We didn’t have any time to waste. If this was a misdirect, then we were already screwed—and even if it wasn’t, odds were there were more obstacles coming, and they would be designed to slow us down.
“Maddox and Grey, you take point. Your job is to get Eric to the power relay, find out whether it’s damaged, and help him repair it. Dylan and I will run the perimeter and deal with anything that comes up while you are working.”
I caught movement from the corner of my eye and saw Dylan giving me a quizzical look, and was fairly certain I had caught her off guard by assigning her to work with me, especially after the stunt she had pulled earlier. I was well within my rights to leave her posted at the mouth of the bridge, to cover our crossing, but I wasn’t going to do that. I wanted us to win the challenge, and using her as a sacrifice to help defend any attack that would impede us getting across the bridge would only buy us time—and not very much of it. She was a much better tool by my side, and I would be a pretty crappy leader if I just left her behind to guard our rear.
“Are you sure?” Maddox asked, and I canted my head toward her.
“I am,” I informed her, giving her a reassuring nod to let her know that I realized it was risky. If Dylan was working for a legacy group—and she might be, even if we didn’t know for sure—then being alone with her put me at risk. She might try to kill me while I was by myself.
But hey, if she attacked me, it would be a clear sign she was working for a legacy group, as attacking a team member was considered deeply dishonorable. And hey, I might finally have a lead on who my enemy was, and what they wanted. I’d just have to beat Dylan in a fight—and make sure she didn’t die or escape, because we’d want to question her about it.
“Let’s get moving.”
The doubt on Maddox’s face was only rivaled by the hurt confusion on Leo’s, and I realized I had accidently insulted him by not asking him to fight with me. But I didn’t have time to soothe all the hurt feelings right then and there—time was rapidly running out. I made a little motion, tapping my watch, and Maddox rolled her eyes and began to move, taking point as they traveled over the bridge.
Water sloshed under it with her first step, and suddenly the bridge swayed slightly, dipping down. Maddox grabbed the woven metal strands that made the handrail in a death grip and caught her balance.
“Are you okay?” Leo asked.
“I’m fine,” she said shakily. “It’s just… Take it slow. It is a little off-putting at first. Oh, and if I go in, come rescue me. I can’t swim.”
I bit back a laugh at the way she announced that she couldn’t swim, and watched as she took another staggering step, the bridge swinging slightly to the right as her newly placed weight changed the balance. It took her a few steps, but then she managed to catch a rhythm, and after studying it for a few seconds, I pointed it out to the others.
“Look at how she’s walking,” I said, pointing at her. “Keep your legs spread wide, and it won’t shift back and forth as much when you’re stepping forward.”
“Got it,” Eric said with a nod, sliding his palms onto the woven handrails. He exhaled a nervous breath, and then pulled himself forward, stepping onto the bridge. I held my breath, nervous for my friend. The bridge swayed and creaked ominously, and both he and Maddox froze as it swung out, the water sloshing over the edge.
My breath caught in my throat, but the bridge stilled quickly, much to my relief. Maddox and Eric were still for a few seconds more, and then slowly began to move forward, seeming to catch a rhythm with each other.
“All right, Grey,” I breathed, once Eric had gotten a bit farther. I checked my watch. We’d lost another minute, and were now down to ten minutes. At this rate, we’d clock another three before we were all across the bridge. “Go ahead.”
Leo stepped up to the edge of the bridge and ran his fingertips lightly over the woven strands of the railing. He stood stock still for a second, and then slowly began to shift his weight back and forth, mimicking Maddox and Eric’s footsteps. Moments later, he stepped forward.
The bridge barely seemed to register his weight as he slid seamlessly into the rhythm. I gaped, amazed that he had been able to move so gracefully onto it. Even with his heightened reflexes, he was still inside of Grey’s body. The transition had been flawless, and I knew Dylan’s and mine would be anything but. It was intimidating. And not only to me.
“Did you know he could do that?” Dylan asked, her voice filled with awe.
