Only Rogue Actions

CHAPTER ONE—KYRION

“This is a bad idea.”

I paced back and forth, my hands clasped behind my back. “An extremely bad idea. Awful. Horrible. Terrible.”

Vesper leaned her right hip against the metal railing and gave me an amused look. “This morning, you thought training was a great idea. Wonderful. Marvelous. Terrific, even. You were the one who was all gung-ho to test our magic, connection, and skills.”

“Training was a great idea. But this? This is not training.” I stopped and swept my right arm out wide. “This is a gigantic bloody maze.”

The two of us were standing on a concrete walkway that overlooked a fifty-foot vertical drop. Down below, on the ground level, a dull gray metal wall soared thirty feet into the air and formed an enormous circle that stretched from this side of the facility all the way to the other far, far in the distance. Inside the outer wall, dozens of other walls spiraled out, forming an abstract pattern that resembled an indecipherable circuit board.

All the walls were covered with dense green vines that were so tightly packed together they hid much of the metal underneath. Many of the vines boasted pink-star honeysuckle blossoms that were bigger than dinner plates, and even here on the upper level, the honeysuckles’ sweet scent saturated the air like a Regal lady’s overpowering perfume. My nose twitched, and I had to hold back a sneeze.

Between the walls, gray flagstones formed paths that curled, snaked, and twisted in dozens of directions. At first glance, the area looked like a pretty hedge maze at a Regal castle on Corios, my home planet. In fact, my mother’s garden at Castle Caldaren had several pink-star honeysuckle bushes, although not on this grand or complex a scale.

Many of the paths opened into large circular biodomes which were covered with energy shields to control the temperatures and physical elements inside. Through the clear, shimmering shields, I spotted everything from autumn leaves to tropical flowers to snowdrifts, since those biodomes were fashioned after Temperate woods, Tropics rain forests, and Frozon moons.

And those were just the hazards I could see from this upper observational level. Far more traps and insidious tricks would be tucked away in the biodomes themselves.

“Forget what I said before,” I grumbled. “It’s not a maze. It’s a bloody obstacle course.”

Vesper nodded. “That’s exactly what it is, and I, for one, am looking forward to exploring all the twists and turns.”

She looked out over the maze, and the silver flecks in her dark blue eyes brightened with anticipation. Vesper Quill was an inventor and engineer, and she loved figuring out how things worked and especially how to make them better, faster, stronger, and more efficient. She was also a seer who never forgot anything she saw, heard, or experienced.

Her forehead furrowed in concentration. To Vesper, the maze-slash-obstacle course was a life-size puzzle, and she wouldn’t stop studying it until she knew exactly where every path led.

I stabbed my finger at her. “No fair using your seer magic to map the maze in advance.”

Vesper let out a shocked gasp and clutched a hand to her chest in mock outrage. “Would I do that?”

“Absolutely,” I grumbled again. “You love to win just as much as I do.”

Vesper smiled. “Well, I have to do something to keep up with the great Kyrion Caldaren, rogue Arrow, psion extraordinaire, and all-around badass.”

I harrumphed, but my lips quirked up into an answering smile.

I was a psion, a broad term for seers, spelltechs, siphons, and anyone else with incredible mental abilities. In my case, those abilities included telekinesis, telepathy, and telempathy. For years, I’d used my psion power as the head of the Arrows, the elite warriors of the Imperium. I’d lived through more brutal battles than I cared to remember, but all the blood, pain, suffering, and death I’d seen, experienced, and doled out myself had been worth it, because it had all led me to Vesper.

Several months ago, Vesper had saved my life during a fight against the Techwave, a dangerous terrorist group that wanted to topple both the Imperium and the Erzton and become the main ruling force in the Archipelago Galaxy. Vesper and I had helped each other escape when the battleground had turned into a field of oozing lava, and all that danger, stress, and trauma had led to us forming a truebond, a psionic connection that let two people share thoughts, feelings, skills, and abilities.

