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WHEN THE MUD CLEARED, Parker opened her eyes and peered beneath her. Two razor-thin strips of neon light, one blinding white and the other sapphire blue, guided her on a downward path. She plunged into a whirlpool of motion. The neon stripes, speeding ahead of her, paved a lit path through the blackness. The spiraling descent slowed to a less furious pace, and Parker was keenly aware she had entered the Underworld. Had she fallen into a sinkhole? Or had someone or something pulled her down? She steeled herself with the knowledge she had survived the Underworld before.
The smell of sulphur rushed at her. She was nearing the entry of the first Labyrinth. The reflecting light of the glowing stripes illuminated the lava walls and cast a purple haze through The Hollows. She tried to block the memory of the Grotto along with the blood-curdling cries, Belliza hustling her to keep moving, and Cole desperate to return them to the Upperworld. She shivered as goose bumps broke out along the length of her arms.
The two neon stripes stopped moving. She swallowed and gasped as she took in the physical form of the creatures sporting the glowing neon. She blinked back the image of two miniature seahorses with human heads and torsos, and curling spiked tails staring back at her. They could be a male and a female, or even both. Their torsos glimmered—one in rich garnet with a stark white neon glow and the other black striped in blue neon. The black one had a heavy beard matching closely cropped hair while the garnet one’s hair curled in a flowing mane of blondeness. If she hadn’t been so frightened, she would think her abductors were beautiful and friendly. But friendship was not on her mind. And she couldn’t presume to read their inscrutable expressions either.
Parker wondered if they would converse with her in English. She opened her mouth to speak to the creatures, but loud voices distracted her. Shocked into recognition—she was certain one of the voices belonged to Cole! Had he come to save her? She remained hopeful and quiet, realizing she must not call attention to her familiarity with Cole, and compromise him. Had he seen her? She wasn’t wearing the Silver Helm. If he had, he did not acknowledge her presence.
An assortment of eight huge creatures—some with human features, others with crustacean parts, wore all black and guarded the path outside The Hollows. Each held a dark navy flag with a circular golden crest of a fish curled in on its own tail.
A voice from under the helmet of one of the guards called out, “Don’t move, Lieutenant. You’ve broken the Empress’s rule. Why aren’t you wearing the proper uniform? We are in mourning. We have orders.”
A shackle whipped from behind Cole and encircled his left foot, then his right, locking him to the spot. The guards exchanged glances but did not speak.
Cole held his head high. “I’ve been assigned other duties.”
He must have been afraid, but he refused to show fear. Cole’s voice grew louder. He thrust his shoulders back and raised his chin. He stood up to the guards, though they towered over him by at least a foot. Cole ordered, “Now, remove these locks from my feet and let me pass.” He held his stance and snapped, “The Empress is waiting for my report.”
One of the guards motioned toward a room beyond, where Parker could make out a few more guards standing over one of those map tables for making war. The group exchanged words with the guard, then one of them left and returned within minutes with another sea creature, one that was more sea creature than human. The creature edged sideways like a crab, across the floor of the Labyrinth. Its human head sat on top of a wide, long, hard shell with four pairs of legs thrusting forward from underneath the shell. Each of its legs wore a similar shell-like armor. The two front legs were finished with jagged claws.
“We meet again, Scavenger,” Cole spit out the words, saliva landing on top of the creature’s shell. Cole glared. Parker thought she detected a smirk. The Scavenger must have earned his moniker from the odd sweeping movement with which he scuttled about the caves. He looked like a hunter about to trap whatever stood in his way. His claws appeared sharp enough to shred metal. Parker thought he could easily make a meal out of an errant soldier as well as decaying seaweed.
“What have we here?” The Scavenger removed a sword from his belt. He poked the point into Cole’s belly. With a quick flick of his claw, he slashed open Cole’s jacket, tearing his vest, and tracing a thin line down Cole’s chest with the tip.
Parker winced as the steel edge opened Cole’s jacket and revealed the light dusting of golden feathers. Blood trickled down his skin and onto his vest.
Cole held firm.
“I recognize you, Lieutenant Sky Man. How dare you disregard Her Highness’s orders? What makes you think you are above the law, especially today of all days? We are in mourning.”
Still Cole refused to budge.
“Get the foragers! Take him to the Tank,” the Scavenger directed the sentries. “Let’s see what the Empress wants to do with him.”
The neon blue-striped seahorse whispered to the one with white stripes. “Let them pass. I don’t know what the Scavenger is up to, but let’s stay out of his way.”
The white-striped one said, “He’s up to something. As usual. But this one is our responsibility. After they pass, we’ll take her to the holding cell.”
Parker shivered in the shadows. Her hands tied, and her voice paralyzed, her body freezing. Her gaze drifted along the dark passageways. Flags with golden symbols hung from the lava walls lit by the purple haze. There appeared to be hundreds of them, hanging limply like tree limbs damaged during a storm—heavy and weeping in sorrow. The guards had said the Underworld was in mourning. Were these flags of death? There hadn’t been any flags on this path when she had been here with Belliza. What had happened?
Her eyes darted about the Labyrinth. The murky path had appeared beautiful to her with the companionship of Belliza. Now, with the seahorses, she was struck with a sense of cold, sullen silence and pure isolation in her humanity.
Disturbed by the encounter between the Scavenger and Cole, she feared what might be ahead for her. Her heart sank and her body caved as despair threatened. Her lips quivered and her limbs shook uncontrollably. She had never felt so alone and unprotected. She touched the bracelet to her cheek. An electric charge surged and whipped through her, shocking her body from slack to erect. An inner calm locked in her brain and signaled strength. She would need it to survive.