Page 15 of Only Rogue Actions
The machinery sputtered, but it didn’t stop, so I kept sawing ...and sawing ...and sawing ...
Lucky for me, the vine had been built for flexibility and movement, instead of armored strength, and the broken stone sheared through the plastic casing, exposing the wiring underneath.I growled and redoubled my efforts, using the shard to cut through the wiring.Sparks flew out, stinging my hands, but once again, I kept sawing ...and sawing ...and sawing ...
Beep!
With a sad little wail, the wiring snapped, and the vine finally stilled.
I wiped the clammy sweat off my forehead with a shaking hand, then quickly uncoiled the machinery from around my ankle and scrambled to my feet.The lizard’s tail slipped out of my hand and crunched under my boots like a broken bone.
I grimaced and scanned the biodome, looking for more vines and nozzles, but none appeared.Even more wary than before, I gathered up a handful of orange pebbles and returned to the right, safe path.I stopped every few feet and tossed another pebble out onto the flagstones in front of me, but I didn’t trigger any more traps.
I made it around the cauldron safely and stepped across another threshold, moving from the warm Tropics biodome back into the chilly maze.I exhaled and wiped a bit more sweat off my forehead.No wonder warriors found the maze so challenging.If the first, obvious obstacle didn’t get you, then a second, hidden one would.
I stopped and called out with the bond again.Kyrion?Can you hear me?
No response, although the sticky cobweb of him in my mind once again bristled with tension.A few more bricks of worry landed in my stomach.What challenges was Kyrion facing on his side of the maze?
I moved forward.More nozzles jutted out of the metal walls and spewed fog into the air.The clouds weren’t nearly as thick as they had been in the first section, but the hazy white mist still made it seem like I was traveling through a strange dreamscape.
I grabbed hold of the bond, letting my connection to Kyrion guide me forward.I went down one path after another, moving deeper and deeper into the maze.Several paths were dead ends, forcing me to backtrack time and time again, but I got the sense that I was slowly drawing closer to Kyrion.
Magnets, just like Lady Verona had said.
A few minutes later, I came to a biodome that contained an elegant topiary garden that reminded me of those on the Collier estate.Gray-green trees and hedges snipped into the shapes of lighthouses, anchors, and spiral seashells clustered around white marble statues of mermaids wearing gold necklaces strung with gleaming white, gray, and black pearls that were as big as my fist.In the center of the dome, a mermaid brandished a silver trident at a tall, wide hedge that had been sculpted into an enormous jellyfish, complete with long, dangling tendrils.
I stepped over the threshold and let out a sigh of relief.The air in the biodome matched a warm spring day on a Temperate planet.
I studied the topiary trees and hedges, along with the statues, but I didn’t spot any trip wires, fire nozzles, or mechanical vines.I glanced down at the flagstones, but they were smooth and whole and didn’t show any signs of tampering.I even stretched out with my seer magic, but no telltale silver flares of light appeared, indicating useful or dangerous objects.
Hmm.Maybe the lack of traps was the trap itself, to cost me precious time I could be using to reach the center of the maze.
Still wary, I eased forward, but nothing happened.No fog, no flames, no other elements appeared.My steps quickened, and I hurried along a path, skirting around the jellyfish topiary.
I reached out with the bond again, but Kyrion didn’t seem any closer.Frustration filled me, but I kept moving forward—
Clank.
I froze at the sharp sound.I glanced around, but the flagstones remained still and solid beneath my boots, and I hadn’t stumbled over a trip wire or brushed up against a topiary.I hadn’t activated a trap, so what had made that odd noise?
Clank.Clank-clank.Clank.
More sharp sounds boomed out like ominous thunder that was loud enough to vibrate the energy shield overhead.My stomach clenched.Why did that noise seem so familiar?
Off to my left, two bright neon-green glows flared to life.I whirled in that direction, careful not to step on another flagstone or venture off the path.
Branches creaked and cracked, and the long tendrils on the jellyfish topiary swayed back and forth, like it was a real creature floating through the ocean.More branches creaked and cracked, and a large figure tore through the topiary like a monster breaking free of a cage.Green eyes, black armor, hulking frame—it was another Black Scarab.
The Black Scarab stopped.Its arms and legs twisted back and forth, and its head spun all the way around on its wide shoulders, sending a violent shower of leaves into the air.
A breath hissed out between my teeth.This Scarab looked even more lifelike than the hologram I’d seen earlier, and the explosion of leaves was a nice added touch to make it seem even more real and substantial.
The Scarab took a step forward.
Clank.
The flagstone cracked under the weight of the Scarab’s heavy armor.The machine took another step forward, resulting in anotherclankand cracked flagstone.
Shock knifed through my heart.This wasn’t a hologram.This was a very real, very dangerous Black Scarab, and its green gaze was locked on me.
