“It isn’t your survival I’m worried about,” Slade says coldly. “It’s the damage you could do while you’re there. Or the creatures you could release into the world when you emerge.”
“Slade.” Striker’s voice is quiet. “A single bone nearly destroyed my friends, people I care about. Three could obliterate everything we’ve fought for.”
Slade’s jaw clenches. “So could any number of creatures that are imprisoned in the maze. If they were let out.”
“I agree, it’s a risk,” Striker says, taking a step forward and inhaling a deep breath before he continues. “Unless we go with Vanguard and make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Slade’s eyebrows rise. “You’re volunteering.”
“I am.” Striker looks at me, and his thoughts break through to me clearly now.
I have to destroy those bones. I won’t let them control and hurt my family. We fought too hard for our freedom to ever be oppressed again.
And then, to my surprise, I feel his question in my heart:Will you come with me, Fury? Will you make sure I don’t succumb to the power within the bones?
“You won’t,” I whisper as I consider the determination in Striker’s expression. “But I will come with you.”
Slade looks from Striker to me with a faint crease in his forehead, but it seems it isn’t about our silent conversation. “I can’t agree to anyone going to the maze without discussing it with Hunter first.”
I sense a lie in the way he implies that Hunter is the one he has to speak with. His worry for his family tells me there are others who will be affected by this turn of events, although I’m not yet sure who and how exactly.
Vanguard hasn’t moved a muscle, despite watching our interaction carefully. Jonah, too, has pulled himself up to his knees but stays where he is. The volcano man’s wounds have visibly healed, although the blood splatter remains on his clothing. His face is pale, and his shoulders are slumped.
His remorse and regret hit me in waves, so strong they can’t be concealed from me.
He’s trying to figure out how to tell me he’s deeply sorry for the pain he caused me, but he’s also telling himself that now isn’t the time. There are more important issues than his need for forgiveness.
Despite Slade’s declaration that he will need to discuss it with Hunter, he’s looking at me. “It’s said that only the reckless or the desperate will enter the maze. What is the truth of all this, Fury?”
His question is broad, but even so, I understand what he’s asking me. After all, if Vanguard is lying about having the bones, then there is no need to risk exposing the maze to him.
“The serpent shifter is telling the truth,” I say. “There is something very precious to him in the maze, although I don’t know what it is. He does have the bones, as he claims, but he won’t retain possession of them for long. It is as he says: His every move is watched, and his master will do anything to gain possession of the bones.”
“We can’t delay,” Vanguard says, his voice betraying the urgency he’s controlled until now. “I’ve kept the bones concealed, but my master has a way of uncovering even the most well-kept secret. We need to go tonight.” He rises to his feet. “We need to go now.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I don’t know where the maze is located, but I’m certain it isn’t in New York City. “If we leave now, will you take us to the place where you hid the bones first?”
Vanguard shakes his head. “No need. They’re hidden at the entrance to the maze. As I said, I was there at the maze’s creation, so I know where it is. It’s getting inside that has defied me all this time. I’ve put the bones in a place they can’t be reached, except by the rare few. Even my master would find it difficult to retrieve them, although he would find a way. If I summon my warlock, he can transport us to the maze immediately.”
“It isn’t that simple,” Slade replies sharply. “The maze needs a key, and I don’t have it with me.”
His voice is smooth and controlled, but I hear both a lie and a truth when he says the word “key,” which I sense is somehow connected to his reticence to make a decision without discussing it with his family.
Vanguard looks at Jonah, and I sense their own rising desperation.
“What would it take to get this key?” Vanguard asks.
“Time,” Slade replies bluntly. “At least until dawn. There are moving pieces that can’t be hurried.”
“Damn,” Vanguard mutters beneath his breath. “As soon as you remove the realm, I will be expected to report back to my master. Even now, he may have figured out the truth?—”
I interrupt Vanguard with a question to Slade. “How far can you extend this realm, and for how long can you sustain it?”
“As far as I need,” Slade replies. “Why?”
“Now that I know Vanguard has the bones, I don’t intend to let him out of my sight. Can you extend the realm to a place where your sudden appearance won’t cause an issue—so you can exit it without detection—but leave us within it?”
Slade chews his lip. “Technically, yes, but I’ve never tried it before.” He grimaces. “There’s also a possibility that when I leave, the realm will contract and kill you.”
