me to go.” I studied the stone wall. “The labyrinth can play tricks on you. The flowers are just a taste of what could be before us. Never trust anything you see.”
“This seems like a theme with you. Are you always this untrusting?”
I looked back at the wall. “Only when people are trying to kill me, which is all the time, so yeah.” I ran my fingernail over my lip as I studied the seamless stone. Something had to be here. I ran my fingers along the entire carved frame around the would-be door. If it wasn’t here, it could be anywhere in the room. It would take time to find the switch. I pulled a protein bar out of my pack.
She crossed her arms. “Why would someone be trying to kill you?”
I hadn’t considered the why. Not really. Leilah had already tried to kill me once when she sent me to be sacrificed to the vampires. But then she had the chance to vote for me to die after I broke their rules, and she didn’t. She voted for me to live, which assured my survival. Had she voted for me to die, it would have tied the score. What did they do if the board was split? Sy didn’t get a vote that night. Maybe he would be the tiebreaker, meaning I would have won regardless, and she would know that. So rather than tipping her hand, she let it look like she was on my side. But the whys for any of this had never really mattered much to me. I had been focused on breaking away from them, but maybe that was short-sighted. Perhaps the whys would tell more about Leilah and the council. “You know, I’m not sure.”
“It just seems a little dramatic. I doubt anyone is trying to kill you specifically,” she said. “Now are we just going to stare at this wall for hours, or can we go through the other door?”
“It’s not a wall,” I mumbled. Then it hit me as I took my first bite. I didn’t have to wait to find the lever. I had the master key. I reopened my pack, dug out the dead man’s hand, and pressed it to the wall. Immediately there was a click and the stone slid back. “As I said, everything’s an illusion .”
Chapter 8
Frost caught my arm with her gloved hand. “Wait, if all the person who placed this bounty wants is for Shezmu to be contained, why are we going in at all? He’s already trapped. Let’s destroy the entrance, then it’s over. They can cast whatever spells they want. If no one can get through, he can’t kill them.”
“And the person behind this gets away with it?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan, but surely we can find who’s responsible through magic. The coven could definitely help. Problem solved. No need to fight underworld deities and probably get killed. I did my research; gods can’t be killed in this world.”
“Well, only if he’s technically a god. There’s some debate. He may be a demon, and if that’s the case, I’ve got it covered.”
“My way is so much easier.”
That was true, but I had a feeling even if we wanted to leave, we had come too far to go back. The labyrinth wouldn’t release us until we beat it or died trying. “The last thing we need is to involve more people in this. We’re already here. Let’s just find Shezmu and take care of him. He doesn’t only kill people. He also likes to drink and make lotions. He loves lotions. I guarantee I can get him to talk and then we’ll know the traitor, no magic necessary. After that, I don’t care if you want to blow the place up or brick in the doors, I’ll gladly help.” Nothing about this case was simple. The solution wouldn’t be either.
“Fine, but if I go with you, I want you to tell me everything you know about this case and who you think is behind it. I’m not asking for a pound of flesh. I just want to know what I’m involved in.”
She had probably earned at least that, if for no other reason than professional respect. After all, she did come back. She had proven she was just as Sy advertised: invaluable. Also, I trusted him. He wouldn’t
“This seems like a theme with you. Are you always this untrusting?”
I looked back at the wall. “Only when people are trying to kill me, which is all the time, so yeah.” I ran my fingernail over my lip as I studied the seamless stone. Something had to be here. I ran my fingers along the entire carved frame around the would-be door. If it wasn’t here, it could be anywhere in the room. It would take time to find the switch. I pulled a protein bar out of my pack.
She crossed her arms. “Why would someone be trying to kill you?”
I hadn’t considered the why. Not really. Leilah had already tried to kill me once when she sent me to be sacrificed to the vampires. But then she had the chance to vote for me to die after I broke their rules, and she didn’t. She voted for me to live, which assured my survival. Had she voted for me to die, it would have tied the score. What did they do if the board was split? Sy didn’t get a vote that night. Maybe he would be the tiebreaker, meaning I would have won regardless, and she would know that. So rather than tipping her hand, she let it look like she was on my side. But the whys for any of this had never really mattered much to me. I had been focused on breaking away from them, but maybe that was short-sighted. Perhaps the whys would tell more about Leilah and the council. “You know, I’m not sure.”
“It just seems a little dramatic. I doubt anyone is trying to kill you specifically,” she said. “Now are we just going to stare at this wall for hours, or can we go through the other door?”
“It’s not a wall,” I mumbled. Then it hit me as I took my first bite. I didn’t have to wait to find the lever. I had the master key. I reopened my pack, dug out the dead man’s hand, and pressed it to the wall. Immediately there was a click and the stone slid back. “As I said, everything’s an illusion .”
Chapter 8
Frost caught my arm with her gloved hand. “Wait, if all the person who placed this bounty wants is for Shezmu to be contained, why are we going in at all? He’s already trapped. Let’s destroy the entrance, then it’s over. They can cast whatever spells they want. If no one can get through, he can’t kill them.”
“And the person behind this gets away with it?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan, but surely we can find who’s responsible through magic. The coven could definitely help. Problem solved. No need to fight underworld deities and probably get killed. I did my research; gods can’t be killed in this world.”
“Well, only if he’s technically a god. There’s some debate. He may be a demon, and if that’s the case, I’ve got it covered.”
“My way is so much easier.”
That was true, but I had a feeling even if we wanted to leave, we had come too far to go back. The labyrinth wouldn’t release us until we beat it or died trying. “The last thing we need is to involve more people in this. We’re already here. Let’s just find Shezmu and take care of him. He doesn’t only kill people. He also likes to drink and make lotions. He loves lotions. I guarantee I can get him to talk and then we’ll know the traitor, no magic necessary. After that, I don’t care if you want to blow the place up or brick in the doors, I’ll gladly help.” Nothing about this case was simple. The solution wouldn’t be either.
“Fine, but if I go with you, I want you to tell me everything you know about this case and who you think is behind it. I’m not asking for a pound of flesh. I just want to know what I’m involved in.”
She had probably earned at least that, if for no other reason than professional respect. After all, she did come back. She had proven she was just as Sy advertised: invaluable. Also, I trusted him. He wouldn’t
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