Rauph paused in his passage and looked up to realise with some surprise that he had arrived at the base of the spiralling stairs. He stared up at the dizzying array of collapsing and extending steps, the whirling and spiralling cog work mechanism and the way some steps rolled into each other or peeled away out over nothing. The climb was undeniably daunting, the steps folding and opening at set times, the very design of the intricate structure meant to confuse and befuddle anyone challenging it.
The mechanical movement had been constructed to make people falter in their steps, made them question the route, look down at their feet or up above them at the intermeshing cogs, the movement drawing the eye, distracting the unfocused, making them plummet to their doom or risk being crushed in the machinery of the stair.
However, Rauph did not think about looking ahead, planting his feet or picking a route. He just wanted to get his little friend to safety. The navigator placed his boot down on the first step just as it opened, then continued to place his feet one after the other, his mind focused entirely on Ashe and therefore he was not distracted or fooled by the optical illusions created by the movement of the deadly monument.
Each step took him further up into the spinning structure, each descending boot landing just as a stair extended and each step lifted just as the support beneath it collapsed. Rauph remained totally focused on the still Halfling and did not flinch as a stair above him extended right where his own would have been if he had not stepped forward at just the right moment. He did not balk as the step beneath him swung out and then drew him back into the staircase at a higher level, just in time for him to step off and continue his treacherous climb.
Within moments he was passing through the ceiling and out amongst the seated crowds within the pyramid. They roared their appreciation, pointing and cheering the champion as he continued to ascend without pause, then one by one they started to notice the bloodied figure the Minotaur supported in his arms and their cheers died away. This champion who could literally be their king, refused to wave or acknowledge his supporters, his forlorn face indicating something terrible had happened here.
It was a display of compassion that left some murmuring and others speechless. Where had this small child come from? How had it ended up in the deadly maze? Why had Kristoph taken this loss so personally? His actions were so uncharacteristic. Here was a Minotaur that truly cared for his people no matter what race they were.
A complete unnatural hush descended inside the pyramid as more and more spectators noted the humbling and moving sight, the smooth click and whir of the oscillating and rotating stair suddenly loud to everyone gathered. Rauph remained focused on his friend, still placing one foot after the other and trusting that he would keep Ashe safe until they reached the very top. He refused to look away from his charge, refused to be distracted, even when the throwing blade, still slick from blood, slipped from his arms and clattered down the stairway. He did not care, all he wanted was for Ashe to be alive and well.
“Kristoph.” Initially, the call was from just a few lowly spectators, a low murmur of appreciation shown the only way they knew how, by calling out their champion’s name. It remained low but slowly gained momentum. “Kristoph, Kristoph!” The people were showing support for the Minotaur they believed would be their king. Some started to cry, others to simply hug those standing beside them. In their appreciation no one noticed how the forgotten throwing blade suddenly disappeared from the stair upon which it had landed.
Shadows started to lengthen around the inside of the pyramid, the torchlight becoming a deeper hue of orange and yellow as the natural light from the opening in the capstone high above started to leech from the sky and the sun began to set behind the Taurean mountains.
“Rauph I think they are getting your name wrong again.” A little voice murmured, causing the Navigator to stumble. “Did you see what the blue contestant did to my toy monkey? I was saving this for Katarina. Someone in the labyrinth crowd must have dropped it so I picked it up to keep it safe for her.”
Rauph stopped completely, the rhythm of his steps rushing completely from his mind as he stared down at Ashe in disbelief.
“Ashe, you’re alive.” Rauph gushed. “You’re really alive. I thought I had lost you.”
“Oh you will never lose me Rauph. I mean you are so tall that you stick out easily in a crowd. I could see you from a mile off.” Ashe smiled as the Minotaur threw back his head and laughed, only for Rauph’s laugh to change into a bellow of pain.
