CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
Another cruel smile twisted his face, and the other warrior moved toward me, once again swinging his hammer from side to side.
With every step he took, more psion power sparked to life and crackled around the lunarium weapon.
His rage also scraped against my telempathy, burning just as hot as the bubbling lava around us.
Hold still, Vesper’s voice sounded in my mind.
I did as she asked. Roderick’s steps quickened.
He growled and raised his hammer high, and psion power spit, hissed, and crackled around the weapon like crimson lightning.
The warrior leaped forward and brought the hammer down, aiming for my chest, but I held my position, trusting Vesper to protect me.
Whoosh!
A jet of water spewed out from a hidden wall nozzle. The powerful blast hit Roderick in the side and knocked him back. He lost his balance, and for a moment, I thought he might careen into one of the cauldrons, but he dug his armored boots into the ground and steadied himself. Pity.
The water kept spraying, hitting the permaglass pools and bronze cauldrons. A crusty black film formed on some of the lava, partially solidifying it, while massive clouds of steam erupted from other spots, making the biodome even hotter.
The jet of water abruptly cut off, although steam kept hissing and rising in spots.
Drat, Vesper said. I was hoping for a little more oomph than that.
The velvety ribbon of her vibrated, and a series of clicks, clanks, and clack-clack-clacks sounded in my ears, like I was standing beside Vesper and watching her operate the main control panel.
Roderick snarled and whirled around. “It’s going to take a lot more than a little water to kill me, Kyrion.”
Once again, I didn’t bother responding. Roderick still thought he was going to win, but he had lost the instant Vesper had taken control of the maze. The other warrior should have been trying to escape, not wasting time insulting me. Fool.
Roderick snarled, tightened his grip on his hammer, and headed toward me again.
Whoosh!
This time, instead of water, daggerlike chunks of ice shot out from a different nozzle. The chunks slammed into Roderick’s chest and knocked him back again, although the ice quickly melted into nothingness.
Roderick growled and charged forward yet again. For the third time, I held my position.
Whoosh!
Flames shot out from yet another hidden nozzle.
This blast was much wider and stronger than the water and the ice had been.
The fire zipped right in front of Roderick, who yelped in surprise.
He stumbled to the side, and his elbow clipped one of the cauldrons.
A bubble of lava erupted straight into his face.
Lava also sloshed out of the container and splattered onto his armor, and the acrid stench of melting polyplastic filled the air.
Roderick screamed and staggered away from the cauldron. I backed away from him, not wanting to get caught in a spray of lava.
Roderick whirled toward me. The left side of his face was horrifically burned, a patchwork of scalded red and charred black skin, and his red armor now featured several large smoldering black pits.
I raised my burned left hand and flashed my gnarled, twisted fingers at him. “Doesn’t feel so good, does it?”
Roderick’s dark brown eyes bulged with a combination of rage and pain. His hand tightened around the gold hilt of his war hammer, and he snarled and lunged forward.
I dodged the awkward blow, then spun around and snapped out my right hand.
I used my telekinesis to pick up some of the cracked flagstones and hurled them at Roderick.
Most of the chunks of stone harmlessly pelted his armor, but one soared up and slammed into the burned side of his face.
Roderick’s head jerked back at the sharp, smacking motion, and a high-pitched shriek erupted from his lips like he was a wounded animal.
Roderick whirled toward me, blood, tears, and snot streaming down his ruined face. He bared his teeth and stepped forward like he was going to attack me again . . .
And then he dropped the hammer to his side, spun around on his bootheel, and ran away.
I stood there, blinking, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but they weren’t. Roderick was sprinting past the pools and cauldrons of lava and trying to get out of the Magma biodome as fast as possible.
He didn’t want to kill me anymore. No, right now, the cheating, cowardly bastard was trying to escape and save his own skin.
My inner monster roared with rage. An answering snarl spewed from my throat, and I also sprinted past the lava.
Kyr, wait! Vesper’s voice sounded in my mind. If you go to another section of the maze, I’ll lose track of you. I won’t be able to trigger any more obstacles to help you. Kyr, wait!
I don’t need any more traps, I growled back. He sicced a Black Scarab on you, and he’s going to die for that.
