Labyrinth Wall (9780991531219) (23 page)

Soll, Keelie, and Laon sit close together, Soll with his arm around Keelie. Oddly, Saige stands propped against a tree, staring out into the passage. She doesn’t particularly appear to be keeping watch but instead is lost in her own thoughts. Their own emotions, dependencies, and decisions led to this outcome, but they can’t be faulted for that because it was all prompted by love. What we saw by the river was unreasonable, even unfathomable.

As much as my heart bleeds for them, there’s something curious about the man we just saved. The man wears only rags that are far less intact than Mahk clothing. It is hard not to wonder why the guards were bringing him from prison.

He sits up and looks around at us. It obviously takes him a minute to remember the altercation at the river bank.

Soll’s eyes are narrow as he stares at the strange man. “Here.” Soll tosses his spare set of clothing at the blonde-haired man. “We’ll give you a minute.”

We all look away until the man speaks to us. “Thank you for this.” He points at the clean pants and shirt on his body. “Thank you for saving me.”

Observing Rase’s reaction to the man, it’s clear she knows who he is and doesn’t like him. Her upper lip curls, and her eyes narrow at the sound of his talking. What Mahk would she know? She can be hard to read but that looks like fear in her eyes. He may not be Mahk after all.

“Those guards were ready to dunk me under.” The man sits back down with the group. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Soll, Saige, Keelie, and Laon remain quiet. They’ve reached their emotional limit for the day and aren’t ready to be friendly, so I pipe up, “We couldn’t leave you to their devices.”

“Think we can ask for your name?” Korun inquires.

“Ah,” the man replies, “they called me, Vickon, I believe. At least, they’ve addressed me that way before.”

“Vickon,” I repeat. “You don’t sound so sure of your own name.” He’s clearly still recovering from the duress. “My name is Araina.” I point to the others. “This is Korun, Keelie, Laon, Saige, and Soll.”

He notices Rase was left out and points curiously at her.

“And that’s Rase, but don’t pay any attention to her.”

“You look familiar,” he says to her.

She turns her eyes away from him and remains silent.

“Is she mute?” He turns to us, confused.

“No, that’s just Rase.” Rase doesn’t even roll her eyes. She sits quietly. “She’s a guard and inherently has an attitude.”

He flinches. “Why is she with you?”

Soll asked me that same question the other day. “It’s a long story,” I answer.

“Ah.” He nods. The man surveys his body, running his finger across the skin which was previously bruised and cut. “I don’t even remember the last time I wasn’t full of injuries.” The man looks at Korun. “And I’ve never seen anything like what you did back at the river.”

“No one has seen anything like that,” I tell the man, “until Korun came along.”

“Thank you all so much,” the man repeats. “I owe you for what you’ve done. You put yourselves in danger back there, for my sake.”

“It isn’t right what they do to us, you know,” Keelie finally joins in the conversation. “Mahk may not be as powerful as them, but that doesn’t justify their actions. We couldn’t let them hurt you.”

He smiles at her. She tends to draw that response from everyone with her friendly demeanor. He forgoes another thank you, but the appreciation whispers through his eyes. Then he looks around at us, puzzled. “Mahk?”

The group glances around at each other with big eyes.

“Mahk,” Keelie says again.

“What is Mahk?” the man questions.

“People the Creators make,” I explain.

Soll motions around the circle. “We’re Mahk.”

“Who are you?” Korun finally pushes curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Vickon responds.

“All right, so you don’t know who you are or what the Mahk are?” Soll clarifies. “What do you know?”

Overwhelmed with questions, Vickon glances back and forth at the two men. “I know they called me Vickon in the prison and that’s where I’ve been for a long time.”

“Did they give you a number?” I ask him “A Mahk number?”

He shakes his head, an expression of deep thought on his face. “No, I don’t recall a number.”

“He could have come from the other side of the wall,” Keelie comments.

“All you remember is a prison?” I ask again, unsure what to think of his claim.