Ashe tumbled from Rauph’s arms as the navigator dropped to the metal floor, colliding with the next step ahead, before sliding across its rotating metal surface and over to the one beyond that. His fingers scrabbled for a hold as his little legs slid away from beneath him, his body sliding rapidly across its golden surface as the whole length of the step started to fold away.
Rauph looked down at his leg in horror, noting the blue and white throwing blade jutting from his calf. His mind could not fathom how this had happened. He had been holding it in his arms, or had he dropped it? He could not be sure but the pain was so intense. He moved to grip the weapon and draw it from his flesh when the air shimmered before him and he found himself staring into Ammet’s piercing black eyes, her scarlet cloak swirling about her.
“I will teach you to turn your back on me!” she spat venomously. “I will make sure you regret that choice until your dying breath.”
“How?” was all Rauph could stutter through gritted teeth as he felt the step beneath him starting to slowly slide inwards, towards the hub of the stairway.
“My cloak saved me.” Ammet snapped. “It removes anything it touches apart from its wearer. I just laid it on the barrier and stepped through. I intend to reward it with a feast of royal blood. I’m going to let it take you a piece at a time.” She snapped the cloak down and Rauph snatched his hand back, the fibres of the cloak brushing his fingers and making them feel numb.
Rauph felt the step suddenly lurch beneath him and he was swung backwards, away from Ammet and over towards Ashe, who was himself barely hanging on to the step he had skidded across. His little legs kicked at the air, desperate for a foothold, as the bladed step he was upon, started to slowly rotate towards him, risking dropping him further down and off the edge. Rauph knew that despite it appearing as if Ashe had several lives, there would be no way his friend would survive such a plummet.
The crowd held their breath, watching this spectacle unfold. Sinders continued to swoop about the stairway, darting in towards Ashe then swooping away again, unable to land. The step continued to turn, Ashe slipped further down the surface. He could not hold on; his fingers were still slick with blood. His eyes widened as he watched first one finger, then another, drop from the thin edge he clung to.
His hand slipped one last time and he fell out into nothing…
…just as Rauph’s huge hand snatched him by the back of his tunic and threw him bodily upwards into the air, where he crashed down onto another step, only a short distance below the strange ball-like structure situated at the very pinnacle of the staircase. The navigator slid along, propelled by the motion of his upward swing and nearly dropped himself off the ledge, much to the gasps of the crowd. He struggled to swing his leg up only to scream again as Ammet materialised behind him and tugged the weapon violently.
“Rauph look out.” Ashe screamed, as he scrambled across the steps, finally managing to pull himself up inside the ball to relative safety. “She’s still below you.” Rauph swung his legs clear, just as the crimson cloak fell across the tread he had vacated, tearing it away and leaving a gaping hole and a piece of golden metal spinning away towards the floor far, far below.
“Come on Rauph, come on!” Ashe urged, shuffling along the walkway to try and get a better view of his friend struggling to vault another step and clamber up a clanking gear towards his little friend’s outstretched hand. Their fingers brushed just as the gear beneath Rauph dissolved under the voracious atte
ntion of the scarlet cloak. He dropped down, crashing through two steps and slid to a stop on a stair that was folding back towards the central column.
“Shame you didn’t fall the whole way.” Ammet appeared above him laughing at Rauph’s fall just as another stair telescoped out above her and smacked her on the back of the head. She turned to react, snarling, then realising she faced a solid object turned back towards where Kristoph had landed, only to find the chestnut Minotaur was gone, leaving a blood trail dripping around the corner.
The light flickered and a shudder ran through the stair. Rauph took in a deep breath, gritting his teeth from the pain in his leg, feeling the warmth of his blood dripping down his leg. The stairway trembled again and Rauph suddenly realised why. He thought back to the rules of the game.
“If any contestant fails to ascend the staircase, before the last ray of the setting sun touches the capstone on the pyramid, the exits to the maze will be sealed and the monsters remaining permitted to consume those who are still wandering its passageways.”
