by Jody Hedlund
At the faint tap of bootsteps, I stiffened. Two pairs of boots.
“What is it—” she started, but I cut her off with a squeeze of her fingers and then leaned in to her ear.
“Don’t move or speak.”
She nodded.
I rose and crept along the perimeter of the wall until I stood next to the entrance, my dagger in one hand and my sword in the other. I would use the element of surprise to my advantage. I suspected the soldiers were working in pairs, which meant I’d have to act quickly to silence them both before they shouted an alarm that could give away our location to the others in the labyrinth.
Their torches illuminated the tunnel and brought enough light to our cavern that I could see Maribel’s outline where I’d left her. She was trusting me, as usual, to get us out of a difficult predicament. I just prayed I’d have enough strength in my injured shoulder to lift the dagger.
As the sounds of the soldiers drew nearer, I could hear the fear in their hesitant steps. I doubted they’d known about the labyrinth before descending. Ethelwulf would have exploited it by now if he’d realized it was here. Even so, they’d likely heard tales regarding a Labyrinth of Death and the creatures that lived in its depths.
The glow from the flame grew steadily stronger, and my muscles tightened in readiness. As the first soldier held out the torch and ducked into the cavern, he made little more than a gurgle as I silenced him. At the same moment, I jumped in front of the opening and plunged my sword into the other soldier. He, too, had no time to make a sound or react. Instead, he crumpled to the ground next to his comrade.
I used one of their torches to examine them and to divest them of their weapons. Then I dragged them away from the opening, hiding their bodies behind the pile of bones. When I finally glanced at Maribel, she was watching me with a horrified expression.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that.” I wasn’t proud of myself for having to injure or kill other men. The only man I longed to kill was Theobald. However, I’d harm anyone who attempted to lay hands upon Maribel.
Was it possible Wade had taught me so diligently because he’d known one day I’d have to take over protecting Maribel for him?
“Was it truly necessary to harm them?” Maribel’s whisper was filled with condemnation.
“If I hadn’t, they would have killed me and captured you.” I wiped the blood from my weapons with the edge of the black cloak that had belonged to one of the soldiers.
She watched me a moment before biting down on her lip and looking away.
After confiscating any further valuable supplies from the dead men, I extinguished their torches, immersing us once more in utter darkness. I stood near the entrance again, waiting, expecting that additional guards would soon follow. Even if I’d been quiet, sound carried easily in the tunnels.
As minutes passed with no shouts or calls, the tension eased from my muscles, and I supported myself against the cave wall. Even though I hoped we’d have no more encounters, I suspected if one pair of soldiers had tracked us to the cavern, others would eventually as well.
After waiting at least another hour, I slid down and sat. My shoulder throbbed with returning pain. Maribel’s ointment was wearing thin. I winced and leaned my head back. Perhaps it was time to move on and attempt to look for the other entrance. And yet, even as I considered standing up and searching, my body wouldn’t cooperate. I was weary and wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and rest.
But as my lids drifted shut, a distant growl rumbled through the labyrinth, a sound that could only belong to one of the creatures living here in the bowels of the Highlands. It likely hadn’t been disturbed by humans in a very long time.
As it released another drawn-out sound that was more of a hiss, I tried to analyze the cadence and intonations. It was a reptile of some kind. Not a snake, but perhaps a lizard. It moved heavily but slowly, with stilted steps, which told me it was large and old.
My mind worked to remember the old languages Sister Paula had taught me. At first, the old Fera Agmen hadn’t paid me any attention. I followed her around every spare moment and started learning on my own just from watching her. After realizing how quickly I understood the difficult communication that had taken her years to master, she’d finally taken an interest in me.
Since I’d been Wade’s apprentice, he’d insisted on my total devotion and commitment. In fact, I’d hidden my Fera Agmen training from him for many months, until Sister Paula had been the one to tell him. She wanted to have more structured time with me in order to tutor me properly and sought Wade out to ask him.
Initially, he opposed Sister Paula, not wanting anything to detract from my warrior drills. But eventually, he relented, likely realizing I’d never be the soldier he was. Or perhaps he decided my skill with animals could be another weapon to add to my cache. Whatever the case, he’d allowed me to have more time with Sister Paula.
Although my Fera Agmen apprenticeship had been cut short by Sister Paula’s sudden death when I’d been but a lad of twelve, I’d already surpassed her by that point, having learned everything she knew. Since then, I’d sought to expand my abilities, listening and memorizing all I heard and testing the new communications.
In the darkness of the cavern, I fought against my pain and drowsiness to understand what the creature was saying. My guess was that it had been hibernating for the winter, that our entrance into the labyrinth had awoken it early, and that now it was experiencing the pangs of hunger.
It was searching for its first meal in months. And I didn’t want either Maribel or me to be a part of its feast.
Painstakingly, I listened to the creature until I began to understand the various sounds it made. The language was so ancient that I couldn’t keep from wondering if this was one of those extinct dragon-like animals fabled to have lived long ago. I’d only read about them in the scrolls among Sister Margaret’s collection.
Footsteps and torchlight alerted me to the presence of more soldiers coming our way. As before, two were working together.
