[System Notification: Attribute Intuitive Drift has activated! Following guidance is strongly recommended.]
I looked both ways before sliding out of the room.
"This way," I told Llewellyn, walking toward the stairwell.
"Please fill me in," Shea said. "What are we doing?"
"It's one of my Attributes," I said. "It intuitively pulls me in the right direction. I'm going to see if it can get us to the bull's location."
"Ah!" Shea said. "That's handy. Okay, sounds like a better plan than what we had. I'll keep an eye out for the guards."
That was perfect.
"How is everyone else doing?" Llewellyn asked.
"All smooth. Tiernan finally managed to ditch the guard he was doing his security rounds with and is working on finding the bull's location too."
That was good news. The timer was ticking.
We were about to cross the last intersecting hallway before the stairwell when I was suddenly pulled left.
Damn it. So the stairwell plan was already bust.
We had to make it up as we went from here on.
"Guests coming from your left," Shea said. "Duck into the alcove. They're not guards, but it's better if you can avoid being seen."
Llewellyn grabbed my arm. "Let's equip concealment and mask our magic," he said. "It can't hurt against regular guests."
He was right. We both did so, then we slid together into the space behind a large potted plant, pretending to look out the window.
I held my breath.
The guests walked past.
"Clear," Shea said, when their steps had faded in the distance. "Move. Stairs are not far. I've already looped the camera feed."
How was this 'not far'?! The fourth floor felt endless!
We reached the east stairwell and descended quickly.
"Ground and basement level are the ones with the guards patrolling," Shea said. "Be careful."
"Got it," Llewellyn said.
Third floor…
Second floor…
First floor…
The pull from Intuitive Drift remained consistent, so I assumed the direction was right.
Ground floor.
I froze in place. Llewellyn stopped beside me, sending me a questioning look.
"Shit!" Shea said. "There are two guards heading straight for you! Back up the stairs! Now, now!"
Intuitive Drift tugged too, telling me to go back.
"Follow me!" I told Llewellyn.
Fucking hell.
I didn't know how Intuitive Drift worked, but… now it told me to go back?! Couldn't we have avoided this detour to begin with?!
We ran back one flight of stairs and turned right.
It played to our advantage that there weren't any extra security points apart from the one in the hall. Only people arriving specifically for the auction were scanned, not existing hotel guests, so there weren't any additional checkpoints set up if you came down from the upper floors. Still, we needed to stay alert.
I turned left again.
"I feel like I'm watching Pacman play itself," Shea muttered. "Have you sensed the artifact's position?"
"I'm... not sure," I said. "I just know that this seems to be the right direction."
"Alright," Shea said. Then, suddenly, "Stop! Wait. Just a second… Okay, cameras looped, you can go."
We went the long way round to the opposite set of stairs and descended quickly.
Basement level. Finally.
Intuitive Drift steered me left.
Even though our concealment artifacts were still active, it would be more difficult to fool trained guards, especially if they were keeping an eye out for anything unusual.
Still, we had to try.
"What the—" Shea said suddenly.
"What's going on?" Llewellyn asked.
"I'm looking at the other screens. There are… I thought those were two guards, but it's actually one guard and… I'm pretty sure the other person is from the Alliance too. Give me one moment."
Uh? We kept walking briskly.
"Shit," Shea said. "The face recognition software comes up blank."
"Can you hear what they're saying?" I asked.
"No. This CCTV system doesn't have audio."
Llewellyn and I looked at each other.
"Can we get close enough to overhear what they're saying?" Llewellyn asked.
"Wouldn't recommend it," Shea said. "There's nowhere to hide."
Damn it.
"Fine," Llewellyn said. "We don't have the time for risky detours anyway. The artifact will be moved soon."
"I'll keep an eye on them," Shea said. "Keep going."
"This way," I said, turning right.
It was a good thing we'd nap-learned the blueprints. This place was a maze.
Intuitive Drift led me past several doors, but none of them seemed the right one.
I tried once again to expand into the Magic Field, but even that didn't leave me with any more insights. What else could I do? We were running out of time!
"Shit," Shea said. "Two guards are coming your way. You need to go! Go, go! Now!"
No… Now?!
I could hear them too. Footsteps just around the corner. And two voices.
"Something wrong?" I heard one of them ask.
"…I felt something," the other man said.
Ah, damn it.
"Run!" Shea said. "Quick!"
Fuck.
Intuitive Drift pulled me left, then right, then left again.
Where the hell was this artifact?!
Llewellyn kept beside me without losing stride, his eyes scanning the hallways ahead, occasionally darting to me.
"They're right behind you," Shea said urgently. "I think one of them called for reinforcements. They must have sensed something. Two more guards converging on your position from the east. You've got maybe forty seconds."
Forty seconds?!
Fuck. Now I felt like I was playing one of those endless runner games like Distorted Realm Run, where you had to run while being chased by enemies!
"That's a dead end!" Shea cried out when I turned right again.
But… that's where Intuitive Drift was pulling me!
"Spread out!" we heard someone shout. "Collins has never been wrong before. If there's an intruder we'll find them! Now!"
"Shit," Shea said. "You have fifteen seconds. Maybe less."
Unless I was mistaken, we were close to the ballroom now, but we couldn't leave this hallway without being seen!
"There's a service door," Llewellyn said suddenly.
I followed his gaze. I could see it too, it was half-hidden behind a rolling cart of linens.
Intuitive Drift pulled me toward it.
"…"
Like it'd been useful at all!
We ducked behind the cart and quickly opened the door.
There was barely enough space for two people. I pressed Llewellyn against a shelf full of linens and shut the door behind us just as footsteps entered the hallway behind us.
We were pressed chest-to-chest.
"Check every door!" someone yelled. "Every single one!"
Fuck. Looks like this floor didn't have guest rooms.
Doors started opening and closing, one after another. They were getting closer.
How could we explain our presence here!?
Wait…
"Deactivate everything now," I whispered to Llewellyn. We had to appear like we'd been here for a while, not like we'd been running around.
Llewellyn eyed me for a split second, looking intrigued, and did.
I deactivated my artifacts too, pressed him back against the shelf, and kissed him hard, starting to mess up his hair and clothes, frantically.
Llewellyn's eyes widened.
He caught on quickly though, and let out a noise, spinning us around.
Really?! Even here…
Llewellyn unbuttoned my trousers and pulled the zipper down, messed up my shirt, and pressed flush against me, tugging at my hair. Then he kissed down my throat and sucked a mark there.
"…"
Fuck, this shouldn't be turning me on!
A startled moan left my mouth.
"Llewellyn…" I gasped.
The door behind us was flung open.