I chuckled. “Yeah, Grey’s full of fun little surprises. You’re up next.”
She gave me an incredulous look. “After that? You trying to make me look bad?”
“Absolutely,” I told her, unapologetically. “It’ll only make me look good by comparison. Not to mention, I have this weird thing about the leaders taking up the rear when there’s the potential for attack from behind. I like to be on hand, just in case.”
She chuckled. “Fair enough. Just so long as you understand that I’ll be coming up with ways to return the favor tomorrow.”
I leveled an even look at her and gave her my best bare-toothed smile. “Just so long as you understand that I’ll be looking for ways to repay what I owe you for that little stunt earlier.”
She gave me a feline smile that brought out her dimples, and then moved up to the bridge. Another glance at my watch told me we had lost another minute, and I exhaled, feeling the press of time. At least Maddox was almost two thirds of the way across now, making good speed.
Dylan eyed the group and the bridge for several long heartbeats, then slid onto it. Her movements weren’t nearly as graceful as Leo’s, so the bridge tilted roughly to the right, causing the left side to come out of the water. Maddox let out a yelp of surprise, and Eric managed to catch himself before slipping in, while Leo remained motionless and perfectly balanced. I rushed forward, suddenly concerned that it was going to tip over. If it did, and Maddox and Eric went into the water, we would lose precious time fishing them out—and would run the risk of also losing the replacement part that Eric was transporting.
But Dylan quickly compensated by planting her foot on the left side of the bridge and pushing. The bridge splashed down and rocked back and forth for a second or two, before finally settling. “Careful, Liana,” she said as she slowly began to move forward. “The first step is a doozy.”
A surprised laugh escaped me, but I quickly cut it off, angry at myself for finding her humorous. She had unapologetically tried to overshadow me and take control of my team in this challenge, and yet, I couldn’t help but like her for it a little bit. At least she was straightforward in her attempts to win, if a little heavy handed.
Okay, extremely heavy handed, but I couldn’t condemn her for being competitive.
I shook it off and watched as she slowly made her way across, letting the gap between us grow some. The bridge was easily offset by weight, and I got the impression, by how much the slats that made up the walkway dipped under each person’s weight, that if we crowded too closely together, the walkway would completely sink.
My skin crawled, telling me it was time to go, but I waited for a few more precious seconds, not wanting to rush it due to my impatience. Once enough distance had stretched between us, I swallowed the excess saliva in my mouth and stepped up to the edge, placing my hands on the railings. I watched the movements of the bridge, focusing on the way it swayed back and forth.
My heart thudded hard against my ribs as I realized that I could pitch us all in if I put too much weight on one side or the other, and then I found a sliver of confidence and slid onto the bridge. I was ready for it as it started to swing too far to the right with my first step, and quickly planted my other foot down a few feet forward, shifting some of my weight immediately over to it.
The bridge rocked in place for a second before settling down and shifting slightly to the left. I leaned into it as it did, using the swing to move my right foot forward, and the bridge swayed back that way as my own weight shifted. It took a bi
t of getting used to, but within moments we were all moving steadily along in unison.
I heard Maddox shout when she reached the shore, but couldn’t celebrate, as I was still only a quarter of the way there. The bridge was tricky, and required every ounce of my concentration to cross. If this was an actual bridge and not one designed with the challenge in mind, I had a newfound respect for the Hands who could cross it, and had no doubt that they could do it way faster than our snail’s pace.
I was just checking my indicator, which showed me that we’d lost yet another minute, leaving only a precious few remaining, when one of the handrails under my hand suddenly fell away, landing in the dark water with a splash. I froze, and seconds later the other one followed, leaving us perched perilously on swinging metal slats—which were slowly beginning to sink into the water. It wouldn’t sink completely, of course—it was still anchored on both ends.
But the water was beginning to come over the edges as our weight dragged it down, and if the flexible metal platform tipped, we’d all be in the water.