The sun was setting! The stairway was about to fold closed like a flower tightening its petals to protect the insides from the coldness of night. He leapt up to the stair above him and pulled himself up in agonising grunts. Scuffling sounded from below but Rauph leapt just before the cloak swirled about him leaving Ammet cursing in his wake.
“She’s still behind you Rauph!” Ashe screamed.
Rauph dodged a scything stair, slid down another, then threw himself through the air, his arms wrapping tightly around the curved walkway, his legs swinging below him. Ashe leapt forwards trying to help pull him up but Rauph was way too heavy.
There was a snarl from below and Rauph screamed again as Ammet leapt for his leg, wrapping her arms around his wounded limb and bringing her whole weight down on him. She tugged and pulled but her thin frame was not enough to make Rauph lose his grip. She started to pull herself up his leg, her hands like claws reaching for the weapon embedded in the Minotaur’s limb.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you.” Ammet growled. The whole staircase suddenly stopped spinning and folding. The golden light flickered through the entire stairway then every step started to fold in upon itself. Ammet screamed as the steps below her disappeared, leaving her hanging out over a long drop. Her struggles grew more intense as she tried to claw her way up Rauph’s body.
He yelled and bellowed, trying to shake the determined competitor from his leg but she clung on like a predator, intent on finishing off her victim. She lifted a hand free to lunge for the blade in Rauph’s leg when a wet sodden blue mass smacked her in the face. She sputtered and raged, pushing the toy to one side, just as Rauph’s boot kicked her, knocking her free.
Ammet screamed as she fell, the crowd roaring their approval as she dropped like a stone, her arms windmilling as if she were trying to fly, her crimson cloak billowing out behind her but doing nothing to slow her fall. She crashed into the floor, smacking down hard against the stone, bones cracking as her crimson cloak fanned out and landed on top of her. She groaned impossibly still alive, then the cloak dissolved the floor and she fell again down into the darkness below.
Rauph pulled himself up onto the walkway and lay there panting, his leg shaking from the pain of the weapon still punched through him. Ashe walked over arms outstretched on either side to keep his balance and winked.
“See I told you I would never lose you.” He smiled, staring down to the ground far below. “I don’t suppose anyone will give me my monkey back.” Ashe jumped across his friend and ran to the edge of the walkway, just as Sinders swooped in then pulled up sharply with a shriek and darted away again. Burly hands reached down and yanked the Halfling up into the throne room above. Rauph pulled himself to his feet and somehow managed to stagger after his friend, totally exhausted but determined to keep Ashe safe. He reached the edge of the walkway and found the same massive hands pulling him from the gap and dropping him to the floor of the throne room.
Rauph lifted himself from his knees and froze as he beheld the torch-lit scene before him. Several Minotaur guards stood before him, one with a sword at Ashe’s throat. Mora sat to the left with Wanessa beside her. A serving girl stood back in the shadows, her features indistinct but her scent somehow familiar and sitting on a throne to the right sat Drummon, his pelt gleaming, his eyes shining, whilst in his hands, he held the Labyris axe.
“You finally got here brother.” Drummon smiled. “But I’m afraid you have arrived too late. The Labyris axe is mine and Taurean has a new king.”
Chapter Fifty
“Now the introductions are over, why don’t we get down to business.” Malum hissed, leaning forwards and resting his chin on one pale slender hand. “I understand you promised a ransom. So… why don’t you hand it over?”
Kerian swallowed hard, determined not to look towards the monster before him, his heart thumping in his chest. Malum… How could this be Malum? That was the name of the monster in the ship’s graveyard, not a mad scientist that lived in a ruined castle, miles from anyone. His mind raced, looking around the room for some inspiration as to how he could bluff his way out of this, finding nothing within the myriad of bubbling bottles and creepy science experiments to explain his lack of funds.
“I feel that there has been a misunderstanding.” Kerian replied, swallowing hard and trying to put on a face “I expected to pay for live hostages I could use as house slaves, not corpses. They are no good to me!”
