RED RISING by Pierce Brown, Excerpt

7/28/2019 RED RISING by Pierce Brown, Excerpt

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16The InsTITuTe

M

y test results coe when I prcticing y culturl recog-

nition nd ccent odultion with Mtteo in our high-rise

penthouse. We hve view o the city, the setting sun behind. I

idwy through clever retort bout the Yorkton Supernov ux-

Wr sports club when y dtpd beeps with priority essge

sent to y dtpd stre. I lost spill y coee.

My dtpd hs been slved by nother, I sid. Its the Bord

o Qulity Control.

Mtteo shoots up ro his chir. We hve perhps our in-

utes. He runs into the suites librry, where Hrony is reding onn ergocouch. She jups up nd is down nd out o the suite in less

thn three breths. I ke sure tht the holopictures o e with y

ke ily re rrnged in y bedroo nd throughout the pent-

house. Four hired servntsBrowns nd Pinkgo bout does-

tic tsks in the penthouse. They wer the Pegsus livery o y ke

ily.

One o the Browns goes to the kitchen. The other, Pink won,ssges y shoulders. Mtteo shines y shoes in y roo. O

course there re chines to do these things, but n Aurete would


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114 | p I e r c e b r o w n

never use chine or soething person could do. There is no

power in tht.

The towncrt ppers like distnt drgony. It grows s it

buzzes closer nd hovers outside y penthouse window. Its bord-ing door slides open nd n in Copper suit gives bow o

orlity. I let y dtpd open the duroglss window nd the

n ots in. Three Whites re with hi. Ech hs white Sigil

upon their hnds. Mebers o the Acdeins nd Copper

bureucrt.

Do I hve the plesure o ddressing one Drrow u Androe-

dus, son o the recently decesed Linus u Androedus nd Lexusu Androedus?

You hve the honor.

The bureucrt looks e up nd down in very deerentil, but

iptient nner. I Bondilus cu Tncrus o the Institutes

Bord o Qulity Control. There re soe questions we ust beg to

sk o you.

We sit cross ro one nother t y ok kitchen tble. There,

they hook y nger to chine nd one o the Whites dons pir

o glsses tht will nlyze y pupils nd other physiologicl rec-

tions. They will be ble to tell i I lying.

We will strt with control question to ssess your norl rec-

tion when telling truths. Are you o the Fily Androedus?

Yes.

Are you o the Aurete genus?

Yes. I lie through y teeth, ruining their control questions.Did you chet in your dissions test two onths prior?

No.

Did you use nervenucleic to stiulte high coprehension nd

nlyticl unctions during the test itsel?

No.

Did you use network widget to ggregte or synthesize outside

resources in rel tie?No. I sigh iptiently. There ws jer in the roo, ergo

it would hve been ipossible. I gld youve done your reserch

nd re not wsting y tie, Copper.


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r e d r I s I n g | 115

His sile is bureucrtic.

Did you hve prior knowledge o the questions?

No. I dee n ngry response proper t this point. And wht

is this bout? I not ccustoed to being clled lir by soeoneo your ilk.

It is procedure with ll elite scorers, Lord Aurete. I beg your

understnding, the bureucrt drones. Any upwrd outlier r re-

oved ro the stndrd devition is subject to inquiry. Did you

slve your widget to tht o nother individul during the test?

No. As I sid, there ws jer. Thnk you or keeping up,

pennyhed.They tke sple o y blood nd scn y brin. The results

re instntneous, but the bureucrt will not shre the. Proto-

col, he reinds e. You will hve your results in two weeks.

We receive the in our. I pss the Qulity Control exintion.

I did not chet. Then coes y ex score, two onths ter I

took the dn thing, nd I relize why they thought I did chet. I

issed one question. Just one. Out o hundreds. When I shre

the results with Dncer, Hrony, nd Mtteo, they siply stre t

e. Dncer lls into chir nd begins to lugh; its n hystericl

sort.

Bloodyhell, he swers. Weve done it.

He did it, Mtteo corrects.

It tkes Dncer inute beore he hs wits enough to etch

bottle o chpgne, but I still eel his eyes wtching e s though

I soething dierent, soething strnge. Its like they suddenlydont understnd wht it is they hve creted. I touch the hen-

thus blosso in y pocket nd eel the wedding bnd round y

neck. They didnt crete e. She did.

It is when vlet rrives to escort e to the Institute tht I sy y

goodbyes to Dncer inside the penthouse. He holds tight to y

hnd s we shke nd gives e the look y ther gve e beore he

ws hnged. Its one o ressurnce. But behind tht is worry nddoubt. Did he prepre e or the world? Did he do his duty? My

ther ws twenty-ve when he looked t e like tht. Dncer is

orty-one. It kes no dierence. I chuckle. Uncle Nrol never gve


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e such look, not even when he let e cut Eo down. Probbly

becuse hed tken enough o y right hooks to know the nswer.

But i I think bout y techers, y thers, Uncle Nrol shped

e the ost. He tught e to dnce; he tught e how to be n, perhps becuse he knew this would be y uture. And though

he tried to stop e ro being Helldiver, it ws his lessons tht

kept e live. Ive lerned new lessons now. Lets hope they do the

trick.

