Lair For Rent

by Skyler Grant

  It sounded like she just said his name, but there must have been instructions there as well. Ox rose from his seat and headed out into the hall.

  37

  “Ox,” Ox said. A small crystal at his throat flashed a moment later and in an upper-class British accent said, “Their mastery of dimensional and crystalline science is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  It turned out Ox was pretty talkative when he could be understood, and quite the research scientist. I really wished he had a more interesting vocation. Research tended to consume funds with any payoff being long into the future. MONEY was better than science.

  “Whee,” Uma said, the screens around the base flashing brief images of a fairy as she virtually flew pretty much everywhere. I didn't know how, but I’d swear the Emmatech anti-viral agents had made her drunk.

  “Can you stop doing that?” Jules asked.

  “You can’t tell me what to do!” Uma said, doing a mid-air somersault on one monitor before continuing along.

  “Ox,” Ox said. “The expansion of her core routines is rather exhilarating. You should let her have some fun. I feel a similar sense of euphoria from my new loquaciousness.”

  I think I liked the old Ox better.

  “Well, that's everyone but Jules that now has their powerup. I don’t suppose you’ve had any luck narrowing down your leads,” I said.

  Jules said, sprawled out in the control room, “I have, actually. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I found an old police report of where they’d gotten a lead from someone that was supposed to have escaped the labyrinth—the death maze—and where they claimed it's located. It wasn’t enough for the police to get a search warrant, but that hardly matters now.”

  “Lalalala. Lalala! Lalala!” Uma said, appearing to do a backstroke along one monitor.

  I turned down her volume in the system.

  “So where?” I asked.

  “It's on floor fifty-nine, right here,” Jules said.

  Well, that was unexpected, although perhaps it shouldn’t have been. The entire point of this building had been security, privacy. It was just the sort of place that a serial-killing super might have put their death maze.

  “Uma? Stop jumping up and down. You worked on the transporter records. Do we have anything on that floor?” I asked.

  “They didn’t have any names or anything. Those would have been kept elsewhere. Probably on my servers. Hey, I can dig into everything you couldn’t figure out now,” Uma said, flipping over on one screen before peering dazedly about and giving a hiccup.

  “You don’t have gas. You don’t have lungs,” I said.

  “Spoilsport,” Uma said with a pout. “I don’t have wings either and I don’t let that stop me from flying. Is it my fault that you decide to be boring and not silly? I can’t confirm what was there, but we do have a transporter code for that floor.”

  Well then, that changed everything.

  “I’ll send a drone,” I said.

  “I want to watch,” Niles said.

  “I’ll bring the popcorn!” Uma said.

  Ten minutes later everyone gathered in the conference room. Uma actually had found popcorn somewhere, real popcorn, that is. She must have taken over a drone and used it to bring some. Had she installed a popcorn maker? How did we have one? The hackers, probably. I hadn’t gone through their junk food stores, but they were extensive.

  Niles had grabbed himself a beer and Jules was having one as well. Great, they were all going to be drunk.

  “Why am I the only one sober?” I asked.

  “Because you’re driving the drone,” Uma said.

  It was true. I couldn’t fault her for technical accuracy.

  I was using an aerial surveillance drone for this. They were more maneuverable than a ground drone even if some of those were sturdier. I sent the initiation code for the teleporter and the drone vanished in a rainbow-hued shimmer of light. I kept the connection open to transmit a signal.

  The lights were on when the drone arrived at the other end. There was no visible transporter panel. The wall facing the entrance showed a stylized bull and beneath it said, ‘Welcome Seeker, to the death maze'. An arrow to the left beneath it said, ‘Shooting’ while on to the right said, ‘Stabbing’.

  “I guess you found the right place. Your family sucks,” Niles said, taking a swig of beer.

  “Great food at family reunions. Go left,” Jules said.

  Well, it was her family's maze. I steered my drone left.

  A short distance down the hall it turned and opened into a new chamber. A bowl sat on a raised platform alongside a bow and arrow. The far side of the room was set with a number of targets. Along the edges of the bowl could be read the words, 'By bow and by blood you must prove your worth to proceed.'

  “For a place called a death maze I expected more murder and screaming,” Niles said, almost disappointed.

  I had too, really. I’d expected my drone to perish within an instant due to one devious trap or another.

  “Oh, it's in there,” Jules said, leaning forward and studying the image. “They just don’t want to trap anyone that doesn’t belong. I bet your drone gets booted soon.”

  I waited to see if she was right, and she was. Two minutes after entering the chamber there was a flare of golden light and suddenly my drone was elsewhere.

  An alley halfway across the city.

  Jules wore a satisfied smile after the feed cut. “There's something in the bowl that will respond to my bloodline. I’m expected to bleed there, and then shoot the targets—I expect all within two minutes. That will allow entrance to the real labyrinth.”

  “Wasn’t the Minotaur kind of missing the point of a serial killer?” Niles said.

  “One person's serial killer is another’s challenge of strength. I was wondering how he got enough ambrosia to make a trap. I bet he was given it by one of the elders. They love testing their children and their kid’s kids,” Jules said.

