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I clambered for the cup, tossed it into the well, and drew up cool, refreshing water. My body didn’t care what the price might be. I would die without water anyway.
Without hesitation, I drank three cups full of the cool, slightly earthy-tasting water. I poured a fourth over my hands. And a fifth over my face.
“You aren’t afraid of the price?” asked Ash, a curious hitch in his voice.
“I’m with you. The maker of the monsters. What could be worse than that?”
He inclined his head, but before he could respond, a crashing sound stopped my heart.
I leaped up, dropping the cup and groping for the dagger Ash had given me. It felt much better in my hands than the bow and arrows.
Long red hair flashed in the mist-brightened sunlight.
“Edith?”
She sailed over a fallen log and dove for the cup, but it had vanished…along with the well.
“Blast!” she roared, slapping the leafy forest floor with both hands. She knelt a moment, rocking back and forth, before looking up at me. “You pleased the Labyrinth. Good job.”
Dazed, I said nothing in return.
She stood slowly, nodding at Ash. He nodded at her in return. “I’ve been on the run since late last night. Wolves this time. I hate the wolves here. They’re…” Her face shook with a disgusted tremor.
My eyes raked the woods behind her.
“Oh, no, I lost them some time back. They tire of me, eventually. I’m not afraid of them, you see. I hate them, but only because they run me ragged.” She bent double and heaved several breaths. “The water…I haven’t seen a well since yesterday.”
“How did you know I’d found one?”
“I’ve been following you since the wall. A few of us have been.”
Again, my eyes flashed to the forest all around. I saw no one. A glance at Ash told me he wasn’t surprised at all by her words.
Edith straightened and pushed her hair out of her face. “The Labyrinth always helps the newest ones the most.” She snorted. “It draws you in, makes you think it's friendly. We track down the newcomers, and they almost always lead us to water. Or food. Or shelter. Or whatever the Labyrinth decides to give you to make you trust it.” Her eyes flickered to the dagger in my hands. “I see Ash has helped you too.”
I stared down at the place the well had been. Anger flared in my chest at the thought that this place was some kind of grand game with no winner. Pass a test, get a prize. But never try to leave.
“What do you eat here? I’m starving,” I blurted, hopeful that Edith or Ash could share the secrets of survival in this place.
“Mm-hmm. I bet you are.” Edith’s grin was slightly crooked and dimpled on one side. “Good thing I followed you then, because I have food. And someone you might want to meet.” She pursed her lips at Ash. “Why are you here?”
He tucked his knife back in its sheath. “She needs training. I assumed you could help.”
“Training?” repeated Edith, eyeing me with curiosity.
“I’ve never been able to do magic at will,” I admitted. “And he thinks I’m attacking him with my magic.”
“She is,” he growled.
A strange sensation flowed down my spine, and my head felt momentarily fuzzy. I blinked and stepped backward, throwing my arms out to balance my unstable legs. My hand knocked into Ash’s chest, and I jerked it back toward me.
Ash stepped forward and shouted at Edith, “Don’t!”
Instantly my head cleared.
“Sorry,” Edith said to Ash, eyes wide. “I was just trying to get a read on her.”
“Were you just in my head?” I clenched my fists at my sides as memories of another woman controlling my body flushed a heated panic through my veins.
