beats per minute (13 page)

This was on the third day, and funnily enough it had been at
around this point that something snapped inside Raegan. Since then she was the
one letting the door slam in his face as she exited the room. She was the first
to every lesson, fitting in extra training with Bree before and after classes.
Gradually, his lead on her was decreasing; in such a short space of time she
was faster, stronger, and more in tune with herself.

He didn’t like it.

Raegan was not the only one to notice. Sam, another level 5
Regent and assistant to the
teachers,
had been the
first to point it out.

Coming down to earth after a successful class with Yali,
Raegan was riding high. For the first time she’d mastered the balancing posture
set by the centurion
and
managed to hold it until Yali’s countdown
finished. Declan had tumbled off his perch some time before.

Sam sidled up as soon as Yali dismissed them, putting a hand
on her arm.  ‘Well done.’

Sam was definitely what the girls at Woodstead would have
called a ‘fittie’, Raegan thought, and not for the first time. She tried to
look cool, as his hand on her arm didn’t mean anything. ‘Cheers. I enjoyed it.’

‘Innit.
But do you mean the part
where you
won,
or the part where Kane fell on his arse?’
Sam’s typically cheery tones were laced with satisfaction. ‘That must have felt
good.’

Raegan had been trying to avoid thinking about Declan.
‘Can’t say I noticed.’

‘Oh, come on.’ Sam looked down at his fingernails casually,
all the while muttering out of the side of his mouth. ‘Just look at him.’

Raegan glanced across the room. Declan was getting ready to
leave, stuffing clothes into his backpack with sharp, vicious movements. At
that moment, as if he knew she was staring, he looked upwards; the face that
peered through the mop of dark hair was set and slitty-eyed.

Raegan looked away hurriedly. ‘He does look pissed off.’

The door slammed loudly behind him as if to emphasise the
point.

‘The King has left the building,’ Sam made a mock bow in the
direction of Declan’s exit, raising his voice to a normal level. ‘I don’t know
how you stand it.
Such an attitude.’

‘That’s one way of looking at it,’ Raegan said lightly. She
was sick to death of Declan’s behaviour but it wasn’t really her style to moan.
She was aware how unattractive boys found bitchy girls. As soon as the thought
entered her head she blushed. Why was she even worrying about Sam’s opinion?

She wanted him to like her, she realised. She would prefer
it if he focused less on Declan and more on her.

Embarrassed, she slid into her rucksack and started to walk.
Sam fell easily into step beside her. He seemed keen to continue discussing
Declan, and as Raegan was keen to keep chatting, full stop, she didn’t put up a
fight.

And anyway, it
was
nice to find someone else who
wasn’t Declan’s biggest fan.

‘Seriously,’ Sam lowered his voice conspiratorially. ‘He’s
been a pain to you since you got here – but at least now we know why.’

He held open the door. She smiled gratefully at him.
‘Thanks.’

‘He’s jealous.’

Raegan let out a disbelieving snort. ‘Doubt it. In case you
haven’t noticed, I’m rubbish.’

‘What! That’s crazy talk. Everyone’s slow at first. And look
at you today! You done
good
.’

They were in front of the girls changing room.

‘Thanks for the pep talk, coach,’ Raegan smiled modestly.
‘I’m going in here now. Sorry.’

Sam held up his hands. ‘Hey, say no more. Remember what I
said though? Declan Kane can suck it. You nailed it today.’

They stood smiling at each other for a moment before Raegan
ducked her head and turned.

Impulsively, she paused in the doorway, looking back at him
over her shoulder. ‘You helped,’ she said shyly. ‘Those breathing exercises you
taught me really worked. I’ll get you an extra cake at lunch to say thanks.’

‘Nice one.’ He winked, and then started to back off down the
corridor. ‘No need, though - the look on Kane’s face was reward enough! Tosser!
I’m late for my next session. Catch you later!’

