Page 16 of Only Rogue Actions
CHAPTER SEVEN
KYRION
Insteadofimmediatelymovingforward along the entry path, I held my position, adjusting to the sight, scent, sound, and feel of the maze.
The green vines were packed so tightly together that not much of the metal walls could be seen between or behind them, and the honeysuckles’ sweet aroma was strong enough to make my nose twitch.The gray stone path was solid and sturdy beneath my boots, but a hint of a breeze slid across my body from the dome’s ventilation system.The air itself was surprisingly cool, and my breath steamed in faint clouds of frost.The overhead lights had been turned down low, creating large pools of shadows.
I reached for my power and waggled my fingers.My telekinesis came to me easily, and a few fallen pink petals skittered away from my boots.
Next, I reached for the truebond.My connection to Vesper felt thin and distant, as though our bond had completely unspooled and I was just barely touching the end of the velvety ribbon of her presence in my mind.My inner monster grumbled in annoyance.
The hidden psionic dampeners weren’t affecting my innate abilities, but they shrouded the maze like a heavy, invisible blanket and were clearly muffling our connection.Trying to break through the dampeners to locate and communicate with Vesper was going to be more difficult than I’d expected, but testing our bond was the reason we’d come here.
Overhead, a camera zipped down from the ceiling and swiveled toward me.Red lights burned on the front of the camera, and the lens inside twisted open, then closed, like it was a gaping black eye.More annoyance filled me.I didn’t know which was worse, the camera tracking my movements or the holocuff clamped around my left wrist recording my every breath, blink, and twitch.
My hand clenched over the empty spot where my stormsword would normally be hooked to my belt.I’d worn the weapon for so many years that it was practically an extension of my hand, and I felt weak, naked, and clumsy without it.Earlier in the locker room, I’d thought about tucking a dagger from my silver bandolier up my jacket sleeve and sneaking the weapon into the maze, but I’d decided against it.Cheating was for insecure people who had no true confidence in their own abilities, and I wanted to complete the training fair and square.Otherwise, it wouldn’tmeananything.
The camera lens kept twisting open and closed as it zoomed in and out.I gave an elegant bow to Asterin, Siya, Jeffrey, and whoever else might be watching.Then I headed deeper into the maze.
I moved cautiously, scanning the walls on either side of the path as well as the flagstones up ahead for any unusual glints of metal or thick seams that would indicate hidden mechanisms.But I didn’t spot anything unexpected, and I quickly came to a junction that split left and right.
Each path looked the same, and I couldn’t tell which direction might get me closer to the center of the maze.Since I didn’t have any visual cues, I once again reached for the bond.
Vesper?
She didn’t respond to my telepathic call, but the velvety ribbon of her in my mind quivered, like she was thinking about something.No doubt she was dealing with her own obstacles on her side of the maze.
I concentrated on our connection, but I couldn’t tell if I was any closer to Vesper, so I would just have to guess which path to take.I huffed out a breath.Idespisedguessing games.There was no skill or thought involved, just dumb, blind luck, which had never been kind to me.
I stepped onto the path that curved to the right.A hundred feet later, this path also split.One section continued to curve along the exterior of the maze, while the other section veered into the interior at a sharp angle.I wasn’t going to find Vesper by sticking to the perimeter, so I chose the path that led deeper into the labyrinth.
The path snaked around before opening into a circular area that was several hundred feet wide and covered by a clear, shimmering energy shield that extended all the way down to the ground.On the other side of the shield, the honeysuckle vines vanished, replaced by smooth metal walls covered with a thick layer of glittering blue-white frost.At least two feet of snow coated the ground in a sparkling sheen, while pellets of ice zipped through the air, propelled by a man-made wind.
This biodome had been fashioned after the harsh environment of a Frozon moon, and it resembled a life-size snow globe.
The only things that weren’t cold and frozen were the flagstone paths that arced around a large stone fountain shaped like a castle in the center of the biodome.Water bubbled and frothed in a steady stream down the castle’s many towers and walls before pooling in the fountain’s wide basin.Red flags bearing the blackBsigil of House Battis topped the castle’s towers, and the stiff swatches of fabric stood out like blood drops against the snow-white background.The fountain was probably a miniature version of the real Castle Battis.
I huffed out another annoyed breath.Out of all the biodomes, I’d come across the coldest environment, and there was no way I could get through the area unscathed.At the very least, I would be chilled to the bone.At the very worst, I might suffer severe frostbite.Once again, luck was not being kind to me.
For a moment, I considered backtracking, but that would take an inordinate amount of time.No, it was better to brave this biodome, continue deeper into the maze, and find Vesper as quickly as possible.
First, I buttoned my jacket up to my neck and pulled my sleeves down as far as they would go.Next, I shoved my hands into my armpits to protect my fingers from the cold.Finally, I drew in a breath, steeled myself for what was coming next, and plunged through the energy shield.
AssoonasIentered the Frozon biodome, pellets of ice gusted through the air even more violently, like I had stepped into the middle of a raging blizzard.A couple of fist-size pellets slammed into my legs, and I had to brace my boots against the flagstones to keep from getting knocked off the path into a snowdrift.My face went numb, and the air was so sharp and cold I felt like I was breathing in jagged icicles.
The flagstones must have been heated, because they were free of the ice and snow that coated the rest of the ground.I hurried along the path until I reached the fountain.It too must have been heated, because the water kept tumbling down at a steady rate before pooling in the basin, getting sucked back up to the top, and falling right back down again.
The path split left and right, circling around the fountain.Once again, each path looked the same, and I had to make a quick, blind choice or risk becoming even colder—
Clank.
An odd, muffled noise whispered through the air, freezing me in place.It wasn’t blaster fire, which I had heard a thousand times before and would immediately put me on high alert, but something about the noise was oddly familiar and extremely troubling.
I tilted my head to the side, listening, but the noise didn’t come again, and all I heard was the whistle of the manufactured wind in the biodome.Perhaps it had just been some hidden machinery activating in the snow.Either way, I needed to get out of the Frozon environment as quickly as possible, so I stepped onto the right path and headed around the fountain.
Click!
A flagstone depressed under my boot, and a tiny glass window on one of the castle’s towers flipped down.A metal nozzle jutted out of the opening and shot out a spray of water that zipped straight toward my chest.
