exhausted. ‘When does the ceremony start?’

‘Very soon,’ Nirra said, appearing behind Lewis. ‘Come, we have to prepare you for your initiation.’

Lewis got to his feet wearily. ‘Let’s get this over with,’ he sighed.

Once again, Lewis was whisked away before she had managed to have a proper conversation with him. Between his stubborn silence on the way to the village and the tribe dragging him one place and then another, they had barely spoken in two weeks. On top of that were all the weeks when they had been separated since The Dusk had captured him in the forest outside Tristan.

‘You’ll get time together soon, I’m sure,’ Arthur said quietly as Olivia and Achak moved away. It was as if he had read her mind.

‘How did you know what I was thinking about?’ she asked, somewhat taken aback.

‘Please!’ Arthur laughed. ‘You’re so obvious; all you’ve done is moon about since we got here.’

Emily sighed. ‘What if things don’t go back to the way they used to be?’

‘Nothing can ever go back to the way it used to be. If it did, we would never be able to move forward,’ Arthur replied.

‘Where do you come up with this rubbish?’ Emily snapped.

‘Everything will be okay,’ he tried to assure her. ‘He talked a little during the hunt; it’s going to take time for him to open up again. I don’t know what he went through at that tower, but it isn’t something that’s going to heal in a matter of days.’

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‘You think he’ll get better?’

‘He needs time,’ Arthur said. ‘Just be patient with him; he’ll come to you when he’s ready.’

Contemplating what Arthur had said, Emily watched as he walked away, joining Olivia and Achak in setting the tables. Maybe she had been trying too hard to make things go back to the way they had been before they had been separated.

Emily was so lost in her thoughts that she hardly noticed the villagers filling the square around her and taking their seats at the huge tables. ‘Emily,’ Olivia said, nudging her gently.

‘Sorry, what is it?’ she asked, shaking herself from her thoughts.

‘Come on, the ceremony is about to start,’ she replied, pulling her towards one of the tables near the front where Achak Arthur sat talking quietly.

Emily and Olivia joined the other two, sitting opposite them. Up on the platform, the four Elders sat, their hoods hiding their faces. So far, there has been no sign of Lewis. Nirra also seemed to be missing, along with half a dozen of the hunters who had been with them earlier.

The chatter of the crowd died away as the Elders rose to their feet slowly. All the eyes turned away from them, instead focusing on the far end of the village square.

Led by Nirra, the six hunters, who followed him two by two, strode down the aisle between the two central rows of tables. Behind all of them was Lewis, his trousers replaced by a thick grey hide, his torso bare and marked with strange black symbols.

As they passed the tables, the villagers scrambled to their feet. ‘Get up!’ Olivia hissed, pulling Emily to her feet when Nirra passed them.

Emily gasped as Lewis passed her. Beneath the black symbols painted on his skin were dozens of thick scars. They covered his torso haphazardly. What had happened to him?

‘Be seated,’ one of the Elders said as he moved to the edge of the platform. Emily recognised his voice instantly as the one who had declared that Lewis should face judgement by the Gods.

Benches shuffled and scraped on the ground as the village sat under his orders. Once again, Emily found herself being pulled into place by Olivia.

Before the platform, Lewis knelt as Nirra and the hunters moved away to the sides. An ominous feeling began to grow in the pit of Emily’s stomach. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing Lewis on his knees before the Elders once more or this bizarre culture that she had no idea about.

‘Lewis of the family Vandemark, you are before us on this glorious day to take up the mantle of Krora Eal’vara, former Elder of the Cimant People,’ the elder proclaimed loudly. ‘Do you pledge yourself to your people to serve in their interest?’

‘I do,’ Lewis said.

‘Do you pledge yourself to your people to protect them from harm?’

‘I do,’ Lewis said once again.

‘Do you pledge yourself to your people to deliver the justice of the Gods?’

‘I do.’

‘Bring forth the fire water,’ the Elder said, snapping his fingers in the direction of one of the hunters at the side of the platform.

Between the two men, they carried a huge clay jug painted with dark symbols forward, setting it at the feet of the Elder before backing away quickly. Behind him, the other three Elders moved forward to join the one leading the ceremony.

