“It’s been a while since they’ve left.”

“Kat, you can go after them.”

“You know I can’t.”

“It’ll be over for the both of us if anything stronger than a goblin comes. If you won’t leave me, at least take me with you. The wind’s picking up.” Emile stood with the help of the wall and tied Rainen’s sword to his back. “Mind if I ask for your shoulder?”

“Are you sure about this? Istruan left us up here for a reason.”

“He only- Did you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“It came from inside… Come on,” he said with a cough.

----------------------------------------

Shit oh shit. Why did this have to happen now? Did Robin do it? “Axel, Istruan! Can you hear me?” I bang on the wall while barely holding onto Aisha.

“It’s-It’s too thick…”

“We have to blast through it.”

“Wait!” Blue Hair stops me from laying Aisha down. “E-Even if we could use our magic to blow through this… What if-What if we injure someone on the other side? Th-There’s bound to be s-some shrapnel.”

Couldn’t we risk it? At worst, someone might be hit unconscious. That’s okay, isn’t it? No, Blue Hair’s right. Someone could die if I misjudge the power needed to blow it open, that's if I could even do it. The most useful spell to tear this wall down is a standard earth spell, everything else looks like a waste. If I could do what Vaal did...

I quickly back away from the wall and shout “Cast a barrier quick!”

“Wha-”

“Just do it!”

Safe under the golden shine, I look down the hallway that seems to stretch on forever. It can’t be much longer than the other ones so another room is right ahead. The line that Blue Hair traced should appear soon, that’ll take us to where Emile and Kat are. We can come up with something after that.

“Wh-What are we going to do?”

“We need to get out of here,” I reply bluntly.

“A-And leave e-everyone behind?” she questions.

“I’m not going back there with Aisha on my back. We’re finding Emile and Kat.” Robin’s going to be a problem. If he can change these hallways at will then all of us will be stuck in this maze running blind whether we have Blue Hair’s marker or not.

Blue Hair keeps pace with me throughout the long hallways and rooms, her breathing far less labored than when we ran from Vormar and Saelac’s men. I stop in the next room and crouch behind some crates as three men run by, shouting and pointing in each direction. Another three come after they leave.

“Pain in the ass,” the first one says. “I thought the boss had it under control.”

“It’s your fault we’re running around,” the second one accuses the third.

“If you’re picking a fight, don’t. We know how it’ll end.”

The first sighs, tired of their bickering. It seems like they will be here forever and then ground trembles and the labyrinth shifts, walls become doors and doors become walls. As if a voice calls out to them the three walk down a new path, their lantern swaying gently back and forth fading into the dark.

A gasp of breath reverberates in the room either from Blue Hair or me, I don’t care to know. The hallways split and diverge, the rooms’ doors sometimes hide only brick walls, the straight path is no longer possible. More and more we hear the k’duh k’duh k’duh of boots and more and more our fear grows, mine for Aisha and Blue Hair most likely for her own safety.

Here it is. I run my fingers along the wall, ice cold. We follow the line and only the line as if it has its own light, it shines and glows the further along we go. Steps. There are steps. The air feels colder in here than in the other hallways. The line goes beyond, no, stops at the door. This is it. This must be it. Aisha will be safe outside and I can go back for everyone else.

I push it open and see Emile helped by Kat, one arm over her shoulder. I call their names but they don’t turn around. Then, all at once, it’s like the world’s come crashing down. Standing just across the room, Robin stares us down as a wall replaces our escape. Blood pounds away at my ears.

I want to run but I’m heaving, gasping for air. It was right in front of me. What do I hate more, that I made such a careless mistake or that I got my hopes up?

Three people file into the room behind Robin. I set Aisha down and palm a knife. Three average men or three shadows? One against four. Can I do it? If it comes down to it, if I can’t win, do I ask it for help?

Robin laughs. He laughs like he’s seen something ridiculous happen, a laugh like all his problems disappeared in an instant. “Don’t try. I admire those who try even when the odds are stacked against them but take my advice and don’t. Put that knife away, it’s ugly.” It disappears into my bracer like a rock into mud. Nobody moves.

