Labyrinth Wall (9780991531219) (24 page)

My head shakes before a doubtful exhale. “So you came back here?”

“I figured you must have been making really good time ahead of me. I wasn’t sure what path ya took, but with your knowledge of the labyrinth, I felt sure ya were going to beat me here. I got here as fast as I could, thinking I could catch up to ya.”

I let my cold stare give out. “And I wasn’t here.”

“Guess I did beat ya after all. Once I got here and ya were nowhere to be found, the lava flows started coming. There was no way I could go back out to look for ya. Blue and I were safe in here though.” He points at the entrance to the hiding spot. “The lava never got high enough to reach us in here. I knew ya didn’t go through the wall yet, or else ya would have taken the bird.” He nudges Blue. She playfully nudges him back.

“How did you know that I was ever going to make it here?” I ask.

“I didn’t. But I promised ya I wasn’t gonna eat the bird, so I never did. Plus, I had enough food not to resort to that. I’ve kept my eye on the wall, but it’s been pretty heavily guarded, so really I’ve been trapped here. Welcome to my tiny prison.”

Everyone is quiet for an awkward moment, and I realize Darith has missed a lot as he surveys the group.

“Everyone, this is Darith,” I say.

“Right. We know who he is,” Keelie remarks with disgust.

Somehow in our time together, I started to overlook his reputation. It isn’t surprising that they know who he is and would question my association with him. Unfortunately, there’s a good chance he’s killed some of their friends.

“How do ya do, miss?” He smirks at her, obviously detecting her discomfort and enjoying it.

“Cut it out, Darith. Keelie, Saige, Soll” I start introducing them, pointing to them as I say their names. “Laon and Vickon. And you two know each other.” My hand taps Korun.

Darith lets his gaze linger on Saige a little longer than the others. It’s hard to know what he’s thinking, but he looks a little baffled. “Do I know you?” he asks her. If that’s his attempt at flirtation, it’s pathetic.

Distaste clearly spreads across her face. “Do you know anyone? Don’t you kill everyone you meet?”

He smirks smugly at her then shakes his head. “Thought ya looked familiar, is all.” After a second, he gets over it. “I know this one too.” He points to Rase, who rolls her eyes. “I’m surprised ya kept her around, but I suppose that’s out of necessity.”

“Exactly. We didn’t have much of a choice,” I say.

“I guess ya still don’t remember anything about the other side of the wall, or how to get through?” He turns to Korun.

“Well, let’s see…” Korun stares at me awkwardly. Then we both look at Soll.

“Ya don’t remember anything?” Soll asks in a harsh tone, glancing back and forth between me and Korun.

“Obviously,” Darith answers for us, slow to notice the tension. “Um… or not,” he retracts, evaluating the expression on Soll’s face. He eyes me nervously.

“Just be quiet,” I tell him.

“All right, what’s he talking about, Araina?” Soll demands before asking Korun, “You lost your memory. When?”

“Okay, we haven’t been completely honest with you,” I respond, “but only for your own good.”

Lips tight, the normally cheerful tall green-haired man stares at me heatedly. He’s reached the height of his frustration, having already had a bad day at the river. Learning he has been following a couple liars isn’t making his day any better. He’s gripping the hilt of his sword, and his pale face is tight.

Korun has better smoothing things over skills than me. My shoulder nudges him, my eyes pleading for him to talk.

“Tell them everything,” I say. “I’ll admit up front that it was me, not Korun who chose to twist the truth. Don’t blame him.”

Korun inhales deeply before relaxing his shoulders. “Think we should all sit and have a long talk.”

Keelie starts to sit, but Soll yanks her back up.

“I think you should start explaining yourself quickly, before I lose my temper,” he threatens.

“Okay. Where to start…” he murmurs anxiously. “I guess it all started when these two busted me out of prison in the castle.” He points at Darith and me. “When they got me out, they told me we had met previously that day in a field near the castle, but I had no memory of the encounter. Evidently, Araina saw the guards force me to drink something, so we guess that’s why my memory was wiped.”

Soll stills looks very angry and impatient, his knuckles turning white as his grip on the sword tightens.

“Anyway,” Korun tries to hurry the story along, “basically they saved me from the castle and are trying to help me get back through the wall I fell through.”

“So the wall really does exist?” Keelie clarifies, one hand held to her forehead in frustration.

“Sure, the wall exists. We don’t actually know what’s on the other side,” he finishes quietly.

Everyone stands silently in a circle.

“We don’t have a choice anyway,” I tell Soll. “What, would you have stayed back at the den waiting for Simul to sweep back through and collect you?”

His jaw is strong, and his eyes narrow. “We trusted you. We thought you were different than the other Mahk.” He looks Darith up and down. “But if you’ve been joining efforts with someone like him and lying to us, I have to think differently of you.”

Keelie stands nervously beside Laon. What they’re thinking isn’t clear. No one says a word for at least five minutes.

Darith starts to speak, “So what’s
—
”

“Shut up!” Soll interrupts with a shout. Swiftly, he pulls one of his swords from its holder. “Fate be! Can’t you just button your lips? I should kill you right now.”

Darith flinches but surprisingly doesn’t extract a weapon.

“You’re not worth it.” Soll lets go of his sword. “I don’t want to hear another word from you. Never speak to me!” He stomps away from the group toward the wall.

Saige, Keelie, and Laon follow after him.

“Well, he’s a pleasant fellow” Darith nudges my arm.

I exhale roughly, glancing over at Korun. He looks at me with an expression of utter disappointment and shame.

I reach for his arm. “I’m sorry, I just
—
”

He turns his back to walk away, leaving Darith, Vickon, Rase, Blue, and me.

“You’re making friends with everyone, aren’t ya, little Araina?” Darith badgers me sarcastically.

