by Lou Anders
“That’s actually not a bad strategy,” observed Desstra.
“Not helping,” said the frost giant. To the king she said, “That’s not the case here. The Calderans saw them aiding us. They have only a matter of days before they’ll be punished. They can’t afford to wait.”
“Even better,” said Asterion. “We can let them fight first, and we can mop up later.” He twirled his double-bladed ax. “Which only leaves me the conundrum of whether to disappear you children or hand you over.”
“There’s a third option,” said Thianna.
“What’s that?” said the king, still twirling his ax.
“We run for it!”
She took off down the street. Karn and Desstra exchanged a glance, then charged after her. Behind them Daphne did the same.
Above them King Asterion roared, but not in anger.
“A chase!” the minotaur monarch yelled gleefully. “Thank Teshub! It’s been years since we’ve had a good old-fashioned chase through the labyrinth.” He laughed and beat his free hand on his side. Then the king turned to the soldiers beside him.
“Well,” he said, “what are you waiting for? After them!”
—
Sirena struck the ground hard. But at least it was ground. She gripped the grass between clenched fingers, struggling to get on top of her anger. Then she lifted her head and looked around.
She was in a park in the middle of a city. A normal, human city from the look of the nearest buildings. She didn’t recognize it, but it was neither Dendronos nor Caldera. She needed to get back, and fast—before her cousin escaped. Sirena turned around. Several trees grew in a cluster behind her. None of them moved or spoke. No magic doorways were visible in any of their trunks. It was impossible to tell which one was the tree she had come through.
“Was it you?” she said to a date plum tree. The tree did not respond. She turned to the one next to it. She kicked the trunk. “Open up!” she yelled. She kicked the tree again, but the only response was that several fruits were dislodged and fell to earth.
Sirena turned and pounded her fist on the next-nearest tree. “I know it was you,” she said. “You’re only making it harder on yourself by keeping mum.”
She turned to a third tree, studying it. Then she snatched a leaf and tore it off savagely, hoping to provoke a reaction. None followed. “Argh!” she exclaimed in frustration. “If I had a fire lance, I would set every one of you ablaze!” She grabbed another tree and began to shake it. “Open up! Open up! I know you can open up!”
“Child, are you all right?”
Sirena spun around. A soldier was gazing at her as if she were crazy.
“I’m not a child,” she barked. “I’m your Keras Keeper.”
“Keras Keeper?” said the woman, confused. “Shouldn’t you be in Caldera? The Great Hatching is in two days.”
She marched up to the soldier.
“Don’t you think I know that? Tell me, what city is this?”
“What city? Don’t you know?”
“Yes, what city? It’s a simple question, you witless grunt. What city is this?”
“There’s no need to be rude,” the woman said, her cheeks coloring.
“There’s every need,” barked Sirena. “Now shut up and answer my question.”
“But if I shut up, how will I—?” the soldier began. Seeing the menacing look in the Keras Keeper’s eyes, she stopped and swallowed. “This is Lassathonia,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Sirena with exaggerated politeness. “That wasn’t hard, was it?” She considered her location. Lassathonia was the southernmost city on the Thican island-continent. She was hundreds of miles from Caldera, even farther from Dendronos. There was no point in trying to reach the city of tree folk. Thianna would be long gone before she could get there. She needed other options. Sirena turned to the soldier.
“Take me to your garrison,” she said. “I’m going to commandeer a wyvern. And I need reinforcements.”
As they walked from the park she turned to the cluster of trees.
“Crows take you all,” she said.
The soldier gave her a funny look.
“I don’t think crows eat trees,” she said. Then, when she saw the murderous glare that Sirena turned her way, she amended, “Of course, I could be wrong about that.”
—
The loud peals of cowbells rang in the air. Those citizens of Labyrinthia who were at ground level rapidly ascended staircases, drawing them up in their wake. As the streets emptied out, doors and windows opened and groups of the bull folk strode onto balconies to look down at them. Alerted by the noise of the bells, bull men and kine women were preparing to enjoy the spectacle.