“Why us?” Kat breaks the silence. “Why a bunch of kids to do your work for you?”

“Why indeed? There was once a time when I would ask these questions too but no longer. In light of recent events I should consider it, however, I forgot how interesting things could be when the future isn’t clear-cut. But I do not like unpredictability nor do I like it when it could cause the ruin of everything I worked so hard to build. Instead of relying on his visions, I will go back to the tried and true method, the one that put me far and above everyone else in this town.”

He nods his head and the three men grab us. I push them off and lift Aisha up on my back. They lead us down more of the same hallways unknown to us whether we’ll be killed or let go. The whole place loops back in on itself and changes again.

“The Dragon rests but never sleeps,” Robin says. “For those who are blessed have much to keep.”

“Though its riches are out of harm's way, forever vigilant it must stay.” Blue Hair finishes under her breath.

We’re forced into a room larger than the rest and thrown into a corner away from any doors or openings where we could even think of escape. Minutes pass while under Robin’s watchful eye. He doesn’t trust us with only three men. He doesn’t trust anyone except himself.

Kat tugs on my sleeve, “I know the way out.”

“Everything shifted,” I tell her. “Even if we somehow manage to escape, we’ll have to blow it open.”

Kat offers more options, alternatives, plans, but the biggest obstacles can’t be erased. Robin’s here, we’ll still be separated from Istruan and the others, everything will shift as soon as we leave, and I’m slowly fading. Blue Hair kept up with me, not because of some magical endurance she gained from the past couple of days but because I can hardly carry myself. It’s like I’m being choked from the inside.

A man comes and whispers into Robin’s ear. This happens frequently and in five-minute intervals. Each man looks more panicked than the last their hair a bit disheveled beads of sweat running down their foreheads and their eyes, their eyes glued to the ground as they tell Robin they haven’t found the others yet. All the while Robin hardly moves.

Then the worst comes. They’ve been captured. They’re on their way here. Robin breaks from his statuesque pose and comes toward us. He kneels down to eye level, “Listen to me very carefully. I will have my men take your sister and friends away and you will stay here to be locked up once more until I call you do you understand? One step out of line and I will harm them.” His hand shoots out and hits Kat across the face. She shrinks and throws her arms up in defense. “Do not listen to her,” he says.

Istruan, Fia, Axel, Iris, Ellis, Sio, and Vaal come into the room escorted by two men on each side. Vall is bound in thicker rope, his knuckles bloody and full of cuts. They kick his knee and throw him face first to the ground. He glares at Robin’s back and he pretends not to notice.

“How did you two break out from your bindings and cells?” he asks simply.

Neither of us answer so he asks again. And again. And again. It’s a battle of patience... Or is it something else? I search all over Istruan and the others. Did they get hurt somewhere? Is he waiting for me to notice or for one of them to cry out for help? No. They’re not the ones who are hurt.

Blood pools around Vaal and my jaw loosens, my lips open, and I tell Robin about my knives and bracers, how they hold a large number of knives and how I used them to cut open the bindings. He watches me explain and lie through my teeth unblinkingly.

“You truly are an anomaly. Last night you almost killed him but today you are blurting out confessions in an attempt to save him. Why is the empire after a child like you? And why have you fallen into my hands?” Robin nods and one of the men roll Vaal over and start healing his wound. “I do appreciate you coming clean. It would be slightly inconvenient if he died right now.”

“Why… Why teach those kids how to read?” Vaal growls. “What are you planning?”

“You finally realized!” Robin claps his hands like a proud teacher, “What I want is to turn this place into something greater than it is. The first step to do is making sure the next generation is well prepared to push what I will create beyond how I will leave it. You see, I believe the greatest asset to humans and those alike is not our magic nor our physical abilities but our minds. Magic cannot become more than nothing without our imaginations. Punching, running, fighting, all useless when so many more beasts surpass us in those fields. I know my thoughts are far from unique but I have the vision and capability to create a place where only the brightest will bloom. I have picked up rats from the side of the road and made them into shadows of me. I have cultivated frail, thrown away, savages into strong, useful, sophisticated members of society.”

