Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Well, maybe there was a way to have her cake and eat it too, she thought as she looked down at the tebla-rissa salad she’d ordered for lunch. What if she continued to submit to her mentor but just made it a little more obvious that she was submitting? Would that get any kind of reaction out of him? Maybe if it did, she might get an idea if she had a chance with him once he was no longer her teacher.
But despite her plans to try and learn how Sirex really felt about her, Phoebe’s first indication that he might care didn’t come from any plan she made herself. It happened on yet another trial in the training cave…
5
PHOEBE
“This time the cave is set on maximum difficulty, Jenkins,” Sirex informed her as Phoebe stood in front of the dark opening and prepared to go in. “You’re going to see and feel things you’ve never seen before—it’s going to test you to the limits of your abilities. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I can be, Sir.” Phoebe lifted her chin. “As long as I have you in my ear, I’ll be all right.”
“I’ll be there for you.” Sirex put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “I’m proud of you, you know. You’ve come a long way since that first day when I had to ask you to drop and give me fifty.”
Phoebe’s heart swelled with her mentor’s praise. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to drop to her knees in front of him and submit in any and every way he wanted. She had read in her romance books that this was called “going into sub-space” and she had to actively fight against it, especially when Sirex praised her or, strangely, when he was especially strict with her. It seemed like she just couldn’t win—she wanted to submit to him no matter what!
Making an effort, she cleared her mind of her secret fantasies and started into the cave.
“I’m here with you,” she heard Sirex murmur in her ear. “Walk forward for ten steps…”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied and began what, by now, was the familiar trek through the cave-like training tunnel.
Except nothing was familiar this time. Instead of a mostly wide-open area, the space inside the tunnel seemed to have been compressed.
“Turn to the side and edge to the left. Be careful, there’s a wall just two inches from your face,” Sirex told her. And, “You’ll have to bend down low, there’s a barrier above you that extends for quite a way.”
It was a test of her balancing skills—which were generally excellent. But Phoebe soon realized it was also a test of her claustrophobia—which was moderate to severe. She really didn’t like tight spaces, but she knew that as an agent in the field, she might get into some situations where she was required to hide in a small or tight area. So she made herself go on, despite feeling like she wanted to scream inside the whole time.
The cave was throwing jump-scares at her too. Skeletons and monsters were around every corner. Even though she was expecting them, Phoebe’s heart was still in her throat every time one popped out in front of her. She gave a few little gasps, but she managed to choke back her screams, mindful of the fact that her mentor could hear everything she said and did.
It was difficult to hold back though. Somehow the illusions the cave was showing her seemed more real than ever before. She could even swear that she felt them brushing against her as she passed through or around them. It was a cold, slimy touch that Phoebe didn’t like one bit.
Then, just as she was sure this was the longest maze the training tunnel had ever put her through, she saw something up ahead that made her heart stutter in her chest.
It was a spider web—a giant one. It was glowing faintly in the pitch blackness and even moving slightly in the breeze that blew through the tunnel. It was right in her path, stretching from wall to wall and completely blocking the way forward.
Phoebe stopped in her tracks. The damn thing looked so real.
“Jenkins? Are you all right? Why have you stopped moving?” Sirex asked in her ear.
“Er, no reason.” Phoebe cleared her throat. “Moving forward now.”
“Good. Eight steps forward. You’re almost to the end.”
That got her going again. Squaring her shoulders, she moved confidently ahead, counting as she went.
One…two…It’s all right—it’s going to disappear when I get closer to it, she told herself. Three…four… Or if it doesn’t, it will dissipate once I get through it.
But the enormous spider web didn’t disappear and it didn’t seem to be getting any more transparent as she moved towards it. In fact, if anything, it seemed more real.