“Yes—you’d think so because you don’t understand the mechanics of what you’re attempting. You survived underneath the Labyrinth once and you’re arrogant enough to think you can do it again.”
“Notarrogant—confident,” said March with that same ease that drove Master Talik mad.
“The game’s clock could beanywhereinside the structure—in the walls, in the floor, underneath the table itself. You could spend hours looking for it and?—”
This time it was Silas who cut him off. “Then we spend hours,” he said without turning around. He no longer needed his cane and he no longer lookedsickin the least. He looked…determined.
“And the Labyrinth’s defenses—you saw what happened in the Horologist’s study. The games protect themselves. If you start dismantling the mechanism, the trial will fight back?—”
“Then we fight back harder.” This from Cook somewhere behind me.
Master Talik made a sound—something between a groan and a sigh. The next time he spoke, his voice was different. Quieter. Not angry but afraid.
“I have worked in that Labyrinth for twenty years. I havewatched it eat people—withpatience. It wears you down. It changes constantly. It shows you what it wants you to see. None of us truly know it.”
“Then stay behind,” Silas said—and he didn’t say it to be mean. “Master Talik—stay behind. Iwillfigure out the mechanism and take it apart myself. You don’t need to be there. You don’t need to risk yourself.”
The look on Master Talik’s face, like his heart was suddenly split in two. Like he was suddenly crumbling on the inside.
“You think I care aboutmyself?” he said in a whisper that made my stomach turn with this urgency to go wrap my arms around him and hug the Everstill out of the old Timekeeper. A strange sensation, but it passed.
“Then stop whining, you old minute.” Kohen stepped behind Master Talik and patted him on the back. “You will be all right. And if you’re not—just run. We’ll be out here waiting to do whatever we can.”
And that was that.
We divided ourselves in two. Stranger still hownaturalit felt once we were past the arguing.
“March, Cook, Mimi and Anika, we go for Reggie,” said Silas, and when March twisted his face like he’d tasted something sour, Silas told him, “I will need your strength to help me carry him.”
“And Ora will be all right,” Levana said with a roll of her eyes, which made my cheeks flush a little bit.
“We all will be,” I said anyway. “The rest of us will go to the room beyond the kitchen and find the plaques.” I turned to Russ. “You know how to get there.” Just to make sure.
Russ nodded. “I do. It’s pretty easy, actually.” He looked like he felt incredibly uncomfortable as he said this, but I didn’t doubt his words. I couldn’t afford to, not now.
“Then you will meet me outside in the mechanicalgarden,” said Master Talik. “When we’re done with the tea party, I’ll come for you as soon as I can. Don’t try to run on your own—wait for me.”
The man looked like he’d seen ghosts as he watched us.
“We’ll wait,” I said with a nod. “We’ll wait in the garden.”
A second of silence. “Good.” The Timekeeper nodded. “The underground route out is safe,” he said and swallowed hard. “Good-timing to all of you. Keep your eyes open. Don’t risk it. When in doubt, walk away. We can always get the plaques later.”
“But dotryif you can,” Kohen said from behind him, and when Master Talik threw him a look, he pretended he didn’t even see it. “Good-timing, good-timing, Hands. We’ll be waiting.”
March suddenly took my hand in his and pulled me a little to the side.
“The palace will most likely be watched,” he said, and just then that perfect mask of confidence slipped a little, and I saw my own reflection in the red of his eyes perfectly. “The maids saw us last time. If the queens have soldiers searching?—”
“I know.” I squeezed his hand to tell him that I was going to be okay. I hated to see him concerned.
But March wouldn’t hear it. “You’ll have no Timekeeper with you. If a door locks behind you?—”
“I know, March. I’ll run. I won’t risk getting caught. You can trust me.”
A hand on my cheek. “I do.”
He looked at me with those impossible eyes, lips open, but he swallowed the rest of his objections anyway. I appreciated it more than he knew.