Dncer gives e the knieRing he used to slice y nger onths

beore. But hes reshped it to look like n L.

They will think it the chevron the Sprtns bore on theirshields, he sid. L or Lcdeoni. But it is or Lykos. For

Lbd.

Hrony surprises e by tking y right hnd, kissing where

once y Red sigil ws eblzoned. Shes got ters in one eye, the

cold, unscrred eye. The other cnnot cry.

Evey will be coing to live with us, she tells e. She siles

beore I cn sk why. It looks strnge on her ce. You think youre

the only one who notices things? Well give her better lie thn

Mickey would.

Mtteo nd I shre sile nd bow. We exchnge proper hon-

orics nd he extends his hnd. It doesnt grsp ine. Insted, it

sntches the ower ro y pocket. I rech ter it, but hes still the

only n Ive ever et who is ster thn e.

You cnnot tke this with you, goodman. The wedding bnd on

your hnd is queer enough. The ower is too uch.Give e petl then, I sy.

I thought you would sk or tht. He pulls out necklce. It is

the sigil o Androedus. My sigil, I reeber. It is iron. He drops

it in y hnd. Whisper her ne. I do nd the Pegsus unurls

like henthus bud. He sets petl in the center. It closes gin.

This is your hert. Gurd it with iron.

Thnk you, Mtteo, I sy, ters in y eyes. I pick hi upnd hug hi despite his protests. I I live ore thn week,

Ill hve you to thnk, y goodman. He blushes when I set hi

down.


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r e d r I s I n g | 117

Mnge your teper, he reinds e, his sll voice drken-

ing. Mnners, nners, then burn their bloodydamn house to the

ground.

I clutch the Pegsus in y hnd s the shuttle crosses over the Mr-

tin countryside. Fingers o green stretch over the erth Ive lived to

dig. I wonder who the Helldiver o Lbd is now. Lorn is too

young. Brlow is too old. Kiern? Hes too responsible. Hes got

children to love, nd hes seen enough o our ily die. Theres no

re in his belly. Lenns got enough, but woen rent llowed todig. It is probbly Din, Eos brother. Wild, but not bright. The typ-

icl Helldiver. Hell die st. The thought kes e nuseous.

Its not just the thought. I nervous. I relize it slowly s I look

round the shuttles interior. Six other youths sit quietly. One,

slender boy with n open gze nd pretty sile, ctches y eye.

Hes the sort who still lughs t butteries.

Julin, he declres properly, nd tkes y orer. We hve no

dt to oer ech other through our dtpds; they took the when

we borded the shuttle. So insted I oer hi the set cross ro

e. Drrow, very interesting ne.

Hve you ever been to Age? I sk Julin.

Course, he sys, siling. He lwys siles. Wht, you en

you hvent? Its strnge. I thought I knew so ny Golds, but

hrdly ny o the nged to get pst the entrnce exs. Its

brve new world o ces, I er. Anywy, I envy you the ct youhvent been to Age. Its strnge plce. Beutiul, no doubt, but

lie there is st, nd chep, so they sy.

But not or us.

He chuckles. I suppose not. Not unless you ply t politics.

I dont uch like plying. I notice his rection, so I lugh y

seriousness o with wink. Not unless theres wger, n. You

her?I her! Whts your ge? Bloodchess? Grvcross?

Oh, bloodchess is ll right. But uxWr tkes the prize, I sy

with Golden grin.


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Especilly i youre Nortown n! he grees.

Oh . . .Nortown. I dont know i well get long, I sy, wincing.

I jb ysel with thub. Yorkton.

Yorkton! I dont know i well everget long! he lughs.And though I sile, he doesnt know how cold I inside; the

converstion, the jibes, the siles, re ll pttern o socility. Mt-

teos done e well, but to Julins credit, he doesnt see onster.

He should be onster.

My brother ust lredy hve rrived t the Institute. He ws

lredy in Age t our ilys estte, cusing trouble no doubt!

Julin shkes his hed proudly. Best n I know. Hell be the Pri-us, just you wtch. Our thers pride nd joy, nd thts sying

soething with how ny ily ebers I hve! Not icker o

jelousy in his voice, just love.

Prius? I sk.

Oh, Institute tlk; it ens leder o his House.

The Houses. I know these. There re twelve loosely bsed on un-

derlying personlity trits. Ech is ned or one o the gods o the

Ron pntheon. The SchoolHouses re networking tools nd so-

cil clubs outside o school. Do well, nd theyll nd you powerul

ily to serve. The ilies re the true powers in the Society. They

hve their own ries nd eets nd contribute to the Sovereigns

orces. Loylty begins with the. There is little love or the denizens

o ones own plnet. I nything, they re the copetition.

You sobs done beting ech other o yet? n ipish kid sneers

ro the corner o the shuttle. Hes so drb he is khki insted oGold. His lips re thin nd his ce like cruel hwk just s it spies

ouse. A Bronzie.

Are we bothering you? My srcs hs polite nip.

Does two dogs huping bother e? Likely, yes. I they re

noisy.

