Page 92 of Quarter Labyrinth

Clark studied me. “Ren, we keep our heads down.”

“I know, I know. Not our ocean, not our tide.” The words clawed their way through my throat, leaving behind a bitter taste.

One of the attackers was speaking. “The mighty son of Vincent. How far you’ve fallen.”

Blood trickled from Leif’s lip to carve a path down his neck. His dark eyes were feral, his jaw clenched, and his knuckles white over the hilt of his dagger.

The three circled him. “What price do you think Vincent will pay for the life of his son?”

“Very little, I’m afraid,” Leif replied. From what he’d told me, I knew that to be true.

They must have realized that too. One of the three, a burly man with a thick beard, chuckled. “Then there’s no reason to keep you alive.”

The sharp sound of steel made Leif’s eyes widen as the man slide his sword from its sheath. The other three did the same, and one by one they lowered them to Leif. He growled, but he was nothing more than an animal trapped in their cage.

He was going to die.

“Ren, look away,” Clark ordered.

Delilah’s necklace burned hotter, like she could read my mind.

My left hand tightened over my sword while my right hand gripped my axe, and I ran.

Leif’s eyes snapped to me as I emerged to bury the axe in the nearest one. The attacker cried out before he fell. I tossed the sword to Leif just as he loosed his dagger into the second. It landed lethally. The man dropped.

The third blinked at his two fallen friends, then at us. Leif grinned as he twirled the hilt of my sword in his hand to find its balance. Then he faced the third—and only remaining—opponent. I stood beside him.

“Who are you?” the man stuttered, backing up as Leif and I walked closer to him.

“She,” Leif answered for me, “Is the most interesting thing to happen to this labyrinth.”

The man lifted his blade, but his confidence had gone, leaving behind a trembling fool who Leif disarmed quickly. His body soon fell just as the other two had.

I pulled my dagger free from an earlier body. Steel and blood shimmered in the moonlight. “I’ve been missing this.”

“Too bad. I’ve grown attached.” Leif held out his hand. “Besides, it’s only fair since you stole mine.”

“Ren!” Clark stood behind me, his sword held high.

Leif startled at his sight, then laughed. “You brought a lover into the labyrinth?” I stayed silent as he tsked his tongue. He looked over Clark with great interest. “Foolish thing to do.”

Fear surged within me, and whatever madness drove me to save Leif calmed. Before Leif could do anything else, I threw my dagger back at him, aiming for his leg.

The blade sank into his flesh. Leif roared.

“If anyone is going to kill you, it’s going to be me,” I told him as he sank to his knees. Then, ignoring Clark’s look, I darted into our hiding place to grab my bag and took off down the path while Leif screamed in pain behind us.

He’d be fine. I knew he had a healing tonic. For some reason, knowing that made me feel a lot better.

Delilah’s markings weren’t there to guide us. But the star in the east was. I followed it as best as I could while Clark ran silently beside me. I’d lost my sword—the second weapon I’d given Leif—but I still had my axe and Leif’s old dagger.

We ran until Clark found the most ordinary looking part of the hedge maze, with simple ivy walls and a plain dirt floor, where he stopped. “We should rest here. You still need sleep.”

I sunk to my knees. “How close do you suppose we are now? Days?”

He glanced up. “I’d say so. Closer than anyone thought we would.”

I got to work digging out a place to sleep in the walls of the hedge, very interested in keeping my hands busy so my mind would be quiet. It took a minute to realize Clark wasn’t working beside me.

---