Page 65 of Mostly Shattered

“I fix,” Morvok insists, curling his fingers to indicate I should give him my hand.

I lift my arm. He dumps the yellow powder on my wound. It tingles and burns along the cut, but the sensation is over quickly. The troll’s magic clots the injury.

Costin grimaces.

“Uh, thanks,” I tell the troll to be polite.

“What’s the labyrinth?” I ask.

I reach for the amulet shards, but Morvok blocks me.

“I do not know what your labyrinth is,” Morvok answers.

“It’s a series of trials you must face and it’s different for everyone,” Costin explains before saying to the troll, “The labyrinth is too dangerous for a mortal. There must be another way.”

“That is the price of this great magic,” Morvok says. “Otherwise, everyone would use it.”

“There has to be another way,” Costin insists.

“You can throw the pieces to Draakmar as an offering,” Morvok suggests. The way he says the creature’s name inspires both terror and reverence.

“And that will keep the evil from rising?” I ask, hopeful.

“No, it will help Draakmar to surface, but he might spare you his fire.” Morvok takes a yellow stone from the ceiling and sets it on the table. He crushes it with his thumb, griding it into dust.

The evil has a name. Draakmar.

I was right. It doesn’t make me feel better to give it a name.

“Who is this Draakmar?” I ask.

The troll frowns. “Everyone knows of the great sleeping dragon Draakmar.”

I think of the schoolchildren at the bridge. Maybe I should have joined their field trip.

“My education was…” I gesture helplessly. “Human.”

The troll harrumphs.

“Draakmar is a fire dragon who embodies raw, destructive power,” Costin says. “The original amulet was formed from one of its scales.”

I frown at him. He knew all this and didn’t tell me before?

“This is why you failed to protect the magic,” Morvok grumbles. “You should not have been given that which you don’t understand. It took many trolls several years to pry it from his back. So long as the magic was intact, he did not notice. Now that it is broken, he will come looking for that which was stolen. He will come to eat you first.”

“Come on, Tamara.” Costin is unhappy as he forces me to leave with him.

I try to free myself, but he holds firm and blocks me from returning. “Wait. I have more questions.”

“She must face the labyrinth trials alone, vampire,” Morvok calls after us.

Costin pushes me through the troll’s entryway tunnel so fast I can barely stay on my feet. Something has changed in him. He’s always had that domineering quality to him, but he’s starting to act a little too controlling.

“Dammit, Costin, let me go,” I demand as we reach the row of mud-brick houses.

“I told you to let me do the talking!” Costin hisses under his breath. His eyes are swirling red with anger. “You didn’t need stories of Draakmar filling your imagination and distracting you from your purpose.”

“So the evil has a name,” I argue. “Does it really change anything? And I don’t need you dictatingwhat I do and don’t need to know. From now on, you tell me the?—”

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