A Tuann hit the side of the zone she stood in, trying to break through. Unsuccessfully as a rope of fire speared him through the torso.
An agonized scream ripped from his throat as the fire consumed him.
“To answer your question, I’m really glad we’re not out there,” Jin said in a grave voice.
Kira hummed an agreement, reaching over to touch the lu-ong around her wrist. Its weight was comforting in the face of the chilling sight of the fire hunting the initiates.
Though they would survive being burned alive, they would come out of the experience having learned a cruel lesson.
It was one Kira was grateful to avoid. Although she would have been unharmed if she’d been caught and burned—physically at least—the same might not be said of Jin.
She didn’t know whether the fire would have been capable of destroying the mini spawn.
Although Jin and his spawn were two separate entities, the mini spawn contained enough of Jin’s essence that Kira feared what would have happened had she failed to enter the safe zone.
“This looks like it could take a moment,” Jin said after a drawn-out silence. “How about you get some rest while we wait for what’s next?”
The military had a saying. “Never run when you can walk. Never walk when you can stand. Never stand when you can sit.”
The purpose behind the mantra was simple. Don’t waste energy.
When a break was offered to you, take it. You never knew when you would get another one—if you got another one.
It was advice Kira decided to heed as she took a seat on the ground, her eyes closing as she leaned against the barrier and let herself sink into a meditative state.
A short time passed before Graydon’s voice once again echoed throughout the arena.
“You have survived the gauntlet of your peers and chosen your path whether by luck or other interference. Now, it is time to demonstrate the skills imparted to you by your House. Fight wisely. You never know when the next one will come.”
The barriers dropped, the flame serpent retreating to where the symbol had been. It coiled into a flickering ball of fire. An artificial sun blazing against the shadows of the ceiling.
Everything outside of the safe zones had been swept clean. The maze and drones gone. Along with the fierot.
A platform formed under Kira’s feet. Matte black, it was a perfect square of ten feet by ten feet. She tapped on it with one toe, finding the surface solid and stable.
“You made the right call breaking with the others,” Jin whispered as similar platforms formed in each of the circles.
He wasn’t wrong. The circle Raider and the rest had targeted was made up of six individuals. Had Kira remained, it would have meant one of their party would face elimination.
Four people. Three slots.
It wasn’t hard to do the math.
Because she’d chosen a different route, they’d escaped that fate.
“This test is vicious,” Jin said.
Kira found herself in agreement.
To pass the survival phase, many of the initiates had chosen to work together. Now the Tuann were telling them they had to fight their previous allies.
She couldn’t help but wonder what the lesson was in all this.
Possibly that today’s friend could be tomorrow’s foe?
She had no idea.
Nor did she have time to ponder further as the wanderer stood in a smooth movement that contained a predator’s grace. He prowled toward the center of their platform where he spun to face in Kira’s direction.
