My instructor knelt in front of me. "You're wavering."

I focused on the sliver of air between my stomach and the sharpened blade I hovered above. The skin all over my body burned in pain. The rest of the room, lined with the seven other students in our class, blurred in my periphery. My entire world fit onto the tip of this blade for the moment.

Pain scratched into my hands from using my power for too long. "It's been thirty minutes. I need a break."

"You'll get a break when you deserve one." The instructor's sharp stare switched to Piercey. "Is it healed yet?"

I grunted as I strained to tilt my head to see Piercey holding the little bird with the broken wing. He didn't respond and Kelvin wouldn't stand for it.

"Answer me, now."

"Concentrating." Sweat beaded on Piercey's forehead.

The healthy wing twitched and then snapped.

"Why did you do that?" Piercey jumped to his feet. Tears flooded his eyes. "It's not his fault. Don't take it out on the bird."

"You're right. It's your fault. He has two broken wings now because of you."

Piercey settled on the ground once more with anger tightening his expression. "It'll be okay." He stroked the bird's head with a single finger. "I'll figure this out."

"What kind of healer can't even heal a bird?" Kelvin leaned over him.

Tears slid down Piercey's cheeks. He kept his eyes trained on the bird. Slowly the wings straightened as the bird wiggled on his palm. Healing required mastery of anatomy. It wasn't fair to ask Piercey to heal a sparrow when he had never studied them before. Kelvin was in a mood today.

The point of the knife nicked my stomach. My eyes widened. He was right. I had been wavering. I squeezed my eyes shut and lifted myself higher.

Kelvin studied the sparrow. "Fuse the bones, Piercey."

"You're only making it harder."

"Quiet Piercey," I whispered. Usually I was the one losing it on Kelvin.

Our instructor lowered his head. "How will you heal your people in the midst of battle? What kind of healing Prophet will you be if you demand peace and quiet to work in? Pathetic." Kelvin turned for me again. "And you. You should be able to hold yourself over this without breaking a sweat, Max."

I shut out his voice. Never mind that I could shoot a bow better than he could. Or that I could crush all the bones in his body if I wanted to. He wanted to berate me and so he would.

"You have ten seconds to heal that bird, Piercey."

My friend's tears fell onto the bird's wings.

"Six seconds."

Piercey's face contorted. Sweat slid between his eyes.

"Two seconds, Piercey."

The bird's right wing fluttered.

"Now!"

A crushing force slammed into my back and threw me onto the blade.

Pain erupted in my middle.

My hands twitched as I fell onto my side. The knife stuck out from my stomach in a bubbling pool of blood. I couldn't even scream. Shock and pain strangled my voice.

"Max!" Piercey dragged me onto his lap.

The cry squeezed out finally. I threw my head back and screamed.

Kelvin loomed over us. "Heal her. You both have an appointment in the white room in an hour. Don't be late."

"What is wrong with you?" Piercey's voice hitched. "I haven't learned how to work on an abdomen yet."

"You know enough to do this, kid. Like I said. Quit making excuses. You think I'm cruel? All of you have killed people with your power. If you can't master it, you’re too dangerous to be kept alive."

Kelvin walked out the door as Piercey screamed after him.

My vision waned, closing in on Piercey, so all I could see was his face. Hot blood poured from my stomach and drizzled onto the ground. The other students clamored for us now that Kelvin left.

"Don't panic…" I struggled to find my voice. "You've got this…"

And then I passed out.

Bright light shone into my eyes as I squirmed on a cold table. After years of entering the door of the gods, it had lost its mystery. Everything in the room was pure white. The walls. The chairs. The table. Like I was the only color that existed.

"Do you have any lingering pain?" The technician studied me.

"No. Piercey healed me well. Report back to Kelvin on how stellar his teaching tactics are."

Piercey shook his head at me. He sat on a table across from me.

I tore an electrode from my head. "I'm tired of you gluing this shit to my head when you don't need to. Why do you do it? I know this technology is way beneath you. Is it so I have some tangible proof that you can fuck with me whenever you want?"

"Max," Piercey whispered harshly. Kelvin had put the fear in him. Well, he'd only awakened my anger.

“Have you been experiencing any other signs of paranoia?” the technician asked, annoyingly unfazed.

My nostrils twitched. “You watch us and test us and poke us. Lie to us. I’m tired of pretending I don’t know.”

He opened his mouth to speak when the room went dark. I straightened.

Then came a woman's voice. “I think it’s time we finally meet.”