“What if it gets out of control?” she asked.
“If we don’t get through this maze, that thing is going to squish us,” Wren said.
“What if the fire doesn’t work?” Randy asked.
We all knew the answer to that. The minotaur had found us in its nest; it wouldnotmake our deaths pleasant.
Aisling gulped and stepped forward to rest her palms against the hedge. I settled my hand on the small of her back, in the hopes of calming her while offering her strength. Small tremors raced up her spine as flames encircled her wrists. I held my breath while I waited to see what the fire would do; would it be like Corson’s talons and the hedge would regrow as she was setting it ablaze?
The leaves crinkled and shriveled as smoke streamed from beneath her palms. I could see the hedge trying to regenerate itself, but unlike Corson’s talons, the fire ate through the leaves too fast for the bushes to completely regrow.
A strange, almost keening sound emanated through the air, and I realized it was coming from the bushes as smoke wafted in the air. The bushes swayed in an unseen breeze, and the minotaur’s bellow bounced off the dome until it echoed around us and filled the rows. The hedges swayed faster as the keening rose to meet the bellow before silence abruptly descended.
The unnerving stillness was broken only by the crackle and pop of Aisling burning through the bushes. If those hedges could come alive like the calamut trees, they’d go for her first. But if they were anything like the calamut trees, she’d be dead already. Still, I wanted to rip her away from the hedges, tuck her against my side, and…
And what? We were trapped in this place with that monster and nothing but endless green before us. There was nowhere for us to go and nowhere for me to take her.Thiswas our only option, and I had to let her do it.
“What the fuck?” Lix muttered when the strange wailing started again.
I had no idea what was happening, but as the fire spread over the bushes, the inhuman keening increased until it drowned out the sound of the minotaur’s approach. I recalled the hounds once covering the noise of Kobal trying to break free of a trap and wondered if these bushes were doing the same. However, it was impossible to mask the minotaur’s approach as its heavy steps caused my teeth to chatter.
The leaves crumpled and fell around Aisling’s feet; then the branches burst into flame and smoke filled the air.
“Go!” Bale yelled when enough of the bushes burned away and the fire arced like electricity across the top of the plants.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Aisling
When the next set of hedges fell apart, I staggered through them and out the other side only to come across another row of hedges. I set my fiery palms against the next set of bushes. That awful shrieking noise grew louder as the fire spread, and I burned my way through the next barrier.
“The fire’s going to get out of control,” I whispered.
“We don’t have any other options,” Hawk said. “We’ll get out of this.”
A roar resonated behind us. When I looked back, I couldn’t see the minotaur, but the sound of the hedges came from a different direction than before. The spreading flames had caused it to veer off course, and it sounded like it was coming up on our left now instead of heading straight for us.
“Hurry,” someone urged from behind me.
I gritted my teeth against an angry retort; did they think I was about to order a margarita and sit down to enjoy the view? I placed my hands against the next set of hedges and watched as the leaves crumpled before falling away. Did they think I was taking a stroll through this place?
“There!” someone shouted.
I looked where they were pointing to discover a row of hedges toppling over. If we could see the bushes falling, then it was too close. The fire lancing across the tops of the hedges was heading toward the minotaur, but I didn’t know if it would be in time to head the thing off.
“Stay here.” Bale removed the bag from her back and shoved it into the arms of a human.
“Where are you going?” Corson demanded.
“To lead it away.”
“You can’t do that; the fire is spreading,” Randy said. “You’ll be trapped in here.”
“I’m part fire demon,” Bale said. “I have no fire, but I can withstand the flames. I’ll be fine.”
Before anyone could reply, she vanished into the thickening smoke.
* * *