“Looks like we have an audience,” Karn said.
“What do they want?” Daphne asked fearfully.
“I think we’re the morning’s entertainment,” said the Norrønur.
“Then let’s give them a show,” Thianna replied.
The elf spun around and lobbed something at their pursuers. When it hit the ground it exploded. The soldiers reared away from the resulting smoke and flames.
“It’s mostly flash,” Desstra apologized. “Not a lot of bang.”
“At least it buys us time,” said Karn.
“Nicely done!” shouted King Asterion. Thianna looked for the source of the voice and found the minotaur monarch perched atop a nearby wall. Someone had brought him a wide drinking bowl while an attendant stood by with a plate piled with fresh grasses. The king wiped wine from his chin, then grabbed a handful of vegetation and munched. Beside him, his son Asterius seemed less pleased with the events of the morning.
“I’m glad somebody is having fun!” Thianna shouted at the king.
“Yes, indeed, thank you,” Asterion replied good-naturedly. “But don’t worry, your own fun is just beginning.”
Thianna gritted her teeth and led the charge through the streets of the city. After the third switchback, she threw her hands wide and exclaimed, “What is this, some sort of maze?”
“Well, yes,” said Karn. “It is called Labyrinthia, after all.”
“Who builds a city shaped like a maze?”
“I would think the answer was obvious,” said Desstra.
Thianna raised a warning finger at the elf.
“I just want to get out of here,” said Daphne. “Which way do we go?”
“I don’t know,” said Karn. “I only got here yesterday, and we didn’t come in this way.”
“I thought you were good at games,” said the frost giant.
“Board games,” he replied. “Strategy games. Not mazes. Mazes aren’t games.”
“Sure they are,” said the frost giant.
“A maze is a type of puzzle,” said Daphne. “And a puzzle is a type of game.”
“See?” said Thianna. “She agrees with me.”
“Never mind,” said Desstra. “Just go left.”
“Why left?” asked the Norrønur.
“We take every left turn,” the elf said. “That’s how you avoid getting lost in a labyrinth.”
“It is?” asked Thianna.
“I think. I’ve never been in one before.”
“Oh great,” said the frost giant, but she led them along the leftward street. A few more twists and turns and the group found themselves in a small open square. It was dominated by a marble minotaur statue. Water issued from both of its horns into a small pool. Fanning out to either side of the fountain was a second troop of minotaur soldiers.
“We’re boxed in,” said Thianna. She readied her sword, trusting that her companions would do the same.
“Let’s even the odds,” said Desstra. The elf lobbed another incendiary at the approaching minotaurs. The explosion drove several of the soldiers back, then the rest fell upon the companions and the fight began in earnest.
Swords, hammers, and axes clashed. From the houses above, the citizens of Labyrinthia variously cheered and booed. Some threw flowers and others toss
ed stones and rotten apples. The bull folk seemed not to favor one side or the other as long as the entertainment was good. Weaponless and terrified, the dryad ran about as her leaves tried to curl up over her head.
Dodging a quick stroke from an ax, Thianna tripped and fell into the fountain. Seeing this, Karn hollered in alarm, but the giantess emerged from the water. As she stepped from the pool, Karn noticed that she had frozen the water in her clothing. Her Thican robe was now hard and stiff.
“Instant ice armor,” she said with a grin. “Now I don’t have to be so careful.” With the benefit of this extra layer of protection, the giantess dove into a group of three soldiers and soon had them on the ground. Thianna smiled as a bouquet of flowers was thrown at her feet.
She picked it up and waved at the crowd.
“Somebody’s popular,” noted Desstra.
“I just hope they don’t expect us to eat those,” Karn said.
Having driven back or overcome their opponents, the companions continued through the square and onto another street.
Unfortunately, the next intersection led them to a dead end. They had to backtrack, which meant their pursuers gained ground. When the soldiers spotted their prey, they shouted and charged.
