“What’s happening?” Adne and Connor were standing back-to-back as they scanned the gardens around us.
I snarled, wanting to run into whatever conflict was taking place ahead. But our directive was to keep out of the fray.
“Look!” Shay pointed the tip of one sword at the tall hedges that lined the garden’s paths. The hedges were moving. Not moving, growing.
Connor swore, bolting forward as the thick knotted branches swarmed over the path, breaking through the paved walkways and twisting in wild patterns around us. The hedge climbed before our eyes, rising at an impossible speed.
“Connor!” Adne shouted as a new hedge burst up between us, blocking our way to him.
I heard him yell but couldn’t see through the wall of branches that separated us.
Adne was running along the hedge, shouting Connor’s name. A yelp sounded behind me. I wheeled around to see Mason being thrown backward as new branches, fast and hard as whiplashes, slammed into his body. Bryn barked, leaping after him, snapping at the attacking vines. I howled in frustration as Bryn, Mason, Ren, and Shay disappeared from sight.
I turned back around, racing after Adne, who was still running and shouting. She changed direction as a new hedge appeared, blocking her path forward. I threw myself into the air, crashing into her. She struggled as I pinned her down.
I was still snarling when I shifted forms. “Stop it! Adne, stop!”
She was breathing hard, but she pulled her fists back so she was no longer beating at my chest and shoulders. “We have to find him!”
“It’s not just him.” I stood up, pulling her to her feet. “We lost the others too.”
“What?” Her eyes widened as she wheeled around to see the labyrinth that had exploded from the earth to surround us.
“We’re cut off.” I pressed my hands against the hedge and thorns pierced my skin.
A howl broke through the night.
Adne looked at me, her eyebrow raised. “Friends?”
“No,” I said quietly.
Another howl sounded, and another. The wolves’ cries rose one by one, filling the air with their battle song. I turned in a slow circle, listening, tracking their calls.
“We’re surrounded.”
Adne swore under her breath. “They’re separating us. Keeping the teams apart.”
I nodded. “They were waiting for us.”
She strode along the labyrinth walls, turning corners, finding dead ends. “What do you want to bet that the Keepers’ side has a map that solves this maze?”
“That does seem likely.” I looked up at the hedge. It was too high to jump.
“We’re sitting ducks in here,” Adne said. “The wolves will hunt us, take each group one by one, and none of us will see them coming.”
“We have to find a way out,” I said. “Keep going.”
The howls were close now. Hundreds of wolves were running. I could smell them, hear their paws crunching in the snow as they descended on the garden from all sides. The other Searcher teams were still panicked, shouting as they tried to escape the maze. Men and women were calling out for one another, trying to find their allies.
Then the screams began.
Adne closed her eyes. “It’s started.”
TWENTY-TWO
THE SOUNDS OF BATTLE filled my ears and I wished I could shut them out. The buzz of crossbow bolts whizzed in the air; growls and snarls rose toward the sky. If I were in the midst of the fight, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But this unseen war—violence and death that might be lurking around any corner—sent fear scurrying up and down my spine. We hadn’t run into any wolves yet, but it was only a matter of time. Adne and I could fight off three or four, but I had a feeling we wouldn’t be facing anywhere near that few.
And there were other sounds too, building my anxiety. Screams of a pain beyond the kind any Guardian could cause.
“There’s a wraith in the maze,” I whispered. “Maybe more than one.”
Having hit another dead end, Adne and I crouched low, desperate to come up with a plan. The maze wasn’t only cutting us off, it constantly changed shape. Hedges sprang up only to sink back into the earth. Thorny branches shot out in the middle of the path, tripping us as we’d run.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
I nodded, wishing I wasn’t. “We have to find Shay.”
I shifted into wolf form, prepared to attack any enemy Guardians we encountered, and we started to run again. I hoped we were heading in the direction of where we’d first been separated.
“Look!” Adne turned toward a new opening in the labyrinth. “Let’s go.”
I caught the scent just before we turned the corner. Grabbing Adne’s shirt as I shifted forms, I screamed, “Stop!”
I was dragging her backward when it came into view. The wraith slithered from behind the curved hedges, moving slowly toward us.
“Come on.” Adne gripped my hand and we bolted back in the direction we’d come from.
The maze had shifted again, presenting yet another path.
“Damn it,” I said as we pulled up in front of a dead end.
I turned around only to see the opening in the hedge through which we’d just passed closing up.
“Well, at least the wraith is on the other side,” Adne said. The words had only left her lips when the wraith emerged through the hedge, its form oozing from between the branches like tar.
“Oh, no fair!” Adne shouted.
The wraith was closing in. There wasn’t anywhere to go.
“Shay!” I screamed, not knowing what else to do. “Shay! Help us!”
We backed against the wall; my eyes were locked on the swirling shadows of the wraith’s body. Its scent filled my nostrils, making me want to retch. Memories of the pain it could cause sent shuddering tremors through my limbs.
“Adne, you have to get out of here. Weave a door!”
“A door to where? Do you want to run back to the Academy? If I weave into the battlefield, I could put us right on top of a wraith! There’s no out that way.” Her voice shook. “I don’t know what to do. Unless . . .”
“Unless what?”
She’d turned around, facing the hedge behind us.
“Shay!” I screamed again.
“Calla!” His voice was right behind. “Where are you?”
I whirled around, ignoring the pain as thorns tore my skin when I pressed my hands against the hedge. “I’m here! With Adne!”