“That’s Octavian’s fault not mine.” Malum replied, spreading his free hand as if this was a moot point. “He knew it was a time limited offer and he simply ran out of time. Enough of the stalling, the ransom… now!”
Kerian’s hand felt for his sword but it never got there. Two huge monsters came from nowhere and their hot jaws closed around his wrists before he could even lift them from the arms of his chair. Their teeth formed restraints more efficient than any manufactured manacles. Kerian struggled but this only made the creatures snarl and tighten their painful grip so he could feel the fangs pressing into his skin. The pressure made him instantly freeze; Octavian’s warning of the consequence of a bite of these creatures replaying in his mind.
Malum clicked his fingers and Agnezkia padded over to Kerian, placing her huge paws onto his shoulders and pushing him further back in the chair with her immense weight, her jaws dripping saliva as she moved close to his face and gently licked his chin with a low warning rumble deep down in her throat. Her uncomfortable administrations continued to make Kerian squirm, her hot fetid breath against his skin, a long pink tongue licking down the side of Kerian’s neck, lingering over the beating pulse of his carotid artery, before slipping down to his shoulder where she suddenly lunged and bit through the shoulder strap of his magical satchel.
Kerian’s heart beat faster as he felt the hound tugging at the strap, knowing there was nothing inside the bag with which to pay Octavian’s ransom. Even the exotic bread he had been eating on the span had disappeared. He knew this because he had checked when they walked through the forest. The bag had remained frustratingly empty. Powerless to do anything, he watched as Agnezkia pulled the bag free, retrieving it for her master. Kerian knew if he did not get his hands free in the next few valuable seconds and stopped Malum from opening the satchel, then the masquerade would be over and both he and Octavian were as good as dead. He watched as Agnezkia returned to her master’s side and placed the bag obediently in his lap before she tilted her head so that Malum could rub behind her ears to show his appreciation.
“I must say this bag feels a little light to be carrying the amount you will need.” Malum stated, lifting the bag up and jiggling it to see if he could feel anything moving inside before reaching for the flap. “Are you paying in gemstones? I’m not so keen on those, it is always so tricky to judge the value of them and I will need to get them converted into cold currency which is always a bother.”
“I think you will find my form of tribute quite unique.�
� Kerian replied, knowing full well that his ‘currency’ would definitely not be viewed favourably. He tested his living bonds once again and felt his skin pinch as the teeth clenching him gripped tighter. The hounds responded by salivating long stringy threads of drool that dribbled from his fingertips to the floor. Malum grabbed the flap of the bag and started to lift it.
“What guarantee will you give me that you will cure Octavian and let the two of us go?” Kerian blurted out, making Malum pause with the flap half lifted.
“Oh I never gave any guarantees.” Malum smiled, his two fingers still holding the flap. “Octavian can never be cured of his condition but I would not let that worry you. You just need to make sure you take him for long walks, feed him regularly and lock him up every lunar cycle.” The scientist looked up and grinned as if pleased at his pitiful attempt at humour.
“Look… just wait a moment. I would not want you to be disappointed in what I have brought.” Kerian remarked. “If I can just… well… you know, if what you have there does not meet your needs, maybe as time is no longer an issue you can let me find something more suitable for Octavian’s life. I am sure I can find you an alternative that is more appropriate to your needs.” Malum scowled as Kerian continued talking, making the knight realise that maybe he had said too much, then, with one eye on Kerian, he lifted the flap and stared down inside the satchel.
Kerian held his breath as the deranged scientist’s eyes narrowed, then strangely widened in surprise. This was it, any second now Malum was going to click his fingers and the hounds would tear out Kerian’s throat! Malum cleared his own throat loudly, then sat back and re-examined the bag, slowly turning it around on the table, then he patted the outside of the bag with both hands before pushing the sides in towards each, practically making the satchel go flat. He sat there, for what felt like an eternity and then he looked up at Kerian and shook his head making the knight’s heart sink.
The Labyris Knight Page 89