I pushed myself up from the stone floor, my shoulder and leg stiff and sore.
Hearing my movement, Maribel began to scuffle, and I guessed she was rising to her feet too. “Stay where you are, Maribel,” I whispered, unsheathing my dagger and sword, preparing to surprise the approaching soldiers the same way I had the previous two.
Too late, I realized the creature was nearing our cavern from the other side. Was it drawn here because it smelled the blood of the fallen soldiers?
Mentally, I lashed myself for not dragging the bodies away. Now, we were trapped between a starving, bloodthirsty beast and two more elite guards. I’d have to take down the guards first and then we’d need to flee far from the cavern, praying the bodies of the slain soldiers would be enough for the creature’s feast.
The coming torchlight began to give shape to the cavern, which meant the soldiers would be upon us in a moment. A growl from the other direction informed me the beast was picking up its pace and would also soon reach the room.
“What was that?” Maribel whispered, staring at the dark entrance, having heard the creature now too. Her expression was taut with terror.
“Make haste and stand close to me,” I replied as I backed away from the door.
Needing no further urging, she scrambled over.
I raised my dagger as the footsteps increased their pace into a run, the men likely having heard our whispers or the beast or both.
Maribel stood behind me and clutched my cloak with trembling fingers.
The soldiers thrust their torches into the cave first, blinding me as they moved in. At the same time, a mighty roar resounded from the other side of the tunnel, and a beast filled the doorway behind them.
Chapter
13
Maribel
I screamed.
The creature was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It crawled on four stout legs, each foot containing extended claws that curled under, similar to Sheba�
�s talons. It had the long body of a lizard but was much larger, the size of a warhorse. Its scales appeared to blaze—a mixture of crimson and ebony down its spiked spine, which tapered to a whip-like tail.
When the beast roared again, I cowered behind Edmund. It swung its enormous snout back and forth as though sniffing the air. A frill fringed with sharp barbs formed a fan around its head, making it appear bigger and even more terrifying.
Near us, the two soldiers cloaked in black retreated slowly, their swords drawn but suspended in midair, their fear and shock mirroring my own. The creature, however, wasn’t the least intimidated by any of us. It continued into the cave and hissed, releasing a long, forked tongue like that of a snake and revealing dozens of jagged teeth.
Its glassy eyes roved over us, and I wondered how much it could see. Then, with a flick, its tail lashed out and struck against the knight nearest to it. The tail, full of spikes, raked across the soldier’s legs, ripping open his breeches and flesh in one strike. The man screamed in agony and slumped to his knees.
At the same instant, the other elite guard threw his dagger, aiming for the creature’s heart. The knife glanced off the hard layers of scales and clattered to the floor. The beast roared and lunged toward the second soldier, who already had his sword out and was crouched into battle position, ready to fight.
Edmund released a yell and tossed his knife. I thought he was fighting with the soldiers against the beast, but his knife plunged into the back of King Ethelwulf’s elite guard, dropping him to the ground in a motionless heap.
Even as the other injured soldier rose up and swung his sword, the creature wrenched its tail around again, slicing him so that he crumpled to the floor, this time lifeless.
The beast snarled and raised its tail as though to flail Edmund.
Edmund didn’t move but instead snarled back. For several endless, frightening seconds Edmund seemed to be arguing with the creature until finally it lowered its tail. It growled at both of us, revealing dagger-like teeth again.
If it hoped to intimidate us, the tactic worked. I pressed against the wall, my heart thudding with a desperate urge to escape.
“Wait, Maribel,” Edmund said in a calm tone.
I froze. Would my movement cause the creature to strike at me with its tail or chase me? Where was Sheba when I needed her to dive in and carry me away?
“The creature has a festering sore near its eye—a sliver of some kind. It will allow you to remove the shard and dress its wound.” Edmund spoke as if he’d carried on a friendly conversation with the beast rather than roaring and snarling at it for the past few minutes.
“Remove a sliver?” My focus shifted to the reptile’s fierce face, its forked tongue protruding, its fangs visible even with its jaws closed. Near the left eye, I caught sight of a bubble of oozing flesh. “I cannot do it, Edmund. Please do not ask it of me.”
“We need to show a measure of goodwill to the creature,” he continued in a level voice.
I shook. I wasn’t sure I was capable of walking the dozen paces to the beast, even if I’d wanted to.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“You know I do.”
“Then you must help it with your healing touch. You’ll likely save us both if you do so.”
If I had the power to save us, then I couldn’t show any more fear. Pushing down my terror, I swallowed hard before opening my medical bag and retrieving the pain-reducing poultice I’d concocted for Edmund’s wounds.
I took three steps toward the injured beast before it hissed at me, nearly hitting me with its tongue. I stopped, remained motionless, and allowed it to sniff the air around me.
Edmund growled low and long, drawing the attention of the creature. They went back and forth for several more minutes before falling silent. Edmund motioned me forward. “Go ahead. He will allow it.”
“He does not appear happy about me in the least.” I had the feeling without Edmund’s presence, the creature would have sliced and killed me with his tail and added me to the pile of bodies he planned to eat for dinner.