I immediately began looking around, taking great pains not to shift my weight too much while I searched for what could’ve made the handrails fall, and saw a group of men and women—about six strong—standing at the edge of the bridge back from where we’d come from, a cutter in one man’s hands.
“Hello there!” a middle-aged woman called cheerfully, moving up to the bank. “You’ll give us your food and weapons now, or we’ll cut the rest of the bridge and then fish you out of the water. The choice is yours.”
I licked my lips, eyeing the group. They were only thirty feet behind me, and while I couldn’t run that distance before the cutter ate through the narrow metal planks, I could probably swim there before they finished cutting. If I could do that, I would buy Maddox and Leo enough time to get Eric to the island and to the damaged relay. I shot a glance over my shoulder to see how far Eric and Leo were from the island. Eric was another forty feet away, give or take, and a furtive look at my watch told me we had seven minutes left to repair the relay—or we would lose.
For once, I wasn’t sure I had time to negotiate.
Tension curled out from me, and I said, in a soft voice over my shoulder, “Dylan, when I dive into the water, I want you to charge them. Tell the others to move on without us.”
“You want us to hold our own against six people?” Dylan asked, her voice a harsh whisper.
“You have ten seconds, or else we start cutting!” the woman called, resting her hands on her hips. “You got a lot of nice stuff that I know really shouldn’t get wet, but I’m willing to risk it if you are!”
“Stop arguing with me and do it, Dylan,” I muttered. “We don’t have a lot of time.” Then, in a louder voice, I said. “All right, you win. We’ll throw over all our stuff! Just let us come back over to you.”
As I spoke, I slowly started making my way toward them, using my forward momentum to mirror the movements of my friends, who were moving away from me at the same time. It was more difficult without the handrails, but now that the walkway was slightly submerged, it gave it some stability. My hands were raised, partially to show that I was harmless, and partially to keep my balance. I knew they wouldn’t buy my apparent surrender—this was a challenge, after all—but they would play the part of Requiem Day survivors and pretend to accept it before I made my move.
“Toss the baton to me,” the woman shouted when I was close enough. I slid it out of the loop on my belt, and then tossed it—badly. I intentionally lobbed it just shy of the bridge and land, so that it landed in the water a few feet from the shore with wet splash.
Luckily, batons floated, and sure enough, the woman decided to go for it. It made sense that she would: batons were coveted weapons during that time, which was why Knights were attacked, nine times out of ten. As soon as she started reaching for it, I took two leaping steps forward and dove into the water, bringing my hands together over my head before I hit.
The water wasn’t cold, but there was a lot of it, and my uniform and boots immediately became weights that threatened to drag me down into the depths of the tank. I ignored them, holding my breath and kicking for the shore, but making sure I stayed deep under the water.
Because it was a tank, there was no easy shoreline; it was a flat cube on all sides, which meant I could come up right underneath the edge of the bit of land they were standing on and no one would see me—if I was deep enough. I clawed my way up the side of the tank when I encountered the flat edge of it, making for the surface. I kicked hard as I saw the bright reflection of light from above, and emerged in an explosion of water, grabbing fistfuls of grass and dirt and pulling myself quickly up to my feet.
Dylan was already rushing them from the bridge, her baton flying as she fought off the two men at the mouth of it, the bridge swaying ominously under the rapidly shifting weight of the fight. A quick check farther behind her showed me that Eric had reached the island, and Leo was racing across the bridge toward them, moving at a speed I couldn’t believe was possible. The sight bolstered me; I knew Maddox and Leo would get Eric to the relay. I’d know soon enough if it was the right one or not, and silently sent another prayer of hope that I had made the right call in trusting the boy.
I wouldn’t find out until the end of the challenge, at this rate.
A shadow cut across my eyes then, and I turned to see two people—a man and a woman—break from the group and head toward me, the man already reaching up to push me back into the water.
