Ottikar clicked his heels. "As you wish," he answered.
Abbey and Adrian got into the litter. From where they sat they could hear Ottikar relaying Abbey's orders. Twelve warriors stepped forward to guard the entrance to the maze.
Bearers took up the litter and lifted it into the night sky. As the rest of the phalanx took flight, Ottikar led everyone back to the opposite side of the bluffs. the warrior holding the sword to Uther's back was named Agrippa; the other was Flavius. They had been following the Valrenkian for nearly an hour, and so far everything had been quiet. Uther had not turned around or spoken since they had entered the tunnel, and he had successfully negotiated more than a dozen intersections. Flavius had marked the wall at each turn.
It was deathly silent here, the only sound that of their boot heels echoing against the cold sandstone floor. The enchanted wall torches were spaced about every twenty meters and gave off a deceivingly welcoming glow. As he wondered how many more intersections might await them, Agrippa shook his head. Asking the Valrenkian would do no good, for lying was his way of life.
As the three of them approached another intersection, Uther paused and looked around. There were seven different tunnels to choose from this time. Each branched off in a different direction, their torchlight enticing the travelers to enter.
Uther finally made his choice and began walking down one of the tunnels. The warriors held their breath. Nothing happened.
Agrippa gave Flavius a nod, and they continued on. "what's taking them so long?" Adrian asked. from her place atop the bluffs she looked down through the latticework at Faegan. "Do you think something has happened?"
Taking a deep breath, the wizard shook his head. "I can't be sure, but I doubt it," he answered. "I think that if the craft were to strike them, it would by necessity be strong enough that we would either hear what was happening or see flashes of azure. As for how long it is taking, remember that they are walking a maze. By definition a maze takes much longer to traverse than if one were simply walking in a straight line. We must be patient."
Faegan rubbed his face with both hands. He was trying his best not to show it, but he was worried. If the Valrenkian failed them in negotiating the maze, how could the accuracy of his map be trusted?
It was nearly midnight, and the cloudless sky was filled with countless tiny stars. Other than when someone spoke, the only sounds were the calls of the various night creatures. Faegan found the stillness and the waiting frustrating.
Shifting in his chair, he sighed and looked up at Duvessa. Smiling as best she could, she placed one hand upon the ancient wizard's shoulder. Flavius and Agrippa walked side by side behind uther. Agrippa still held his sword, while Flavius clutched his dagger and the unlit torch. Two more hours had passed, during which Uther had successfully navigated at least eighteen more intersections. Since they had entered the maze, he had neither turned around, nor spoken to them. At every turn, Flavius had dutifully marked the walls.
Every new tunnel looked just like the last. Of course they do, Agrippa thought. They were meant to. This worthless bastard could be leading us in circles, for all we know.
Another intersection loomed up ahead; it looked to be the largest one yet. When they reached it, they saw that fifteen separate tunnels led away from it. Where the other intersections had been confusing, this one was totally overwhelming.
Uther turned to face them. He had the same haughty look on his face that he had given Adrian and Abbey. Ever alert, Agrippa widened his stance and raised the tip of his sword.
"This is the last of the intersections," Uther announced softly. "The exit is only a short walk from here down the correct tunnel." He smiled at Agrippa. "Choose one."
The warrior scowled. "What are you talking about?"
"I no longer care to live. As a farewell gesture I grant you the right to choose, because both of you are about to die with me."
The two warriors looked around warily. Nothing had changed. The place remained deathly silent. The wall torches still burned softly.
Agrippa gave Uther a hard look. "I cannot choose," he said. "You alone can lead us to safety. The wizard Faegan has ordered it."
"Ah, but Faegan is not here. The wizard of the Vigors cannot help you now." One corner of Uther's mouth came up in a sneer. "Don't you see? No one can save you except me, and I choose not to." Then he took a long breath, and he seemed to make up his mind.
"Very well," he finally said. "If you want me to select a tunnel, I will. It's all the same, anyway. But you won't be happy with my choice." He gave them another strange look.
"Farewell," he said. Uther turned and ran down one of the tunnels as fast as he could.
The warriors immediately gave chase. When they caught up to him, Flavius dropped the torch, grabbed the Valrenkian by the neck, and threw him to the floor. Without the use of his hands to break his fall, Uther went down hard. It looked like his right forearm was broken. But instead of crying out in pain, he only laughed. Flavius pulled him roughly to his feet.
"Are you crazy?" the warrior growled. "Keep going! Trying to escape us will do you no good!"
When Uther looked back at them, there was victory in his eyes.
"You fools!" he said. "Don't you see? There is no escape. The process has already begun. And as I told your herbmistress and your acolyte, even I do not know what form it shall take."
Almost as soon as Uther had finished speaking, the shrieking began. At first it was soft and distant, coming from somewhere down the tunnel. Then it increased in volume. A strange cross between the sound of a woman screaming and the wind rising from the worst possible storm, the noise quickly flooded the passageway. A ferocious wind erupted and tore down the tunnel. Its force nearly knocked them down.
The wind extinguished the wall torches, and darkness descended. Flavius reached for his flint and steel to light the torch he had brought. But even if he could have struck a flame, it would have been unnecessary, for the passageway was soon bathed in a different kind of glow. From the far end of the tunnel, three balls of azure light careered toward them.
As they raced toward Flavius, Agrippa, and Uther, their light grew in intensity. They were each about half as tall as a fully grown man, and jagged bolts of white light careened to and fro within their depths. The closer they got, the louder they shrieked, and the wind intensified to the point that Uther and the warriors could barely stand. Then the rushing lights began to change.
The fireballs had morphed into demonic faces, with dark blue slanted eyes and mouths full of long, pointed teeth. As they sped down the tunnel, the awful mouths opened wider. Screeching and howling, the first of them took Uther up in its jaws.
It bit into him at his waist and picked him up as if he weighed nothing. As the thing's teeth crunched powerfully down into flesh and bone, Uther screamed. With savage, grunting sounds, the thing shook him back and forth as if he were a rag doll, then began to crash him against solid rock. Uther's head split open, and the demon dropped his corpse to the floor. Uther's blood dripped lazily from its mouth.
The beast looked at the two warriors, and let go a deranged laugh. Then it turned to look at the two other faces that waited there. As if giving its permission, it smiled. In a flash, the other demons set upon the Minions.
Flavius and Agrippa frantically swung their swords, but to no avail. The razor-sharp blades of their dreggans passed harmlessly through the monsters. The demons opened their glowing jaws and ravaged Flavius and Agrippa in the same manner they had Uther. Soon the tunnel floor was awash in blood, and three mangled bodies lay still in the puddles.