“Or he’s a Creator,” Soll declares darkly.

“I don’t know,” I defend the confused man. “Even if he was one, clearly they’ve disowned him now.” I turn to look at Vickon. “You don’t know why they were trying to kill you?”

“I’ve been living in the prison,” he reiterates. “They barely fed me and beat me constantly. I never knew why. All they ever told me was that I deserved it and that I would never see Narrah or Kathar again.”

Kathar is familiar to me for some reason, but everyone else looks totally confused.

“Narrah and Kathar?” Korun repeats. “You don’t know what they meant by that?”

“No.” Vickon shakes his head. “And that’s all I really recall.”

Kathar
.
Where have I heard that before?

“Think we could talk?” Korun motions Soll and me away from the group. We walk a few paces off, out of hearing range of the others. “What do you make of him?” he asks us.

“More like, what do I not think of him. I’m not sure he’s trustworthy,” Soll responds.

Kathar!
It finally comes to me. One of the guards mentioned Kathar when we broke Korun out of the castle.

The man is now slumped over, tousling his hair anxiously. He looks completely unsure of himself, or us. It’s clear the Creators used the same treatment on him they forced on Korun. And his mention of Kathar makes me wonder if he comes from the same place as Korun.

“I trust him.” My interjection causes a pause.

“You trust him?” Soll replies quizzically. “Araina, the man can’t explain anything about himself.”

“He may not be able to tell us much…” I hesitate. “But we do know he’s no friend of the Creators or Simul and that’s enough for me.”

Soll shakes his head. “I don’t know. Bringing him with us doesn’t seem to be a good idea.”

“We can’t leave him here to die!” My tone sharpens, but my voice remains hushed.

“She’s right,” Korun backs me up. “Soll, I’m not too sure about him either, but what choice do we have? This labyrinth is going to exterminate everyone. He can’t save himself.”

“All right,” Soll finally concedes.

We return to the group.

“You must be starving?” Keelie inquires of Vickon.

“I can’t take that from you,” he tells her as she offers him some cheese and bread.

“You can’t afford not to,” Soll answers.

“Go ahead and take it.” Keelie pushes it at him.

The man has obviously gone without food for a while. He chokes the meal down almost instantly. He still slouches as he eats. Bags under his eyes and shaky movements portray his need for sleep.

“Vickon, you’ve had a rough day. We really can’t stay here for long, so maybe you should try to rest before we have to get going,” I say.

He nods. “I’m exhausted.”

“Here.” I offer him a clothing tote. “Use this under your head.”

“Thank you, thank you all.” He then lies down and shuts his eyes.

“It wouldn’t hurt any of us to relax a little,” I suggest to the others, kicking back against the wall. My eyes wearily close, but my senses stay alert. The next few hours are going to be stressful. We still don’t know what to expect when we finally reach the wall.

Thoughts of Blue make my heart ache, so relaxation doesn’t come easy. We’re so very close to finding her now. After the group is done sleeping, the next stretch of travel will be the last before we finally reach her.

If we had the option, we’re so tired we could hibernate. But being crunched for time, the group settles for an hour of rest. Sleep refuses to embrace me during that time. My mind is too anxious.

Everyone’s rising to continue.

“Remember to stay quiet. We’re nearing my hiding spot and the wall, but that also means we’re getting closer to Creators.” We didn’t get this far to mess up now. It’s just not an option. “Chances are the guards never knew how Darith and I broke into the field and found the wall, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Please, no one say anything between here and the hiding spot. For that matter, when we get there, speak quietly to one another. We’re treading dangerously close to the enemy, so be careful.”

My nerves are getting to me as we near Blue’s secret spot. It’s been over a week since she was left here near the castle, possibly even two weeks now. Hopefully she found her way back to our place. Everything is still as we travel, haunting.

Finally we reach the branch sticking through the wall. My first instinct is to call her name, but it’s important to stay quiet.

