It gave me a little shock when I grabbed it, but I tightened my grip and then murmured the Greek phrase Asterius had given me. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant since he hadn’t bothered to translate, but the tingling buzz in my hand faded to a barely perceptible hum. Only then did I hurry back to the hall.
The sensation of being inside an echo tunnel vanished as soon as I crossed out of the vault. I could see Mathias on the outside, his hand braced against the door. I could see the way relief skittered across his face before he beckoned to me. “Hurry!”
I increased my pace, not that I really needed the urging. Still, I didn’t breathe easily until I emerged from the hall. Mathias rested a hand on my shoulder, his gaze flicking over me. “All right.”
“Yes.” I paused and then added softly, “I found everything and more.”
His eyebrows rose at that although he knew better than to question me here. Instead, he simply nodded. “Good. We should get back to the crossroads. They’ll be wondering if we died.”
When I frowned at him, he clarified, “It took you almost an hour to come back.”
I blinked at him. “I thought it was only about twenty minutes.”
He shook his head. “Probably a protection layer to this vault since you vanished when you went inside.”
Odd as it was, I didn’t question him further. Our plan rested on this next part. Without the others, it would likely be impossible for us to escape the labyrinth alive.
They were all three at the crossroads when we arrived. The minotaur and the lamassu failing spectacularly to hide their shock at our reappearance. Mathias grinned at them. “Not too disappointed to see us again, lads, I hope.”
Asterius ignored him as his eyes latched onto the spear I held. “Finally.” He snatched it from me, and I gladly let him have it. I was even more grateful that the tingling sensation left my hand almost as soon as I did so.
The Arachne lowered herself from the ceiling and stretched out a hand. I placed the long dagger in it and she nodded, braid swinging with the movement. “You have kept your side of the bargain.”
“And now we will keep ours,” Cyrus intoned although he didn’t look particularly happy as he twitched his wings. “What comes next will not be easy.”
Mathias smirked. “We just fought and defeated a chimera. Are there any others in this maze?”
“No,” the Arachne sighed.
“However,” Cyrus interjected, “there are other denizens of the labyrinth who prefer the easy hunts. They won’t take kindly to what we are attempting to do. Something you should keep in mind, Myrmidon.”
Mathias drew his sword once more. “I feel I’ve just warmed up. Ready for another go at this, then?”
The Arachne nodded. “We must gather the others.”
“What others,” I asked.
She smiled, and I caught a glimpse of dark fangs peeking out of her mouth. “You didn’t think the three of us were without other allies than yourselves, did you? We also know the gorgons. Perhaps, they will be convinced to help us.”
“We need to move quickly,” Cyrus stated.
Asterius nodded. “Yes, before the guild realizes we’ve been cooperating too long and send the Talos to drive us apart again.”
That sounded . . . ominous. I exchanged a look with Mathias who seemed far too at ease with this whole thing. High numbers, heaven help me. He smiled at me, and I suppressed a sigh. We just had a bit more to do. Then, hopefully, we would be out of this horrible twisting warren of tunnels.
* * *
Chapter Eleven
Mathias
We stayed with the lamassu and minotaur while the Arachne vanished along the ceilings to find . . . gorgons, apparently. We’d returned to the large chamber with all the food and had been assured it was safe. I still didn’t let Lauren touch anything until after I tasted it. Once we were finally out of this place, I was taking her straight to a healer.
As more time passed, I settled on the floor. Crossing my legs, I got Lauren to lay down with her head pillowed on my thigh. I dozed until I heard an echoing bark. Then, hot dog breath fanned my face.
I grimaced at the smell. Opening my eyes, I was somewhat taken aback to see the two headed hellhound from the last time. The head that resembled a Labrador or perhaps a Rottweiler dropped its mouth in a doggy grin while the German Shepherd looking head was snuffling at Lauren. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t moving.
A soft voice called in Greek, “Pascal, leave them be. Come here.”
The hellhound’s twin heads swiveled around, and it yipped in stereo before bounding over to a gorgon. She patted first one head and then the other as the snakes making up her hair writhed. Then she turned toward us, but her gaze didn’t meet mine. I abruptly realized she was blind. The gorgon spoke again, this time in lightly accented English, “Do not be afraid. I won’t turn you to stone. I can’t. I am Elizaveta, and I believe you know Pascal though I am curious as to how you avoided his attention the first time we crossed paths.”
Lauren got to her feet. “I used my Jinn talent to hide us. We didn’t want a fight.”
“But, you’re looking for one now.”
Lauren’s chin went up in her adorable look of stubbornness as she responded steadily, “With the guild, no one else. Will you help us or not?”
The gorgon’s snakes writhed almost tying themselves into knots. Yet, her voice was almost softer than Lauren’s as she asked, “If I refuse to help?”
“Then, you need only stay out of our way. As I said, our quarrel is with the Minos Guild not with you.”
“Even though I am a gorgon and evil?”
Lauren glanced at me before turning back to the woman. “My husband is a Myrmidon. He’s not supposed to exist either. I’ve been working quite hard to keep him alive in spite of this fact. I’ve no quarrel with you if you don’t intend harm to me or mine. We can stop the guild with or without your help, and then you’ll be free to make your own way from here.”