“Here we go again,” said Thianna.
“Wait,” said Desstra, laying a hand on her arm.
Suddenly the entire group of minotaurs stopped and flipped over onto their backs. It was as if each of them had been yanked backward by an invisible rope.
The giantess gave the elf a questioning look.
“Spiderweb,” Desstra explained. “Stretched across the street. Hard to spot. That’s twice it’s come in handy.”
“What will you do for a third time?” asked Thianna.
“Are we getting anywhere nearer to the city gates?” Karn asked.
“Impossible to tell,” Desstra said. “A maze winds in and out before leading you to its exit.”
“We could be heading right back to the center!” wailed Daphne. The timid dryad was definitely not having fun.
“Exactly!” King Asterion called down from the wall above. “How do you know whether you are making progress? A fascinating conundrum, isn’t it? But carry on.”
Karn reckoned that they were somewhere roughly halfway between the central palace and the outer walls when events took a turn for the worst. As they neared a bend in the streets, they heard a loud scuttling sound. He grabbed Thianna’s arm and slowed her run.
“Something’s coming,” he warned.
“More soldiers?” she said.
“I don’t think so,” Karn replied.
Something indeed felt its way around the corner. It was a long leg, covered in a shiny black carapace.
“Not more spiders!” exclaimed Daphne. But the dryad was mistaken.
An enormous scorpion rounded the corner. It was bigger than a horse. Bigger even than an Uskirian war pig. Its claws were so large they looked like they could snip a person in half. An enormous stinger curled up from its hindquarters and towered in the air. A minotaur rode upon its back with reins affixed to its head.
“I don’t think we can fight that,” said Karn.
“Oh, but wouldn’t you like to try?” King Asterion shouted at them. He laughed and called for another bowl of wine. Then the king pointed. “And look this way.”
More soldiers were approaching from behind. They were boxed in again.
Desstra lobbed an explosion. Riderless, the scorpion fell back in the wake of the flames. Then Daphne surprised everyone by racing forward. As the creature reached a claw for her, she leapt into the air. Spinning, the dryad fanned out her leaves. She whirled upward, soaring above the grasp of the deadly pincers. Rising up after her, the scorpion exposed its underbelly. Thianna took the opportunity to charge it, throwing her shoulder into its midsection and toppling it over. Desstra passed Karn one end of a spiderweb, and the two of them ran at the beast. The Norrønur wore one of the former Underhand student’s specially treated gloves so that the sticky silk wouldn’t snare his hand. Between the two of them, they tangled the legs of the scorpion and pulled the strong thread tight.
Atop the wall, the king of the minotaurs seemed pleased.
“This is the best day we’ve had in Labyrinthia in ages,” he said to his son. “What do you say, Asterius? Should we invite foreigners to the palace more often?”
“They work together, Father,” said the bull boy.
“Yes,” the king agreed. “They are putting on quite a show. All the more fun because they have no idea which way to go. And more soldiers come!”
Asterius gave his father a reproachful look.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said. “Look at them, Father. Really look at them. A giant, a pale human, a dryad, and whatever the pointy-eared one is. They are all different, from different places. But together they are beating your soldiers.”
The king frowned.
“What are you implying?” he said.
“If you were to join Dendronos and the other city-states, you could beat the Calderans now. You wouldn’t have to wait.”
“Leave politics to the adults, son,” said the king. “Just shut up and enjoy the maze.”
Asterius hung his head, but not in shame. In mounting anger. When he had fled Caldera, he had been so sure that his father would stand up for Labyrinthia, the first of the peoples of Thica to rise. Now he realized that the king would always hesitate. If someone were to lead the charge, it wouldn’t be King Asterion.
“Enjoy the maze,” repeated Asterius, a hoof unconsciously pawing as he gathered his energy and his nerve. “Good advice, Father. I think I will.”
