Fairclough’s mission to secure the book. He wasn’t just interested in keeping it safe; he also wanted to punish those who went after it.
Unfortunately, Annja was being forced to find it. She didn’t want it for herself. But the maze didn’t know that. As far as it was concerned, Annja was here to rob Fairclough. So it treated her like an enemy.
Almost exactly like how the human body would respond to a bacterial infection or virus, she supposed.
Interesting.
The blood trail she was leaving was fading into nothing. She heard noises up ahead and stopped suddenly.
Annja drew her sword.
And waited.
She heard grunts and obvious sounds of a scuffle. Was it the thing that had been stalking them? Had Kessel found it and were they now fighting?
Annja rushed around the corner of the next turn and then froze.
A boxing match was playing on flat-screen TV. Now what the hell was this?
Annja looked around but saw nothing else. The TV screen hung on the wall, and beyond that, there was nothing.
Unless.
Annja jerked around and as she started to head back the way she’d come, a large section of wall dropped, once again, blocking her path. Annja had nowhere to go but forward.
But why distract her like this? Yes, the sound of boxing was effective at getting Annja to commit to coming around the corner faster than she probably would have.
She hesitated.
If there was a trip trigger that caused the wall to drop, and if she’d come around any slower, she might have been crushed by the sheer weight of the wall.
But she had come quicker than normal, clearing the falling wall.
She shook her head. The wall had only dropped once she’d started back. That couldn’t be it.
The TV had another purpose. It had to have.
The boxing appeared to be on a video loop that ran for three minutes and then restarted itself. The sound effects were equally looped to give the impression of there being a fight in the corridor rather than a public ring match.
Annja looked around the TV screen but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Someone had to have activated this, she thought. Or did she switch it on as she progressed through the maze?
Annja reached and punched the channel button. The boxing loop disappeared, replaced by a lot of white static. Annja kept flipping channels, aware of how silly it seemed to be doing this.
But then a different picture appeared on the screen. It looked like a different section of the maze. The stone walls were the same, but she could see a lot more details. It was almost as if she had a bird’s eye view of the action.
Surveillance cameras, she realized.
They were being watched.
And what she saw on the TV didn’t make her feel good at all.
Kessel.
He was making his way down another corridor.
And a shadow trailed behind him.
Big. Dark.
And ominous.
Chapter 15
But where was Kessel?
That was the problem facing Annja. Judging by the television screen, Kessel was in a corridor exactly like the one Annja was in. The stone walls, the torches…all of it looked exactly the same.
It wasn’t, though.
And the surveillance cameras showed that Kessel seemed to have no idea he was being stalked by a shadow. A large shadow. But what cast that shadow, Annja had no clue.
I’ve got to find a way to get to him, she thought.
But how?
She frowned. If this thing was stalking Kessel, then that might mean she could safely call Kessel’s name without fear of it zeroing in on Annja’s location. Unless there was more than one thing stalking them.
It was worth the risk.
“Kessel!”
Annja’s voice seemed to echo up and down the corridor, bouncing back and forth off the stones and causing the torchlight to flicker in fiery spasms. She called again. And again.
On the television screen, Kessel seemed to pause. Had he heard her?
“Kessel!”
He had stopped now. His head was cocked to the side. Annja’s heart jumped inside her chest. He must have heard me, she thought.
But then Kessel kept walking. And so did the shadow.
No!
Annja tried shouting several more
Unfortunately, Annja was being forced to find it. She didn’t want it for herself. But the maze didn’t know that. As far as it was concerned, Annja was here to rob Fairclough. So it treated her like an enemy.
Almost exactly like how the human body would respond to a bacterial infection or virus, she supposed.
Interesting.
The blood trail she was leaving was fading into nothing. She heard noises up ahead and stopped suddenly.
Annja drew her sword.
And waited.
She heard grunts and obvious sounds of a scuffle. Was it the thing that had been stalking them? Had Kessel found it and were they now fighting?
Annja rushed around the corner of the next turn and then froze.
A boxing match was playing on flat-screen TV. Now what the hell was this?
Annja looked around but saw nothing else. The TV screen hung on the wall, and beyond that, there was nothing.
Unless.
Annja jerked around and as she started to head back the way she’d come, a large section of wall dropped, once again, blocking her path. Annja had nowhere to go but forward.
But why distract her like this? Yes, the sound of boxing was effective at getting Annja to commit to coming around the corner faster than she probably would have.
She hesitated.
If there was a trip trigger that caused the wall to drop, and if she’d come around any slower, she might have been crushed by the sheer weight of the wall.
But she had come quicker than normal, clearing the falling wall.
She shook her head. The wall had only dropped once she’d started back. That couldn’t be it.
The TV had another purpose. It had to have.
The boxing appeared to be on a video loop that ran for three minutes and then restarted itself. The sound effects were equally looped to give the impression of there being a fight in the corridor rather than a public ring match.
Annja looked around the TV screen but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Someone had to have activated this, she thought. Or did she switch it on as she progressed through the maze?
Annja reached and punched the channel button. The boxing loop disappeared, replaced by a lot of white static. Annja kept flipping channels, aware of how silly it seemed to be doing this.
But then a different picture appeared on the screen. It looked like a different section of the maze. The stone walls were the same, but she could see a lot more details. It was almost as if she had a bird’s eye view of the action.
Surveillance cameras, she realized.
They were being watched.
And what she saw on the TV didn’t make her feel good at all.
Kessel.
He was making his way down another corridor.
And a shadow trailed behind him.
Big. Dark.
And ominous.
Chapter 15
But where was Kessel?
That was the problem facing Annja. Judging by the television screen, Kessel was in a corridor exactly like the one Annja was in. The stone walls, the torches…all of it looked exactly the same.
It wasn’t, though.
And the surveillance cameras showed that Kessel seemed to have no idea he was being stalked by a shadow. A large shadow. But what cast that shadow, Annja had no clue.
I’ve got to find a way to get to him, she thought.
But how?
She frowned. If this thing was stalking Kessel, then that might mean she could safely call Kessel’s name without fear of it zeroing in on Annja’s location. Unless there was more than one thing stalking them.
It was worth the risk.
“Kessel!”
Annja’s voice seemed to echo up and down the corridor, bouncing back and forth off the stones and causing the torchlight to flicker in fiery spasms. She called again. And again.
On the television screen, Kessel seemed to pause. Had he heard her?
“Kessel!”
He had stopped now. His head was cocked to the side. Annja’s heart jumped inside her chest. He must have heard me, she thought.
But then Kessel kept walking. And so did the shadow.
No!
Annja tried shouting several more
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