A Sinister Game by Heather Killough-Walden Page A

.”
    Arthur glanced from the windows to the blocked door and back to Victoria again. She could hear his breath in the room, ragged and riddled with emotion. He stared at her, but his expression was more afraid now than it was furious.
    He l ooked at the door one last time. And then he twitched.
    “F-fine. B-but the console is in the other room. And you’ve locked us in . ”
    “Nonsense.” Victoria rushed him then, with the kind of speed that only a l ight leader could possess, and grabbed his arm. She spun them both around and ran straigh t for the wall. Arthur screamed –
    And his scream dissolved into another whimper as they went straight through the wall to come out on the other side unscathed. They were in the mainframe lab again.
    Melding through solid objects was a light leader ability that Victoria had perfected long ago. It was also another that she had never before used off of the Field.
    “Now get to work, Arthur. Don’t piss me off. D on’t make me wait , ” s he commanded. T o make certain he didn’t a lert Game Control from the console, she added, “And d on’t even think of attempting to contact GC. Long before they make it through that door, I will burn you to a crisp from the inside out. Got it?”
    Arthur froze as if that was exactly what he’d been planning on doing, opened his mouth as if to say something – and then shut it again when she crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a warning look.
    He turned away from her to make his shaky way to the Captain’s Chair in front of the giant mainframe console. After a moment of concentration, he began to move his hands over the controls.
    Victoria watched him with a growing sense of unease. She wished she had the d ark leader power to read minds. If she did, she could take the code the moment he found it. She was fast running out of precious time.
    “You did something to me with that electric charge, Arthur. I have heat building up inside of me again,” she lied.
    Further down that hole….
    He stopped what he was doing and turned in the chair.
    “If you don’t give me the code soon, I won’t have anywhere to go with it. I’ll have to set it free here again. It’ll eat up your lab,” she gestured to the lab around them. “ A nd probably you, too.”
    With that, Arthur’s eyes widened a little more. He began to work visibly faster. Two and a half minutes later, he was turning back to face her. “I have the code.”
    “Give it to me , ” s he demanded , coming forward.
    He didn’t take his eyes off of her as a small metal transporter key slid from a slot on the mainframe console and he reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it free. He held it out toward her. It was constructed of solid silver-hued metal, with a series of lines and dots across its flat, rectangular surface.
    “Any transporter will work , ” h e told her through clenched teeth.
    She took the key from his hand and went very still. For the second time that afternoon, she wished she had a d ark leader power. She really wanted to know what was going on in Arthur’s head at that moment. What had he just given her? Was it truly a code? If so, where would it take her? Beyond the wall? Or straight to Game Control’s front door?
    There was no way for her to know.
    O ne of four… gets her beyond the wall… but not the best one… .
    Victoria blinked.
    Sh e’d just heard Arthur’s voice, b ut he hadn’t spoken. His lips hadn’t moved. His mouth was still closed and he was still staring at her through brown eyes filled with distrust, hatred, and fear .
    H ope she drowns… .
    Victoria straightened a little as a realization, both good and absolutely horrible, presented itself to her. She was hearing his thoughts. But she was a light leader. It shouldn’t have been possible.
    In fact, there was only one way that it could be possible .
    She was going dark.
    Victoria shivered, but covered it quickly. “You and your fucking electricity, Arthur. You’ve awakened