Labyrinth (Book 5)

Author:Richardson, Kat [Richardson, Kat]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 0451463366
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Published: 2010-08-03T07:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

It took a while to get the backyard into the physical and magical condition that satisfied all of us. Mara was most concerned about reinforcing the magical wards and clearing off the remains of the blood-magic charms and alarms the vampires had left behind. We all figured it wouldn’t surprise anyone by now if they were removed. The men wanted to clean up the yard, burying the scorched and trampled remains of whatever nasty creature Goodall had set on them, while Brian wanted to get the dog to safer ground. I really did start to think Rick was never going to get his pet back at this rate.

Mara and I also cleared off a bit of ground for a containment circle, marking the area with various signs and symbols as she directed, so if anything did come through the door, it wouldn’t get far.

In the end, it all proved pointless. I shuffled the wire puzzle until it clicked into a formation that chimed and hummed when brought near the ball, but when the two were put together, the key sinking into an invisible slot and twisting with an ease that surprised me, there was only a breath of hot, plant-scented air and a sound like something heavy settling into the earth at a distance. A small object dropped out the first time, but nothing else happened. Mara and I tried several configurations and spells, weaving various bits of magic together and trying to cajole the puzzle to work, but the effect only got slightly more fragrant with the odor of flowers and a rustle of invisible leaves that almost covered the persistent muttering in the back of my head.

We gave up and returned to sit on the back porch.Mara took the key from me and looked it over with the eye as I bent to pick up the thing that had fallen from the puzzle: it was a garnet earring that looked familiar to me. Mara finished her inspection of the ball and then pointed at the bauble in my hand. “May I look at that?”

I handed it over. She inspected it with the eye before shaking her head. “Neither of these is the second part,” she said. She handed the earring to me and I pocketed it.

The men had gone out into the yard where we’d cleared the circle and, at Brian’s insistence, were playing a complicated game involving a soccer ball, the dog, and two goalposts erected hastily between the side yard fences. I watched them for a moment, trying to figure out what they were doing. “It’s not the second part of what?”

“The key is not the second part of the mechanism,” she explained. “Nor is the earring, incidentally, but that’s a bit off the point since it seems to be here almost by accident. This key isn’t actually animus. It’s neutral. There’s another part somewhere. But beyond that, this puzzle ball seems to be keyed to a location.”

“Meaning . . . ?”

“Y’have to use it in the right place.

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