Read Online The Descent into the Maelstrom (The Phantom of the Earth Book 4) by Raeden Zen - Free Book Online

silver dust formed into Janzers, one next to Oriana and one next to Pasha. The goal of this exercise, Lord Thaddeus said, is for each of you to reach the other end without being apprehended by your opponent’s Janzer teammate. Your movement is limited to a neighboring point on the grid, up or down, or left or right. No skipping platforms! No diagonal moves either!
    The fences cleared, and Oriana and her Janzer and Pasha and his Janzer stepped cautiously to the corner that led to the first platform. Oriana determined the correct algorithm for her movement. Her calculations showed that if she moved before her Janzer, her capture would be made more difficult, while if her Janzer moved before Pasha, he would be at a disadvantage. She gave orders to her Janzer accordingly.
    She moved swiftly to the right, her Janzer to the left, mirroring Pasha’s and his Janzer’s movements, entering the platform grid the way she planned. The Janzer that pursued her took a path she didn’t expect, and as she moved up and left, left and up, she felt a burning, ripping sensation in her calves. Her muscles cramped. She fell and rolled over the side of a platform and hung on long enough to see Pasha storm the other end of the grid, retrieving the final flag. Then she lost her grip and fell so far and fast that she could barely breathe in the thin, freezing air.
    A rush of icy water engulfed her. She screamed …

    “Oriana,” Lord Thaddeus said, “you’re okay. Do you hear me? Oriana?”
    She hung in the Harpoon harness, her bodysuit soaked. She shivered. Her mind adjusted.
    Lord Thaddeus lowered her. “You must listen! A champion listens. A champion makes wise decisions. A champion stays focused on the goal at hand. You each have the talent to receive the first bid at the Harpoon Auction, but if you don’t start obeying us, you won’t last during the critical-reasoning session.” He peered toward Lady Parthenia. “Hon, have you ever seen candidates behave like this?”
    The lady shook her head back and forth and lowered and unlatched Pasha, who wore that smile he always did when he won. He always won!
    Oriana sensed his thoughts were focused on the Harpoon leaderboard. She turned. The holographic ticker scrolled along the simulation room’s rim. The Summersets only allowed the twins to see the top one hundred nine-digit ID numbers, forever reminding them that with their genes and development they should be scoring within this elite group of candidates during Harpoon simulations.
    Oriana had dreamed of seeing her number on the ticker. Not Pasha’s.
    She threw her head back and closed her eyes. When she touched the ground, she fell to her knees and grasped her chest. “That … was … so … real,” she gasped. “More than … any other simulation …” She coughed. “Will the … Harpoons be this … way?”
    “The exams will be as real as the walls and furniture in our home,” Lady Parthenia said, “but as we’ve told you many times—”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah, the exams are more about cognitive and learning ability,” Pasha said, “not strength and aggressiveness.” He swiped his long, sweaty hair over his forehead and wiped his nose. “Intelligence, confidence, and moral flexibility are what the Navitan traders want to see, blah, blah, blah—”
    Lady Parthenia slapped him. “Don’t catch that tone with me, young man. You’ll do better to keep to our advice next time you’re in the simulator. You weren’t able to calculate the sequencing query. Nor did you properly navigate the woodlands. And who told you taming western wolves was permitted?”
    “No one, but—”
    “Break the rules on Harpoon day—”
    “I used the ZPF! I’m allowed to use the ZPF—”
    “To solve riddles, yes, that you may do.” Parthenia waved her forefinger. “You may not use it to influence other fauna. I’ve told you that before.” The lady put her hands on her hips. “If you disobey me on the day of the Harpoons, you’ll be