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“Well aren’t you… just some nutjob.”

“Blindfold them and lead them away from here. Once outside, count to ten before you take off your blindfolds. Any sooner than that and I will kill one of you.”

One man chuckles as he reaches for Aisha. I snap his finger and push him back screaming. Three men are suddenly on me, grabbing, pulling, and pushing. I butt my head into one’s chin and throw my weight at another. The third loses his hold and I tackle his legs. More of Robin’s men approach, some have their weapons drawn.

“Enough,” Robin says. “Go take care of him, Kerth.”

One of the men next to Robin, Kerth, steps forward. Our struggle is brief but with my energy from before mostly used up, he has me on the ground with his knee on my back and my arm pulled nearly to its breaking point.

“Guess you weren’t that tough huh kid?”

Kat stands.

“Stay there,” I say. “Don’t do it.”

“That’s right,” Kerth snickers. “Listen to your leader.”

Kat unsheathes a dagger and Kerth jumps to safety. Robin raises his hand and before I can scream or stand or cast a barrier or do anything, lighting shoots out. The light is blinding but Istruan can’t look away, his eyes are glued to the scene.

It’s all my fault… If only I had fought back there.

Robin’s lightning goes on and on as if he wasn’t satisfied with only killing her. His face is stoic but not uninterested. My voice doesn’t reach anyone over the crackle of the magic and Istruan’s eyes never meet mine. I give in to the temptation and follow the magic from Robin’s fingers. On the other side, like some miracle, Kat is still standing, the lighting doesn’t touch her no matter how much brighter or hotter it seems to get. Emile stands in front of her, blocking, absorbing, dispersing the magic with his hands.

“I’m amazed. Everything with this group is a surprise,” Robin says, a bit out of breath. “I haven’t seen anything like that in a long while.”

Emile crumples. Kat takes off the sword strapped to his back and lays him down. She backs away and fearfully glances at Robin and his goons. Kerth takes two strides before Robin shuts him down. “So much talent in this group. What a waste, really. Give me that sword.”

“No, don’t touch that!”

There was no time to take it back from Emile so I said nothing but if Robin has it, it’s as good as letting it take over. Where is it? Why isn’t it saying anything? Come on. Say something. Offer me anything. I'll take anything.

Robin doesn’t spare anyone a second thought. He unwraps the sheet and as hard as I listen for its voice, it doesn’t say a word. What a way to lose the sword that cost so much, all of it in the hands of some fanatic. Why did it come to this? Didn’t I choose what was best for the group? I should have refused, drawn the line when it came to taking an innocent’s life but I took it and here we are. What’s Robin going to do to them once they leave? Will he really leave them alone? Can they survive out there when more than half can’t take down some goblins? No, it won’t even come to that point. Robin, he’s going to send Saleac and his men after them, they’ll be hunted down and framed for the captain’s murder. He’ll be more than happy to accept that as the truth.

If only I had chosen something different…

“Urgh!?”

What?

Robin is bleeding. There’s blood soaking his robe. It drips onto the sheet of the cursed sword. He grabs at the blade protruding from his stomach as everyone else watches dumbfounded. The sword slides out smoothly and clangs against the floor. Two of Robin’s men lay face down near the entrance. The sword rises to claim another victim. Blood squirts out from Kerth’s neck and the people holding Istruan and the others fall down.

Robin either doesn’t hear or he simply ignores the screams of his dying men. Kerth tries to fight back but he struggles with the blood gushing out from his neck. He casts a quick wind spell and runs off into the labyrinth.

“You… Why? Why are you doing this? I gave you everything! I trusted you!”

The person who saved us takes off Istruan and the other’s restraints. Istruan runs toward Emile, Fia tries her best to heal any possible damage he took.

