The leaves crackled as Marcus brushed dirt from the rope snaking along the forest floor. The leaves provided a perfect cover, almost completely obscuring the dark, fibrous cord except for a metal connection to a tree. Marcus plucked at the rope, careful not to pull sharply enough to trigger the mechanism. It was still taut, no tampering, and the flare hidden by the tree was still intact. No one had been through here, or at least it appeared that way.

  Marcus stood, brushing dirt from his pants, and carefully stepped over the tripwire. The tripwires were a primitive, if mostly effective, way to monitor a property that had not been designed with security in mind. Still, it seemed like Siera’s security team was desperate if these were the measures they had resorted to.

  Marcus started back down the path through the woods. The undergrowth wasn’t particularly dense here, but the path still provided a much-needed break from constantly watching the ground. Marcus spotted a familiar split and veered left before slowing and pulling out the small map and notes given to him by one of Siera’s security officers detailing the patrol route.

  The security captain wanted him to check the wires near the clearest trails through the woods, but that was difficult when he didn’t know where they were. A scribbled “X” indicated there was another tripwire somewhere along his path back to the watchtower. Just a mark by a line on the map with a note: By red bush.

  It wasn’t exactly an unambiguous description. He would just have to step carefully. Marcus glared at the map. This was bad practice. He never would have sent someone out on a patrol like this without a partner the first time. Seden, Siera’s head of security, had just given him this poorly labeled map with vague descriptions of tripwire locations.

  Maybe Seden was banking on him setting a flare off. Then he’d have a reason to berate Marcus instead of his absurd pretexts. They’d never liked each other.

  Marcus slowed as he spotted a raised section across the path buried in leaves. Carefully, he brushed leaves away with his foot, but it was just a root. He sighed and continued down the path. The breeze shifted, bringing a faint scent of brine from the sea with it. You could almost forget in these woods how close the sea actually was. The ocean wasn’t audible this far from the coast, though without his jacket, the crash of the surf against the cliffs provided a constant sort of low wavering pressure pulse against the sensitive skin on his arms.

  The extensive coastline was one of the primary motivators for the tripwires. This mansion complex was old. It was nothing like Siera and Matteo’s mansion with its state-of-the-art systems and burst protection to guard any sensitive electronics: heat sensors, electric fences, all the crazy security toys that rich people were so fond of.

  No, while the complex was certainly large, it was designed to be lived in. Had been lived in for a long time. Now it lay empty, a scarred set of memories of Isi’s parents that Siera usually seemed desperate to avoid. She’d loan it out to whoever was in her good graces at the moment.

  Not a clan stronghold. Just an art piece masquerading as one while Novem was on the move. That was good for him. He planned to take full advantage of every hole in the cobbled together security system.

  A deep red bush came into view as he rounded a bend, and Marcus froze, glancing down at his map. The next of Seden’s monitoring contraptions had to be here. Marcus scanned the underbrush for the telltale signs: glimmers of metal cable, overly bunched autumn leaves, and a smooth walking surface to draw the eye away from the ground. His eye caught on a gleam of silver near the base of a tree. The loose line of leaves and dirt could only be hiding the rope.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Marcus crouched to get a better look. This contraption… this one was almost an outright trap.

  It still had the connected flare, but whoever triggered this trap would be pulled into the air instead of just alerting the towers that someone had been nosing around this area of the woods.

  Marcus shivered. It wasn’t the sort of trap that would be easy to get out of. If you triggered it wrong, you’d likely break your leg or at the very least tear a muscle. That Seden’s team had even set up something like this…

  Siera wasn’t messing around, and neither was Seden.

  And they’d sent him out with this ridiculous map.

  A chill raced along his spine. Seden was short-staffed. That could be why Marcus had been sent without a guide…

  Or maybe Siera’s displeasure was running much deeper than Marcus thought.

  Bursts. If Siera had set this up...

  For a second, he felt pressure well up in his fingertips. He took a deep breath, forcing unease down and letting the pressure drain back to his core.

  I’ll have to be very, very careful, Marcus thought, if I don’t want to end up dead in the next few days. The air seemed heavier suddenly. That was silly. Nothing had really changed, but it still felt like the world had shifted under his feet.

  If Siera and Seden really were hoping he’d have some sort of “accident” out on patrol, then things were worse than he’d anticipated. Because that would mean Siera wanted to keep tabs on him but also wanted him out of the way.

  If that was true, then Marcus was only out here because Siera didn’t have a good enough excuse to openly detain him. She liked to appear fair, and she certainly wouldn’t completely alienate Isi without good reason. But if Marcus just happened to step on a tripwire? Well, that was on him.

  He shifted his weight. Maybe he was reading too far into this. Maybe it was a lack of staff. But the trap was right in front of him. He took a deep breath, studying it. Always better to be prepared.

  This was a larger clearing. Maybe there was a pattern. If he had to go through the woods, it would be best to avoid clearings like this one. Hopefully, that knowledge would be unnecessary.

  Marcus stood, carefully avoiding the trigger, and continued along his route, heading back to the observation tower where he would spend the rest of his shift.

  This had always been dangerous, but now, it felt like he was living in a minefield. It wasn’t so much a question of if something would explode as a question of when.

  The watchtower appeared, nestled right above the treeline. He was almost back. Almost clear. He tried to focus on the trees, really anything other than impending detonations.

  By the time he reached the ladder, his head was already beginning to ache. There were too many variables. Too many things to keep in view, all crashing together. Still, climbing up to the tower allowed him to shed some stress.

  No more traps. Not on the ground. No, the trees were deadly in a very different way.

  Marcus fingered one of the rifles that was strapped to the railing, imagining what would happen if he tried to escape with his glidesuit. Someone would stand here at this railing with the scope of the rifle scanning the sky and then shoot him right out of it. If not here, then near one of the later towers stocked with heavier artillery.

  It was madness, but somehow no one seemed to be pushing back. The towers should be for flare spotting. A deterrent, not a death sentence. Somehow Siera didn’t seem to care lately.

  Maybe Matteo would notice. Maybe someone would step in before the clan erupted into war with Novem.

  But it would likely be too late.

  He needed a way out. He was walking such a fine line; he couldn’t afford not to have a plan. But the sky was out. Marcus shuddered. No, flying wasn’t an option. He and Kara could hike down to the cave system in the nearby cliffs and take one of the boats Isi had moored there.

  The caves were far enough out that they shouldn’t be monitored, and no one knew about the boats. It could work. He just had to figure out how to get himself and Kara there without being caught. He scanned the forest from his lookout. There were still enough leaves on the trees to hide someone passing by beneath the canopy.

  It was doable. Crazy, perhaps, but he could probably make it work.

  Things would just be so much easier if he didn’t have to.

  What Marcus would give to have options like that.

  [Archivist] Due to repeated, ill-advised pranks committed by one Lev Tanel in retaliation for last week’s Chaos entry, rent has been doubled for this week.

  [Lev] This is extortion.

  [Archivist] It’s accounting.

  [Lev] Fine. Rent #1: Check out this fun sci-fi. It legitimately looks awesome. Unlike the Archivist’s alleged events.