Julin stnds. Apologize, cur.

Go slg yoursel, the sll kid sys. In hl second, Julin hsdrwn white glove ro nowhere. Tht to wipe y ss, you

golden pricklick?


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r e d r I s I n g | 119

Wht? You little hethen! Julin sys in shock. Who rised

you?

Wolves, ter your others cootch spt e out.

You best!Julin throws the glove t the sll kid. I wtching, thinking

this is the height o coedy. The kid sees pulled stright ro the

Lykos crop, Bet ybe. Hes like n ugly, tiny, irritble Lorn. Ju-

lin doesnt know wht to do, so he kes chllenge.

A chllenge, goodman.

A duel? Youre tht oended? The ugly kid snorts t the prince-

ling. Fine. Ill stitch your ily pride together ter the Pssge,pricklick. He blows his nose into the glove.

Why not now, cowrd? Julin clls. His slender chest is pued

out just s his ther ust hve tught hi. No one insults his

ily.

Are you stupid? Do you see rzors bout? Idiot. Go wy. Well

duel ter the Pssge.

Pssge . . . ? Julin nlly sks wht I thinking.

The scrwny kid grins wickedly. Even his teeth re khki.

Its the lst test, idiot. And the best secret this side o the rings

round Octvi u Lunes cootch.

Then how do you know bout it? I sk.

Inside trck, the kid sys. And I dont know bout it. I know

ofit, you gint pisshed.

His ne is Sevro, nd I like his ngle.

But the tlk o Pssge worries e. There is so little I know, Irelize, s I listen in s Julin strikes up converstion with the lst

eber o our shuttle. They tlk bout their test scores. There is

severe disprity between their low scores nd ine. I notice Sevro

snort s they sy theirs loud. How did pplicnts with such low

scores get in? Ive got n ill eeling in y gut. And wht did Sevro

score?

We coe to the Vlles Mrineris in drkness. It is gret scr olight cross Mrss blck surce, going s r s eyes cn see. At the

center o it, the cpitl city o y plnet rises in the night like


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grden o jewelswords. Nightclubs icker on rootops, dnce oors

de o condensed ir. Scntily-dressed girls nd oolish boys rise

nd ll s grvMixers ply with physics. NoiseBubbles seprte

city blocks. We cut through the nd her worlds o dierentsounds.

The Institute is beyond Ages night districts nd is built into the

side o the eight-kiloeter-high wlls o the Vlles Mrineris. The

wlls rise like tidl wves o green stone crdling civiliztion with

or. The Institute itsel is de o white stone plce o col-

uns nd sculpture, Ron to its core.

I hve not been here beore. But I hve seen the coluns. Seen thedestintion o our voyge. Bitterness wells in e like bile rising

ro stoch to throt s I think o his ce. Think o his words.

His eyes s they scnned the crowd. I wtched on the HC s the

ArchGovernor gve his speech tie nd gin to the clsses beore

y own. Soon Ill her it ro his lips ysel. Soon Ill suer the

rge. Feel the re lick over y hert s I see hi in person once

gin.

We lnd on drop pd nd re shepherded into n open-ir r-

ble squre looking over the vst vlley. The night ir is crisp. Age

sprwls behind nd the gtes o the Institute stretch beore us. I

stnd with over thousnd Goldbrows, ll glncing bout with the

cocksureness o their rce. Mny clup together, riends ro be-

yond the white wlls o the school. I did not think their clsses so

lrge.

A tll Golden n nked by Obsidins nd coterie o Golddvisors rises on pir o grvBoots beore the gte. My hert goes

cold s I recognize his ce nd her his voice nd see the glier in

his ingot eyes.

Welcoe, children o Aurete, ArchGovernor Nero u Augus-

tus sys in voice s sooth s Eos skin. It is preternturlly loud.

I ssue you understnd the grvity o your presence here. O the

thousnd cities o Mrs. O ll the Gret Filies, you re the cho-sen ew. You re the pek o the hun pyrid. Tody, you will

begin your cpign to join the best cste o our rce. Your ellows


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r e d r I s I n g | 121

stnd like you in the Institutes o Venus, o the Estern nd Western

Heispheres o Erth, o Lun, o the Gs Gint Moons, o Eu-

rop, o the Astrodin Greek Cluster nd the Astrodin Trojn

Cluster, o Mercury, o Cllisto, o the joint venture Enceleds ndCeres, nd o the rpioneers o Hilds.

It sees only dy go tht I knew I ws pioneer o Mrs. Only

dy go tht I suered so tht hunity, desperte to leve dying

Erth, could spred to the red plnet. Oh, how well y rulers lied.

Behind Augustus, in the strs, theres oveent, but it is not the

strs tht ove. Nor is it steroids or coets. It is the Sixth nd

Fith Fleets. The Ard o Mrs. My breth ctches in y chest.The Sixth Fleet is conded by Cssiuss ther, while the sller

Fith Fleet is under the ArchGovernors direct control. Most o the

ships re owned by ilies who owe llegince to either Augustus

or Bellon.

