Chapter 3: Part 8 - Tangled Labyrinth

Jean was starting to think following Yinn's compass was a bad idea. He understood exactly where it wanted them to go, with an instinct he couldn't fully put into words. He just didn't like where it was leading them.

"It's called the Tangled Labyrinth," Oska said, as they studied the tunnel leading away into darkness. "Hardly a place for a casual jaunt."

"This is the way Yelazar went," Auri said, with a shudder. "I didn't follow him far, but..."

But she'd come out bloodied and bruised, attacked by the Mordrem who lived down here. Jean would have beat a hasty retreat already, if it wasn't for the compass. Its glowing dial was apparently unreadable to anyone else, but he knew what it was telling him. Forward.

It didn't hurt that Marissa was practically having palpitations over having to follow her little brother. She was, as ever, resistant to the thought of letting someone else take control – this time, she had no choice.

"It's not as simple as just charging into the dark," Jean said. He held the compass in his cupped palms; as the dials swung lazily, he could feel which way they had to go. There were no straight, easy lines down here. In fact, they could hardly see six feet ahead.

"Oska will lead," Marissa said, which Jean knew wasn't just to spite him. Someone had to watch for danger, to find whatever lay ahead before it found them. "Let's go."

They headed into the dark at what, to Jean, felt like a crawl. The compass constantly pulled at his mind, urging him to go left or right, to turn this corner or that. Despite what he'd told Marissa, he very much wanted to rush ahead.

He was also aware that would be a terrible idea. The Labyrinth seemed innocuous enough, sand-strewn paths winding between walls of rock and vines – but every time they paused for Oska to scout a few feet ahead, Jean was sure he could hear something moving.

The third time it happened, Oska suddenly reappeared out of the darkness and hissed at them all to get down. Jean threw himself to the ground, hunched over the compass to stop its light showing – and waited.

For a moment, all he could hear were his own breaths, his heart thudding in his ears– No, not his heart. That thunderous beat was the sound of feet, making the ground tremble.

Jean glanced at Auri, who crouched next to Oska with her eyes squeezed closed. "What's down here?" he whispered.

Her reply was almost too faint to hear. "You'll see."

He did. They weren't far from a junction in the paths and Jean raised his head just long enough to see a Mordrem come racing past. It had the look of a dog about it, with four lean legs and a long muzzle – but it also had a sickly glow and was unmistakably Mordrem. Jean knew, by sheer instinct alone, that clashing with a creature like that would be a bad idea. It was a wonder Auri had got out alive.

The dog-creature raced past, vanishing into the darkness on their right. There was a moment of silence before Marissa hissed, "Yinn is trying to get us killed."

"I don't think that's ever been in doubt, dear sister." Jean got to his feet, checking the compass again. It was unmistakably leading them further into the Labyrinth. "Do we go on?"

Marissa sounded like she was grinding her teeth, but she nodded. They'd come too far to back out.

Twice more, they hid in the shadows as Mordrem thundered past. The last was so close that Jean could feel a rush of wind against his face and smell its strange, rotten mulch scent. After that, they moved quickly, a sense of urgency gripping them – and only just in time.

The next dog-creature came out of nowhere behind them, lighting up the vine-wrapped passage with its eerie glow. They all watched it, frozen for several heartbeats, before Marissa snapped, "Run!"

They ran. Jean clutched the compass to his chest, trying to will strength into his tired legs. They were led by Oska, twisting and turning through the Labyrinth. Several times, Jean's feet skidded on the sandy floor, or he bruised his arms by crashing into the vine walls, but still he ran, his heart pounding, his blood heavy in his head, his lungs labouring to draw in breath–

"Here!" Oska grabbed his arm and pulled, and they all tumbled into a dark side passage. Jean collapsed into the thief, Auri on his other side, and they huddled there, panting. The footsteps of the Mordrem raced closer, closer, closer – and were gone.

Jean raised his head. Marissa stood several feet away, outlined by an odd purple glow. She was as straight-backed and unyielding as ever as she watched the Mordrem vanish round a corner. She might be as exhausted as the rest of them, but she'd never show it. That glow, though...

