Page 34

The wolf lifted its head, tilted its nose to the sky, and released a long, resonant howl.

“Run!”

I screamed. We all scattered.

The pound of paws against the ground smattered behind us in too great a number to belong to just one. I didn’t care to count right now. All I could think was to get to Clark to be his shield.

Any tension between us guttered out in the face of danger. He found me as quickly as I found him, the two of us forming ranks to hold our weapons before our bodies. Others tried to run. I didn’t care to find claws in my back.

I’d rather die with a wound in my chest that fall because I was too afraid to fight.

I threw my axe straight for the closest wolf, watching as the blade sank into his hide. Another jumped over him. I hardly had time to draw my sword before he had pounced at me. His jaws snapped for my face. I held him at bay with my sword between his teeth before Clark drove his weapon into the beast.

His body went limp. I rolled him off me just as another came, its powerful legs propelling it through the air with terrifying speed. I barely managed to raise my sword in time. The tip of the weapon grazed the wolf’s shoulder, drawing a streak of blood, but the force of its attack sent me sprawling to the ground. Rocks dug into my skin. I bit my tongue against the pain.

“Ren!”

shouted Clark, swinging his sword at another wolf that leapt toward him. The beast twisted mid-air, avoiding the strike, and raked its claws across his arm. Blood sprayed, and Clark fell back with a cry of pain.

The pack descended. Wolves surged from the shadows, their movements a blur of fangs and fur. We fought back desperately, their weapons flashing in the firelight. Harald plunged his blade into the side of a charging wolf, only to be knocked to the ground by another. Tove loosed her daggers, striking one beast between the eyes, but her victory was short-lived as two more wolves closed in on her.

Panic rose within me. Without thinking, I reached into my bag and drew out the last of my magic potion.

I threw it at the beasts around Tove. Its mist spread over the wolves, turning their bodies to stone just as their teeth were ready to close in on her.

Tove stared at the frozen beasts with tears on her cheeks.

She was saved, but for how long? How long until we were all ripped to shreds?

We needed help, and we needed it now. I raised a hand to the necklace over my chest, gripped it with white knuckles, and shouted with all my strength.

“Delilah!”

A bright white light flew from the necklace to surround the group, a shimmering wall standing between us and the predators. Any wolves in the circle of light let out a searing yelp that didn’t quiet until they’d stepped out of the circle’s embrace. Their whimpers died. But the light did not let them back in. They tried throwing their bodies against the circle, but it held fast.

Clark stared at me. I looked only to the biggest beast, the one with green eyes and a wicked snarl.

He stepped up to the circle where I swore he grinned.

“You found someone to protect you,”

he said. His shoulders were hunched, his body prowling as he took me in.

My stomach lurched at how human it sounded.

“No matter,”

he went on.

“Dimitri sends his regards, child of Dawson. Says he’s coming for you.”

“Stone Gods aren’t allowed to kill competitors,”

I told the wolf, hoping I sounded braver than I felt. Clark shifted himself to stand before me as if he could stop the jaws of a wolf. If it hadn’t been for Delilah’s protection, the wolves’ teeth would be lined with our blood by now. The group was shaking behind me, trying to make sense of this all.

The wolf chuckled. It was a horrid sound.

“Dimitri can’t kill. But wolves can. We were human once—this labyrinth is as much ours as it is yours.”

I tried to see the human underneath, the one who had once entered the labyrinth just like us to seek his fortune before pledging himself to the King of the Labyrinth, but he was long gone. All that remained was beast. Malicious, cold beast.

Astrid’s breathing drew my attention. She huddled on the ground behind me, her breaths coming in raspy slips, arm clutched to her chest as Aiden and Gunnar knelt by her. They comforted her, but their eyes were wild too. Everyone’s were. And everyone looked at me.

The beast seemed pleased as it took Astrid in. It clicked his teeth together. The sound would haunt me tonight.

“Delilah was foolish in thinking she could keep you from me. No one can.”

Delilah chose that moment to let her light surge, singing the fur of the wolf.

It bit at the light, but retreated a step.

“We will find you again,”

the wolf said.

“Consider this a warning of your coming death. Sleep well.”

With a howl, it called the wolves off. They ran together, clashing their teeth and raking their claws against the ground as they dashed back down the path, until all that remained was the echo of their barks off the stone walls.

Delilah’s light died.

Clark twisted, his jaw sharp and eyes mad as he took in the group behind me, then the two wolves I’d turned to stone.

“Time for you to explain.”