“Observant,” Silas said, shaking his head. “You’re alsoObservantOra, it seems.” Only because it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Then…
“Hey! You two! Get your asses here right now!”Reggie, of course.
Silas and I exchanged a quick look, and he was as red in the face now as I was. We laughed when we stood up to go see what they were up to, feeling reborn, renewed from the bad feelings that followed the first trial.
Then the doors of the junkyard opened.
Within minutes,everything fell apart.
Timekeepers, the help, and soldiers dressed in armor had found us, and they were all inside the junkyard now, telling us that we did not have permission to be here, let alone at this hour.
We were told to leave,right now,that the warden was already informed and he was on his way down here.
But the worst part? The Timekeeper who barked the orders clearly said that we werenotallowed back here ever again.
We tried to reason with him first, tell him that we weren’t doing anything wrong, that we were just hanging out and looking at the old devices, but he wouldn’t hear it.
Then we tried to argue, too, and Levana reminded him that we werethe Hands of the Turning Trials,but the guy couldn’t have cared less. The help in their white uniforms went around and started gathering things that we’d left on the floor, as if they were really hoping to clean this place up anytime soon. They stopped the music, too, and turned the lantern off, drenching the place in darkness.
In the end, we had no choice but to walk out and head back for the palace.
So…fast. It was all so fast I had yet to believe it had actually happened.
“We’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll be more careful, block the doors from the inside,” said Seth as we went, and he was right. We were going to do just that. They couldn’t keep usaway forever. They probably checked today by accident, but they’d forget all about the junkyard tomorrow.
By the time we made it to the front of the palace, Calren was rushing out the doors with his cane in one hand, and a golden clock in the other—his Timekeeper Clock. It was even bigger than our Life Clocks, and I didn’t see the face of it, but it was made of shiny gold and it had a lid, too, which Calren pushed closed with his thumb before he put the clock in the pocket of his jacket. He wasn’t wearing a vest for once, and his hair wasn’t combed, and the laces of his shoes weren’t tied, either. He had been in a hurry.
He breathed deeply once his eyes scanned all our faces, then exchanged looks with the Timekeepers who’d brought us here, together with the soldiers who stood a few feet behind. The help had remained back in the junkyard still.
No word was spoken, but Calren then nodded, straightened his jacket, grabbed his cane in both hands. The Timekeepers and the soldiers retreated in silence.
Enough light from the lanterns on the walls of the palace to see the disappointment in his eyes. The fear.
He turned to the side. “Well. Let’s get you to bed then.” And he waved his cane toward the open door.
None of us said a single word as we made our way through the hallways and to the main stairs. The night was already over, and I was angry. I was so pissed off. March would have no choice but to go to his room, and I would have no choice but to go to mine—and I didn’t want to sleep, damn it! It wasn’t fair when we had such little time to begin with.
So, before I made it to my bedroom door, I turned to Calren who waited at the mouth of the hallway with that cane in front of him, watching us like a hawk with barely blinking eyes.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong, Calren,” I said before I could help it.
The others stopped, too. Turned to him.
“We were just hanging out, listening to music. We weren’t doinganything wrong.”
Levana stepped closer to him again, hands on her hips. “Howdarethose Timekeepers treat us likethat? Like we’re some lowly criminals,” she hissed.
“We weren’t breaking anything—on the contrary. We were trying to fix things,” said Seth. “We weren’t bothering anyone at all.”
Calren touched the edge of his cane to the floor, shook his head like he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Do any of you have the slightest idea how dangerous the Labyrinth is?” he said, his voice calm, almost hushed. “We have all kinds of protections installed around here for you, but magic isneverpredictable.”
“Is that so? Then why would barely-adults be the only age group allowed to even apply to play in your games, Timekeeper?” asked Silas.
Calren’s lips fell shut as he looked at him.