At first, I had been horrified at our unwanted connection. A truebond might make two people much stronger, but in some ways, it also made them extremely vulnerable. If one person was injured, then their truebonded partner would often feel the psionic echo and pain of that injury. Cuts, bruises, scrapes, and burns could also physically appear on each person’s body, even if only one person had actually been wounded.

And of course, the common, romantic notion was that if one person in a truebond perished, then their partner would shortly follow. Something I’d seen for myself when my mother, Desdemona, had sickened and died after Callus Holloway had taken too much of her power at once. My father, Chauncey, had been so devastated by the loss of his truebond with my mother that he’d flown into a drunken rage, forcing me to kill him in self-defense, even though I’d only been thirteen at the time.

After that, I never wanted to be connected to anyone, and I had fought tooth and nail against all my growing feelings, concern, and softness for Vesper. But one by one, she’d broken down the icy walls I’d built up over the last twenty-five years and wrapped the soft, velvety ribbon of her presence around my mind and especially around my heart. Now I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“Setting aside the matter of your obvious cheating, why is everything on this planet housed inside a dome?” I resumed my pacing. “What is wrong with actually being outside in the fresh air?”

“Because even though this is a Temperate planet, we’re on a mountaintop, and it can snow here year-round,” a third voice chimed in. “House Battis, the owners of this fine establishment, don’t want their pink-star honeysuckles, blue-moon peonies, and other rare, expensive flowers to get frostbitten by a sudden cold snap, like the one we are currently experiencing.”

Asterin Armas gestured at the dome that enclosed the entire facility and arced up hundreds of feet above our heads. Large panels of orange solar glass were fitted together with thick seams of black solar wiring that made the dome resemble a giant jigsaw puzzle. From the outside, the panels formed a solid wall of citrine orange, but they were clear on the inside, and snowflakes fluttered down from the dark gray clouds in the twilight sky.

Two weeks ago, Vesper and I had come to Gewitter, the capital city of Sygnustern, Asterin’s home planet and the seat of power for the Erzton, seeking refuge from Callus Holloway, the Imperium ruler who had put an enormous bounty on us. As a siphon, Holloway was able to absorb and wield all types of energy, and he wanted to take the psionic power of the truebond connection between Vesper and me for himself. The greedy bastard was determined to use us as his bloody batteries, just like he’d done to my parents.

A familiar combination of anger, resentment, and bitterness speared through my chest, and my inner monster growled in response. I’d been trying to figure out a way to kill Holloway for years. Given his siphon power, he would just absorb any blaster bolts I fired, and he could always use the electrical power in nearby lights or energy shields to heal any wounds I might inflict with my stormsword. I could chop the Imperium ruler’s head off his shoulders, and the siphon would probably still find some way to heal himself. Bloody unkillable bastard.

As an Arrow, I’d eliminated my fair share of enemies, but my lack of progress regarding Holloway was more frustrating by the day, especially given the enormous threat the siphon posed to Vesper. Perhaps today’s training would give me some new insight about how to kill Holloway or at least help Vesper and me further strengthen our bond so that he couldn’t siphon off so much as a spark of our power when we inevitably faced him again. I didn’t care so much about myself, but I would burn down the galaxy to keep Vesper safe.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The sound of blaster fire drifted up out of the maze, and in the distance, bright red and orange bolts zinged through the air like colorful streaks of lightning. Whoops of laughter and excitement rang out, along with a smattering of applause, and the honeysuckles’ scent took on an intense, burned note.

“Why plant all this greenery if you’re just going to let people run around and shoot blasters in your maze?” I groused again.

Asterin shrugged. “House Battis made a fortune mining coal, lunarium, and diamonds several generations ago. They have money to burn, and this is how they do it.”

I harrumphed. “You mean this is how House Battis shows the other Erzton nobles just how much money they have—by planting ridiculously expensive and fragile flowers and then letting people play war games inside their massive domed garden.”

Asterin shrugged again. “Most of the Erzton Houses are like peacocks showing off their wealth, position, and power, and Lady Battis has never been shy about flaunting her many assets.”

