Sienna raised her hand and pressed it against the hedge, feeling the prickle of branches against her palm. Suddenly, she felt a pulse of energy from within the labyrinth, something pulling her forward.
Blood answering to blood.
This had to be the right direction. She pressed her palm more firmly and felt the prick of a thorn pierce her skin. She pulled her hand away sharply to see a trickle of blood running down the center.
But where the drop of ruby liquid touched them, the branches started unraveling, twisting away from each other with a creaking and rustling sound, opening up a hole in the wall. The others turned to watch as the space grew until there was an arch big enough for them to walk through in single file.
"If in doubt, bleed on it." Xander raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, rubbing at the tiny wound in her palm.
Finn stepped through the thick tangle of branches first, his sword raised, eyes darting to either side as he scouted for danger. He nodded back to them, and the others followed him inside. The animal smell was almost overpowering.
"Careful now," he whispered. "There's something here. Keep your voices low." He looked at Sienna. "Which way?"
She glanced in either direction. Both ways were exactly the same, long corridors of green with towering hedges boxing both sides. How was she supposed to decide?
Her palm throbbed. Mila's words echoed back to her, about how each use of blood magic let a little shadow inside to take its place. But the minutes ticked by and she couldn't think of any other way, so she placed her palm against the hedge directly in front of the entrance they had made. Perhaps the maze itself would lead the way.
Once again, the branches untwisted, opening a space into the next corridor. But this time, the sound of breaking branches and a soft huffing noise came from beyond.
Xander poked his head around the corner before anyone could stop him and then ducked back quickly, his eyes bright with excitement. "Gigantopithecus," he whispered. "A giant ape. Extinct on Earth-side but this one looks like drawings I've seen."
Sienna walked into the gap in the hedge and peered around the side, Finn close behind her.
A giant ape stood on its hind legs picking off foliage from the top of the hedge, displaying its full height of over ten feet. Its meaty hands were the size of giant baseball mitts and its thigh muscles the width of tree trunks. It grabbed a handful of leaves and put them in its mouth, chewing as it dropped back onto its knuckles. Then it looked in their direction. Sienna felt a jolt of adrenalin as it met her eyes.
"Look down," Finn breathed. "Back away slowly."
They edged their way back into the branches as the ape lumbered along the corridor towards them, the thump of its great fists shaking the earth. Sienna's mind raced as she considered how in hell she was meant to shut the opening she had made. Her blood opened a path, but she couldn't take it back.
"Don't run or it will charge," Xander said quickly. "If it's like other apes, it won't attack if we're submissive. Bow your heads as it comes through. Don't meet its eyes."
The giant ape pushed through the branches. They cracked and ripped apart across its huge barrel chest as it emerged and stood tall. It slapped its chest and bared its teeth, roaring a challenge. Sienna kept her eyes down, her heart pounding as the vibrations of its call rippled through her. She saw Finn's hand tighten on its sword and willed him not to use it. Perhaps the ape would lose interest and move off.
But it took a huge step forward towards them and swung its giant fist.
Mila dove sideways, rolling away as the meaty arm slammed down where she had stood just a moment before.
"Guess submission doesn't work." Xander pulled the skin map from his pocket, dropped it to the ground as he bellowed, drawing the beast's attention away as Asada, his lion, stepped from the leather.
The lion roared and charged at the ape, barreling into its great body, knocking the beast to the ground. But the ape put its great arms around the lion and shoved it away enough to swing a giant fist into Asada's face. The lion rolled away, snarling, the roars of the two beasts combining into a fearsome cacophony.
They ran at each other, the ape howling as the lion attacked. Dust exploded into the air as the two gigantic creatures tussled, the lion slicing and biting, the ape thumping and rolling.
A slash of claws, and bright blood flew from the ape's chest.
It turned and bit deep into the lion's flank, and the big cat yelped with pain. They were well matched, but then the wound in the lion's side healed over, and its ferocity redoubled. It slashed and bit and tore at the ape, beating it down, tiring it until the great creature lay on the ground, chest heaving, its blood soaking the earth.
The lion bent its muzzle to the wound in the ape's chest and began to tear strips of flesh from it. The ape moaned in pain as it was eaten alive, the sound so similar to a human in distress that tears sprang to Sienna's eyes. The ape was some kind of distant ancestor, despite how wild this one was. Xander watched with a dark satisfaction on his face, almost as if he was the one feeding.
Then a throaty roar came from behind the maze wall in front of them.
The lion looked up, muzzle coated with blood. It stood motionless, and Finn drew his sword again. Another roar answered – and another. There were more giant apes, and they heard one of their own in pain.
They were coming.
"Run." Xander pushed Sienna ahead of him. "Get the path opened in front of us."
He dropped back, calling Asada to stand with him, Finn on his other side, sword drawn, Mila next to him.
"Come on." Perry dragged Sienna away. "We've got to find a way through. The others will follow."
They turned a corner, and Sienna felt a tug inwards. "Here." She stopped and pressed her bleeding palm against the wall. Again, it opened for her.
Perry pushed her through. "Just keep opening the way ahead. I'll signal the others."
Sienna crossed over the next corridor, trying to tune out the dull thud of fists against flesh, the snarl of the lion and the roaring of the apes behind her. At least there were no screams … yet. She had to hurry.
The maze began to twist more tightly, the tug inside calling her onwards. After four more walls, she reached a gate made of thick metal bars as tall as the woven branches around it.
"Here. I've found the center!" she called back through the thick walls of the maze. Had they heard her?