Augustus shows us why we, they, rule. My esh tingles. I so

sll. A billion tons o durosteel nd nnoetl ove through the

hevens, nd I hve never been beyond Mrss tosphere. They re

like specks o silver in n ocen o ink. And I so uch less. But

those specks could rvge Mrs. They could destroy oon. Those

specks rule the ink. An Ipertor conds ech eet; Pretor

conds squdrons within tht eet. Wht I could do with tht

power . . .

Augustus is hughty s he gives his speech. I swllow the bile in

y throt. Becuse o the ipossible distnce o y eneies, y

nger ws once cold, quiet sort. Now it burns in e.Society hs three stges: Svgery, Ascendnce, Decdence. The

gret rise becuse o Svgery. They rule in Ascendnce. They ll

becuse o their own Decdence.

He tells us how the Persins were elled, how the Rons col-

lpsed becuse their rulers orgot how their prents gined the n

epire. He prttles bout Musli dynsties nd Europen eei-

ncy nd Chinese regionlis nd Aericn sel-lothing nd sel-neutering. All the ncient nes.

Our Svgery begn when our cpitl, Lun, rebelled ginst


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the tyrnny o Erth nd reed hersel ro the shckles o De-

okrcy, ro the Noble Liethe ide tht en re brothers nd

re creted equl.

Augustus weves lies o his own with tht golden tongue o his.He tells o the Goldens suering. The Msses st on the wgon nd

expected the gret to pull, he reinds. They st whipping the gret

until we could no longer tke it.

I reeber dierent whipping.

Men re not creted equl; we ll know this. There re verges.

There re outliers. There re the ugly. There re the beutiul. This

would not be i we were ll equl. A Red cn no ore cond strship thn Green cn serve s doctor!

Theres ore lughter cross the squre s he tells us to look t

pthetic Athens, the birthplce o the cncer they cll Deokrcy.

Look how it ell to Sprt. The Noble Lie de Athens wek. It

de their citizens turn on their best generl, Alcibides, becuse

o jelousy.

Even the ntions o Erth grew jelous o one nother. The

United Sttes o Aeric excted this ide o equlity through

orce. And when the ntions united, the Aericns were surprised

to nd tht they were disliked! The Msses re jelous! How won-

derul dre it would be i ll en were creted equl! But we re

not.

It is ginst the Noble Lie tht we ght. But s I sid beore, s I

sy to you now, there is nother evil ginst which we wr. It is

ore pernicious evil. It is subversive, slow evil. It is not wildre.It is cncer. And tht cncer is Decdence. Our Society hs pssed

ro Svgery to Ascendnce. But like our spiritul ncestors, the

Rons, we too cn ll into Decdence.

He speks o the Pixies.

You re the best o hunity. But you hve been coddled. You

hve been treted like children. Were you born to dierent Color,

you would hve clluses. You would hve scrs. You would knowpin.

He siles s i he knows pin. I hte this n.

You think you know pin. You think the Society is n inevitble


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r e d r I s I n g | 123

orce o history. You think Her the end o history. But ny hve

thought tht beore. Mny ruling clsses hve believed theirs to be

the lst, the pinncle. They grew sot. Ft. They orgot tht clluses,

wounds, scrs, hrdship, preserve ll those ne plesure clubs youyoung boys love to requent nd ll those ne silks nd dionds

nd unicorns you girls sk or on birthdys.

Mny Auretes hve not scriced. Tht is why they do not

wer this. He shows long scr on his right cheek. Octvi u

Lune hs the se scr. The Scr o Peer. We re not the sters

o the Solr Syste becuse we re born. We re the sters be-

cuse we, the Peerless Scrred, the iron Golds, de it tht wy.He touches the scr on his cheek. Id give hi nother i I were

closer. The children round e suck down this ns grbge like

oxygen.

Right now, the Colors who ine this plnet re hrder thn you.

They re born with clluses. Born with scrs nd htred. They re

tough s nnosteel. Fortuntely, they re lso very stupid. For in-

stnce, this Persephone you hve no doubt herd o is nothing ore

thn di girl who thought singing song ws worth hnging.

I bite bloody hole in y cheek. My skin shivers ro rge s I

nd out tht y wie is prt o this bstrds speech.

The girl did not even know the video would be leked. Yet it is

her willingness to suer hrdship tht gve her power. Mrtyrs, you

see, re like bees. Their only power coes in deth. How ny o

you would scrice yoursel to not kill, but erely hurt your eney?

Not one o you, I wger.I tste blood in y outh. I hve the knieRing Dncer gve e.

But I brethe the ury down. I no rtyr. I not vengence. I

Eos dre. Still, doing nothing while her urderer glots eels

like betryl.

In tie you will receive your Scrs ro y sword, Augustus

closes. But rst you ust ern the.


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17The drafT

s

on o Linus nd Lexus u Androedus, both o the House

Apollo. Would you preer to rk yoursel s requesting

House Apollo preerentility? tedious Aurete dinistrtor

sks e.

Goldbrows rst loylty is to Color, then ily, then plnet, then

House. Most Houses re dointed by one or two powerul i-

lies. On Mrs, the Fily Augustus, the Fily Bellon, nd the

Fily Arcos inuence ll others.

