Page 82 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

The snake’s eyes were closed, but suddenly the head lifted and its eyes opened. Despite trying to be ready for it, it still startled her and she glanced right at its eyes. Yellow slitted pupils stared at Kate before she could clamp her eyes shut. A slow lethargy stole over her limbs as the snake uncoiled and came closer to her. She was almost frozen now as the snake’s forked tongue flicked out into the air as though tasting her scent.

Sleep... sleep the long sleep of death. No more pain, no more anything.

The words circled around her, then slid deep within her.

The basilisk... it was the basilisk talking to her, Kate realized.

Such peace, little human. Don’t you wish for it? For quiet? For the end? I can give it to you.

Kate tried to move, but it was as though her feet had grown roots and trapped her in place. She tried desperately to remember what Patch had said about the basilisk and its poison. She couldn’t possibly fight this snake with a dagger and had no way to use its own poison to kill it.

Off to the side, she could hear Patch muttering. “Come on, old boy. Just bloody move. You can save her. You’ve lived a good life, and it’s worth giving up for her.” He was trying to convince himself to move, to draw the basilisk away from her. Kate’s heart ached at the sweetness in the grumpy kobold’s voice, and it only deepened her resolve to keep him safe.

Surrender to me, little human. Let go of your fears. Let go of your worries. I shall take them all away...

The basilisk’s words struck something within her.Let go of my fear...

The longer she gazed at the beast, the more she realized she recognized it. The yellow slitted eyes turned blue, vibrant like a summer sky.Roan’s eyes.

This snake came from Roan. It was a manifestation of him, a part of him, one of the most dangerous parts. But she wasn’t afraid of Roan. She wasn’t afraid of his darkness.

“You have no power over me,” she said. “You are but a piece of the labyrinth... a piece of Roan. You cannot control me. Leave us and go.”

The basilisk blinked. For a long second it stared at her intensely, then it turned its head and slithered away, unblocking the path to the tunnel beyond. Kate, free of the spell that had held her frozen, crumpled to her knees, her arms shaking. Patch rushed over, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Took you long enough. Where have you been, girl?” Before she could speak, he’d wrapped her in a hug. Kate laughed to keep from crying.

“Sorry I’m late,” she replied.

“Better late than never coming back at all, I suppose.” He let go of her and fixed his lopsided hat. “You’ve come here to save him, haven’t you?”

“Yes. Do you know the way?”

He shook his head. “No, ’fraid not. No one does. Everything’s changed, it has.”

“What are you doing so deep in the labyrinth?” she asked. “You said you always kept to the outskirts.”

“My brothers started digging deeper and deeper inside, moving their mines farther in because gems were becoming scarce. I warned ’em, but they wouldn’t listen. I had to follow.”

“I saw Magda,” Kate said.

The kobold grinned. “Ah, she’s done well since you left, girl. Very well. Got herself respect among the palace trolls, and now she leads them without fear into the labyrinth.” He was quiet a moment. “That’s because of you, Kate.”

Kate’s heart clenched as a wave of emotion swelled within her. “And how about you, Patch?”

“What about me?” he asked.

Kate wasn’t sure exactly what she was asking, but she didn’t dare admit that she’d missed him. He seemed to understand, and he grinned again.

“There’ll be time for you to hug me later, girl. You have a king to save. Now, concentrate. You’ll find the way.”

“You said I’d never find the center,” she reminded him, trying to tease him. But this time his gaze turned solemn and his smile faded as he reached out and gently clasped her hand.

“That was then,” he said. “Things change.You’vechanged. You’re Kate of the Winslows now. You just stopped a basilisk from killing us both. If anyone can find the center, it’ll be you.” He said it with such sincerity that Kate had to stop herself from hugging him again. He believed in her.Everyonebelieved in her.

“You know the way. Just trust yourself.” He gave her a gentle push toward the tunnel she’d been trying to reach before she’d encountered the basilisk.

It was much like the one that led to the Crystal Cave. A tremor of hope clenched in her chest. If this was the same cave, perhaps it could help her like it did before. She had to believe.

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