—Nymph. Wait—
“No more waiting, Ludo.”
—Hundreds of miles. A maze. I must lead—
A maze. Right. I take a breath. It’s not going to help anything if I get us lost, but when I think of Wes wandering blindly through this massive tunnel network?
“Sorry, Lu. You go ahead.”
Ludo takes point, not going as fast as I would like. Alexis and Donovan hover around me, but I focus on the fact that Wes is alive and he can’t have gone far.
He was hanging with that Maximus idiot just a few hours ago.
So we walk on in the gloom, calling out for Wes.
Alexis and Cosmo cast more illumination spells, and little spheres float along, lighting our path.
It would be nice if either of them knew a way to conjure up some water, but alas.
Maximus is talking with Alexis at the back of our party. He’s very much on my shit list.
When I saw that hellhound attacking my professor, a fear as I’ve never known nearly destroyed me. Why did the jerk have to scare us like that?
That Maximus douche better watch out, or I’ll get Ludo to make him sorry.
I must release a growl because Donovan lays a hand on my back. “You doing alright, Tee-Tee?”
“I was just thinking that it was cruel of Maximus to pretend-attack Alexis. Why didn’t he just tell us who he was?”
Donovan can clearly hear the ice in my voice. “I know, Babe, I know. Max doesn’t think through the consequences of things; he’s…what's the word? He’s a…”
“Twat,” I supply.
—And an immature, untrained dog—
Ludo’s silent assessment makes me smile. “That he is,” I reply.
Donovan raises an eyebrow.
“Sorry, replying to Ludo.”
“That trick is going to take some getting used to,” he replies. I can hear the smile in his voice.
—Want me to carry you?—Ludo asks.
“I’m good,” I tell the minotaur. “Do you know where we’re heading?”
—I take you outside…you wait out…I go in again…find other boy—
Hmm, I don’t know about that. “Is it a good plan to split up? How long do you think it will take?”
Ludo picks up the pace slightly. —could be a long time…but you need outside—
The tunnels keep twisting and turning, but Ludo never hesitates on which fork to take. I can’t stop staring at his minotaur body. Below the waist, Lu has a thick, coarse pelt of white hair. His torso, however, remains smooth, human, and outstandingly buff. The white hair starts again at his neck and extends over his head, leaving only the dark, intelligent, but still mismatched eyes visible.
“Is it like having a GPS inside you?” Donovan asks him as Ludo takes a sharp left.
—I have target…outside…so I know the way—
