“Yes. And if we do not get moving, we will undoubtedly upset many of them. And trust me, you do not want to lose their goodwill. It can mean the difference between surviving to the next round or being allowed to wash out. Or forced out, for that matter.”
Ziana heard him but wasn’t looking at Dorrin. Her eyes were gazing off in the distance. Not at ground-level, however. She was scanning the skies.
“Holy shit,” she quietly gasped.
“What?”
“You said they were always watching, right?”
“Yes.”
“And they paid particular attention to the traps and obstacles.”
“Right again. What is your point?”
“My point is, they’ve given us an advantage. We just have to pay attention and take advantage of it.”
“I’m not following, which is what you should be doing right now. Following me as we keep moving.”
“You’re not listening, Dorrin. There areextraeyes on the dangerous parts, don’t you see?”
“Of course there are.”
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“Apparently, as you are stating the obvious like a damn child.”
“Fuck you, Dorrin. I want us to get through today in one piece. And if I’m right, we might do a hell of a lot better than that. Look over there, above the next ridgeline just to the right, even with the top of the tree line. See it? The little ball thing hovering there?”
He squinted, looking up, raising his hand to shade his eyes.
“Don’t be obvious!” she hissed, yanking his hand down. “We don’t want them figuring out what we know for as long as possible.”
He was about to argue, to question what, exactly, it was that she thought they knew. Then it hit him. A tiny ball floated high in the air, barely visible from the ground.
“Those are additional observation orbs,” he said quietly.
“I assumed as much.”
“And they are only deployed at places where there is a particular interest to the betting public, right?”
His annoyed scowl softened into a stunned grin, though he did his best to keep his expression neutral for whatever eyes might be on them. “Ziana, you’re a genius.”
“Now you’re getting it.”
“They’re almost an afterthought to the rest of us. But you? You’re not from here, and what we don’t even register anymore caught your attention. And rightly so. Those orbs are a roadmap of the traps and hazards.”
“Exactly. And if we slow down and pay attention, we can avoid them,all of them, while sticking within the course boundaries.”
“We’ll have a huge time advantage.”
“I know.”
“We will only have to cover the distance and any natural hazards.”
A broad grin spread across her lips. “Like I said, I know. So, if you’re done being a stubborn ass, what do you say we go and crush this thing and give those elite bastards something to think about?”
“I say you’re on.”