No, I reply.

He shues over his dtpd. Very well. How do you believe youperored on the slngSrts test? Tht is the extrpoltionl

test, he clries.

I think y results spek or theselves.

You were not pying ttention, Drrow. I shll rk tht ginst

you. I sking or you to spek or your results.

I think I took gory piss on your test, sir.

Ah. He siles. Well, you did. You did. House Minerv orbrins ight be right or you. Perhps Pluto, or the deviousness.

Apollo or the pride. Yes. H. Well, I hve test or you. Plese


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r e d r I s I n g | 125

coplete it to the best o your bility. Interviews will coence

when you hve nished.

The test is quick nd it is in the or o n iersion ge.

There is goblet on hill tht I need to cquire. Mny obstclesstnd in y wy. I pss the s rtionlly s possible, trying to hide

y nger when little el stels key I cquire. But every step o the

wy, theres soe dn setbck, soe inconvenience. And it is l-

wys unoreseen. It is lwys soething beyond the bounds o ex-

trpoltion. In the end, I rech the goblet, but only ter killing n

nnoying wizrd nd cruelly enslving the rce o elves by ens o

sid wizrds gic wnd. I could hve let the elves be. But theynnoyed e.

Soon, the interviewers coe in intervls. I lern they re clled

Proctors. Ech one o the is Peerless Scrred. They re chosen by

the ArchGovernor to tech nd represent the students o the House

within the Institute.

All sid, the Proctors re ipressive. Theres huge Scrred n

with hir like lion nd lightning bolt on his collr or Jupiter,

tronly won with gentle golden eyes, nd quick-witted n

with winged eet on his collr. He cnt sit still nd his bby ce

sees iensely scinted by y hnds. He kes e ply ge

with hi in which he puts out both hnds t nd cing up nd I

put ine top cing down. He tries slpping y hnds, but never

quite nges. He leves ter clpping his hnds together in joy.

Another strnge encounter coes when beutiul n with

coiled hir interviews e. A bow rks his collr. Apollo. He skse how ttrctive I believe ysel to be nd is displesed when I

undershoot his estite. Still, I think he likes e, becuse he sks

e wht I would like to be one dy.

An Ipertor o eet, I sy.

You could do gret things with eet. But loty notion, he

sighs, ccenting every word with eline purr. Perhps too loty or

your ily. Mybe i you hd benector o better ilil origin.Yes, ybe then. He looks t his dtpd. But unlikely due to

your birth. H. Best o luck.


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I sit lone or n hour or ore till sullen n coes to join e.

His unortunte ce is pinched like htchet, but he hs the Scr

nd rzor hilt hngs on his hip. His ne is Fitchner. A wd o

gu lls his outh. The unior he wers is blck with gold, nd itnerly concels the slight belly punch tht sticks outwrd despite

the int sell o etbolizers. Like ny o the others, he wers

bdges bout his personge. A golden wol with two heds deco-

rtes his collr. And strnge hnd rks his cu.

They give e the d dogs, he sys. They give e the killers

o our rce, the ones ull o piss nd npl nd vinegr. He snis

the ir. You sell ull o shit.I sy nothing. He lens ginst the door nd rowns t it s though

it oended hi in soe wy. Then bck to e, snifng iproperly.

Proble is, we o House Mrs lwys burn out. Kids rule the

Institute t rst. Then they nd out tht npl lsts bout . . . He

snps his ngers. I hve no reply. He sighs nd plops down in chir.

Ater while o wtching e, he stnds nd punches e in the ce.

I you punch e bck, you will be sent hoe, Pixie.

I kick hi in the shin.

He lips wy, lughing like drunk Uncle Nrol.

I not sent hoe. Insted, I nd ysel escorted with one hun-

dred others into lrge roo with otChirs nd lrge wll

dointed by ivory gridwork. The gridwork ors checkerbord

squre on the wll, ten rows high, ten rows cross. I tken on

lit to the iddle row, soe ty eet o the ground. Ninety-nine

other students re ushered in till ech box is lled. This is the priecrop, the best o the students. I look out ro y box, peering up

bove e. A girls eet dngle out o the box bove y hed. Nu-

bers nd letters pper in ront o y box. My sttistics. Suppos-

edly I very rsh nd hve upper-outlier chrcteristics in intuition

nd loylty nd, ost noticebly, rge.

There re twelve groups in the udience. Ech group sits close

together in otChirs round verticl golden stndrds. I see nrcher, lightning bolt, n owl, wol with two heds, n upside-

down crown, nd trident, ongst others. One o the Proctors


16/26

r e d r I s I n g | 127

ccopnies ech group. They lone do not hve their ces cov-

ered. The others wer cereonil sks, etureless nd golden

nd slightly like the nils o their Houses. I only I hd known

this ws going to hppen, I ight hve brought nuke. These rethe Drters, the en nd woen o highest prestige. Pretors nd

Ipertors nd Tribunes nd Adjudictors nd Governors sit there

wtching e, trying to choose the new students or their House,

trying to nd young en nd woen they cn test nd oer ppren-

ticeships. With one bob, I could hve destroyed the best nd the

brightest o their Golden rule. Mybe thts the rshness speking.