‘Upon the earth and the ashes, I proclaim you servant of the Cimant Tribe,’ he said as he lifted the jug with some difficulty.

‘Between the trees of the forest, I proclaim you protector of the Cimant Tribe,’ the Elder to the left said as he stepped forward, taking one of the jugs handles in his hands.

‘Beneath the sun and sky, I proclaim you the deliverer of the justice of the Gods,’ the third male Elder said as he took his place at the jug's other handle.

‘May you serve the people and the Gods to the letter of their will from this day and for all the days that may come,’ the three Elders chanted together.

Between them, they lifted the jug high, tipping the contents over Lewis’ head. The liquid was a dark amber, glinting in the sunshine like fire as it cascaded over Lewis.

‘Arise, Elder Lewis Vandemark,’ the woman Elder said as she stepped forward, holding out a dark grey bundle. ‘May the people and the Gods protect you from this day and for all the days that may come.’

As Lewis got to his feet, Emily realised that the black symbols that had been painted on his skin had been washed away. Whatever was in the fire water, it had clearly agitated the scars, all of them now a harsh red.

Lewis bowed his head, accepting the bundle from the woman and unfolding it to reveal a cloak identical to the one that the four Elders on the platform were wearing. Quickly, he pulled it over his head before turning to face the villagers.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence, and then, as if someone had given a signal, they erupted in cheers, jumping to their feet.

‘Let the feast begin,’ declared the Elder who had led the ceremony.

Around them, villagers scrambled for their seats as trays of food appeared in the hands of the women who flooded from one of the doors to the side of the platform. ‘What did you do to him?’ Emily hissed in Olivia’s ear, her eyes not leaving Lewis as Nirra came forward to congratulate him.

‘What are you talking about?’ she asked, confused.

‘You know what I’m talking about,’ Emily said. ‘The scars. He didn’t have them when your people took him, and he definitely hasn’t had them since we left Porthton. If you had any part in them, you would not leave this village alive.’

‘I had nothing to do with them,’ Olivia snapped, getting to her feet. ‘Some of the teachers at the tower may have questionable methods, but not me. I would never do anything like that.’

Without another word, she stormed off, heading in the direction of the path that led towards the stream they had crossed to enter the village. Achak glanced between Emily and Olivia’s retreating figures before getting to his feet slowly.

As he passed one of the plates that had been set down further along the table, he paused, picking it up. He didn’t look back as he made off in the direction that Olivia had gone.

‘This is incredible,’ Arthur said through a mouthful of meat, oblivious to everything that had just happened. ‘You should try some of this...whatever it is,’ he insisted, waving a joint of meat on a bone before he tore off a strip with his teeth.

‘I’m not hungry,’ Emily muttered, raising her eyebrows at her brother as he began to pile his plate with some of the other meats that had been prepared.

Sliding out of her seat, Emily wandered away from the table in the hope of disappearing from the feast. ‘Emily! Where are you going?’ a voice called to her.

She looked up to see Lewis slip between two of the hunters who had joined Nirra in congratulating him. ‘I’m not feeling very well,’ she lied.

‘Is there anything I can do?’ he asked, looking at her worriedly.

‘I’ll be fine; I guess I just want to get back to Tristan,’ she sighed as she looked around her. ‘You all seem to fit in here, but I don’t understand any of their customs.’

‘I don’t understand many of them either,’ he replied, glancing around to check if anyone was listening as he scratched his back.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked, watching as he began to scratch his chest.

‘They don’t matter; they’re in the past,’ Lewis said as he dropped his hand to his side. ‘Come and get something to eat; you might feel a little better.’

Grudgingly, Emily allowed him to take her hand, leading her over to Nirra and the other hunters who were standing by the platform, eating off a large tray. Grabbing one of the joints that Arthur had offered her, he held it out. ‘Please just try something; it’s good. I promise,’ he pleaded.

‘Fine,’ she muttered, taking it from him and sinking her teeth into the hot flesh. For a moment, it tasted just like the chicken from the castle in Tristan before the spices settled on her tongue. Chewing the meat slowly, she savoured the taste under Lewis’ gaze. When she swallowed, he raised his eyebrows questioningly. ‘It’s not bad,’ she conceded.