She hoped the other part of her hypothesis held true and the drones were attracted to those who actively fought them. Otherwise, they were in a bit of trouble.
Kira hopped to the stones below, noting the way they wobbled under her feet. Raider would need to watch his step. If his landing was off by even a little, the stone would tip, dropping its burden into the water. She had no doubt the drones would key onto that person in a second.
She made her way slowly, not bothering to hurry, conscious of Raider dropping to trail her. Since no sound of a splash reached her, she chose not to worry about him.
The drones hovered overhead as she picked her way across. This close, they looked like much larger, sleeker versions of Jin. Where he was small and dark, these shimmered with the color of their surroundings, almost blending in except for when they moved too fast or were seen from above.
They managed to seem organic rather than mechanical, their shapes not uniform and their movements closer to that of a hummingbird or bee.
They were double the size of a basketball and as quick as any strigmor eel Kira had ever come across.
As she watched, one of the drones crackled with lightning. Its blast darted at Graydon, snaking through the air much like a strigmor eel. He leaped out of the way, raising his hand and pushing out. A force sailed from him, striking the drone. It dropped, plunging into the water as if a hand had swatted it out of the sky.
Finn wove among the obstacles, never pausing his sure-footed passage as the drones pummeled him with laser fire.
Kira adjusted her grip on her sword. It was about time they got started. If they waited much longer, there would be no hope of catching Graydon or Finn before they passed the finish line.
"You ready?" Kira asked.
"I'm not the one who's been sitting on her ass in retirement."
Kira's smile flashed. Guess that answered that.
She hopped to the next foothold. It was farther than the others had been. From here on out, the footholds got scarcer and scarcer. The one she’d landed on looked like a large wooden pillar sticking out of the water, thin and narrow, forcing her to balance on one foot.
A drone burst out of the water beside the pillar. A bolt of light flashed from it. Kira shifted slightly, letting it glance off her arm.
Pain screeched up the limb. She hissed, but didn't move.
"How bad is it?" Raider asked.
"They weren't lying," Kira said, her voice tight with pain as she glanced at her arm. Vague surprise moved through her at the sight of unmarred flesh. "It feels like getting shot. I'd advise avoiding getting hit at all costs."
"Understood," Raider said.
"I'm going. Count to ten and then begin." Kira bent her leg, focusing on the other end of the water. This was going to be fun.
Between one second and the next, she burst forward, going from a standstill to a full-out sprint in the blink of an eye, the unevenly spaced footing not giving her more than a second's pause.
The drones reacted—her fast movements pulling them away from Raider—just like she wanted.
She grinned. Time to see how they reacted to a little friendly tap.
Up ahead, the broken path diverged, three paths emerging. Kira approached at a run, dragging her sword in the water as the drones sped toward her. She ran a thin line of her power—what she suspected Graydon calledki—to the very tip of the wood. Careful, careful, she cautioned herself. She didn't want to break the wood.
Her soul's breath was incredibly destructive. The last thing she wanted, was to explode something right now.
She judged the tactic a small risk, but one worth taking.
She poured the smallest amount of herself into the blade, gathering small droplets of water behind it until a sword of water extended nearly five feet behind her.
The pull of the blade began to grow heavier, resisting as more water gathered, increasing the friction of its passage. She tightened her grip and waited, her eyes on the drones as they lined up their shot. Almost there, almost there.
Now.
She swung the sword through the water, cutting it as she might a blade of glass. The water followed the path of her blade, creating a perfect arc around her. The screen of liquid restricted the drones’ sight for a split second.
It was all she needed.