The Drt begins when titn o genAlt boy is chosen rst tothe House o the lightning bolt. House Jupiter. Then go ore girls

nd boys o unnturl beuty nd physicl prowess. I cn only guess

they re geniuses s well. The th pick coes. The bby-ced in-

terviewer with the winged eet ots up to e on golden boots.

Severl o the Drters o House Mercury ot long with hi.

They spek quietly ongst theselves beore sking e questions.

Who re your prents? Wht re their ilys ccoplish-

ents?

I tell the bout y odest lse ily. One o the sees to

think highly o reltive o ine who hs long since pssed wy.

But despite the Proctors objections, they pss e over or nother

student ro ily with the ownership o ninety ines nd

stke on one o Mrss southern continents.

The Mercury Proctor curses nd shoots e quick sile.

Hope youre vilble next round, he sys.Next goes delicte girl with ocking sile. I cn brely py

ttention, nd, t ties, it is difcult to see who else is being se-

lected. Were rryed in n odd wy. With the tenth pick, the Proctor

who struck e in the interviews ots y wy. There is disgree-

ent ongst the Drters. I hve two rdent dvoctes: one is

s tll s Augustus, but her hir ows down to her spine in three

golden brids. And the second is broder, not very tll. Hes old.Cn tell by the scrs nd wrinkles on his thick hnds. Hnds tht

ber the signet ring o n Olypic Knight. I know hi ieditely


17/26


even without seeing his ce. Lorn u Arcos. The Rge Knight, the

third-gretest n on Mrs, who chose to serve the Society by se-

gurding the Societys Copct, insted o reching or crowns in

politics. When he points to e, Fitchner grins.I chosen tenth. Tenth out o one thousnd.


18/26

18classMaTes

I

eel sinking in y stoch s I wlk with the chttering ss

into the dining hll. It is overgrndwhite rble oors, col-

uns, holosky displying birds in ight t sunset. The Institute is

not wht I expected. According to Augustus, the clsses re to be

hrd on these little godlings. I snort down lugh. Let the lot o

the spend yer in ine.

There re twelve tbles, ech with one hundred plce settings.

Our nes ot bove the chirs in golden letters. Mine ots to

the right o tbles hed. It is plce o distinction. The rstDrt.

A single br ots to the right o y ne. A -1 is to the let. Therst to get ve brs becoes Prius o his House. Ech br is

bounty or n ct o erit. Apprently y high score on the test

ws the rst bit o erit.

Wonderul, cutter in the led or Prius, ilir voice

sys. The girl ro the ex. I red her ne. Antoni u Severus.

She hs cruel good lookshigh cheekbones, sirking sile, scorn

in her eyes. Her hir is long, ull, nd golden s Midss touch. Shews born to be hted nd to hte. A -5 ots beside her ne. It is

the second-closest score to ine t the tble. Cssius, the boy I et


19/26


t testing, sits digonlly cross ro e. A -6 shiers by his

brod sile. He runs hnd bck through his curls.

Another boy sits directly cross ro e; -1 nd golden br

ot by his ne. While Cssius lounges, this other boy, Pri, sitss stright s blde. His ce is celestil. His eyes lert. His hir

coied. Hes tll s e, but brod in the shoulders. I dont think Ive

ever seen ore perect hun being. A bloodydn sttue. He

wsnt in the Drt, I discover. He is wht they cll Preier; they

cnnot be drted. His prents choose his House. Then I discover

why. His scndlous other, bnnerwon o the House Bellon,

owns our plnets two oons.Fte brings us together gin, Cssius chuckles to e. And

Antoni. My love! It sees our thers conspired to plce us side by

side.

Antoni replies with sneer, Reind e to be hi thnk-

you.

Toni! No need or nstiness. He wgs nger. Now toss e

sile like good doll.

She ips hi the crux with her ngers. Rther toss you out

window, Cssi.

Rwr. Cssius blows her kiss. She ignores it. So, Pri, I

suppose you nd I will hve to ply gently with these ools, eh?

Oh, they look like swell sorts to e, Pri replies prily. I

ncy well do very well s group.

They tlk in highLingo.

I the dregs o the Drt dont weigh us down, y good n!He gestures to the end o the tble nd strts ning the: Screw-

ce, or obvious resons. Clown becuse o tht ridiculous puy

hir. Weed becuse, well, hes thin. Oy! You, youre Thistle becuse

your nose looks hooked s one. And . . . tht itty-bitty one right

there next to the Bronzie-looking ellow, thts little Pebble.

I think they will rther surprise you, Pri sys in deense o

the r end o the tble. They y not be s tll or s thletic oreven s intelligent s you or e, i intelligence relly cn be e-

sured by that test, but I do not think it chrity to sy tht they will

be the spine o our group. Slt o the erth, i you will. Good sorts.


20/26

r e d r I s I n g | 131

I see the sll kid ro the shuttle, Sevro, t the very oot o the

tble. The slt o the erth is not king riends. And neither I.