  “So how do you want to play this?”

  “If I’m right, some big effort went into making this place. Just trying to charge through the walls won’t work, although we can try. It should allow boon companions though, if any are foolish enough to challenge it with me,” Jules said.

  “You’re still intent on going in? Will your life insurance work in there?”

  “I’m not sure, honestly. Maybe. Either way, there is power in there for me. Lots of power. I want it.”

  “Then I’m going with you. I mean, I know I’m kind of useless except for the suit, but …” Niles said.

  “You are not useless. My people honor engineers and crafters. With or without the suit you’d be welcome,” Jules said.

  “Ox,” Ox said. “You can count on my assistance, noble comrade. Together let us face the very depths of Hades itself, if we must, in the finest traditions of myth and legend.”

  “Wheeee… Me….. Toooooooooo….” Uma said, zipping around screens once more.

  “Then you’ll have an army of drones backing you up,” I said.

  I’d put this team of people together. I didn’t know what we might find inside, but I knew what we were capable of. There wasn’t a challenge so far that we hadn’t been able to take on together.

  38

  It wasn’t quite as simple as just rushing everyone down to the death maze, of course. The humans, not to mention Uma, were already a good bit into getting drunk. They had to sober up, and then there was the matter of getting equipped.

  Someone also had to stand guard. It wasn’t a good idea to leave our lair totally undefended. If nothing else we had a contractual obligation to our tenants.

  At our current budget I didn’t want to increase our henchmen count. I thought I’d leave fifteen on duty, along with most of my drones. If trouble broke out that would technically mean two supers, myself and Uma, were still available. We each lacked bodies, but could take control of building defenses from anywhere. That meant that we could explore the labyrinth with Niles, Ju
les, and Ox, and with Uma and myself controlling a number of drones each. That arrangement gave us five henchmen to take with us.

  It was a small army that finally made its way down to the labyrinth.

  “I’d suggest we split up, but that won’t work will it? With the blood seal?” Niles asked.

  “It might, I could give you a sample, but I think it is best if I’m always along. I know my family best. This place is going to be dangerous,” Jules said.

  We soon found ourselves in the chamber.

  “What can we even do?” Niles asked.

  “This place is going to be full of tests. Some of them combat. Trust me, we’re going to need all the help we can get. I just hope the prize is still in the center of the maze,” Jules said.

  She pulled an arrow from a quiver besides the platform with the bowl and ran its tip across her palm to draw blood. Holding her hand over the bowl, she let a few drops fall.

  The drops ignited into blue flames as they fell, the bowl filling with fire.

  The air rippled with a pulse of blue light and the faint sound of the strumming of a lyre.

  “Well, that worked,” Niles said.

  “Of course it did. I have the right blood. Be ready, I doubt this will be as simple as it seems,” Jules said.

  Jules took the bow, dipping one of the arrows in the pot of fire. The arrow burst into spectral flames and, drawing back, she took her shot. With a hiss the arrow flew from the bow, streaking across the room to hit a target. Where it hit a bloom of fire erupted, and others followed.

  Suddenly a pair of tiny bursts of flame were coming towards our group.

  Jules rolled to the side, just avoiding one, although it caught the henchman behind her. The man screamed before collapsing with his body wreathed in blue flames.

  “Oh crap,” Niles said, raising his arm. An energy beam intercepted the other fireball just before it reached him.

  Everyone was still for several more moments, but no more fireballs followed.

  “Right,” Jules said, “You shoot and you get shot back at. No doubt if we were going the other ways we’d be fighting opponents with blades. It's going to escalate with future targets. How many can you take out, Niles?”

  Niles opened the visor of his suit so that he could rub at his eyes. “I don’t know—how am I supposed to know? I’m new to this. Tactical computer is saying it depends on the angles. If they come in at the same velocity, four, maybe five?”

  “Well, the rest of us can remove ourselves as targets. We don’t need to lose anyone else,” I said.

  A very relieved-looking henchman turned towards the exit. After a few steps he slammed into a shimmering blue wall of force.

  Uma said, “Sweet! I’d have been disappointed if something called the death maze made it that easy. I bet we’re going to have a whole lot of people die.” Her drone was buzzing around people happily as the video display screen on it flashed hearts.

  “Why is she happy about that? I don’t like that she is happy about that,” said one of the henchmen.

  I didn’t blame them. From my perspective they died every few days. They must feel they perpetually came to life only to almost immediately go down again. I wondered if they got used to it, then I decided they must have—otherwise why keep doing it?

  Jules pulled back another arrow and let fly.

  This time there were three fireballs in response and Niles was waiting, energy beams flashing out to neutralize them all before they could reach us.

  The third time there was five fireballs. One got past Niles and I lost another henchman who went up in flames.

  “One target left,” Jules said. “But lots of arrows. I’ll try to get off a second shot and take a fireball.”

  “Ox,” Ox said. “I am very nearly a wall in my own right, and while I can’t shield everybody a few might be able to take shelter behind me.”