The minotaur prince leapt from the wall. He bounced once on a large awning, then sprang to the street below.
“Asterius, get back up here!” roared the king, but the son ignored his father.
“Follow me,” the bull boy called to his friends and companions. “I am a minotaur, and I can lead you out of the maze.”
“Open in the name of the prince!” Asterius ordered the guard atop one of the two horn-rimmed towers.
“My prince?” said the minotaur soldier. “But—didn’t you only just arrive yesterday?”
“And now I am leaving again. Raise the portcullis.”
The guard stared from his platform at the motley crew of young people before the gate.
“Raise the portcullis,” repeated Asterius, “or I’ll come up there and knock you off your post.” He glanced sideways at Thianna. “Or she will.”
The guard quickly bent to the task, turning the wheel that wound the heavy chain that in turn would raise the gate. The huge portcullis slid upward. Then the noise of their pursuers thundered down the street. The soldier saw a half-dozen minotaurs charging toward the children. And behind them three scorpion riders, one of which was his monarch. He stood up, mouth agape, and released the wheel. The gate began to fall.
Thianna leapt forward, catching the heavy portcullis before it closed completely. She heaved, raising the gate to the level of her shoulders and holding it open.
“Quickly! Heavy!” the frost giant grunted. Karn ushered his companions through. When the last of them was clear, Thianna leapt aside. The metal clanged as it crashed down, blocking their pursuers’ exit.
Or so they thought. The three scorpion riders went right up and over the wall. The legs of the creatures found holds in even the smoothest stone. They scurried down the other side and fanned out around the fugitives.
“Haven’t you had enough fun for one day?” yelled Thianna. “We beat everyone you tossed at us and we got through your maze. Why don’t you give up and let us go?”
King Asterion didn’t reply. He sat on the scorpion, gazing at his son standing amid all the strange folk. He raised his double-bladed ax, spinning it around. The two blades caught the bright sunlight. Then he tossed the weapon to the ground, where one edge stuck in the dirt.
The king slipped from the back of his scorpion and approached the group.
“Quite an assortment you are,” Asterion said. “Human, minotaur, Dendronosi, and…” He paused when his eyes fell on Desstra.
“Elf,” she said.
“And elf,” finished the king with a smile. “One so different from the other. And all fighting alongside each other against a common foe. You surprised me when you left my side to join them, son.”
“Father, I—” began Asterius, but the king waved him to silence.
“Sometimes it takes a real surprise to shock a stubborn bull into changing his mind.” He strode to stand before the frost giant. “Thianna Frostborn,” said the king, “you have shown us the path we must tread. Thank you and congratulations. Labyrinthia has taken up your cause.”
“You mean it?” said Thianna, her face breaking into a grin.
“Let the dice be cast,” said the bull man. “They will fall where they may.” He ruffled his son’s hair, and this time Asterius didn’t shake off his hand. “Let us all return to the Palace of the Double Ax as allies,” he said. “We will feast with my warrior-advisors and hold a Council of Battle! Too long have the Calderans ruled from their mountaintop. It is time for the city-states of Thica to regain their freedom!”
“Treason,” shouted a wyvern rider from the sky.
Three wyverns dropped to the ground. Made nervous by the large reptiles, the scorpions clicked their pincers and drummed their legs. The central rider wore a now-familiar black cape.
“Leta,” said Thianna.
The head of the Keras Guard removed her helmet and dismounted. She walked to the assembled group.
“You will not throw off your yoke so easily, bull man,” she said to the king. Asterion opened his mouth to reply, but she walked on to where the frost giant stood.
“I thought only to find your friend, to use as leverage against you,” Leta explained. “But here I find the two of you together. We will return you both to the capital immediately, where this insurrection will be reported.”
At the edge of Leta’s vision, Desstra had begun to back away.
“Not so fast, little elf,” the woman said. “I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you again. Nor will I leave you alive to plot your revenge.” She turned to one of her two soldiers. “Light her up,” she said.