Cssius glnces t y -1. I see hi concede tht Pri ight hve

scored better thn he, but Cssius kes point in sying hes neverherd o y prents.

So, der Drrow, how did you chet? he sks. Antoni glnces

over ro her converstion with Arri, sll girl de o curling

hir nd diples.

Oh, coe now, n. I lugh. They sent Qulity Control ter

e. How could I hve cheted? Ipossible. Did you chet? Your

score is high.I spek the idLingo. Its ore coortble thn tht highLingo

rtdust Pri jbbers on in.

Me? Chet! No. Just didnt try enough, pprently, Cssius re-

plies. I I hd y wits, Id hve spent less tie with the girls nd

ore on studying, like you.

Hes trying to tell e i he tried he could hve done just s well.

But hes too busy to put in s uch eort. I I wnted hi s

riend, Id let hi get wy with it.

You studied? I sk. I eel sudden urge to ebrrss hi. I

didnt study t ll.

A chill goes through the ir.

I shouldnt hve sid it. My stoch pluets.Manners.

Cssiuss ce sours nd Antoni sirks. Ive insulted hi. Pri

rowns. I I wnt creer in the eet, then I will likely need Cssius

u Bellons thers ptronge. Son o n Ipertor. Mtteo drilledthis into e. How esy it is to orget. The eet is where the power is.

Fleet or governent or ry. And I dont like governent, not to

ention tht, this sort o insult is how duels begin. Fer trickles

down y spine s I relize how thin line there is to tred. Cssius

knows how to duel. I, or ll y new skills, do not. He would rip e

to pieces, nd he looks like he wnts to do just tht.

I joke. I tilt y hed to Cssius. Coe on, n. How could Iscore so high nd not hve studied till y eyes were bleeding? Wish

Id spent ore tie ooling o like youwere in the se spot

now, ter ll. Ft lot tht studying did or e.


21/26


Pri nods his pprovl t the pece oering.

I bet it ws slog! Cssius crows, tipping his hed to cknowl-

edge y peculir breed o pology. I expected the ply to go over his

hed. Thought his pride would blind hi to y sudden pology;the Gold y be proud, but he isnt stupid. None o the re. Hve

to reeber tht.

Ater tht, I do Mtteo proud. I irt with girl ned Quinn,

beriend nd joke with Cssius nd Priwho hs probbly never

sworn in his liethrow y hnd out to tll brute ned Titus

whose neck is s thick s y thigh. He squeezes too hrd on pur-

pose. Hes surprised when I nerly brek his hnd, but dn is hisgrip strong. The boy is even tller thn Cssius nd I, nd hes got

voice like titn, but he grins when he relizes tht y grip, i noth-

ing else, is stronger thn his. Soething strnge bout his voice,

though. Soething decidedly disdinul. Theres lso ether o

boy ned Roque who looks nd speks like poet. His siles re

slow, ew, but genuine. Rre.

Cssius! Julin clls. Cssius stnds nd throws n r round

his thinner, prettier twin. I didnt piece it together beore, but they

re brothers. Twins. Not identicl. Julin did sy his brother ws

lredy in Age.

Drrow here is not wht he sees, Julin tells the tble with

very grve ce. He hs knck or thetrics.

You dont en . . . Cssius puts hnd to his outh.

My nger grzes y stek knie.

Yes. Julin nods solenly.No. Cssius shkes his hed. Hes not Yorkton supporter?

Julin, tell e it isnt so! Drrow! Drrow, how could you be? They

never win ge! Pri, re you hering this?

I throw y hnds up in pology. A curse o birth, I suppose. I

product o y upbringing. I cheer or the underdog. I nge

not to sneer the words.

He conessed it to e on the shuttle.Julin is proud to know e. Proud his brother knows he knows

e. He looks or Cssiuss pprovl. Cssius isnt oblivious to this

either; he gently doles out coplient nd Julin leves the high-


22/26

r e d r I s I n g | 133

Drts nd returns to his idDrt set hlwy down the tble with

content sile nd squred shoulders. I didnt think Cssius would

be the kind sort.

O those I eet, only Antoni openly dislikes e. She doesntwtch e like the others t the tble. Fro her, I eel only distnt

breed o contept. One oent she is lughing, irting with

Roque, nd then she eels y gze nd becoes ice. The eeling is

utul.

My doritory is ro dre. Gold tri lines window tht

looks out into the vlley. A bed is lden with silks nd quilts nd

stins. I lie in it when Pink sseur coes in nd stys or n hourkneding y uscles. Lter, three lithe Pinks le through to tend to

y needs. I send the to Cssiuss roo insted. To cl the tep-

ttion, I tke cold shower nd ierse ysel in holoexperience

o digger in the ining colony Corinth. The Helldiver in the ho-

loexperience is less tlented thn I ws, but the rttling, the siu-

lted het, the drkness nd the vipers, they coort e so uch

tht I wrp y old scrlet rg round y hed.

