Page 30 of Only Rogue Actions
If Vesper didn’t kill our enemies, then I would, including Roderick, Jeffrey, and everyone else associated with this house of horrors.
I kept sprinting through the maze, but now, instead of frantically looking for Vesper and trying to escape, I started searching for a place to make a stand against my enemy.Roderick and I were in the middle of an obstacle course, and it was time to put some obstacles inhispath.
I moved from one section of the maze to another, only pausing long enough at the junctions to peer down the various paths.By this point, I had lost all sense of direction, and I had no idea where I was in the maze.I needed to find a biodome with statues, trees, fountains, or other big, blunt, heavy objects I could use as weapons.
Whenever I came to a junction, I also paused long enough to listen, but I didn’t hear Roderick’s footsteps anymore.He was probably relishing the chance to slowly, quietly stalk me through the maze like I was one of those Frozon wolves he loved to hunt.
But I wasn’t a wolf, I was a monster, and I wasn’t even close to being defeated.
After reaching a dead end and having to backtrack, I veered onto a different path and finally stepped into another biodome.This biodome was much, much larger than the other areas, and I could tell it was the center of the maze.And just like the other biodomes, it too had a themed environment with a very distinctive feature: lava.
Long, rectangular, knee-high permaglass pools filled with lava lined the wide flagstone paths that crisscrossed the ground.Waist-high bronze cauldrons also filled with lava were scattered here and there, while several more pools and cauldrons ringed a circular space in the middle of the biodome that reminded me of a gladiator arena.The pools and cauldrons must have been treated to withstand and contain the extreme element, although the glass and bronze containers still glowed with heat.
Shock sliced through my gut.This biodome was modeled after a Magma planet.A red-hot heart at the heart of the maze.Cute, ironic, and extremely dangerous.
The lava just reinforced how arrogant Roderick was.Only someone with an exceptionally large ego would be foolish enough to try to contain and control such a deadly element, even in a training facility.
A bubble rose in the lava in a glass pool and abruptly popped, blasting steam into the air.More bubbles rose and popped in the other pools and cauldrons, releasing even more suffocating steam.No honeysuckle vines adorned the walls, and many of the flagstones had cracked from the intense heat.Even the energy shield overhead continually bucked and heaved, like it was trying to stuff the steam back down into the lava.I’d only been here for a few seconds, and my skin felt drenched with sweat and bone-dry at the same time.
Vesper would have appreciated the ingenuity of pumping lava into the middle of the maze without destroying the surrounding paths, flowers, and biodomes, but my lips curled back in disgust, and a snarl rumbled out of my throat.
As an Arrow, not much scared me, but I would never forget how the ground had cracked open like an eggshell and released geysers of lava during the Techwave battle on Magma 7 several months ago.A shudder rippled through my body.I would have died in that field of lava if Vesper hadn’t used her seer magic to steer us away from the eruptions.
Above my head, a camera zipped down from the ceiling and pivoted toward me.
“Kyrion ...”Roderick’s singsong voice boomed out of the device.“Oh, Kyrion ...Where are you ...”
My hands clenched into fists, and I had to swallow another snarl.He knewexactlywhere I was.Taunting people was just another part of Roderick’s sick little hunting game, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of responding.
I stalked down one walkway after another, searching for something I could use as a weapon, but there was nothing here but lava.I considered backtracking and trying to find another biodome, but sooner or later, Roderick would get tired of chasing me, and either he or Jeffrey would start triggering traps to try to take me down.Better to make a stand here and now.
Another bubble of lava popped in one of the cauldrons, drawing my attention.The longer I stared at the lava, the more Vesper’s seer magic surged and outlined it in a bright silver glow.I frowned.I didn’t need Vesper’s ability to know the lava was dangerous.Or was there another reason her power had pointed it out?
The glow of Vesper’s power faded away, but my mind started churning.Perhaps I was looking at the situation the wrong way.I’d wanted to put some obstacles in Roderick’s path.Well, there was no greater, deadlier obstacle than lava.Perhaps it was time to turn Roderick’s own maze against him.
A hasty plan formed in my mind, and I strode into the gladiator ring in the middle of the biodome.Then I turned around and waited for my enemy.
Lessthantwominuteslater, Roderick strutted into the Magma biodome still wearing his armor and carrying his war hammer.The lunarium weapon was now glowing a bright, vivid red, mirroring the color of the lava.I ground my teeth to hold back another shudder.
Roderick strode forward and stopped several feet away.“Hello, Kyrion,” he said, throwing his arms out wide.“You finally found the Magma biodome.Isn’t it ingenious?”
“Your House really must have credits to burn if you can afford to keep pools of lava bubbling away in here,” I snarked.
He dropped his arms and shrugged.“My family has several factories on Magma planets.Harnessing the lava is easier than you might think.I’m sure Vesper would admire the science behind it.She’s an engineer, right?”
My hands clenched into fists.He knew good and well Vesper was an engineer.
“Nothing to say?”Roderick chuckled.“Pity.I always like to have a conversation with my special guests before the end.”
The holoscreen on his left forearm lit up, and a sharp crackle of static sounded.
“Sir, we have a problem.”Jeffrey’s apologetic voice echoed out of the device.“I’ve lost the woman.Repeat.I’ve lost the woman.”
Roderick frowned, although he kept his gaze on me.“What do you mean, you’ve lost the woman?”
There was a moment’s silence, then Jeffrey cleared his throat.“She incapacitated the Black Scarab and disabled the camera I was using to track her, along with her holocuff.”
“Well, find her,” Roderick snapped, an irritated note creeping into his voice.“And when you locate her, seal her in one of the sections.I’ll deal with her later.”