I stepped to one side and grabbed his arm, using his own momentum to propel him past me and into the water with a splash that hit the back of my head. I swiped my face clean, and then dove to the right to avoid the woman’s kick. She pressed the attack, charging, and I dove again, this time into a more controlled roll—one that ended with my feet under me.
I rose in a fluid motion, and then, in a reaction borne from too many sparring matches in the Academy, I spun and kicked out, anticipating the woman attacking me from behind.
Sure enough, I felt a solid impact as my foot hit her, and she fell down, grabbing at her jaw. I stalked up to her, hauled her up, and tossed her into the water, her confusion from being kicked in the face perfectly taken advantage of.
The woman who was their leader had just finished grabbing my baton out of the water, and spun around and looked at me, her hand and arm dripping wet. “You think you’ve won, but you haven’t,” she sneered. Then she clicked the baton on.
Some notes about the baton. It was completely waterproof, and could work in and out of the water. However, with water, the general rules of conductivity applied, which meant that when the woman turned it on, with her arm and hand still slick from getting it out of the tank, the charge immediately went into her, following the path of the water dripping down her arm.
There was a sharp blue pop, and then the woman went flying backward, as if someone had jerked her away by the waist, using a rope. She smacked into one of the only men still standing, and just like that, the fight was over.
I rushed over to remove my baton from the woman’s stiff fingers, and quickly checked her pulse to make sure her heart hadn’t stopped. I didn’t think it would have, but one could never be sure.
As soon as I was certain that she was still alive, I collected my baton, not bothering to dry it, as I was dripping wet, and stood up and looked at Dylan, who was waiting for me on the bridge.
“Good job,” she said, and I looked behind me. Only the woman was unconscious, but the two people in the water were still fishing themselves out, while the man who had been hit by the woman was lying down, dazed and confused.
“Thanks,” I said. “You, too. Do you think we have time to—”
A chime sounded, and Scipio’s voice filled the cavernous space. “Congratulations to Liana Castell and team! Liana has earned the deed name of Wayfinder for her excellent leadership skills, while Dylan Chase has earned the deed name of Pathmaker. Maddox Kerrin and Grey Farmless have been given the na
mes of Enforcer. Congratulations, and please go back to the entrance of Greenery 2 to return your equipment to the officials. The Tourney will resume tomorrow, at nine a.m. See you then, candidates.”
I looked at Dylan and then across the bridge to where Maddox, Leo, and Eric were emerging from the island.
“Hey, Liana!” Eric said, his voice booming and chest inflating. “Guess what I just did in under a minute? Zoe’s going to be so mad!”
I chuckled and waved my hand at him, encouraging them all to come back over.
“So, it looks like you were right,” Dylan said, folding her arms over her chest. “I guess listening to that boy paid off.”
“No, knowing my history about Requiem Day paid off,” I replied, not wanting her to attribute my win solely to luck.
Dylan gave me a crooked smile, but ignored my retort. “Since I’ll be acting as the leader for the next challenge, I was hoping that you and your team would run some drills with me, so you and they can get familiar with my command style.”
I licked my lips. My initial instinct was to say no, but if word got out that I’d denied another candidate who wanted to be Champion the chance to get familiar with her team and their abilities, it could hurt my popularity with the Knights themselves. The drones were still watching us—and would continue to do so until we left the greenery. If they saw me deny her this… Well, it would be broadcast everywhere within an hour.
I looked back at my friends as they carefully picked their way across the bridge, and knew that they weren’t going to be happy about this.
But it was better than the alternative.
“Sure,” I said with a nod. “I’ll let the others know, and we’ll get to work.”
Dylan smiled, clearly pleased. “Great. And… thanks, Liana. It’s pretty awesome that you get the competition aspect of things. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of beating you.”
I arched an eyebrow, but didn’t rise to the bait. I still wasn’t sure what game Dylan was playing, but whatever it was, it had me slightly unnerved. I just hoped that I managed to outsmart her, no matter what she had in store.
The Girl Who Dared to Rise Page 24