Frustration surged through the bond, and the image of Vesper threw her hands up in the air.
Renewed energy coursed through my body. My steps quickened, and I left the Magma biodome behind and plunged back into the maze.
The prey had just become the predator.
Despite his injuries, Roderick quickly outpaced me, thanks to the propulsion and other enhancements in his modified armor. I couldn’t see him, although I could hear his footsteps clanking through the maze. Roderick had chosen speed over stealth, and he wasn’t even trying to be quiet.
A junction loomed up ahead, but I couldn’t tell which path he had taken.
Where is he? I called out through the bond. Where did he go?
Once again, a series of clicks, clanks, and clack-clack-clacks echoed in my ears. In the distance, a camera zoomed down from the ceiling and pivoted back and forth.
Right! Go right! Vesper’s voice sounded in my mind, and the velvety ribbon of her thrummed in time to the rapid beat of my boots on the flagstones.
I veered onto that path. I still didn’t see Roderick, but the clanking of his footsteps was a little louder.
Straight ahead, then take the next left! Vesper said.
Following her instructions, I plowed through the maze.
I would have been hopelessly lost without Vesper tracking Roderick through the cameras, and the sound of her voice in my mind also helped me reinforce my psionic shields and block out the pain of my injuries.
And most important of all, Vesper’s determination mixed with my own through the bond and gave me fresh strength and energy.
Perhaps this was what Lord Aldrich and Lady Verona had wanted us to discover. That no matter how far apart Vesper and I were or how bruised and battered we might be, we could weather any storm, and we were always—always—stronger together.
Slow down! Vesper called out a warning. I’ve lost track of Roderick. He went into the next biodome, but he must have turned off the sensors in his armor, because his hologram on the control panel vanished. I’m sorry, Kyr.
That’s okay. I’m more than happy to finish the job.
I did as she asked and slowed down, making my steps as soft and silent as possible. A few seconds later, the path curved, and the next biodome loomed into view. I stopped at the threshold.
This biodome was a Temperate forest filled with large trees, hedges, and shrubs sporting an array of autumn leaves, and the entire area was a riot of scarlet, gold, and blazing orange.
Off to the side, a few large, fat pumpkins were clustered around a scarecrow in a red House Battis uniform that was slumped up against a short wooden stake like a dead body.
Someone had used the scarecrow as target practice; its chest was adorned with blaster burns, and wads of singed straw had leaked out of its arms and legs.
Piles of fallen leaves covered the ground, hiding many of the paths, while still more leaves swirled through the air like jewel-toned snowflakes, thanks to a hidden wind machine.
The floating, flying leaves made it hard to see much of anything, and the overhead lights had been positioned so that their rays sliced through the tree branches, creating a shadowy, dappled effect that further reduced visibility.
Roderick’s red armor matched the color of many of the leaves, making the autumn forest biodome the perfect place for him to hide. I scanned the trees, hedges, and shrubs, but Roderick was staying still and blending in.
I didn’t spot him, but I had another way to find my enemy. I reached out with my telempathy, and a presence pinged in my mind. One emotion after another wafted off Roderick—sharp worry, cold dread, and more than a little gut-churning fear.
The other warrior was brave when he had the advantage and things were going exactly according to plan, but now that his people were dead and Vesper was in control of the maze, he was on the verge of panicking. My inner monster licked its chops in anticipation.
This was going to be fun.
My telempathy might have revealed Roderick’s presence, but it didn’t tell me exactly where he was. I didn’t just have my own psionic abilities to rely on, though—I also had Vesper’s power.
I didn’t often try to use Vesper’s seer magic, as I never knew what awful memories or horrific futures it might show me. But right now, her power was the key to spotting my enemy, so I curled my fingers around the velvety ribbon of her in my mind.
In an instant, everything became brighter and more vivid.
The brilliant colors and the tiny veins of the swirling leaves, the rough, knotted bark on the trees, even the thin bits of straw sticking out of the scarecrow like blackened needles.
I could see all that and more, as though I was staring at my surroundings through a microscope in super-sharp focus.
The visual bombardment made my brain pound and threatened to overwhelm me, but I curled my fingers a little more tightly around the velvety ribbon of Vesper like it was a life raft keeping me from being swept out into a churning sea of sensation.