The gorgon was silent for a long moment before she smiled and the snakes settled back down, though their tongues occasionally flicked out to taste the air. “You were correct, Arachne, this one is different.” She rubbed between the hellhound’s ears and then added, “I shall speak to my kin. We will draw the other hellhounds to us with Pascal’s presence. Then, we shall take our vengeance on the Minos Guild.”
I grabbed Lauren’s hand and squeezed it twice. “Well done,” I murmured to her.
Pascal barked and growled as all four of his ears went back. Elizaveta’s snakes started writhing again. “Automatons. They’re coming.”
“Run,” Arachne called. “Elizaveta and Pascal will show you the way out.”
I hesitated and then I pushed Lauren toward the gorgon and hellhound. “Go with them. Stay together and find her kin.”
“Mathias.”
She cut off her protest as soon as I shook my head. I drew my sword and turned to the others. “Arachne, stay with them. Asterius, Cyrus, with me. We need to draw the automatons off.”
The lamassu didn’t argue for once. He bowed his head, his curly beard swaying with the movement and then he gave a shout and leapt toward the first Talos automaton as it entered the far side of the hall. He knocked it over, hooves ringing as he trampled over its prone body. The automaton reached out to grab him, but failed to move fast enough to do so. That gave me hope. I nodded to Asterius who twirled his spear.
I caught one last glimpse of Lauren dashing after the gorgon and hellhound with the Arachne scurrying along the ceiling above them before I threw myself into the fight. I scored cuts into the bronze torso and managed to sever one grasping hand before all three of us ran down a different tunnel, away from the women, and hopefully doing enough damage to keep the automatons focused on us alone.
We were close now, so close.”
* * *
Lauren
The sound of metal scraping against metal no longer echoed through the tunnels, and we were finally able to slow our pa
ce. Then, Pascal let out twin barks and bolted forward followed by Elizaveta as she called out in Greek. Arachne landed beside me, her legs gathered beneath her. She nodded to the shadows. “The others are just ahead. Let Elizaveta speak to them first. I’d rather not have to wait for the gorgons to undo their stone curse. It can take hours.”
She paused and then her clicking sigh seemed to grow louder as she added, “And, such a transformation would be difficult on the life you carry. Best to avoid it.”
I jerked in spite of my best efforts, and she gave the whispery click of laughter. “I’m old enough, young one, that I know when I sense new life. Does your mate know?”
“Yes. But, it has not been spoken of since we arrived here.”
Arachne nodded. “A wise decision. I will not speak of it further.”
“Thank you,” I murmured politely.
Then, I stood a little straighter as Elizaveta returned. She nodded to us. “My kin have agreed to accompany us.”
Her kin turned out to be two other full blooded gorgons, one with skin and scales so dark it almost looked like she had been carved from the deepest shadows and the other with paler skin but her scales and snakes were red, and two hybrids. The full blooded gorgons like Elizaveta had human forms other than the patches of scales on their throats and arms and the snakes replacing their hair. They also dressed in modern clothes like Elizaveta. The hybrids on the other hand had snake tails that were uncomfortably close to those of the lamia. When Elizaveta introduced the two women with bronze skin and scales, however, she indicated they were of naga descent. Naga were close in appearance to the lamia, only they had males of their own species, and they didn’t prefer to kill males on sight. Each gorgon was armed with bows and quivers full of arrows.
And with them came more hellhounds. None had twin heads like Pascal. Both the shaggier type and the short coated type were present. They seemed to like Pascal in any case.
We started moving again without taking too much time for pleasantries beyond allowing the hellhounds to sniff me. I didn’t even catch the other gorgons’ names. Not that I wanted to spend time chattering. Not when my stomach was roiling under the threat of nausea, and I was straining to listen for any hint of the automatons’ return. I was so preoccupied that I bumped into Elizaveta’s back and flinched away as two of her snake heads flicked their tongues against my cheek.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from having a reaction even as my skin crawled. I wouldn’t say I was afraid of snakes. However, my extremely healthy respect for them meant I preferred to keep them as far away from me as possible. And, this current distance was not anywhere close to far enough. I suppressed another shudder as I asked in a whisper, “What is it?”
“We do not know this tunnel,” came Arachne’s whispering sigh as she brushed by me. It is changing directions as we walk.”
“They can do that?”
“The guild is capable of much,” one of the half-naga gorgons murmured.
Elizaveta nodded. “They plan punishment . . . or a sale.”
“We can’t turn back,” I whispered. “We must keep going.”
“Unfortunately,” she muttered. Her snakes writhed and twisted while occasionally reaching out to bump against my cheeks and hair.
I increased my pace to match hers instead of being behind her, coming up on her left while Pascal stayed on her right. I hesitated before I quietly asked, “Do you have people who might be looking for you?”
The gorgon tilted her head toward me and replied, “I’ve a husband and two daughters. Or at least, I did. I’ve been held here for years now. They have probably forgotten me.”
“I used to think the same thing about my family,” I offered without really knowing why. “Then, I learned the truth. They had intended to return. That made a difference. Knowing they wanted to return and were prevented by outside forces made a difference to me.”
