Page 42 of Hallowed Games

As I moved across the top of the wall, my injured leg juddered, and nausea turned in my stomach. I glanced up to find that archers had their arrows trained on me. If I hoisted myself up any higher, they’d shoot me.

My body was shaking uncontrollably, pain mingling with fear.

Percival followed after me, and I looked ahead to the place where the vines dropped all the way to the ground. That was probably where the blades stopped, but it was also possible that no one had ever made it that far. When I looked back at the rest of our allies, I found them following Percival.

As I reached the long vines, I scanned the ground for any signs of human bones. I didn’t see any here.

My pulse thundered.

I closed my eyes, silently praying to the Archon. And when I’d gathered enough courage, I took a leap off the wall.

I landed hard on the stones, ducking as low as I could in case a blade shot out. Pain ripped through my thigh with the impact of landing, and I clenched my teeth.

But I heard no whoosh of metal through the air. Slowly, I turned to look above me. I sat up to clutch the back of my thigh, and blood spilled through my fingers.

“You’re okay,” Percival called out. He jumped down next to me, then knelt by my side. “But you’re bleeding quite a lot. Sazia?”

“Hang on,” said Sazia. She dropped down to the labyrinth floor with a quiet grunt, then flicked her long hair back behind her shoulders. “So much time I spent learning to sew up skin just for moments like this.”

I swallowed hard. Part of me wanted to ask her who she’d practiced on, but a greater part of me thought I should just grit my teeth and pretend none of this was happening.

Sazia was still catching her breath as she knelt next to me. She reached into her cloak, and she pulled out a small, cloth package. “They said no weapons. But they didn’t say anything about tools.”

I winced as she pulled out a needle and thread. She was going to sew me up like a torn rag doll.

She sighed dramatically. “Lie down on your stomach, and we’ll get those ugly leather trousers off you, yes? So much leather in this kingdom. The skin of dead animals.”

“You’re going to be fine, Elowen.” Percival cleared his throat. “I mean, until the next trap. Look, just think of happy thoughts. Flowers…whatever women like.”

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Leo reading in a sunlit room. As Sazia went to work piecing together my skin, I blocked out the pain of the needle threading in and out.

But now one question remained—with this torn leg, could I really make it out of here alive?

CHAPTER 20

With every step I took, a sharp stab of pain shot through my thigh. But really, Sazia had done a beautiful job. She’d cleaned it out, and she’d managed to stop the bleeding. Now, only my trousers were torn open.

We’d been walking for hours. Hunger and thirst slowed us, and I kept imagining how amazing it would be if the sky would open up and unleash a torrent of rain. I could almost taste it…

Using the markers we’d already discovered, we’d been able to avoid traps. Step one: look for bones, bodies, and severed vines. Step two: use the vines to transport ourselves.

But I had no idea if we were actually making progress. Twice, we’d passed the spot where Reginald and his friends lay dead. The labyrinth felt claustrophobic, constantly shifting to keep us mostly on our own, and going in circles.

As we walked, I scanned the surrounding walls, looking for bones. My mouth felt dry as cinders. Up ahead, Hugo was leaning against a wall, vomiting into a corner. His shoulders shook. Whatever herbs he’d taken had clearly worn off.

When we’d started this morning, the sun had been a mere sliver of golden light on the top of the walls. But as pumpkin-orange tinged the afternoon light, my nerves fluttered. The day was stretching on without an exit in sight.

As we rounded a dark corner, the scent of burning wood coiled into the air. Just above the walls, a plume of smoke curled into the blue sky nearby.

I felt my scars tingle beneath my gloves. “Something’s on fire.”

Percival wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, and he turned around. “I feel like we might be walking directly toward it.”

My mind whirled as I tried to figure out a way for us to orient ourselves. When we’d started, we must have been heading north because of the way the sun hit the western wall. Now, many hours later, we’d turned east. Which way was out? I had no idea.

Ashes floated on the wind, and the scent of burning oak swept past me.

But it wasn’t just oak…I sniffed the air, my mind flashing back to the day the Baron had burned me.

---