“They Quickened my blood,” she said, her voice soft as she turned her wrist to me. A perfect set of teeth marks, human teeth, scarred her wrist. Though I knew it couldn’t be, the bite looked weeks old. My hand went up to my neck where I should’ve had bruising and pain from being strangled by our Grandfather; there was nothing to show he’d ever touched me.
Bres crouched in the shadows to my left and when I glanced over at him he shook his head, lifting his finger to his lips. Okay then, he wasn’t supposed to be there?
Ashling gave me a half smile. “You need to go Quinn. You shouldn’t be here. They won’t hurt me. Balor loves me.”
My heart dropped as her words hit me. I scrambled to my feet. “No, you can’t stay here Ashling; they aren’t the good guys—the Fomorii, they’re the monsters.” I winced, hoping Bres knew I didn’t mean him too. She couldn’t mean to willingly stay here, could she?
Her image wavered. “I don’t know that I have a choice. I can lead you out of the Labyrinth Quinn, Balor will allow me to do that at least. He doesn’t want you here, you don’t belong. And he won’t hurt me or Mom.”
Her words made no sense; she had accepted this? I didn’t believe it for a second, something was very wrong.
I struggled not to yell. “Ashling, I’m not leaving without you or Mom. You are both coming home with me.”
Hope flared in her eyes. I saw it light her up then a hand clamped around her upper arm; she was yanked out of my vision.
Balor stepped forward. “You’d best take your sister’s offer. There’ll not be a better one.” His eyes didn’t match his words or his tone. While he sounded angry and his stance even showed aggression, there was a great deal of sadness in his eyes. Regret even.
“I am going to get my family back. Whatever it takes,” I said, trying not to scream at him, my anger building steadily.
He grunted. “Even at the cost of one of their lives? I hate to do this, but you are leaving me no choice.” He snapped his fingers and a Fomorii foot soldier dragged a figure I knew all too well into view. Slight build, a massive riot of dark blond curls streaked with the odd gray strand and, though I couldn’t see them, eyes the same color as Ashling’s. I couldn’t hold back the cry that escaped my lips.
“Mom!”
“Balor, you bastard! Let me go!” she yelled, before Balor could shake her to silence.
Balor frowned down on my mother. “Darcy, you forget your place.”
He turned to face me. “Her bloodline runs strong, but she isn’t needed any longer. Leave now, and I will let her live. Continue in your futile search for your sister and I will end your mother’s life as you know it. It is that simple. Your decision.”
Horror filled me. I couldn’t be the cause of our mother’s death—but neither could I leave Ashling here. I knew in my heart that what Ashling had said earlier was scripted; the hope that I’d seen when I’d said I was coming for them was too raw and real.
“Quinn, I know I’ve not always been a good mother. I know that. But Balor is right,” Mom said.
Tears pooled in my eyes. I couldn’t just leave them here, I couldn’t. “Please, no; he’s wrong. I can get you both out, I know I can.”
Balor stared at my mom and, for a brief second, I thought I saw tears form in his eyes. I frowned. What did he have to be upset about? My mom glanced up at him, an emotion—a softness—flitted across her features, gone as surely as the tear I’d thought I’d seen in Balor’s eye.
“He’s only right about one thing Quinn; I’m no longer needed.” She looked over her shoulder and blew a kiss to Ashling. “I’m sorry. This chance is all I can ever give you. I just wasn’t meant to be a mother. Please remember that after I’m gone.”
Faster than I could believe, she snatched Balor’s sword and attacked him with it. Though she wasn’t doing any damage, she was keeping him at bay.
“Run Ashling!” Mom screamed. “The Labyrinth—get to Quinn!” Ashling didn’t hesitate; she spun in her long dress and sprinted out of sight, for once obeying our mother without question.
The image blinked out of existence and I stared at where it had been, as if my will alone could bring it back.
“No,” I whispered, putting my hand out as if I could do anything but stand helplessly by. He would kill her. I was frozen—praying that he would let her go but knowing in my heart that was not going to happen.
19
The blackness of the Labyrinth surrounded me; only the distant sound of my own words echoed back to my ears. Over and over again in my mind I saw Balor and his sword, my mother fighting with him, my imagination filling in the blanks. Him cutting off her head—or some horrible death blow that would leave her dying for hours, suffering alone. No, no, I couldn’t think like that; I didn’t know that anything had happened to her at all.