Then she saw Mila running through, Perry and the others close behind as they tried to outrun the giant apes.
The gate hung open on its hinges, the lock cracked by whoever had come before them. Sienna darted through and held it open. "Come on!"
Mila rushed through, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Perry and Finn darted ahead of Xander, who lingered as Asada the lion still fought. Sienna could almost feel the adrenalin of the fight through his powerful proxy. Xander's hands were raised, the muscles on his back tense as he drove the lion forward with his will. It savaged the first of the attacking apes as it tried to push through the narrow hedge, ripping into the thick neck. Blood spurted out, and the great ape collapsed, blocking the gap.
The beasts behind bellowed in anger and frustration, but they couldn't pass the wounded body. The lion darted in again, raking at the eyes of the giant ape as if it wanted to tear its face away.
"Come on!" Perry shouted. "Enough. Leave it now, or finish it off."
Xander spun, his eyes fixed on Perry, his face contorted like the lion who stood by his side. Almost as one with his illustrated beast. For a moment, it looked like he would send Asada to rip the other Mapwalker to shreds. Then the wildness left his eyes.
Xander took a breath and slumped forward. He placed the scrap of map leather on the ground, and the lion stalked into it.
Once they were all through, Mila pulled the gate shut and Perry wrapped a little piece of map leather around the broken lock. He conjured just enough flame to fuse the lock closed, so the gate shut firmly behind them.
The sound of the apes faded away as the other beasts moved off.
"There must be another way round," Finn said. "They won't give up."
"Then we better hurry up." Sienna turned to see where they were.
A circle of flat rocks formed a raised platform. In the middle, a pile of charred wood and human bones steamed in the sun.
"It's a pyre," Mila said. "Work of the Shadow Cartographers."
They clambered onto the pyre, the smell of burned wood and roasted flesh intensifying around them. Birds of prey circled above, beady eyes on the carrion below.
Mila used a partially burned branch to rake the pile of burned bones, looking for a sign of what might have happened here.
"You need to look at this, Sienna."
A small round object glinted in the afternoon sun. Sienna looked more closely and realized with a jolt what it was.
Her father's five-pointed compass.
She would recognize it anywhere. Engraved upon the face were the things her father valued, a book, the face of the goddess Aquae Sulis representing Bath, and enclosed within the glass, a lock of her baby hair. Tears welled in Sienna's eyes.
She fell to her knees in the ash. The grey dust billowed around her as she reached for the compass. She wiped it clean to reveal the patterns beneath.
"It's his, isn't it?" Mila said, softly.
Sienna nodded. "He was here." She looked at the pile of bones. "You don't think …?"
Mila shook her head. "He was too valuable to burn. The compass could have been stolen by someone else. These bodies might be rebels or smugglers."
Finn hunkered down to kneel next to Sienna. His closeness comforted her, and she could see a reflection of her loss in his dark eyes. "I know smugglers, and I know rebels. None of them would have left this here when they could get so much for it."
A roar sounded from just outside the gate.
They turned to see the giant apes gathered outside the bars, testing the strength as they eyed the enemy inside. One of the beasts slammed into the metal, its war cry ringing out. The gate shuddered and shook, but it held.
For now.
"We're not getting back out the maze that way," Xander said. "Even if we all fight, we can't hold them off for long. We need another way out of here."
One of the apes started to climb, pulling itself up the gate, hand over hand, baring its yellow teeth as it snarled at them.
Sienna clicked the button at the bottom of the compass, and it flicked open. Inside, the bronze was engraved with his name, John Farren. And on the opposite side, there was a carving, a tiny map inscribed on the inner surface with a castle at its center.
Sienna ran her fingers slowly over the carving, thinking of her father etching these lines. It was rough, but perhaps it was enough. Together with what they had learned before, together with Finn's desire to see his sister and her own to see her father, with Mila's knowledge of where the castle lay. Together they might be able to make it.
First one and then another ape dropped down on their side of the gate. They roared and lumbered towards the team.
"If in doubt …" Xander said. "Quickly now!"
Sienna's heart thumped as she considered the drip of shadow she would exchange for her blood. But they had no option.
She pulled the scalpel from her bag and used it to cut her hand slightly, dripping blood onto the map in the compass.
It filled the lines, scarlet and gold together with the rays of the sun forming a mesmerizing pool. All she had to do was fly into it.
Sienna felt lightness inside, even though they were surrounded by the stink of beasts with decaying flesh between their teeth, and the burned bones upon which they stood. This was a place of death, and they were going further towards darkness, but she could sense they were almost there. She would see her father again.
"Now would be good," Xander shouted as he turned to face the oncoming charge.
Sienna put one hand around the bloody compass and held her other hand out. The others gripped it and held each other, entwined together as the beasts bore down upon them.
Her heart pounded as she remembered Finn wasn't a Mapwalker. How could he come through? She looked over at him, eyes wide with fear. She didn't want to lose him now.
He nodded back at her. "It's okay, just do your part and I will follow through. And if you make it to the castle without me …" He looked over at Mila. "Then you will find my sister and set her free."
Mila nodded. "Quickly now."
Perry hurled a blast of flame, pushing the beasts back. They howled as flame caught fur and one rolled itself into the pile of ash, pieces of bone sticking to its flesh. Then it came for them, a thing of fury and ash, bone and flame.
Sienna closed her eyes, trying to tune out the roar of the beasts, and the expectation of her friends.
She thought of her father, fixing the map from the compass in her mind, and reached for blood in the darkness.