Stationary wind guns waited along the rock face to knock unsuspecting Tuann off its surface. If that wasn't difficult enough, camouflaged drones crouched in the crevasses came alive anytime someone strayed too close.
The drones always moved, never staying in the same place from day to day. It made it impossible for the initiates to map their location. A fact Kira knew frustrated Raider to no end. He seemed to have a talent for setting them off. This week alone, he'd felt their sting no less than seven times. The prior weeks hadn't been much kinder to him.
The monolith's traps weren't the only surprise the forest held. During one of her runs, Kira had stumbled across an obstacle course, much like the one on Luatha. It had taken some quick thinking to escape a swarm of drones and make it back over the fence with no one but Finn the wiser.
Since then, Kira had been careful to mark the edges of the course, delineated by the nearly invisible energy fence around its perimeter.
Finished with her run for the day, Kira headed for the arched gate she’d grown familiar with, the evening shadows deepening as she made her way through the forest.
Today, unlike other days, a small figure crouched at the base of the gate, nearly hidden where he sat.
Kira slowed as she and Finn traded a long look.
"I'll handle this," Kira said.
"As you wish." Finn paced a few steps away, giving them the illusion of privacy.
"Joule, I could be wrong, but your session with Maida finished hours ago," Kira said in greeting.
Kira had made it a point to keep track of when others were in the forest. Some of the things she was attempting would likely get her in trouble if others found out.
She’d learned early on that Roake wasn't the only House who used the forest. Other Houses sent people to train there as well.
Kira had gotten quite good at slipping through the trees unseen. It had become a sort of game, one Finn was happy to oblige her in, teaching her techniques to conceal her presence both physically and on thekilevel.
Which was why Joule's presence was so startling. It wasn’t the norm.
A pair of morose eyes met hers.
Kira knew that look. Things weren't going the way someone had thought they would.
"That's an awfully long face for someone who got everything they wanted. Things not working out like you hoped?" Kira asked.
Joule's jaw tightened, an angry kind of misery radiating from him.
That was a yes then.
Spotting a bottle of water in his hand, Kira nodded to it. "Is that for me?"
He looked at the water as if surprised before handing it over to Kira.
She took several sips, the water cool and refreshing. Only once she'd drunk half of it, did she nod at the gate. "Let's go. You don't want to be in these woods after dark."
It had only taken one late day for Kira to realize the danger. Nocturnal predators hunted here after sunset. They were big and deadly enough to consider even a Tuann fair game.
Joule started. "How do you know that?"
Kira scratched her cheek, her eyes sliding away.
"Someone just got caught doing something they're not supposed to," Jin said gleefully.
Kira pointed at Finn. "Sometimes, it's helpful to have a source of information who refuses to leave your side."
Finn was expressionless as he stared at the two of them, giving nothing away. Sometimes her unwelcome guard had his uses, like now when he made the perfect fall guy.
He hadn't told her anything about the forest, letting her experience its dangers for herself.
Joule didn't question her further, standing and dusting off his pants before touching the gate. His forehead furrowed as the runes shifted, and a path opened.