Sam waved at her now as he jogged up from beyond the
starting line, his sandy hair turned dark by the rain. The pistol was in his
hand, ready to sound the starting signal. Now was not the time to be
distracted, but if Raegan
were
paying attention to such things, she
would have noticed the way his wet black trousers and longsleeved top hugged
his tall, lean body.

He was way better looking than
Declan,
Raegan was shocked to find herself thinking. Not to mention a million times
nicer. He helped find her keys when they vanished right out of her bag the
other day; even came to her rescue when she was locked in the ladies’. He saw
through her attempts to laugh it off. And when she finally admitted that
someone was messing with her, he listened.
Really listened.

New girl’s tease or not, she had a feeling that Sam would
share her suspicions about who might be behind it all.
Even
if Bree didn’t.

As if drawn by her thoughts, she saw Declan move into
position for the start of the race. All fine. Except for the lane he was
positioning himself in. Which just happened to be the lane she had been
allocated. Once again, he was deliberately trying to throw her off, just
because she had picked the straw for the lane he wanted -
 
the
outside lane.

With a sigh, she wondered whether she could be bothered to
say anything.

But there was Bree, marching up to the line, stopwatch in
the air. It was time. She saluted to someone in Tower 2, and Raegan felt a zing
of anticipation: an optio or even Body Centurion Zeke must be watching. This
explained the delay.

Suddenly all thoughts disappeared and Raegan no longer felt
the cold or rain. She crouched, like a coiled spring, completely focused on the
course ahead, waiting for the race to begin.

The pistol sounded.

***

The Labyrinth began with a sprint on what looked like a
regular track, which then developed into a series of increasingly difficult
obstacles. The first two obstacles were situated within the track and could be
tackled at a run. These were designed to test responses and changes of
direction. The first set was thought to be the simplest, to ease the cadet into
the rest of the course. About 10 metres after the four running lanes had evened
out into a straight, these became walled, and bent in zigzags almost at right
angles, forcing the cadet to make sharp turns and stay alert.

This, and the next ‘dodging’ obstacle – a widened running
lane spread over a lattice, with some of the gaps filled in and raised to force
the cadet to weave between the available spaces or risk tripping over – Raegan
completed without too much difficulty. As did
Declan
.

The easy part of the course, if it could be called that, was
now over.

Raegan knew she must not get cocky. She had been prepared
for as much as she could see from the outside practice area, which
was
just the first two obstacles. After this the cadets were
plunged into a wooded area, ringed by very tall trees that disguised the rest
of the course from view. The exact set up of the Lab changed from time to time.
Once inside the course proper, there were a variety of paths the cadets could
take, and these changed regularly – giving the course the maze-like quality for
which it was named. Cadets were not allowed to know the layout in advance.

The trees were now in view. Neck and neck, the two
competitors surged on, the clatter of their feet nearly matching the pounding
of the rain all around.

Careful, Raegan thought. Though her progress was steady, she
knew that the urge to zoom ahead could be her undoing. Bree had slipped her a
few sneaky tidbits of advice; she could hear her voice now, recommending
caution: ‘Though you will be tempted, rushing can be bloody dangerous. These
obstacles are meant to test dexterity of brain as well as body. Give yourself
time – and I don’t mean that in the traversing sense. Make the most of real,
unmanipulated time. That may sound strange, but there you have it, lady. Be
prepared to slow your own pace if necessary.’ One of Yali’s first lessons also
resonated in her mind: ‘We must be prepared to exist solely in the present.
This is why we train our bodies as well as heart and brain. Slowing down time
instead of yourself is not always a luxury you will have: remember that.’

Easy for them to say! Caution, physical agility and mental
prowess all sounded like a great idea in theory but at the moment Raegan felt
completely out of control. These worries were confirmed when the path began to
change from an astroturf running track to grass and Raegan’s foot slipped
dramatically on the damp foliage. She only just righted herself in time.

The pair ran into the clearing and the path ahead came into
sight. It was forked, and would continue to split off into a myriad of
different tracks through the maze. Raegan was looking forward to this part of
the course even though she knew it would be more difficult; her plan was to
shake Declan off as soon as possible. Some space would be very welcome. She was
tired of him breathing down her neck.