Elizaveta was silent for a long moment, then she said. “No one misses gorgons except our families. When we vanish, the other paranormals do not want to know because they don’t like being reminded that we still exist, although our reputation has been muddled by the lamia.”
“Surely something could be done to change that,” I protested.
She smiled, her incisors sharper than the rest of her teeth and somewhat pointed. “How? How do we change the minds of entire cultures?”
“Education.” I paused as one of the other gorgons let out a hiss, her snakes echoing the sound with eerie volume. It was enough to make my skin crawl. “What is it?”
The other gorgon spoke in Greek. My bewilderment must have shown because Arachne gave a clicking laugh. “She does not know Greek.”
Elizaveta shrugged even as her snakes seemed to curl in toward her head like a shrinking perm or halo. “There is a door ahead. One we do not know.”
My heart started beating faster. “We’ll have to go there.”
“Sadly.”
As my heart hammered into my ribs like a bird snared in a net, I took a steadying breath. I had to breath, I had to think. I hadn’t attempted to use the glamour since we confronted the chimera. Now, though, I needed it desperately. We needed to be hidden. All of us. I couldn’t reach out and touch them all, however.
It seemed impossible. No! No. I wouldn’t let it be impossible. I needed to do this. I would do this. I reached for the sense of protection, of security, instead of the fear. How I knew the difference, I couldn’t explain if I tried. I simply knew what I was hunting for this time was different. It was . . . stronger. This was about more than the fear of being caught, it was about surviving. I needed to survive and in order to survive, I needed to conceal everyone with me. The gorgons, the hybrid naga-gorgons, the Arachne, and the hellhounds. We all had to survive and work together to escape this place. We all had homes away from here, families, even children. We had people who wanted, no, needed to see us again. Mathias’ face swam in my mind’s eye. Yes, my Myrmidon and also our baby. To protect them both, I needed to protect and conceal those with me now. I couldn’t touch them all, but I could conceal them. We were still grouped closely enough together that it should work. I would make it work.
This time I felt something change in the air around us. I could sense a . . . displacement of sorts, and I knew. I knew it was working. I had glamoured us.
We approached the doors together. The guild must have been expecting us because the doors slid back into the walls on either side. They revealed some sort of holding room complete with different cages sitting empty at the moment.
As we moved forward, I managed to keep the glamour up though I was already starting to sweat from the strain of hiding a dozen creatures. Just a little longer. That was all I needed. Just a little while longer.
When the doors closed behind us, my concentration wavered. I managed to keep hold of the slippery sensation of the displacement. The glamour was still working. Fortunately, no one spread out making it easier for me to maintain the glamour.
We had nearly reached the far side of the room when a new door slid up to reveal five men in head to toe black, save for gold sashes tied around their waists. They stepped into the room and exchanged confused looks. Arachne pounced first, her long jointed legs wrapping around the leader’s head and shoulders as she stabbed him in the gut with her stinger. He fell with a choked cry and then she sprang away.
The gorgons hissed, and I dropped the glamour. I caught a glimpse of the men’s confusion transforming into terror before the gorgons hissed again, and I covered my own eyes as a precaution. After a moment, I felt Pascal’s heads nudged into my waist with enough force that I almost fell over. I dropped my hand and felt a little queasy at the sight of four men trapped in stone.
Elizaveta stood next to me. “Don’t worry. We can undo our work if we choose.” Then, she gestured in the direction of the still open doorway. “Shall we go?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I could only hope Mathias was having an easier time of it. Or at the very least, not getting hims
elf injured to the brink of death again.
* * *
Mathias
“This is new.”
I glanced over at Asterius as he looked around at the arena we had entered. “Not for me.”
The minotaur snorted. “Arena fighter?”
“I might have competed in the Colosseum,” I replied.
Cyrus was observing the arena as well, but didn’t say anything. His wings fluttered before settling against his heaving sides. His human mouth turned down in a severe frown. “They want a show. Of us killing each other.”
I peered around until I spotted the viewing platform. Was that? I barely kept from grinning as I realized it was true. The platform didn’t have a mirror glamour. It had regular glass windows, although they were angled and the platform was high enough that I couldn’t quite see inside.
Spinning to face the lamassu, I gave a shout as I charged him. I swept my sword at his front legs, intentionally bringing it up too short to actually score a hit. As the lamassu’s face darkened, I caught his eye and winked. Putting my back to the viewing platform, I mouthed ‘Play along.’
The lamassu bellowed and flared his wings, then charged. I was forced to roll out of his way. I came up only to have to immediately use my sword to block the minotaur’s attack. As he leaned in close with his hot breath, he muttered, “Have you a plan?”
“Break the glass,” I replied before I kicked out to knock him off balance.
I saw the moment my statement made sense as he looked up at the viewing platform. We moved in an intricate dance after that, dodging and feigning swipes at each other. Circling until we were finally close enough to the viewing platform. I ran toward Asterius, acting as though I would not stop unless he skewered me. He had almost reached me when I skidded to a halt and shouted, “Now!”
Quests by Numbers (Rogue Spotter Book 5) Page 12