Time was of the essence. Cora had managed to get two eliminations, which meant she only needed one more. Her and Zyler were on the top floor of the building and there were three guards waiting for them.
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One of them lunged at Cora but she evaded her attack. Her opponent tried to slice her with her sword. Cora quickly ducked out of the way. She swept her leg across the floor tripping the other girl.
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Cora had her opponent right where she wanted her, but then she saw the same shadowy figure that attacked her earlier. It's entire face was covered in something that resembled black bandages. All she could see were the cold lifeless yellow eyes staring back at her.
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She didn't notice her opponent had gotten back up and grabbed her hands so she couldn't fight back. She hit Cora's target once giving her a second strike. She was about to give Cora her third strike when all of a sudden she was rendered unconscious.
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"Val!" Cora never thought she'd be so excited to see someone she had only met that day. Cora hit her opponents target three times. Her own target lit up as a sign that she had passed thanks to Val.
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"Are you okay?" Val asked. "You totally zoned out for a moment there."
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Cora was unsure of how to respond. How could she even explain what's been happening to her.
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"I'm fine," she lied.
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"Did you pass?" Cora asked Val.
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Val turned around revealing her glowing target. "I guess the Prestige Program has two new members," Val said with a smile.
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"Make that three," Zyler interjected. "My parents are gonna be so proud."
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"Our 100th competitor has just passed we will not be accepting any more new members into the Prestige Program this year."
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The trio walked back to the main hall. Once they got there they were sent to separate areas to receive their results.
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Cora was sent to the same office she had been in earlier that day. Walking down these hallways again gave her chills. It felt like something might jump out and attack her at any moment. She walked as fast as she could until she reached the office door and let herself in.
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"Congratulations," the woman said removing Cora's target.
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"Thanks," Cora responded.
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"Here are your results," the women said handing Cora a clipboard.
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Cora was afraid to look. Her stomach turned with anxiety. What ever was written on this page will decide her destiny. She slowly opened her eyes.
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Coraline Bowman: Warrior was written in bold letters. Cora let out a happy squeal.
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Cora went outside to wait for her father to pick her up. As soon as her father saw her, he ran up to her as fast as his damaged spine would allow him, nearly hurting himself in the process.
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"I made it,"she said, hugging him.
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"I knew you would," he respond.
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On the drive home Cora's father told her all about his time in the Prestige Program, but Cora could hardly focus. She was so overwhelmed with everything that happened today.
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"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked.
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"Nothing," Cora lied for the third time today.
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"You can't fool me," he said. "Do you want to tell me what's going on or not?"
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"Do you believe in ghosts?" she asked.
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Her father let out a deep sigh. "I didn't until a few years ago. Back when I was a member of the guild we were hired by an old woman who lived next to the resting grounds. She claimed every night she would see a living shadow. She said it was searching for something and it wouldn't leave until it found what it was looking for. I thought she had lost her mind and so did the guild leader, so we sent some of our rookies to investigate. They were all found dead the next morning. After further investigation we found out that the shadow had been seen in several resting grounds all over Thessonia. Some records go back almost two hundred years."
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"How is that possible?" Cora questioned.
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"I don't know. Anyone who went looking for answers ended up dead the next morning."
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"Did you find out what the shadow was looking for?"
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"No."
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Cora had more questions now than before. Could this be the same shadow that attacked her? Why did it want to know about the blood king? Why was it asking her of all people. Cora had thought she heard all of her father's stories about being a warrior but, for some reason he never told her this one.
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They arrived back home very late into the night. Cora tiptoed up to her room being extra careful not to wake her mother and grandmother. Once she entered her room she accidentally knocked a pen of her desk and on to the floor. She got down on her knees to pick it up. Then saw a familiar glimmer under her bed.
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The sword she had taken lay there untouched. She had nearly forgotten that she left it there. She quickly pulled it out and examined it.
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I should probably put this back, she thought to herself.
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She waited until her father was asleep to sneak back down to the study. Her heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was going to burst. As she flipped the switch to open the passage she thought about the boy trapped in crystal.
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To her surprise when she reached the end of the passage the boy was no longer trapped at all.
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