Jean turned the other way. Something hovered in the air at the end of the passage, the tiniest spark of light. It might have been a lost firefly, except he could feel the pulse of it in his head. This was what they were looking for.

Marissa had come to the same conclusion. "Mesmer magic," she said, as she got close. "Yinn's, no doubt."

Jean glanced at the compass. All its hands were still.

As he watched, a dark crack spread across the glowing face. The hands peeled away, dissolving into dust, allowing the crack to grow wider and wider. Abruptly, the brass case of the compass split apart in Jean's hands, cascading through his fingers in a shower of tiny parts – and another mote of light rose from inside it, floating out to join the first.

"A ridiculous trick," Marissa announced, as they watched the two lights join together, spin around one another for several seconds, then separate again. As they settled, both motes rapidly expanded into portals, two of them side by side. Ridiculous it might be, but it was clever, too. Not just the magic – what it had required them to do. If they'd been impatient and abandoned the compass along the way, they might never have found this place; even if by some fluke they had, the portals wouldn't have opened.

They'd beaten Yinn's expectations, though. They'd held their nerve – or Jean had, anyway – and solved the puzzle. It was impossible not to feel a little pleased with himself.

"Which one do we take?" Oska asked.

"That one," Marissa said at once, pointing to the one on the right. "It's the most stable of the two. I believe I can hear voices on the other side, too."

Jean strained to listen. Marissa was right: the voice actually sounded to be Yinn's, reciting something like a child's rhyme.

"The next clue," Oska said. Jean knew he was guessing, but it was a reasonable supposition. Yinn wouldn't want them to hear the clue properly from here – they had to brave the portal, first.

But the other... Jean edged closer to it. Its edges wavered, as though it was on the verge of closing. Sound came from that portal too – more voices, raised in panic, and the screech of some malevolent creature. Someone on the other side was under attack.

Jean felt his heart sink. Someone, yes – but he recognised one of the raised voices. It was Vasha.

"The Marauders are in trouble," he said, with a beseeching look at Marissa. "We have to help them."

"They're also a long way ahead of us," Auri said thoughtfully. "I can hear jungle birds. They must have left the Silverwastes days ago."

"Then we've been wasting time." Marissa's jaw was set. "We need to follow the clue and make progress as quickly as possible."

"And leave the Marauders to die?" Jean knew his fists were clenched, but he couldn't seem to release them.

Marissa made a dismissive gesture. "Even if those sounds aren't just an illusion of Yinn's, the Marauders can take care of themselves."

"Those are Mordrem they're up against," Oska said, his head on one side. "Sounds like a nasty fight."

"We can't waste any more time," Marissa insisted.

Jean had heard enough. He rounded on Marissa, not caring how much danger they were in, how close the Mordrem dog-creatures might be. "This is exactly what Yinn wants. He knows we've made an alliance with the Marauders and he'll do anything he can to break it."

Marissa's scowl said how little she liked the idea of doing what Yinn wanted – but Jean could see that wouldn't be enough. The lure of following the next clue, of winning, was too strong.

"We had a deal, Marissa," he went on, taking a step closer to her. "It doesn't matter what you think of the Marauders. You agreed to this alliance – and they need our help."

She didn't say it aloud, but suddenly Jean knew what she was thinking. Not about helping the Marauders and not even about winning. She was thinking of Yelazar, as Jean was – Yelazar, who'd betrayed his own allies, just as Marissa was about to do.

He'd told her she was better than this. He still wasn't sure whether she'd prove him right.

Marissa's face was unreadable as she passed a hand over both portals. "The one to the clue is far more stable. This other is breaking apart. If we're going after the Marauders, we need to do it now."

Jean felt a swell of pride, accompanied by more relief than he'd ever admit to. He didn't gloat – he didn't have time – as Marissa turned to the left-hand portal and stepped straight into it.

The twins followed without complaint; Jean thought both of them looked a little relieved, too. He cast a single, regretful glance at the compass in pieces by his feet, then stepped into the portal after them.