Praetorian Rising, стр. 39
The frozen ground recently hit with rain turned the walkway into a mush of muddied snow, making it impossible for Camille to camouflage her path. Who were these men, and why were they chasing her? She needed to get back to the elevator to disappear back within the compound.
She banked right, ducking between two cabins and angling back toward the wreckage of the main square. A large group of the townsfolk was just up ahead, and she need only slip between them—but it was too late. Another guard near the group had already spotted her and was pointing her out to his fellow comrades. She immediately spun on her heel, only to find the larger of the two earlier soldiers coming up the pathway toward her.
Camille retreated against the wall of a cabin, searching wildly for a weapon. She saw nothing but a small fist-sized rock and grabbed it as the massive crunch of their boots closed in on her.
The larger man looked down at her with supreme boredom, his shoulders the width of a grizzly bear. He held his gun down and away from Camille in a passive gesture, which confused her. "Are you Camille?"
"Who wants to know?" Camille shot back, raising the rock.
"We aren't here to hurt you; we're trying to help."
Camille's eyes flicked down to the name on his grungy uniform: General Phillip Ballen. He'd recited the perfect thing, Camille thought wryly, just what a soldier of Sierra Village would say before they shackled an intruder and threw them into the unknown wild beyond the Asperian wall. The men closed in on her, making her entire body scream with a warning. She would die before she let another soldier touch her. "You stay back, don't come any closer!"
Phillip stopped, his eyes scanning her face as he raised his hands in an offer of peace.
The second soldier, a man named Lieutenant Acher Greeves, walked carefully over to join them. He mirrored the General, his hands open and displaying his palms to showcase his intent of kindness. "Camille, we're not your enemies. Vesyon ordered us to collect you and bring you down to operations. It'd be a lot easier if you came willingly."
Hesitating for several long moments, Camille turned her attention to the General. "How do you know Vesyon?"
The burly man sighed in annoyance but seemed to understand her hesitation. "I've known Vesyon for a very long time, long enough to smell like his damn smoking pipe for how often he picks it up in my presence. I'd rather not force him to collect you himself as he is in a rather...serious meeting," Phillip said, his stern glare never wavering from her face. After waiting a few seconds longer, Camille allowed the small rock to drop to the ground at her feet.
Phillip gestured for Camille to follow, and the three of them headed down the muddied path back the way she'd come. Once they reached the elevator, Phillip pulled out a white plastic card from his jacket pocket and swiped it against a metal panel to open the doors.
Phillip and Acher walked inside, dragging Camille with them. She could feel her patience slipping away and her panic rising as they shoved her into the furthest corner, apart from the sliding doors.
"We have her, Captain," Phillip said, pressing a black button on the wall and speaking into an intercom.
After a long pause, Vesyon replied in curt stiffness. "Bring her to operations, please." Though his words were dry, they meant something different to Camille: We are not safe to speak openly here, so please keep your thoughts to yourself. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but for once she wanted to listen to him.
The elevator stopped much more abruptly than her ride up and opened to reveal another long hallway with doors labeled by numbers and names. Large green letters spelled out "Romeo Village Operations" just across the top of the metal door at the end of the hall, and the two men made for it with her in tow.
Phillip swiped his card once more, and the panel lit up before the heavy metal door slid open to reveal a substantial, circular room and a surprisingly loud screaming match between two men just inside the doorway.
"I told you to watch her!"
"I told you she wouldn't sit still much longer!" Theo yelled, his face flushed and eyes threatening to darken.
"You should carry out my orders no questions asked, soldier," Vesyon said, immediately back in control.
"Tell that to your Praetorian. She obviously doesn't listen very well," Theo snapped under his breath.
Both men went silent and whipped around as Camille was led inside, with Theo zeroing in on Acher's vice-like grip on her left arm. "It isn't wise for you to handle a Praetorian like that," he remarked.
Vesyon also stared at Acher, his expression turbulent. "I requested you ask her to come, not force her. There is a huge difference."
Phillip looked slightly perturbed but requested his soldier to release Camille. He instantly dropped her arm.
"Thank you, General. Your help is much appreciated," Vesyon said to Phillip. "We will discuss matters further after the evening meal."
Phillip nodded and exited after the Lieutenant while Camille came to stand mutely at Vesyon's side. Everything about the situation seemed incredibly strange to her. Despite the anger Vesyon clearly displayed, she could tell it wasn't directed at her.
Vesyon waited until the door had closed behind the soldiers before he looked at her. "How are you? Are you feeling weak or tired at all?" His tone soaked into her system like warm butter on freshly toasted bread, and she was equally relieved as much as worried by his calm reaction.
"I'm fine," Camille said swiftly. "Should I not be?"
"Before anyone else interrupts, I need to be clear with you. The King Regent knows you're here—the soldiers who attacked us in the forest were scouts looking for you."
Camille's line of sight zeroed