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I blinked in the darkness, seeing nothing but snowy static. I heard nothing but silence, then a single cough.
It hadn’t come from us.
Remaining completely still, I clutched the taser in my hand and waited for Kurnbottom to ambush us.
But no footsteps came.
A dim light flickered, then Kurnbottom began chanting. It sounded like a mix of Latin and Hungarian, but I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. No matter what it was, chanting was never good.
I started down the path. Imogen stepped in front of me, blocking my way.
She whispered, “We aren’t leaving the unicorn. We have to try and revive him. I’m putting my foot down.”
I whispered back, “He’ll be fine. He’s unconscious but breathing.”
Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief. I pushed past her and continued on my way. With every step, the light grew brighter and Kurnbottom’s voice grew louder. We were getting close.
The chanting stopped.
I froze mid-step.
“Hehehehehe.”The laughing voice was strange and familiar. “Killed the witch. Killed the goddess. Life eternal is mine,all mine.”
It was the voice I’d heard in the maze before, when the cloaked figure had descended the stairs saying strange things about someone thinking they were special. I’d thought for sure Kurnbottom and the cloaked figure were the same, but this second voice sounded so different from the first. I’d forgotten that.
Were there two foes ahead of us—Kurnbottom and the laughing man? If nothing else, Fernando and Imogen could act as a distraction while I defeated them both and rescued Silas.
He was still here, still in need of my help. I could feel it in my bones.
He was alive, because he had to be, because I needed him to be or I would be so broken I would never recover.
“Not so special now, is he?” the laughing man said. “Not special ever again. Caught. Branded. Forever owned.”
My throat clenched. My lungs ached. I wouldn’t let them do…whatever they were doing. Not to Silas.
I burst into action and ran around the corner to a small room with a table in the middle, and a glowing ball of light at its center. Kurnbottom stood by the table, waving a knife in the air. There weren’t two men, only one—Kurnbottom. His eyes were white, his face contorted.
A black unicorn lay on its side on the floor, chains draped over it, holding it down. A tornado of warring emotion raged through me. I knew with certainty it was Silas.Andhe wasn’t moving.
Kurnbottom turned his colorless gaze in my direction.
Without hesitation, I squeezed the taser’s trigger. The electrodes burst from the end of my weapon and hit Kurnbottom in the chest.
He howled in pain and crumpled to the floor, limbs flailing.
I dropped down beside Silas and pulled on the chains binding him. His eyes were closed. He still wasn’t moving. Was he breathing? I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. He was going to be all right. He had to be. My breaths came short and ragged. If I could only free him, everything would be fine.
The chains wouldn’t budge. Huge locks bolted them to the floor, and I wasn’t nearly strong enough to break them. My fingers trembled. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“No. Mine,” Kurnbottom said in a labored voice. “If Maize can’t own it, no one will.”
I turned in time to see Kurnbottom back on his feet.
He grabbed the glowing globe from the table. Sparks of lightning shot out toward the ceiling. He pointed the globe toward Silas.
He was going to kill him.
In a single breath, I saw flashes of possibility. I saw Silas and me entangled in the sheets of my cabana on the sea. I saw us eating ice cream and watching cartoons. We each went for the last bite in a bowl of mint chocolate chip, we paused, both of us intending to let the other have it.