“He’ll suffer—possibly even die—if you do not tend him.”
“Would that be so horrible?”
“The labyrinth needs its protector.”
I didn’t understand Edmund’s reasoning, but I’d do it for him because he wanted me to. That alone was reason enough. I took several more halting steps until I stood in front of the creature. The stench of its breath and body, like that of decaying flesh, nearly made me gag. But I breathed through my mouth and tried not to think about how close its teeth were and how it could easily snap off my head in one bite.
I refrained from looking anywhere except the spot near its eye. Brown oozed from the wound and dripped steadily to the cave floor. I didn’t know the anatomy of this animal, but I suspected the sliver had festered for a long time and become putrid.
Gripping what appeared to be a piece of an iron blade, I tugged at it. The creature growled again, baring its teeth and hissing. But I tried to ignore the danger just inches away and instead focused on what I needed to do. With a final quick yank, the shard came out.
The creature roared and backed away. It shook its head and started to maneuver in an effort to turn itself around. Before it could slip beyond my grasp, I dug my fingers into the ointment and slathered it across the wound in spite of the rusty blood that trickled over my fingers.
The soothing properties of the ointment must have eased the creature’s discomfort just a little, for it ceased its thrashing. Seizing the advantage, I pressed a rag against the site to staunch the flow, and again the beast stood still for me, almost better than some of my human patients.
It sniffed the air around me and moved so close to my head I dared not stir, not even to breathe. Finally, with a soft snort, it took a step back. I tried to maintain my grip upon the beast, but it retreated out of reach.
The creature raised its snout and seemed to assess both Edmund and me, as though trying to decide who we were and what we were doing there. Then it released a guttural growl, one that was certainly not friendly and made the hairs on my arms stand on end.
Edmund responded with a low growl, while encircling my arm and slowly towing me until I was standing behind him.
The creature turned away from us and sniffed the body of one of the fallen soldiers, its tongue flickering in and out. It then moved toward the two Edmund had killed earlier. With the beast’s attention elsewhere, Edmund gathered his weapons and our belongings.
“We need to go,” he whispered, picking up one of the torches still flaming where it lay on the ground by the entrance. With his other hand, he grasped mine and tugged me out of the cavern.
We fled into the winding tunnel, the leather soles of our boots slapping hard against the stone as we ran. When we reached a branch, we stopped so Edmund could consult the map, but then we ran again. And again. The running and stopping seemed endless. I didn’t know if we were trying to put as much distance between ourselves and the creature as possible, or if Edmund had other reasons for the speed with which we traveled. Whatever the case, I didn’t question him. I was too winded and tired to do anything but stumble along with him.
Finally, Edmund halted and leaned against the tunnel wall. His face was pale and his breathing as labored as mine. “We’ve reached the edge of the map. We must take one tunnel inward and pray that it loops back around here.”
I studied the area of the map he indicated with his finger. We’d crossed exactly half of the bottom part of the maze. Although we were still in the outer region of the labyrinth, we’d arrived at a tunnel that led into a piece of the map we didn’t have.
I drew in a deep breath, trying to bring air into my lungs. “If anyone can do it, Edmund, you can.”
His expression was grave as he studied our map intently, peered into both tunnels, smelled the air, and then started down one of them. He explored more cautiously now, his pace slower, the torch held high. He halted more frequently to study e
very detail of our surroundings—the dust, mold, trickle of water on some of the walls, even the direction the fire flickered on the torch.
I sensed danger all around, guessing the engraved block letters on the various branches of tunnels we passed signified additional clues that would lead further into the maze. A part of me longed to explore deeper and locate the treasure so that I’d have something valuable to bring to Queen Adelaide Constance.
But every time I mentioned investigating one of the other passageways, Edmund insisted on sticking to the path he hoped would wind around and lead us back to the outer rim. As we passed by caverns stacked with additional bones, I tried not to think about ending up in one of those piles and kept as close to Edmund as possible.
Although Edmund didn’t complain about his pain, his limp grew more pronounced, until finally he stumbled and almost fell.
I caught his arm. “Let me clean and tend your wounds again.”
He shook his head. “No, I can’t rest until we cross back into the section of our map.” The waning torchlight illuminated the paleness of his face and the dark circles under his eyes.
“You are exhausted.”
Without giving me a chance to protest further, he started forward again, this time faster. “We’re almost there. I can feel it.”
I appreciated his optimism and his belief that we would reach the destination, but I feared he was taxing himself and wouldn’t endure much longer. When he halted a short while later, his shoulders slumped, and he sank to the floor.
“We’re back in the outer rim,” he said wearily but with the hint of a relieved smile.
I dropped next to him and began to pull out medicinal supplies. As he studied the map, I cleaned his wounds and reapplied ointment. He traced the remainder of our route, which on paper didn’t appear far. But in reality, with all the winding and backtracking, we still had a lengthy trek.
He didn’t sit long before pushing himself to his feet, disregarding my instructions to rest. From the worry in his eyes as he glanced at the way we’d come, I guessed he was concerned about the creature chasing after us. The thought of facing the beast again was enough to push me forward.