Ashling had run for the Labyrinth, that much I did know. I stood, my legs wobbly; she was somewhere in here now too. I had to find her. There was no time to grieve.
Hands wrapped around me in the darkness and, at first, I fought them; until the scent of mint poultice swallowed me up and I burrowed my head into Bres’ shoulder.
“We have to find Ashling, she’s in here now,” I said, my voice thick with tears that I struggled to contain.
The ground began to shake again, jerking me left and right, throwing me out of Bres’ hands and up against a wall. Pain exploded through me, wounds ripping back open, blood streaming down my body.
“Quinn?” Bres called out to me, the glow ball flickering back to life.
“I’m here,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. Then, as if the Labyrinth had been waiting for us to lower our guards, all hell broke loose.
I was tackled from behind, the snarl of an animal right on top of me. I let out a growl of my own, rolled and Called my knife to my hand. The smell of rot and mildew filled my senses, coating my tongue and throat. The stench of the Fomorii was overwhelming. With everything I had I brought the blade down, again and again, but the beast didn’t waver.
“They be hounds of ta un-dead, you can’t kill them with a blade!” Bres shouted. He was further down the tunnel now, taking is light with him. We were being separated once more.
The hound lunged at me, teeth snapping, and it was a fluke that I stumbled and spun, sidestepping the bite that would have taken my face off. Another growl behind me and I was stuck between two hounds that easily came to my waist, their decaying bodies dripping chunks of flesh.
Bres was yelling—but then a more disturbing noise reached my ears. The high-pitched scream of a girl I knew all too well.
Without any thought other than that I had to get to Ashling, to protect her, I concentrated my abilities as I swept my hands towards the hound closest to me. Blue fire ripped out, uncontained by the orb. The hound burst into flame, its flesh sizzling and cracking as the beast ran. Its pack mate whimpered and started to slink away. I let the hound go, the use of whatever magic I had pulled together leaving me wobbly.
I ran—stumbled really—towards her screams, letting my ears guide me. Bres, what about Bres? I stuttered to a stop. His light had blinked out at some point. Ashling screamed again and I forced myself to keep moving towards her. Bres was strong, tough, he would be okay; I had to believe that. Ashling needed me.
“I’m coming!” I rounded a corner and slipped on a patch of algae. Ashling was surrounded by hounds on all sides. I let my anger fuel me as I concentrated on the hound closest to me, directing the blue flame that erupted from my finger tips. The hound howled; it rolled into the one next to it, causing a domino effect as the flames ate at their flesh.
Ashling ran between them and straight into my arms. I caught her up and held her tight, sobs building in my chest as I clutched her to me. I had her and for this brief moment we were together.
“Quinn, I knew you’d find me,” she whispered. “I knew you’d fight for me.”
I squeezed her hard. “Always, always. Don’t ever doubt it.” I kissed the top of her head, the darkness around us breaking up the reunion. We had to get out of here, like right now.
It took all I had to create another orb, the last of my energy going into the floating glass ball. If another pack of hounds came on us, we were screwed.
Pulling her with me, I ran back the way we’d come. “We have to get Bres and then we can get the hell out of here,” I said. Pain lanced through me as another wound broke open.
I forced myself to keep going; not like we had much of a choice anyway.
“Quinn, you’re hurt!” Ashling tried to pull me to a stop.
“No, we have to keep going, we can’t stop. I don’t think I can handle any more hounds and without Bres we are pretty much sitting ducks,” I said, fatigue beginning to shake me through and through.
Three more turns and we still hadn’t found Bres. This was not good; I knew it hadn’t been that far between him and Ashling—a single corner at the most.
“We’re lost aren’t we?” Ashling asked, her skirts swishing along the floor the only sound besides the occasional drip of water.
“Started out lost,” I said. “That’s what’s making this so hard. There really is no beginning or end to this, I think.”
Ashling tugged me to a stop. “We can figure this out Quinn, we’re smarter than the Labyrinth. Wandering in circles won’t help us at all.”
She was right. I let out a deep breath and sagged against the wall, one arm going around my middle. Warmth trickled down my side and I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost enough blood that I would no longer be standing.
“There’s a trick to mazes,” she said. “Like always take the left hand turn, no matter what. Or go back the way you came and you’ll find where you need to go.”
I smiled and let out a snort. “I think you read too much. This isn’t a fairytale Ashling. I would love it to be that simple, but I don’t think it is. I’ve tried going back the way Bres and I came in; it didn’t work.”