She gestured at the maze below. “The training dome might be located in House Battis territory, but the agreement between all the major Erzton Houses states that the obstacle course is neutral ground where anyone can train, even Hammers from other Houses.”

Hammers were the elite warriors of the Erzton who got their name from the lunarium war hammers they wielded, and they were just as deadly as their reputation suggested.

“Is that why there are so many cameras?” Vesper pointed at the ceiling. “So the Hammers from the other Houses can record their training sessions?”

Several wires dangled from the domed ceiling, and each one held a black camera that looked like an oversize, rotund spider. Long seams of black solar wiring studded with bulbs also dangled from the ceiling, but there were far more cameras than lights hanging over the maze.

Asterin nodded. “Yes. All the Hammers from the Erzton Houses, including House Collier, train here several times a year. The technicians are always working on new tricks, traps, and biodomes, and they make the obstacles and the environments as challenging as possible.”

In other words, the maze was far more dangerous than the pretty, placid garden it appeared to be. Wonderful.

I eyed the closest camera, which was focused on the three of us. Two red dots on the front burned bright and steady, making the camera look even more like a spider. My lips curled back with disgust. As a Regal lord, I’d been a target of the Imperium gossipcasts for years, and I despised being filmed, even for something as helpful as training.

The cameras might ostensibly be here so that the Hammers could record and review their training, but I was betting the House Battis leaders also got a copy of the footage. A clever way to spy on your enemies and make sure you knew exactly how capable they were, along with their tactics, tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

All those cameras would soon be trained on Vesper and me, which filled me with unease. Asterin had assured us that we were safe on Sygnustern, and her stepfather and mother, Lord Aldrich and Lady Verona Collier, had given us their protection as the leaders of House Collier. But thanks to the Erzton gossipcasts, Callus Holloway had to know Vesper and I were on Sygnustern. I wouldn’t put it past Holloway to get one of his spies in the Erzton to send him the footage of our training session so he could figure out the best way to capture and contain us.

“This is a bad idea,” I grumbled again, still eyeing the cameras.

“It will be good for us to do a different kind of training,” Vesper said, stepping over to me. “Stretch our horizons, make us think outside the box, and all that other fun stuff.”

I gently brushed Vesper’s dark brown hair back over her left shoulder, and the russet highlights in her locks shimmered in the soft golden cast by the overhead bulbs. Then I skimmed my fingertips along her collarbone, enjoying the warmth of her skin through her tempered-silk clothes, which automatically adjusted to her body heat, along with the surrounding environment. Vesper was wearing a dark blue jacket, a tactical shirt, and cargo pants with knee-high black boots, just like I was, and the Arrow uniform hugged her curves in all the right places.

I would much rather do some private training with you. Just like we did in the shower this morning. I think we both proved how flexible we are.

I sent the telepathic thought to Vesper, who shivered and leaned into my touch. A blush pinkened her pale cheeks, and the silver flecks in her dark blue eyes glimmered with desire. The same emotion rippled along the velvety ribbon of her in my mind, and my inner monster rumbled with satisfaction.

Look on the bright side, Vesper replied. It’s a huge maze, which means we could always find a quiet spot for your private training.

It’s a date.

The blush on her cheeks intensified, and her soft laughter rang through my mind.

Asterin snorted and rolled her silver eyes. Then she shook her head, making her long black ponytail slap against her shoulders. “I might not be able to hear your telepathic conversation, but I know exactly what you’re talking about. The two of you are here to improve your truebond connection. Not to have sexy times in the maze. Got it?”

Vesper and I looked at each other, then shrugged in unison.

Asterin slapped her hands on her hips, wrinkling her dark gray coveralls. “You two are impossible,” she muttered. “It’s like dealing with two lovestruck teenagers. Follow me. If you can keep your hands off each other long enough.”

She narrowed her eyes at us, then spun around and stalked away.

Vesper and I looked at each other again. I waggled my eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and peals of laughter erupted from her lips. Answering chuckles rumbled out of my own throat.

Together we trailed after Asterin, still laughing as we moved deeper into the facility.