Page 81 of Quarter Labyrinth

“Leave him alive,” I said. “He’s lost everyone else.”

“Surrender now, or I kill you,” Clark told him, and something in his voice convinced the leader.

With a deep sigh, he dug into his pocket. The confidence in his voice ebbed away, leaving behind something hollow. “We were merely Seaweeds,” he said. Our entire group flinched at that. “When the Pearls come, they’ll destroy you.”

He threw his stone into the sky, and disappeared before it could land again.

Clark dropped his weapon.

“I hadn’t realized there were still Seaweeds in the labyrinth besides us,” Gunnar whispered.

Now that it’d been said, I noted the rust on their weapons, the poor make of their clothes, and how empty their packs were. They’d been just as worn down and hungry as we were. Just as tired. Just as desperate.

“It was them, or us.” Clark sheathed his sword. “We need to keep moving. The star grows close, but the enemies will come faster now.”

I opened my mouth, but Clark spun on me. “Don’t say it. I’m not leaving your side, no matter how dangerous it becomes. What did I tell you when I entered this forsaken labyrinth?” He didn’t leave time to reply. His words were rushed and laden with frustration, falling from his lips like a dam come undone. “I said I’d win this labyrinth for you, and I intend to do that. So stop trying to protect me, and let me fight at your side.”

I clamped my mouth shut. The green of his eyes blazed, while everyone in the group suddenly became very interested in tucking away their weapons.

“Fine,” I said. “I won’t suggest you leave again.”

“Good. Now that we got that sorted, let’s move. And if we ever come across Leif Balgoran, I’m going to strangle his pretty neck.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

We ran until we had no strength left in our legs or will in our bodies to take another step. Tove gave up long ago, having spent the last hour on Harald’s back. Astrid kept quiet the entire time. And it was only when we stopped that I realized Gunnar had been injured.

“You all should have run,” I grumbled. Clark shot me a look. “Sorry. I meant to say thank you for fighting.”

Gunnar eased himself into a sitting position. The wound on his leg had opened and now it was accompanied by a slash along his side. “It’s only because we wantthat reward money for ourselves.” He leaned his head against a hedge and closed his eyes. “We plan to knock you out tonight and deliver you to Leif.”

I chuckled just because I knew he joked.

But something bitter had been growing in me all day, and his comment only festered the growth. They should turn me in. But I doubted they would.

And that choice might lead them to their deaths.

If someone came after me and killed them in the process, I’d never forgive myself.

“Stop trying to protect me, and let me fight at your side.”

“Fine. I won’t suggest you leave again.”

I wouldn’t make Clark leave. But I couldn’t stay.

I made my plans as we drifted to sleep. I’d be the last shift in the night. I’d stay in the shadows to watch over them, but they wouldn’t see me come morning. Once they left, I’d crawl out of my hiding place and go the other way to divert danger from them. Whatever their fate might be in this labyrinth, it wouldn’t be tied to mine.

Clark would be the hardest to leave. But he was always the noble one, so he’d understand why I had to do this. I drifted to sleep savoring the warmth of him beside me.

Dreams came fitfully and without respite.

Then the dreams stopped.

I stood in a garden, but it wasn’t like any garden I’d ever been in. The flowers were made of mist, the grass of velvet, the clouds of silky cotton. I wasn’t dreaming, I knew that much. Had a stone god come to visit? I meant to look for them, but I couldn’t focus once I spotted the table.

A long, weathered wooden table stretched beneath the shade of massive, twisting willow trees in the middle of the garden, its surface carved with intricate runes glowing faintly in the twilight. Wildflowers and ivy crept along its edges, spilling over like nature reclaiming it.

The table was laden with a feast of fantastical dishes. A glowing fruit platter, with orb-like fruits in deep blues, shimmering golds, and vivid purples. A towering crystal decanter filled with swirling, silver liquid that poured itself into goblets of carved emerald. Platters of roasted meats ranging from spiced drumsticks and slices of dragonfruit-stuffed venison released fragrant steam. Then a pie as wide as a shield, filled with stardust berries that glistened like the night sky, its crust dusted with edible gold flakes.

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