Chapter 29 Rune
rune
. . .
The simulator chamber always smelled strongly of magic, and it reminded me of Drecken.
It was the same towering structure of smooth, gray alloy that was shaped like an enormous vault with obsidian floors.
The chamber pulsed faintly with interwoven veins of glowing magic and tech conduits.
The hybrid of technology and spell-work was always impressive.
Today, though, the air felt charged. Like the simulator knew this was our final for Live Mission Simulations: House Cooperation.
Jarvins stood in front of the holographic control panel, chewing on his twig.
“You all know the stakes,” he said, gaze cutting over our squad. “This is your final. A mission that will simulate a full-field operation. If you fail, there is no make-up. If you die, you die.”
“Comforting,” Ivy muttered.
Dimitri’s hand brushed mine, and it sent a tingle up my arm.
Jarvins snapped his twig in half before pocketing the remains.
“This final is labeled as the Mansion Maze. You are infiltrating a magically shifting estate with fae traps. Inside, there is a single artifact: the Enhancing Relic. It boosts magical essence when held. Your objective is to retrieve the relic and extract as a team.”
Katie’s eyebrows shot up. “Is the simulated relic close to the real one?”
“As close as it can get,” Jarvins said. “The threat level is hybrid. Various fae traps are set throughout the structure, and there is a warlock warden bound to the mansion’s core.
The environment will shift. Halls will move.
Doors will take you to different locations.
Wards will respond to your magic signatures. ”
Slater snorted. “Sounds like a party.”
I elbowed him lightly. “Not the fun kind of party.”
“Any party with you is a fun party, venom baby.”
Jarvins ignored us. “This is a stealth-first mission. The more noise you make, the more the mansion adapts. You may kill the warden, but if you can disable him, you will score higher. If any member dies, you will lose twenty points. If your diplomat dies, you will fail the mission.”
“Excuse me?” Eleanor squeaked. “What?”
“Why?” Solon asked.
“Eleanor is the assigned diplomat to get your squad out if you trigger combat with the warlock warden,” Jarvins said. “No diplomat, no treaty option, and no exit door. Your value is part of the exam.”
Eleanor swallowed hard, but she straightened her shoulders. “Understood.”
Jarvins's gaze swept back to us. “Roles are fixed to what your job is. If I see Slater attempting torture, you lose points.”
Slater leaned toward me. “To be fair, my torture is both psychological and sexy. Only you can handle this, venom baby.”
“Focus,” I hissed, but I couldn’t hide my smile.
Ivy snorted. “She’s probably the only one who wants to.”
“She’s the only one I want to want me,” Slater shot back.
Jarvins stepped backward onto a rune a couple of feet from the control panel. “You are entering through the front gate. Exterior threats are wind and ice fae traps. Interior threats vary. Remember your training. Work together, or you will fail and possibly die. Good luck.”
The simulator formed around us in a rush of sensations. The bite of the winter wind, the taste of snow in the air, and the smell of pine, wet stone, and magic surrounded us.
In front of us rose a sprawling, dark mansion. It had to be at least four stories of dark stone, steep roofs, and tinted glass windows.
Wrought-iron gates loomed before us, twisted into thorny patterns that hummed with magic. Frost clung to the thin, bare-branched trees lining the path to the mansion, and sparsely floating fae orb lights flickered with pale blue light.
“Is everyone okay?” Koa asked, already scanning us.
“Nothing has happened yet, so yeah,” Solon muttered, shivering.
“I hate the cold,” Ivy muttered, breath puffing white.
Solon smirked. “I’ll keep you warm.”
“Shut up.” She elbowed him in the ribs, but her cheeks flushed pink.
Dimitri stepped slightly ahead, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. “All right, enforcers first, then spies.”
“Duh,” Ivy said. “It’s always like that. Everyone else falls behind.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Missions need call-outs, even obvious ones.”
“They’re right,” Solon told her as we started toward the mansion.
“So, to repeat the obvious…” I turned to the group. “Ivy and Solon go first. Then, Dimitri and I. Next will be Sylver, Katie, Slater, Eleanor, Koa, and then Zuko. All based on what we’ve learned works for us from prior missions. Any arguments?”
Zuko grinned as his gaze raked down my body. “I love it when you put me in the back, pretty little poison.”
“Focus,” I said, but heat curled between my legs, anyway.
Katie’s tablet glowed in her hands. “Um, the simulator fed me a live map. Kind of. It’s really fuzzy. The mansion keeps shifting corridors. The artifact signature is somewhere in the central interior. My guess? Fourth floor or sub-basement.”
“Let’s not go underground unless we have to,” Slater said. “Underground plus warlock warden screams murder dungeon. Oh, let me see the feed.”