“Not now. I’m tired and need rest. We can talk later. Just take her.”
 

Darith takes Rase’s ropes. I spin around and head toward my box of treasures. Blue follows me. The container is still there, untouched. After the box is open, the small treasures seem to stare back at me. Blue hunkers beside me, resting her head on my shoulder, seeming to take note as well. Everything appears to be there: a key, a little leaf pendant, a piece of white chalk, a coin, and a single small shard of obsidian.

Out of habit, my hand grabs the obsidian, allowing it to consume me with curiosity. This particular piece was the first item added to my box. The shard is smooth against my fingers. Its value is a mystery. Why is it so special the creators demand we gather it for them? It’s like they have us collecting it simply as a form of labor, as a punishment. From what I can deduce, it’s not used as currency. I’m sure I’ll never learn if there’s a purpose for the obsidian. As a Mahk, these answers will likely never be revealed to me.

Becoming frustrated with the small object that represents my suppression, I put it away. Inspecting the box’s contents somehow brings me comfort. Next, my finger runs over the surface of the silver coin. Like most of the other objects, the little round shining silver object was barely peeking out of the ground. It had a flower carved on one side and some numbers on the other. For some reason, my mind named it a coin. No one ever taught me that. Its feeling in my hand was familiar, so I held on to it.

I stare at the various things for long moments, trying to understand how I know what they are and what they mean to me. This psychological game could go on for hours. The questions subside when the mystery box is closed.

My forehead begins to ache. It’s been scrunched due to my frustration. Soll’s reaction to our secret is still terrorizing my feelings. All this time, the dishonesty was intentional even though they would find out if we made it through the wall. The whole charade wasn’t supposed to feel this bad in my gut. There were good motives behind the fib too. Knots tighten in my stomach.

All that can’t consume me now, though. I finally have Blue, and she needs care.

I trace her beak with my fingers. My spirit soaks in her presence. She nuzzles next to me as we sit on the ground quietly. Everything else falls away. It’s not worth focusing on the negative when there’s so much positive right in front of me.

We sit together in silence and pretend like its three weeks ago before my world changed. Extracting the chalk from my box, I spend a few moments sketching on the wall. Creativity often helps me sort out my thoughts. The entire space is covered in my depictions but more always manage to fit. My arm dances in different directions, drawing what feels natural. Not allowing my mind to plan anything seems to extract the best results.

My sketch depicts a person slouched over in tears. With the creation of lines around and above her, the figure becomes enclosed in a cage.

“Guess that’s how I feel.” I look over at Blue sadly. It didn’t take away the aching in me, but the drawing did help me figure out my emotions: that I’m trapped like a prisoner. A prisoner of the bounds set by the Creators and those I’ve brought on myself. After tucking the chalk back in the box, I close its lid.

I imagine no one else is in our hiding spot. It’s just me and Blue. Her gold eyes are glowing with happiness as we snuggle next to the dark wall.

“At least I didn’t let you down,” I tell her, petting her back, “and I’m not going to.”

A hint of peace finally washes over me. It’s easy to dismiss the conversations taking place among the others and let my eyes close. When we try to reach that wall, I’m going to need to be adequately rested. Within a couple minutes, I’m drifting into the abyss of my own mind.
 

Chapter 25
Haunted or Crazy

My sleep brings me no hopeful dreams.

First, I sit helpless in that chair in the Rotting Pass again, and Sir Riddles grasps my shoulders. He’s telling me riddles. This time I’m paying attention. The words of the sinister man shouldn’t have any merit, but now I accept they might. Over and over, he’s saying that same riddle he loved to spout:

Which little pets

Live in the penitentiary,

Eat dead rats,

And have selective memory?

Abruptly, I’m no longer in the Rotting Pass, but instead for some reason, I’m face to face with the one-handed Creator and Simul.

Simul calls me, “Araina, number P329111.”

I reach for the dagger in my hair, but it’s missing. The crossbow on my back is missing as well.

“Convicted of treason and a double offense” the one-handed man says, “injuries punishable by death.”

Then Simul dissipates into thin air.

I try to run from the one-handed man but am frozen in place. I desperately look around, hoping to see Korun, Soll, or anyone who can save me. There isn’t a single soul but me and that man. Once again, he pushes me against a wall forcefully. I still can’t see his eyes through his brown hair. He breathes heavily in my face. Then he lunges at me, my own dagger in his hands. The dagger bursts into my chest. Pain wakes me from my slumber.

Sweat slithers on every inch of me. Breathing heavily, I look around. That was quite a discouraging sequence of dreams right before our big dash to the wall.

Dying at the hands of that piggish one-handed man would almost be worse than burning to death
.

And why Sir Riddles won’t stay in the past is beyond me. What was he saying in that stupid riddle?

Which little pets

Live in the penitentiary,

Eat dead rats,

And have selective memory?

As my brain boils on his words, trying to cook up their meaning, the riddle becomes clearer to me. Surely he was talking about his prisoners chained to the wall.
Which little pets live in the penitentiary
. Although why would he refer to his own house as the penitentiary? He probably really believed he was providing them a nice home.

“Selective memory,” I say again quietly. The riddle isn’t as clear as I want to think it is. After a good five minutes of mulling over the crazy man’s words in my head, my mind finally shoves them away.

Blue’s head is still resting in my lap, and she doesn’t stir at my commotion. Everyone else is also sleeping, aside from Soll, who must be keeping watch. He’s perched high up in the tree. Maybe not, but it appears he has intentionally pretended he didn’t notice me jolt awake. Speaking to him would be nice, if he was anywhere near forgiving me, but that doesn’t seem likely.

I don’t owe him anything. If it weren’t for Korun and me, he would be trapped at the mercy of Simul.

I inhale deeply. My hand gently scoots Blue’s head away.