Page 10 of Only Rogue Actions
I blinked in surprise.“Is it ever necessary to pull people out?”
“Training accidents happen from time to time, especially when alpha Hammers and other hotshot warriors think they are stronger and more powerful than they actually are.”Siya arched a chiding eyebrow.“So don’t do anything too stupid and reckless, okay, Vesper?”
I winced.Stupidandrecklesscould have been my middle names, given all the near-death experiences Kyrion and I had had over the past several months.
Siya must have sensed my worry with her telempathy because she snorted.“It’s a training facility, Vesper.You might get a few bumps and bruises or fall and twist your ankle, but you’re not going todie.All the blasters and other weapons are set to stun.Of course, something could always malfunction, but at the worst, you might get a few mild burns or a bit of frostbite from the harsher biodome environments.”
I gave her a triumphant smile.“Aha!So thereareblasters hidden in the maze.”
Siya scowled.“You’re not as clever as you think for figuring that out.”
“And your lips aren’t as tightly sealed asyouthink,” I crowed back.
She rolled her eyes.“Just do us all a favor and try to get through the maze as quickly as possible.”
“So the time element is important too.”My mind churned.“I’m guessing the faster we get through the maze, the higher we score.And if we reach the center more quickly than the other bonded couples, that will mean our bond is the strongest of all the ones that have been measured.Right?”
“Something like that,” Siya replied, still being deliberately vague.“But I’d also like to be home before midnight and not give Roderick Battis any more credits than absolutely necessary.”
I opened my mouth to snipe back, but Siya stabbed a finger at me.
“Most important of all, donotembarrass House Collier.We already have enough problems without you and Kyrion toppling the walls, destroying the biodomes, or doing something else foolish and costly to piss off House Battis.”
I snapped up my hand in a mock salute.“Yes, ma’am!”
Siya huffed and fiddled with the controls again.More lights flashed on the panel and over the maze itself.A faint hiss also sounded, although I couldn’t tell what it was or where it was coming from.
Siya hit a final button, and several green lights lit up in a row on the panel.The soft, steadysqueak-squeak-squeakof wheels sounded, and a metal wall skated back on a track, revealing the closest maze entrance, which was about the size of a wide door.
There was nothing overtly sinister about the opening, but another finger of unease slid down my spine.“This place gives me the creeps.”
“It’s supposed to give you the creeps,” Siya replied.“That’s what we’re paying for.”
Kyrion and I had been awarded a sizeable, long-standing bounty for taking down Esmina Reston and Pollux Lamont, so we had offered to foot the bill for the training, but Aldrich and Verona had declined.House Collier already had a deal in place with House Battis, so the Colliers had added our session to their tab.The Colliers’ generosity was another reason I was determined to conquer the maze.I didn’t want Aldrich and Verona to have spent their money for nothing.
The holoscreen embedded in the control panel let out a loud beep, and Siya checked the message.“Jeffrey says that Asterin and Kyrion are in position and ready to begin.”She made a shooing gesture with her hand.“Enter the maze, and I’ll close the door behind you.”
I stared at the opening again.For once, my seer magic was quiet, and no telltale silver flares of light appeared to hint at possible danger, but I still felt like something was wrong.
Over the last several months, I’d learned to trust my instincts, since they were right more often than not.I opened my mouth to call off the training, but after a few seconds, I mashed my lips shut.Lord Aldrich and Lady Verona had gone to a lot of trouble—and forked over a lot of credits—to arrange this opportunity, and I didn’t want to disappoint them.I also didn’t want Roderick to charge the Colliers extra if Kyrion and I didn’t finish the maze in the allotted time.
And the petty, selfish part of me also wanted to prove Siya wrong, since she clearly thought Kyrion and I wouldn’t be able to master the maze.But most important of all, I wanted to prove to Kyrion and myself that our bond was growing stronger and that we could do anything together.
“See you soon,” I said.
Siya lifted her hand to her forehead and mimicked my mocking salute.Then she made another little shooing motion, like I was a dog she was nudging into a kennel.
I turned away from her, strode over to the maze, and stopped at the entrance.Pink-star honeysuckle vines clung to the tall metal walls on either side of a gray stone path.Once again, I didn’t see anything sinister, but those cold fingers of unease kept tickling my spine.
“Anytime, Vesper,” Siya drawled.
I swallowed the knot of nerves in my throat and moved forward.
As soon as I stepped into the maze, a sharp, tingling sensation swept over my skin, like I had just walked through an energy shield.I stopped.The intense tingling faded away, although my skin kept prickling, as though I was about to give myself a violent static shock.A dull noise also sounded, like water roaring in my ears.The psionic dampeners and sensory-deprivation devices must have activated when I entered the maze.
I looked over my shoulder through the opening.Siya gave me a thumbs-up, then hit a button on the control panel.Another series ofsqueak-squeak-squeaksrang out, and the metal wall slid back into place, locking me inside the maze.
CHAPTER FOUR