“Did I not make you more than a filthy street performer reading fortunes for your next meal? I made you a shadow and after all of that, after all of that, you chose to betray me? What? You think that because the guard captain is gone that you can take over now? Don’t be foolish. I am the reason we have made it this far. Your visions are nothing more than reassurances!”

He’s the one who saved us, the person who led me here last night.

“No,” he says drawing the sword back. “It’s because you were going to have them killed.”

“You were the one who suggested it. You were completely happy with my decision before.”

“I was... Until my vision didn’t come true.”

“They do not always come true.”

“Only the small details. The major events always do.”

“You would throw everything away for them?”

“Yes, I would throw everything away for them. What good is life when you wake up in the morning knowing that the rest of the day cannot change no matter how hard you try? To be bound by this ability is a curse and they have freed me from it. And for that, I would risk all that I have. ”

Robin grits his teeth, glaring at his former shadow with nothing but pure hate, sending the entire labyrinth into a trembling frenzy. He charges toward Robin and swings. A bolt of lightning strikes him dead center but not before he draws more blood. Robin hurls spell after spell at him until he stops moving. Bleeding from both his abdomen and shoulder, Robin runs into a new opening. Vaal unsteadily rises to his feet as he picks up a stray weapon.

“You’re going after him?” Axel asks.

“I have to.”

“W-What about u-us?” says Blue Hair.

“Leave,” he says as he disappears after Robin.

I wrap up the sword and carry Aisha on my back. Emile is carried by Istruan and Sio, Iris by Ellis and Blue Hair. A glance is all I need to know that the person who saved us is dead. We pick an opening and walk. We walk until a faint line of frost appears along the wall. In minutes, we’re out of the maze and away from the town.

“Behind you!” Axel shoots a gust of wind in Istruan’s direction.

Kerth stumbles at the force. Istruan pushes Emile off to Sio and draws his short sword. Fia, Axel, and Kat back him up. It’s a short fight. With all the blood he’s lost, Axel and Fia manage to distract and keep him off balance while Kat disarms him and Istruan ends things.

Blue Hair shuts her eyes and turns away as his scream echoes through the empty forest.

----------------------------------------

Robin dashed through the halls opening door after door shutting them and hoping they stayed closed. He tried healing the wounds but Vaal never let him rest long enough and they would reopen. Try as he might to close off paths and twist the maze, the captain’s right hand simply blew open more holes.

Robin somehow made it to a place he’d call his office. A place where he did most of his deals. Lovely. It was so lovely, much nicer than anything up above or in the maze. It held all his favorite writings, papers he’d worked on for years, doctrines of teachings he’d hoped to share with children and adults. Letters he had written in plans of sending them to nobles and scholars. Writing and building. Both of his favorite things to do all in one room. The hideout his hand-built home, and the papers, an escape for his mind.

The door to the room opened. Robin reached under his desk for the savage tool, inelegant unlike magic and not the least admirable like the sword.

“Come this far to kill me?” Robin choked. “Let’s say we make a deal.”

Vaal kept walking without a word, the darkness hiding his face. There was no room for discussion and Robin knew it. Try as he might, the captain’s dog wouldn’t listen. “Stay back,” said Robin. “I’ll gut you and your wife.”

He threw a fireball but it was effortlessly blocked. Robin’s unsheathed the dagger he hid and held it with his shaking hands. “Stop!” he yelled. “Without me, this town will die. The children will have no one to teach them and the streets will be filled with thieves and murderers!”

“You really are pathetic.”

Robin lunged. Vaal grabbed his wrist and threw him on the floor. He kicked him over onto his back and shoved the sword through his chest. Robin kicked and screamed, he scratched at his arms using up any mana he had left trying to get Vaal off him. Robin punched at the grip of the sword but nothing worked. Vaal twisted the sword and pulled it out.

As Robin lay dying, the labyrinth started to crumble. From the corner of his glazed eyes, he saw the captain’s dog staring at him. Vaal flicked a flame to the stacks of paper and shut the door.