  Given we only had three henchmen left that might work. They hastened to get into place behind him.

  I and Uma maneuvered our drones behind Niles.

  “Hey! I’m not an invulnerable slab of meat,” Niles said.

  I said, “You’re close enough now. These are surveillance droids, not heavy combat models. Besides, if there is one skin you’re going to keep fireball-free it's yours.”

  Niles looked like he wanted to protest and had nothing.

  Right.

  Jules readied her last shot and after a look around to confirm everyone was ready, let it fly. There weren’t five fireballs that came back in response this time, or even ten. There were dozens.

  Jules snapped off three shots before she was forced to dive out of the way. Niles did his best, but one still singed his side in passing, catching one of my drones and charring the metal.

  Ox was a better wall. All the henchmen made it by cowering behind him until the onslaught passed.

  39

  When the fireballs finally came to a stop there was another sound of a lyre being strummed.

  Jules grinned and advanced. “Well, that's one challenge down. Let's see what else this place has to throw at us.”

  The passage continued past the targets to where the hall was joined by another. A stylized arrow pointed the way.

  “If this place is supposed to be a maze, it is a terrible one,” Uma said.

  So far that was true. The other passage must be the exit from the stabbing challenge. This hall led to a room which had three doors. Each was made of stone and looked nearly identical, a bull's head in the middle with a ring through the nose.

  One was labeled, 'No Hope', the second, 'No Future', and the third, 'No Life'.

  Niles went over to study the doors. “No obvious means of opening them, but the rings are attached to a lead going further into the door. I’m guessing you are meant to pull one.”

  “But which one?” Jules said. “None of them sound particularly good.”

  I said, “Perhaps it's some order of value? Your life is the most important thing of all, for without it you can’t have either a future or a life.”

  “The future can go on just fine without you in it. If anything is the strongest one out of those doors, it's the future,” Uma said.

  “Ox,” Ox said. “Puzzle doors are a classic part of labyrinths. One that must tell the truth and another that always lies. Perhaps these are something similar?”

  “Three doors, not two. Even if so, I don’t see how that helps us,” I said.

  “Can you get anything from studying the mechanism?” Jules asked Niles.

  “I’ll try,” Niles said. He bent down to study one more closely.

  “This place must have some sort of computerized assistance. If anyone can infiltrate those systems it is you,” I said to Uma.

  “Are you picking up any signals? I don’t have any magical signal detectors either. If there is something here, it is invisible to me,” Uma said.

  While there wasn’t anything on any protocols I recognized, there were things that seemed to be signals I was picking up. Faint, but present.

  Niles spent a little over twenty minutes poking and prodding carefully at the mechanisms. He announced, “If there is anything unique about one of them, I can’t find it. As far as I can tell they are all meant to do the same thing, which I’m guessing is opening the door.”

  “Then we’re back where we started,” I said.

  “There are benefits to having a large party. We could go through all three doors,” Niles said.

  Jules said, “Even if it were allowed, it would divide the party, and what's important is for me to go through the right one."

  “We’ve got enough extra drones and henchmen to test the right way,” I said.

  “Again, that's if it's even allowed. I suspect if we get the wrong door, the others won’t open at all. At the very least there's going to be a timer before we can try this place again. Perhaps I’ll never be able to try it again,” Jules said.

  “Then we work the problem,” Niles said. “One potential solution is hiera
rchy and we’ve got two possibilities there. What else could it mean?”

  Uma said, “'No Life' is an anagram of olefin, a hydrocarbon. 'No Future' contains the word fortune. That's good, right? 'No Hope' contains, uh ... phone?”

  “I love my phone, but I don’t think that's it,” Niles said.

  “The fortune would matter more if it worked out perfectly, but it doesn’t,” I said.

  Jules said, “What if they are just literal descriptions and we’re over-thinking the whole thing? No future would be … well … pretty clearly not what we’re seeking. It's telling us that what we want is not behind that door."

  “No hope would be the same thing. You want something and whatever it is, it isn’t behind that door,” Niles said.

  “That would mean that 'No Life' is just saying that there is nothing alive behind it. Which is probably true of any of them, but of these three options is the least negative,” I said.

  “Anyone have any better ideas?” Jules asked.

  I didn’t. Even to my sensors the doors just appeared to be doors. I couldn’t detect what was behind them.

  The group was silent and after a moment Jules shrugged and moved towards the 'No Life' door, grasping the ring and pulling down.

  There was a puff of steam from the bull’s nostrils and the grinding of stone as the door slid down into the floor.

  The corridor behind it was lined with lights that flickered on. Otherwise it looked to be featureless stone.

  Jules wasted no time—once she made up her mind she stuck with it. It was one of the more admirable things about her. The rest of the group followed her in.

  The passage extended straight this time until it reached a rounded chamber. Once more there were three corridors extending off, these without doors.

  Instead, there was sculptures before each passage. One was of a medusa, standing tall with a sword in one hand and a severed head in the other. “Challenge of Stone,” was marked at the bottom.