Page 19 of Only Rogue Actions
First things first.If my unwanted watcher was using the overhead camera to control the Scarab, then maybe getting rid of the device would stop the machine in its tracks—or at least make it more difficult for my enemy to see my every movement.
I yanked the rock I’d picked up earlier out of my pocket and hefted it in my hand, getting a feel for its shape, size, and weight.The rock was heavy, and I didn’t have the necessary strength to get it where I needed it to go, but Kyrion did—if I could use his telekinesis.
Doubt curled through my stomach, but I brushed it aside.I didn’t have time for doubt right now, only rogue actions that would keep me alive and out of the Scarab’s clutches.
I looked up at the camera again and snapped off a mock salute with my left hand.“You wanted my attention?”I called out.“Well, you got it.”
I drew my right arm back and hurled the rock at the camera.As soon as the chunk of stone left my hand, I reached for Kyrion’s telekinesis.Once again, I became lost in that mental haze, searching blindly for something I knew was there but couldn’t quite see through the white fog wisping through my mind.I ground my teeth, ignored the cool, distracting mist, and plunged my hand directly into the sticky cobweb of Kyrion.
Touching his presence was like closing my fingers around a live wire.My heart jolted, my skin sizzled, and white-hot stars exploded in my field of vision.The jolting, sizzling sensations vanished just as quickly as they had appeared, and the stars winked out, replaced by the creeping white fog, which threatened to muffle our connection once again.
I tightened my grip on that sticky cobweb, letting all those tiny strands anchor me to Kyrion.The creeping fog in my mind stopped, and Kyrion’s power trickled toward me like water seeping through hairline cracks in a dam.I latched onto that power and gathered up as much of his telekinesis as I could.Then I sent all that magic shooting up and out at the rock I’d thrown, making the chunk of stone rise higher and higher until ...
Crack!
The rock smashed into the camera and sheared the device off its long black wire.The rock plummeted downward, along with the camera, and I had to lurch out of the way to keep from being bonked on the head by the falling debris.
The camera landed a few feet away and bounced across a couple of flagstones before spinning to a stop.The red lights on the device flashed a few times, then winked out.
My gaze darted over to the Scarab, but it didn’t move.My heart lifted.I’d done it.I’d disabled the machine—
Clank-clank.
The Black Scarab jerked forward.My heart plummeted.Disabling the camera hadn’t stopped the machine.
The Scarab’s head spun around on its shoulders, and its neon-green eyes locked onto me.The machine’s hands clenched into fists, and it sprinted toward me.
CHAPTER NINE
KYRION
ThevelvetyribbonofVesper continued to whip around in my mind, matching the arrows of worry streaking through my gut.Forget the training exercise.Something was wrong, and I needed to find Vesper.
I spun around and stepped forward.I needed to backtrack to the entrance and get out of the maze as quickly as possible.
Bang!
A metal wall shot out, blocking the path and making me stop short.What had just happened?
My shock vanished, and my inner monster roared with rage.I slammed my fist against the wall, but of course, the metal didn’t give or move.
Bang!Bang!Bang!
One by one, more metal walls shot out and slammed into place, blocking four of the five paths.My inner monster roared again, and an answering growl rumbled through my chest.Whoever was controlling the maze had left me with only one path, forcing me in the direction they wanted.
Why?What had changed?What in all the bloody stars was going on?
“All right, all right,” I muttered.“You win—for now.”
Overhead, the camera that had been trailing me through the maze dropped a little lower and shifted up and down, almost as if it was nodding in approval.I glared up at the camera, and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw my reflection in the lens, along with Vesper’s, as though we were both looking straight into the device at the same time, even though that was impossible.
Vesper?I called out with my telepathy.
She didn’t answer, but the velvety ribbon of her hummed with satisfaction, like she had just figured out a difficult problem.Relief swept through me, and I stood there, drinking in Vesper’s warm, strong, solid presence in my mind.And she was going to stay that way, I vowed.No matter what I had to do—or whom I had to kill—to get out of here.
I glared up at the camera again.“You want me to go somewhere?”I called out in a mocking voice.“Then show me the way.”
The camera didn’t move this time, but the lens opened a little wider.Disgust curled through me.No answers there.
