“When are youevercareful?”Thalia shoots back.“But I’ll look after things here until you return.And if you don’t… then I guess I’llkeeplooking after them.”
I can imagine Thalia continuing the fight, but I also know she’s scared about what that will look like.We both know Alaric is the heart of the resistance movement.If something happens to him, it will quickly fall apart.
Even knowing that, we still have to do this.
We set off into the catacombs, taking the same route as when we scouted the prison before.It will be starting to get dark outside, which means Selene's team will be starting to move in, ready to make their own move.Alaric and I need to be in a position to stop them when they do.We need to get to Domitian, wait for Selene's followers, and take them down.
We creep through the tunnels, again relying on the faint glow of Alaric’s magic.I extend my senses as we go, using the animals nearby to check for any danger.Alaric has Cesca’s map with him, checking it and my alterations to it, the notes I made thanks to our scouting mission.
“We should be close to an entry point,” Alaric says.“There’s a section of wall that’s crumbled up ahead.”
There is, in a place where old buildings have been built over again and again, leaving their remains buried far beneath the streets.One of the walls there is so ancient the mortar between the bricks has crumbled almost to nothing.Someone has already removed many of the bricks, leaving a hole big enough for Alaric and I to move through.
Does that mean Selene’s people are already ahead of us?Are they in the prison beneath the city, already fighting to free Domitian?It’s a worrying prospect, one that drives me to reach out for the sight of some of the hounds in the prison, looking through their eyes for any sign of intruders.There doesn’t seem to be anything, but maybe that just means Selene’s people are being stealthy for now.
Alaric and I slip into the underground prison.There are layers of tunnels here, arranged in a kind of maze, designed to confuse anyone who tries to break free.Thankfully, we have Cesca’s map to guide us.The tunnels are dimly lit by magical glow stones, bright enough to see by, but still dark enough to give the whole prison a grim atmosphere.
Somewhere in the distance, I can hear cries of pain and despair.My magic lets me feel the emotions around me as I try to pinpoint the locations of nearby guards, but what I feel is enough to make me shudder.I can feel the cold cruelty of some of the guards, the lack of hope among the prisoners.I feel fear, pain, madness…
"Focus, Lyra," Alaric whispers, putting a hand on my shoulder.It's enough to draw my attention back to myself.I nod my thanks, and we keep moving.
We quickly find the first of the traps Cesca pointed out on her map.It’s disguised as another of the glowing orbs, but there are additional magical sigils carved into its surface, and it glows bright red as we approach.
“A fire trap,” Alaric says.He takes one of the magical stones from the pouch at his waist, holding it up, so that it glows with blue light.Even as flames start to lick from the trap, water bursts from the stone to meet them.Steam fills the space between the two, forcing me to hop back to avoid being scalded by it.The stone Alaric holds slowly fades to darkness as the magic within it is used up, but the glowing stone of the trap is depleted just as quickly.Both fade to simple grey, and Alaric tosses the stone aside.
“So far, so good,” he says.
We keep going through the maze of tunnels, and as we go, I hear a snorting sound coming from somewhere ahead of us and pad forward on silent feet.As we reach a corner, I peek around it, and what I see there makes me stop and stare.
There’s a creature there that’s like a huge man, with the head of a bull, horns curling out from his head.Red eyes glare at me.
“A minotaur,” Alaric breathes, even as those eyes lock onto him.“It must be left in the outer tunnels to deter escape.”
I try to imagine the horror of escaping from a place like this, making it past the traps and guards in the inner layers of the prison, only to run into this creature.I can’t guess at how many people will have been killed by it.
There’s no time to even begin to, because the minotaur bellows, rushing forward at both of us.Alaric is already moving, illusory versions of himself spreading out around him, but the minotaur doesn’t seem to care about those illusions.It slams into one version of Alaric, and it must be the real one, because he’s sent flying.
I step in quickly to try to defend him, lifting my short spear even as I reach for the minotaur’s mind.I can’t force it to stop its next charge, but I can at least get it to turn aside, rushing past us as I help Alaric to his feet.
“That thing hits hard,” he says.“I’m just lucky it didn’t impale me with those horns.”
The minotaur is already turning for another charge, head lowered, aiming for the two of us.
“Be ready to strike,” I say.
I can’t control it fully, can’t make it docile, but Icanforce it to focus on me, rather than Alaric.I will the minotaur to come to me, holding my spear out in front of me, my heart hammering as I contemplate the danger of what I’m about to do.
I wait until the minotaur is almost on top of me before I drop to the floor, thrusting up with my spear, into the creature’s abdomen.It cries out, rearing up as if it might stamp on me with hoof-like feet.
That’s when Alaric strikes, swinging his curved blade in an arc that glitters as it slices through the minotaur’s throat.Hot blood sprays in every direction, and the creature topples like a falling tree.I barely manage to roll out of the way before it can crush me.It hits the ground with a thud that seems to reverberate around the tunnels, and I can feel the moment when its life passes from it, leaving it still and silent on the floor.
“Are you all right?”Alaric asks me.
I nod.I managed to avoid the attack at least, but I’m concerned I wasn’t able to simply control the creature.Did the emperor pick a guardian that was deliberately hard to distract or control?Did the builders of this prison take into account the powers a beast whisperer might bring to bear when they created it?
If so, this could be even more dangerous than we anticipated.I recover my spear, then cast it aside as I realize the haft has snapped.I’ll have to make do with my dagger and my club.If Alaric and I find ourselves in a situation where we need more than that, we’re going to be in real trouble.
“Let’s keep moving,” I say, the oppressive atmosphere of the underground complex still hard to deal with.“The sooner we find Domitian’s cell and stop Selene’s attempt to free him, the sooner we can get out of here.”