She was in the right hand lane, Declan in the left. It made
sense to go right, she decided quickly. He would naturally turn left and then
she would be free. The thought cheered her up; with a burst of speed she broke
away from him and raced toward the right fork.

***

Yali took another sip of tea as the flickering screen showed
the small figures entering the course proper, the camera tracking their
movements with relative accuracy.

‘They are doing well,’ he remarked. ‘I would think that
their times are advanced for this stage in the training?’

Robert nodded, smiling slightly. ‘It makes me wonder if we
should run the Lab in pairs more often. I think the competitiveness brought
about by racing against just one person can be fairly effective.’

‘Certainly this seems to be the case here.’

The two watched thoughtfully for a few moments. At then,
suddenly, both men made small gestures of surprise; Yali leaned forward, and Robert
cocked his head to one side.

‘Is he...?’

‘Yes.’

Robert laughed. ‘This is taking competitiveness to a new
level!’

‘There is
a logic
to it,’ Yali
mused. ‘I wonder if I would not do something similar.’

‘It never normally happens, though,’ Robert leaned back in
his chair and regarded Yali quizzically. ‘After all, we run them in groups of
four and there are always at least six possible courses competitors can take
through the maze. They tend to split up as quickly as possible.’

‘The desire to break away from the crowd is strong. Most of
us do not like an audience while we are competing – for really, we are
competing against ourselves.’ Yali smiled. ‘But if you were against only one,
it would be wise to keep an eye on him or her, would it not?’

‘True. But if he doesn’t keep his mind on his own
performance, he could make mistakes. Focusing too much on Raegan could be
Declan’s undoing.’

‘You are correct. I have already noticed this in our work.
The boy is easily distracted by her.’

‘He should know better.’

‘He should. But the heart wants what it wants.’ Yali peered
at the screen over his fingertips. ‘I only hope his attention does not distract
her, too.’

‘But wouldn’t that be your strategy? You did mention the
merits of sticking closely to one’s enemy.’ There was a teasing glint in
Robert’s eye.

 
‘Touché.’
Yali inclined his
head good-naturedly.
‘As a predator with his prey.
When there are but two of you, the maze
becomes
the
hunt.’

On the screen, divots of mud flew in the air as the two
cadets leaped over logs, feet sliding precariously as they prepared for each
jump. The gap between them was minimal.

Yali let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

‘Though what Declan is hunting remains to be seen.’

***

Raegan hurdled the logs at breakneck speed, any thought of
caution forgotten. Idiot! Why the hell was he following her? As the Labyrinth
twisted and turned, there he was: as she swung like Tarzan on horizontal bars
overhanging a deep ditch; as she hoisted herself over an inverted wall; as she
crawled on her belly through the mud. Every path she chose, even if it meant a
rapid change of direction, he also took. He was trying to psyche her out.

Well, it wouldn’t work. It couldn’t. And anyway she had
other, more urgent things to worry about right now: like her choice of path
through the maze. This track was taking her deeper and deeper into the forest,
narrowing and bending and growing so dark that it was hard to see more than a
few inches in front of her nose. The terrain grew more uneven the further she
went.

And then it was like she had stumbled through some invisible
barrier. She felt it again; that crackle of electricity-like power that said
her Regency instincts were kicking in. But this was accompanied by something
cold and unfriendly, twisting inside; the emotional equivalent of being drowned
in ice. Every hair on her still-moving body stood up.
This isn’t right.

A thin, sickly ray of light was trickling through the bushes
ahead. Logic told her that the path was going to open out and visibility would
improve. Logic told her to head toward the light.

The clenchy, tight feeling in her gut told her to turn back.

But that was stupid. You didn’t just
turn back
in the
middle of the Labyrinth! So what was she supposed to do?

Unless…

The moment the thought crossed her mind it was like her body
was already tensing, preparing to spring; and then, without breaking her
stride, she was soaring upwards, higher than she knew she could jump, hands
outstretched toward a particularly long branch.