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Darnell had gotten his gobbelin on its back, and he kicked the creature’s club away before bending over it and bringing his sword down in a brutal blow across the neck.
The labyrinth quieted quickly, with the exception of Jillian’s grunts while she pummeled the body like a mad woman.
I exchanged a look with Darnell, but neither of us moved to stop her.
“At least we have some new weapons,” I said, checking the weight on the club Darnell had kicked into the hedge. They looked homemade, and they were heavy as shit.
I wasn’t sure I really wanted to carry one, but they were much more effective than daggers if we came across more gobbelins.
“Wipe your face, Jill,” Darnell snapped at her, and my eyes went wide as I saw she had gobbelin blood splattered all over her face.
“Don’t fucking lick it,” I hissed. There were way too many rumors about gobbelin blood, from instant death to straight-up madness - one of them had to have some truth in it.
“I wouldn’t drink that nasty shit-smelling blood,” she huffed, but she did pull a strip of her underskirt off and wipe her face thoroughly. “I need a fucking bath.”
“Well, you did turn that thing into the Bellagio Fountain show, so yeah.” I laughed as she frowned, not knowing my reference. The laughter made my stomach muscles ache, and I rubbed my hand over my belly. The pain had gone at some point, but it felt like I’d had a hell of an ab workout.
“You’re bleeding,” Darnell said, his voice tight with control as he stared at her bare forearms.
The gobbelin must have raked its claws down her skin, shredding a good ten inches of raw flesh on both arms.
“You’re lucky it didn’t open your veins completely,” I added, noticing that at least the wounds were on the tops of her arms and not the wrists.
“What happened, anyway? I thought you had it,” Darnell asked, pulling a tightly wrapped package from his pocket. I watched carefully as he unwrapped some leaves and used the butt of his sword in his palm to make a paste.
It looked like my team had gathered a few new medicines while I’d sunned myself by the pool.
“I think it was my ice magic,” she admitted, grimacing when he applied the greenish paste to her shredded skin, managing not to get into the bloodlust this time. “I tried to blast some at its mind, see any thoughts or lock it down... but it’s like the thingabsorbedmy magic and got stronger.”
“I’ve heard that rumor, too,” I said, thinking of a story Grand-mère had told me once. One reason the vampires had asked for the ice wolves’ help in the first place was apparently because the gobbelins grew stronger when hit with our ancient ice magic.
That’s why I’d stuck with old-fashioned brute force. It was more fun, anyway.
Now, just like then, we would have to battle them with our strength and speed - and a few fucking weapons would be nice. I grumbled to myself, feeling furious that the mist and my aunt had trapped us in this fucking maze.
What if gobbelins were overrunning the city right now, and we didn’t even know?
What if they were swarming the labyrinth? I didn’t think Luca and Kassian had any weapons, either.
Feeling slightly panicky, I scanned the area, willing the mist to give me some Goddess-damned answers. But the air was clear and sunny, except for the shadows growing long as the sun slanted toward the western horizon somewhere above the labyrinth walls.
“I’m fine,” Jillian said, lifting her chin and stepping away from Darnell before he could bandage her arms. “I’ll heal quickly if I can get some of that fox blood the princess is keeping from us. Hey! Bring me some blood,” she suddenly yelled up at the shadow of a harpy flying overhead.
The dark form of a noble was peering between the wings, gawking at the bloody mess around us.
I shook my head. “Merden’s not going to let them airdrop us supplies. This isn’t the fucking military res-”
My voice trailed off as the harpy swooped back toward us, dipping lower to the magic crackling at the top of the hedge. He wasn’t directly above us - probably a couple of corridors to the east - but a terrified scream met my ears as somebody suddenly fell from the back of the harpy, tumbling through the magic with a sizzle and down into the labyrinth.
I sucked in a breath as I heard the body hit with a thud. A beat of silence, and then a weak call for help.
Well, at least now I knew that the magical barrier wasn’t deadly.
“Mine!” Jillian hissed, suddenly finding her speed as she shot away from us.
“Was that... a noble?” I asked weakly, jogging after her behind Darnell. He didn’t answer, and my gut was telling me it wasn’t an accident. I doubted the harpies were rebelling, either.
What had Merden done?