More ood coes. Augustus ws ll tlk. Gob ull o exgger-

tions. This is their version o hrdship. I eel guilty s I ll sleep

with ull stoch, clutching the locket with Eos ower inside. My

ily will go to bed hungry tonight. I whisper her ne. I tke the

wedding bnd ro y pocket nd kiss it. Feel the che. They stole

her. But she let the. She let e. She let e ters nd pin nd

longing. She let e to give e nger, nd I cnnot help but hte her

or oent even though beyond tht oent there is only love.Eo, I whisper, nd the locket closes.


23/26

19The passage

I

voit s I wke. A second st strikes y ull stoch. Then

third. I epty nd gsping or ir. Drowning in y sick.

Coughing. Hcking. I try to scrble wy. A ns hnd grbs e

by the hir nd throws e into the wll. God, hes bloody strong.

And hes got extr ngers. I rech or y knieRing, but theyve l-

redy drgged e into the hll. Ive never been so nhndled; even

y new body cnt recover ro their strikes. Theres our o the

in blckCrows, the killers. Theyve discovered e. They know

wht I . Its over. All over. Their ces re expressionless skulls.

Msks. I pull the knie I took ro dinner ro y wist nd bout to stb one o the in the groin. Then I see the sh o gold

on their wrists nd they hit e till I drop the knie. Its test. Their

strikes ginst higher Color re snctioned by the issuer o the

brcelets. They hvent ound e out t ll. A test. Tht is wht this

is. It is test.

They could hve used stunners. Theres purpose to the beting.

Its soething ost Golds hve never experienced. So I wit. I curlup nd let the bet e. When I dont resist, they think theyve

done their job. They sort o do; I rggedshit by the tie theyre

stised.


24/26

r e d r I s I n g | 135

I drgged through the hllwy by en nerly three eters tll.

A bg is shoved over y hed. Theyre stying wy ro technol-

ogy to scre e. I wonder how ny o these kids hve elt physicl

orce like this? How ny hve been so dehunized? The bgsells like deth nd piss s they drg e long. I strt lughing. Its

like y bloodydn rysuit. Then st hits y chest nd I cruple,

gsping.

The hood lso hs sound device instlled. I not brething

hrd, but y breths coe bck louder thn they should. There re

over thousnd students. Dozens t tie ust suer this se

te, yet I her nothing. They dont wnt e to her the others. Isupposed to think I lone, tht y Color ens nothing. Surpris-

ingly, I nd ysel oended tht they dre strike e. Dont they

know I bloodydn Gold? Then I snort bck lugh. Eective

tricks.

I lited up nd thrown hrd onto oor. I eel vibrtion,

the sell o exhust. Soon were in the ir. Soething in the bg

covering y hed disorients e. I cnt tell which direction were

ying, how high weve risen. The sound o y own rspy breth hs

becoe terrible. I think the bg lso lters out the oxygen, becuse

I hyperventilting. Still, its not worse thn rysuit.

Lter. An hour? Two? We lnd. They drg e by y heels. Hed

bups on stone, jrring e. Its not till uch lter tht they tke the

bg o o y hed in brren stone roo lit by single light. An-

other person is lredy here. The Crows strip wy y clothing, rip

wy the precious Pegsus pendnt. They leve.Cold in here, Julin? I chuckle s I stnd, unclenching y let

hnd ro the dirty red Helldiver swet bnd. My voice echoes.

Were both nked. I ke lip with y right leg. I know wht

this is.

Drrow, is tht you? Julin sks. Are you well?

I prie. They busted up y right leg, though, I lie.

He stnds too, pushing hisel up with his let hnd. Thts hisdoinnt one. He looks tll nd eeble in the light. Like bent hy. I

cught ore kicks nd punches thn hi, though, lods ore. My

ribs ight be crcked.


25/26


Wht do you think this is? he sks.

The Pssge, obviously.

But they lied. They sid it would be toorrow.

The thick wooden door squels on rusted hinges nd ProctorFitchner sunters in popping gububble.

Proctor! Sir, you lied to us, Julin protests. He brushes his

pretty hir bck out o his eyes.

Fitchners oveent is sluggish but his eyes re like cts.

Lying tkes too uch eort, he grunts idly.

Well . . . how dre you tret us like this! Julin snps. You

ust know who y ther is. And y other is Legte! I cn hveyou up on chrges or ssult in oents notice. And you hurt

Drrows leg!

Its one a.m., dipstick. Its toorrow. Fitchner pops nother

gububble. There re lso two o you. Als, only one spot is vil-

ble in your clss. He tosses golden ring eblzoned with the

wol o Mrs nd str shield o the Institute onto the dirty stone

ground. I could ke it biguous, but you look like rustyheded

lds. Only one coes out live.

He leves the wy he ce. The door squels nd then sls

shut. Julin inches t the sound. I do not. We both stre t the ring

nd I hve sick eeling in y gut tht I the only one in the roo

who knows wht just hppened.

Wht do they think they re doing? Julin sks e. Do they

expect us to . . .

Kill ech other? I nish. Yes. Thts wht they expect. De-spite the knot in y throt. I bll y sts, Eos wedding bnd tight

on y nger. I intend to wer tht ring, Julin. Will you let e

hve it?

I bigger thn he. Not quite s tll. But tht doesnt tter. He

doesnt stnd chnce.


26/26

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