She handed over the tablet.
Slater summoned Snakey, who dove into the screen.
His eyes glowed bright red. “Yeah, so the artifact is definitely in the murder dungeon.”
“Let the torture expert decide what screams murder dungeon,” Zuko offered helpfully. “But honestly, you might be right. That sounds fun. Let’s go!”
Snakey launched out and back into Slater. Slater sighed and handed the tablet back.
Her eyes widened. “You fixed the fuzz.”
“I am the tech specialist,” he gloated. “Besides, our watches don’t have the map this time.”
We approached the gate. Up close, I could see thorns growing from the iron. Veins of green light pulsed through the metal like sap through a tree.
“Earth fae work,” Sylver murmured, kneeling to study the ground in front of it. “If anyone touches or attempts to open it without permission, they’ll get pierced by the thorns.”
“Unwelcoming,” Eleanor whispered.
“Can you disable it?” Dimitri asked. “Nullify the magic somehow?”
“I can try to reason with it. Siren magic can sometimes manipulate fae magic, but not always,” Sylver said, lips curving slightly. “It’ll cost us time.”
“Time we have,” I decided. “Jarvins didn’t give us a time limit.”
She nodded and placed her palm on the iron, humming softly. Siren magic rippled from her throat, threading through the fae magic.
The green pulses slowed, like a heartbeat calming.
Katie watched her tablet. “The map just relaxed. The mansion’s shifting frequency slowed by twenty percent. You’re basically singing it into a calmer state. I don’t love the implication of that.”
“What? You mean that the mansion’s alive?” Zuko guessed.
“Yeah, me neither.” Slater shivered.
After a moment, the thorns unwound just enough to create a narrow opening in the gate. “We’re clear,” Sylver said, a little breathless. She stumbled from the magic usage, and I caught her. “Thanks.”
“You are my sister-by-mating,” I reminded her teasingly. “How do sirens replenish their magic again?”
She let out an amused snort. “Moon bathing or being submerged in water.”
“Lucky us.” I glanced up at the full moon.
“I can walk now,” she assured me, and I let her go.
“Let’s move,” Solon called out as he and Ivy went through first.
Dimitri and I slid through next, but my hair got caught on a thorn.
I hissed as it pulled at my scalp. “Shit.”
Dimitri paused, turning and slipping my hair from the thorns. “I’ve got it. Come on.”
I let him tug me away from the gate. As everyone else filed through, he gently pulled my hair into a messy bun with a spare hair tie he had.
“Thank Fates you had another.” I gestured to his tied-back hair.
“I’ve been keeping extras for you,” he admitted.
I smiled. “Thanks, overachiever.”
We continued as the path wound up to the front steps. The stairs were wide stone slabs leading to enormous double doors carved with fae sigils.
Snowflakes fell gently around the mansion, but they never quite reached our heads, dissipating a foot above us.
“I don’t trust that,” I muttered.
“I’m with my venom baby,” Slater added helpfully. “Anytime snow is avoiding us, that’s bad news.”
At the base of the steps, a faint shimmer of air made my skin prickle. “Sylver?”
“It’s an air fae trap,” she confirmed. “If you disrupt the flow, it will slice you into gory chunks.”
“Fates, I love this place already,” Zuko swooned.
“We could brute-force it,” Ivy suggested. “Phoenix fire, wolf strength—”
Katie shook her head. “Every brute move we make raises the mansion’s aggression. Jarvins will penalize us, even if it does work.”
“So, what do we do?” Solon asked.
“Chaos magic could confuse it,” Sylver muttered. “If that doesn’t work, we could always just attempt to follow the maze this particular trap has set. The mansion and traps are playing a game, I think.”
“Interesting…” Slater stepped closer, his demonic form emerging as his clawed fingertips tapped rhythmically against his thigh. “Snakey?”
Snakey manifested.
“Talk to me, buddy,” Slater murmured.
The black serpent hissed at the invisible currents of the air fae trap, then nudged his nose in a precise line.
“I see,” Slater said, his eyes glowing red as Snakey shot through the trap and ended up on the large stone porch up the stairs. He slithered back the same way, fading into Slater. “Snakey said he couldn’t confuse the trap, but he figured out a path through.”
“Can you show us?” Solon asked, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
His chaos magic flickered before sparks and a faint overlaying ripple of his raw magic snaked up the steps, mapping the safe path in between razor-sharp air currents. “Walk exactly where I mark,” he said. “No improvising.”
“Improvising would be fatal,” Katie said with a shake in her voice. “I loathe fae traps.”
“One at a time,” Dimitri ordered. “Slater first, so he can maintain the path from above.”