Fay and Lifara looked Martin up and down. Martin covered himself at once, plainly unwilling to let the two women size him up any further.
"Swap places with me. I'll lead the tower raiding team," Fay said.
Martin did not argue. He only nodded. They exchanged leader badges, and Fay turned back toward the fifty floored tower. Ahead of her, the colored squares shifted in their maddening pattern as she climbed.
The cultivators nearest the entrance noticed her approach, saw the badge in her hand, and returned their attention to the battle below. It was clear enough what they were doing.
Rotating their fighters, measuring timing, sending replacements when needed, since the maze floor itself could not hold all hundred of them at once.
Fay climbed in silence, but her mind never stilled. With her peerless comprehension, she had spent every idle moment studying the way Jackson shaped blood.
