Page 12 of Ironhold, Trial Three

I cross the pit using my weighted chain. I dig one end into the ground, then toss the bladed end across like a grappling hook to embed itself on the far side. I test the security of that hold, and when I'm satisfied, I start to walk across the chain like a tightrope, holding my spear crossways to help me balance.

I edge forward, taking my time, feeling every breath of air that seeks to unbalance me. I can feel the tension running through my body with the need to hold myself on such a narrow surface. I have trained to fight, but this is more of a circus trick, progressing little by little across the expanse of the pit.

It feels like forever before I reach the other side. I breathe a sigh of relief once I do so, and I collect my weighted chain. Already, it is proving more useful than my net would have, but it is time for me to move on. I still need to find my way through the rest of this maze, although the illusions, or whatever magic it is within this place, mean this seems far larger than the arena should be able to contain. I'm not sure how long it will take to get through the maze, or what other dangers I will face on the way.

I keep moving forward. I reach a junction, and instinct makes me pause as I hear a growl coming from my right. I may not have my full powers, but I can reach out to feel the presence of a monstrous beast, like a giant porcupine only with blades instead of quills. I quietly back away from it, going in the other direction.

I keep my senses extended as far as the dampener will allow me. I may not be able to control the beasts of the maze easily, but at least I can feel the ones close to me. I can feel which turnings would lead straight to their lairs, forcing me to confront them. It means I can avoid them. At least, I hope that's what it means.

The problem is I don't know what route I'm meant to take. I'm wandering blindly, trying to avoid the creatures within this place, trying to keep myself from having to fight unless I must. That is just a desire to avoid hurting any of the creatures; without access to my full powers, I am vulnerable. There is a real risk that if I fight them, I might be hurt or killed. For now, at least, I continue to avoid all I can.

But I need to find a route through this maze, and it can't just be blundering my way through. There's too much of a chance that I will run into a trap or be forced to take a route that includes a dangerous beast if I just keep going like this.

Somewhere behind me the eerie silence of the maze is broken by the sound of combat, and the roars of a creature. It seems that the silence of the maze only keeps out sound from beyond its walls; it doesn't stop me from hearing what's going on elsewhere. I stop and focus, trying to work out where the others are within the maze.

Do I want to meet them? If I find Alaric or Rowan, or even Vesper, then maybe they will help me to get through, but there are others who would be more dangerous to run into. I don't doubt that Ravenna will try to control me, maybe make me walk straight into a trap, or wander ahead of her so that any beast she meets will devour me rather than her. Vex will probably send daggers after me as soon as he sees me, and one downside of not having my net anymore is that I can't just catch them out of the air the way I have in the past.

I need a better understanding of what's going on in the maze. I need a sense of where its twists and turns are. In the past in the arena I have taking control of the eyes of all the birds around the colosseum, looking through all of them at once so this I can see every facet of an opponent's movements.

I don't have the strength for that anymore, but my work with Lady Elara has showed me that I am not completely helplesseither. I concentrate, reaching out, trying to feel for anything beyond the maze. It is hard work. There is a barrier of a kind there, and that barrier seems to be designed to control sound and physical force, to contain everything within the maze and ensure that the crowd are not harmed by any magic that's used in here.

My mind is able to slip beyond it, trying to find a suitable bird. I feel the presence of a carrion crow, waiting in the knowledge that the presence of so many people means it will be fed as it has so many times before on the flesh of the slain. It takes concentration, but even with the dampener on my wrist, I am able to slide into its mind, seeing as it sees. I set it wheeling above the maze, and now I can see the layout of it. I can see the others within it, some already fighting creatures, others moving cautiously. One gladiator I don't know well is down, his throat torn out and blood staining the ground beneath him. There is no sign of the creature that did it.

I stand there staring at the images from the crow for a while, trying to work out where I am in relation to the exit, then trying to plot a route through the maze that will allow me to avoid the worst of the creatures. I think I can start to see a way through, and I pad forward, still being careful to test the ground in front of me with my spear. It's just as well, because a bear trap springs shut ahead of me.

I try not to think about what will happen if such a thing springs shut on my leg. It will not kill me outright, but it will mean I cannot make progress through the maze. Worse, it seems like the kind of thing designed to make someone scream in agony or call out for help. Either option is likely to draw the attention of the creatures within the maze.

I keep moving forward, using the crow’s vision to guide me, even as I test the ground around me for traps, and try to sense the presence of any beasts nearby. Twice, I have to take differentturnings to avoid creatures. This is taking longer than I thought it would, and I'm still not anywhere near the exit.

I don't hurry, though. There is no time limit on this task, and I have already seen that hurrying could fling me headlong into danger. It is better to keep moving cautiously, trying to be ready for any threat ahead.

It is not long before I come to a square chamber within the maze, the junction of several passages. There is multi-colored sand on the floor, and it takes me a moment to realize that the sand disguises several pressure plates. There are obviously more traps here. I start to make my way through the room, knowing that the corridor I need is on the far side.

Even as I do it, though, a figure moves into the room, walking on the walls, as if the whole world were at 90 degrees to my reality. Malira is carrying her large two-handed sword almost casually and there is blood on the blade. She smiles as she sees me.

I hold up my hands. “There is no reason for us to fight, Malira. You heard what the emperor said. We only need to get out of here. I can show you the way.”

“I'll find the way,” she promises. “And I told you before, the best way for me to build a reputation is to go through you. I kill you, and everyone will chant my name.”

She flips down to the floor, her blade in her hands. She smiles, baring her teeth in a predatory fashion. Then she charges, and I must defend myself or die.

Chapter Eight

Malira’s charge is a chaotic, hopping thing that makes it hard to read which direction she will come from. I swing my weighted chain, trying to keep her at a distance, adrenaline rushing through me as I find myself in a fight that I did not want or expect.

The worst part is that there's no reason why she should be my enemy, except that Vex got to her and started talking to her before I could. Malira swings a thunderous blow at my head, and I barely dodge in time to avoid it. I hear a click as my foot touches one of the pressure plates on the ground and I throw myself aside as a spear shoots across the chamber ,only just missing both of us.

Malira bares her teeth again. “That's going to make this interesting. But then,Idon't need to use the floor.”

She runs up one of the walls, swinging at me, forcing me to duck. I jab with my spear, making her move away, but she comes back at me again. The ferocity of her attack is hard to contain when she is moving so quickly and attacking from such unpredictable angles. I barely get my weapons up in time to protect myself.

“You're not so dangerous without a bunch of animals to do your fighting for you,” Malira snarls, attacking again and again. My training has given me considerable skills by this point, but there's no denying that she's right: I am much less dangerous when I can't call an animal to my side to aid me.

I end up having to use the traps on the floor to try to hold her off, stepping on them deliberately, so that the spears fly across the space in which we're fighting. We both need to dodge when that happens, and it means I get some respite.

But she's still advancing, still attacking, I'm not sure I can beat her in a straight up fight. I keep using my chain to force her to move away from me, and I slash with my spear in an attempt to stop closing the distance in between sweeps of the chain. But I know there's only so long I will be able to keep it up, and I don't like the thought of what will happen when she manages to make it inside the arc of the weapons.

Even now, she's closing in, moving from unpredictable angles, her great sword raised, ready to attack. As she does it, though, another figure enters the room, moving up behind up on nearly silent feet. Vesper is advancing on her, his curved blades ready in his fists.

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