“Here,” I tell the group as we approach the entrance. The lava raised the ground about ten feet. The branch now only hangs about fifteen feet above us, making it even easier to access than before.

My arms motion for the others to wait. Being the first to check for guards makes sense. This is my home. If trouble is lingering, it should be mine to face. The guards would catch me, but at least there’s a chance the others could get away.

Until now, I thought I would be dashing up what’s left of these boulders to the branch, but I find myself taking my time. Part of me is scared.

Being only fifteen feet tall, reaching the top happens quickly despite my growing worries. As I cup my hand on the branch to pull myself up, I’m careful to avoid a Darktouch flower nearby on the wall. Concerned for the others when they follow, I point it out to them. When the branch begins to dip due to my weight pulling on it, I listen intently, hoping to hear a croak.

Nothing happens, and my heart sinks. I move through the wall cautiously. There’s still hope Blue will be waiting. On the other hand, there could be guards.

As I tensely crawl through, my eyes don’t see Blue anywhere. Then I freeze in place, and my heart skips a beat when I hear a barely audible whisper come from up above me in the tree. “We have been waiting for you.”
 

Chapter 24
The Hiding Spot

I jolt fearfully, attempting to turn around and flee. Balance escapes me. Once again, my body falls from this stupid tree. This time, I twist my wrist, trying to brace my fall.

Someone drops from the tree and lands a couple feet away. Filthy guard boots laugh at my peril. I’m certain Blue’s been dead for days and I’m about to join her.

Then a blue feather delicately floats down before my eyes and comes to rest near the boots.

I jerk my head up “Blue?”

She lands in front of me at the sound of her name.

Darith pats her head, still dressed in the stolen guard uniform.

Darith. Of course it’s Darith. There was something familiar about the tone of that whisper. What was I thinking?

A wave of emotion overcomes me. Tears fill my eyes, but a smile crosses my face. Dismissive of my injured wrist, I leap to my feet and wrap my arms around Blue’s neck. She croaks excitedly at the sight of me and ruffles her feathers.

“You and that damn bird,” Darith murmurs as he continues to stroke her head.

The moment is too overwhelming to even respond. My arms cling to Blue as my eyes spill happy tears.

Commotion sounds overhead from the tree. Korun drops down from a branch, observing our surroundings defensively. He lands with his axe prepared for a fight.

“Thanks, Korun, but you can put the weapon away. I’m okay. It’s just Darith.”

“Don’t do that to us. We thought they caught you.” He begins climbing back up the tree. He reaches the top before motioning for the others to come on in.

Wearing a smug expression, Darith taps his sword impatiently.

“You didn’t eat her.”

He laughs. “No, I didn’t eat her. Is that what ya thought all this time?”

I purse my lips. “You disappeared!” I defend. “I didn’t know what to think, Darith. You acted like you were fed up and even mentioned eating Blue. You left me there and never came back. I still don’t know what to think.”

“I didn’t intend to leave ya,” he replies as his gaze takes in my companions, who have now all made it down the tree and stand around us.

My cold stare could shoot ice at him. “You just took off while I slept and Korun was tending to Rase.”

“Look, little Araina, it occurred to me that one of my supply stashes wasn’t far off from where we were. I realize now I should’ve left it alone. There was no sense in it, but my temper had the best of me. Wasn’t thinkin’ everything through. At the time, I thought we could use some extra supplies, so I went off to get ’em.”

Impatience has gotten the best of me as my fingers tap on my hip.

“It should have been a ten minute run, at most. I planned to come right back,” says Darith plaintively.

“You didn’t!”

“No, it didn’t work out like I planned,” he admits. He quickly lifts up his shirt to reveal what looks like an infected gash on his side. “I ran into a group of guards before I even got to the stash. There were so many of them. I didn’t want to lead them back to you, so I took off. Amazingly, I outran them after a while, but by the time I got back to where I left ya, you were gone.”