Page 28 of Twins for the Barbarians

“No, we keep going,” I reply, suddenly determined to get what I came here for. “If anybody was trying to hide something, you’re damned straight I’m going to find out what it is!”

Helios turns around and glowers at me. “Don’t be reckless, Alicia. Whatever this place has become, I will not let it take you away from us.”

“We’re in this together all the way through, or we’re not,” I say firmly.

Finally, Helios concedes. He and Kharo continue to lead the way as we get through the first opening. The walls are made of smooth black bricks. Each was carved and added to the wall individually. It’s an amazing feat, considering the troubled times in which this thing was erected. I’m further intrigued when we turn left and head for the next opening.

“Who builds a maze around a dead city?” Kingo mutters.

The sky is growing darker above us, so I glance at his air-quality device again. “It’ll beep if the air quality gets worse, right?”

“Yes.”

“A maze is usually part of a challenge,” I say, trying to remember all the instances I’ve read about mazes in ancient civilizations on Earth. “On my planet, a maze was like an intelligence test or challenge. They had to navigate it successfully to get to the end. When they did, their prize was usually access to a shrine or a hidden treasure. More often than not, the maze was riddled with potentially deadly traps, though.”

“Whoever built it, they were definitely trying to keep people out,” Kharo says.

“Or keep people in,” Helios suggests. “It could’ve been built to make it harder for the sick women to leave.”

“It’s a possibility,” I say, “but I doubt it. The maze would’ve been mentioned in the official documents we found, wouldn’t it?”

He nods once. “If it’s a challenge, what’s the prize?”

“Then again, if it were meant to keep people out, we’d better be careful,” I reply.

By the third wall, my stomach is in knots, and the sky is a most unsettling maroon color. The device in Kingo’s hand isn’t beeping, though, so at least we know the air isn’t poisonous. I watch Kharo and Helios’s broad backs as they lead us, my gaze wandering over their dark blue silk tunics tied at the waists with black leather belts that match their boots.

I hear a sudden hissing sound, and I freeze. A crevice opens in the wall to my left. Everything I’ve read about booby traps in mazes flashes before my eyes.

“Everyone, DUCK!” I say, dropping to the ground.

Fortunately, Kingo, Kharo, and Helios are quick to react—just in time, too, as more crevices open on both sides of us, and we’re bombarded with a storm of metallic projectiles. They hit the black stone, then fall to the ground with a clang. One comes close enough for me to see it better. It’s a tiny five-pointed star, insanely sharp, and the tips look like they are dipped in something. I can tell from the putrid smell that it’s some kind of toxin.

“Sand viper poison,” I whisper. “They’re laced with sand viper poison.”

“You were right,” Kingo gasps.

My heart is pounding as I look around.

“Can we move?” Kharo asks.

“They must be motion-activated,” I say. “We must have somehow stepped on the trigger.”

Helios slowly rises on all fours and runs his hands across the red dirt, looking for something on the floor. “I can’t feel or see anything.”

“I can,” Kingo mutters as he does the same but on a section just behind him. “Here, look…”

We scramble backward to find the trigger mounted onto a metallic plate loosely hidden under a layer of red dust. My blood runs cold as I quickly realize how easily we all could’ve been killed just now. Sand viper poison is notorious for causing violent, sudden death even in the smallest of quantities—let alone in the form of flying projectiles loaded with it.

“Holy hell,” I manage, swallowing my own dread as I try to think of a way forward. “We’ll have to be extra careful.”

“It probably isn’t the only booby trap in this maze,” Kharo groans with frustration. “We should stay close to the wall from now on, just in case. Keep your hands on the stone. Hopefully, we will feel something before setting it off.”

We follow his lead and do precisely that. We spread our fingers along the black stone, dreading anything we might feel. As the sky turns dark brown, we venture deeper into the maze. The air-quality device still isn’t beeping, so whatever this mist is, it must not be of volcanic origin.

“It’s weird,” Kingo says when we stop for a break. “The readings are off…” He shows me the device screen, and I recognize the chemical symbols, understanding they’re not supposed to be present in the air we’re breathing. “We should wear the filter masks, at least. The quantities of toxins are small, but the filter masks should keep most of this stuff from getting into our lungs.”

Once we’ve put on our masks, we proceed.

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