Page 61 of Quarter Labyrinth

The slide—in true labyrinth fashion—stopped five feet above ground. I tumbled the rest of the way, rolling tomy feet and running.

I registered the forest, the tall evergreen trees, the sticky air of summer, the disconcerting silence from the absence of animals. Branches whipped at my face. They clawed the skin, leaving flashes of pain in their wake. It paled in comparison to the pain at my side, which I largely suspected was an infected wound, but I kept going. I had to. If Leif caught me, he might not be so slow about using his blade.

I’d be quite the sight. My hair tangled beyond hope, my side infected and from the feel of things, bleeding, and running for my life.

Leif’s roar cleaved the labyrinth.

I ran faster.

Around the bend of trees, toward the largest pine I could find, then I threw myself into the umbrella of its branches to press myself small. There, I willed my tattoo to stop beating as I listened to the crash of Leif coming through the forest.

He wasn’t the only one. Someone else moved ahead. Just my luck.

I couldn’t hear Leif anymore. But I heard the newcomers, their voices loud and mocking, laughing as they paraded through the trees. The shape of them came into view, three stocky men in their twenties moving in the wrong direction, waltzing as if they were on an evening stroll.

Despite the leisure of their movements, they were armed to the teeth. They might as well have purchased the whole arsenal of weapons from the market.

Across their broad chests were a crisscross of weapon belts, holding daggers sheathed over hearts and throwing axes restingjust below. A longsword hung at one’s hip, its pommel worn smooth from countless draws, while a dirk was tucked into another’s boot. Its hilt peeked beneath the hem of his cloak.

One had strapped a massive two-handed sword to his back with its blade poking above his shoulder like a silent sentinel. A quiver of bolts peeked out beneath it, paired with the small but deadly crossbow slung across his other shoulder. He was the tallest, and the one to avoid. His arms bore bracers lined with hidden knives, the hilts discreetly peeking out, ready to be drawn in an instant. Even his gloves had reinforced knuckles, meant to turn a punch into a bone-shattering blow.

The sight made my blood boil. Only Pearls could afford so much. Their money bought weapons meant to kill us with.

That thought made my breathing hitch. Their slow strolling, their array of weapons, the way they walked in the entirely wrong direction…these three weren’t here to win. They were here for sport.

A new weapon came into view, this one a slender blade with a tapered tip, and it slid against my neck. My breath loosened. Muscles flexed. Before I could decide whether to fight or plead, a low voice spoke.

“Don’t move,” Leif whispered. The warmth of him rested over my shoulder from where he’d slid into the canopy of the pine trees with me. I’d been too focused on the newcomers to hear him.

Suddenly, the newcomers weren’t my biggest worry.

My hand went to my own blade, but Leif’s hand was already there, grabbing mine to hold steady.

“They will kill you faster than I will,” Leif said. “Don’t move.” He held my hand fast, but the blade twisted so the dull end pressed against my neck, holding me back. Not poised to kill. Positioned to defend.

When I looked back at the newcomers, the tallest one was watching us. He smiled.

“What have we here?”

Leif groaned, dropping the blade to put himself in front of me as he shifted out of the trees. Before he did, he glanced back and mouthed, “Run.”

Then he stepped toward the three newcomers. “I was hoping to find you.”

“We heard,” the biggest one said. The other two shifted as they took in Leif and I, noting our swords, axes, and daggers. Minimal weapons compared to theirs. Still, I pulled my shoulders back to appear as threatening as possible.

I could run. The scenario ran through my mind. I’d run, leaving Leif with three on one. He’d die. They’d come after me. I’d die. My best chance of survivingthemwas for Leif to survive long enough to kill them, and his best chance at killing them was with me at his side. My presence didn’t improve his odds by much, but it counted for something.

And they were looking at him like they wished to devour him whole.

Momentary allies it would be.

I planted myself at Leif’s side. His eyes darted to me, widening slightly, before hardening as they returned to the three men.

“Figured the three of you would come hunting again,” he snarled at them. Leif seemed to take up more space now, building himself up like a shield that he angled between me and the three men. His eyes were as dark as his hair, and his jaw clenched tight.

The big one grinned. “It’s always good fun. We heard you had a vendetta for what we did to Luke.”

Leif shook at the mention of his brother’s name. When he spoke, his voice came as if through a thick throat. “I’ll allow you to fall on your swords in mercy. Otherwise, the death I give will be far more painful.”

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