I snarled, wanting to run into whatever conflict was taking place ahead. But our directive was to keep out of the fray.
“Look!” Shay pointed the tip of one sword at the tall hedges that lined the garden’s paths. The hedges were moving. Not moving, growing.
Connor swore, bolting forward as the thick knotted branches swarmed over the path, breaking through the paved walkways and twisting in wild patterns around us. The hedge climbed before our eyes, rising at an impossible speed.
“Connor!” Adne shouted as a new hedge burst up between us, blocking our way to him.
I heard him yell but couldn’t see through the wall of branches that separated us.
Adne was running along the hedge, shouting Connor’s name. A yelp sounded behind me. I wheeled around to see Mason being thrown backward as new branches, fast and hard as whiplashes, slammed into his body. Bryn barked, leaping after him, snapping at the attacking vines. I howled in frustration as Bryn, Mason, Ren, and Shay disappeared from sight.
I turned back around, racing after Adne, who was still running and shouting. She changed direction as a new hedge appeared, blocking her path forward. I threw myself into the air, crashing into her. She struggled as I pinned her down.
I was still snarling when I shifted forms. “Stop it! Adne, stop!”
She was breathing hard, but she pulled her fists back so she was no longer beating at my chest and shoulders. “We have to find him!”
“It’s not just him.” I stood up, pulling her to her feet. “We lost the others too.”
“What?” Her eyes widened as she wheeled around to see the labyrinth that had exploded from the earth to surround us.
“We’re cut off.” I pressed my hands against the hedge and thorns pierced my skin.
A howl broke through the night.
Adne looked at me, her eyebrow raised. “Friends?”
“No,” I said quietly.
Another howl sounded, and another. The wolves’ cries rose one by one, filling the air with their battle song. I turned in a slow circle, listening, tracking their calls.
“We’re surrounded.”
Adne swore under her breath. “They’re separating us. Keeping the teams apart.”
I nodded. “They were waiting for us.”
She strode along the labyrinth walls, turning corners, finding dead ends. “What do you want to bet that the Keepers’ side has a map that solves this maze?”
“That does seem likely.” I looked up at the hedge. It was too high to jump.
“We’re sitting ducks in here,” Adne said. “The wolves will hunt us, take each group one by one, and none of us will see them coming.”
“We have to find a way out,” I said. “Keep going.”
The howls were close now. Hundreds of wolves were running. I could smell them, hear their paws crunching in the snow as they descended on the garden from all sides. The other Searcher teams were still panicked, shouting as they tried to escape the maze. Men and women were calling out for one another, trying to find their allies.
Then the screams began.
Adne closed her eyes. “It’s started.”
TWENTY-TWO
THE SOUNDS OF BATTLE filled my ears and I wished I could shut them out. The buzz of crossbow bolts whizzed in the air; growls and snarls rose toward the sky. If I were in the midst of the fight, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But this unseen war—violence and death that might be lurking around any corner—sent fear scurrying up and down my spine. We hadn’t run into any wolves yet, but it was only a matter of time. Adne and I could fight off three or four, but I had a feeling we wouldn’t be facing anywhere near that few.
And there were other sounds too, building my anxiety. Screams of a pain beyond the kind any Guardian could cause.
“There’s a wraith in the maze,” I whispered. “Maybe more than one.”
Having hit another dead end, Adne and I crouched low, desperate to come up with a plan. The maze wasn’t only cutting us off, it constantly changed shape. Hedges sprang up only to sink back into the earth. Thorny branches shot out in the middle of the path, tripping us as we’d run.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
I nodded, wishing I wasn’t. “We have to find Shay.”
I shifted into wolf form, prepared to attack any enemy Guardians we encountered, and we started to run again. I hoped we were heading in the direction of where we’d first been separated.
“Look!” Adne turned toward a new opening in the labyrinth. “Let’s go.”
I caught the scent just before we turned the corner. Grabbing Adne’s shirt as I shifted forms, I screamed, “Stop!”
I was dragging her backward when it came into view. The wraith slithered from behind the curved hedges, moving slowly toward us.
“Come on.” Adne gripped my hand and we bolted back in the direction we’d come from.
The maze had shifted again, presenting yet another path.
“Damn it,” I said as we pulled up in front of a dead end.
I turned around only to see the opening in the hedge through which we’d just passed closing up.
“Well, at least the wraith is on the other side,” Adne said. The words had only left her lips when the wraith emerged through the hedge, its form oozing from between the branches like tar.
“Oh, no fair!” Adne shouted.
The wraith was closing in. There wasn’t anywhere to go.
“Shay!” I screamed, not knowing what else to do. “Shay! Help us!”
We backed against the wall; my eyes were locked on the swirling shadows of the wraith’s body. Its scent filled my nostrils, making me want to retch. Memories of the pain it could cause sent shuddering tremors through my limbs.
“Adne, you have to get out of here. Weave a door!”
“A door to where? Do you want to run back to the Academy? If I weave into the battlefield, I could put us right on top of a wraith! There’s no out that way.” Her voice shook. “I don’t know what to do. Unless . . .”
“Unless what?”
She’d turned around, facing the hedge behind us.
“Shay!” I screamed again.
“Calla!” His voice was right behind. “Where are you?”
I whirled around, ignoring the pain as thorns tore my skin when I pressed my hands against the hedge. “I’m here! With Adne!”
