City of the Dead

EIGHTEEN

Through complicated twists and turns, Sophraea raced into the memorial maze planted in the City of the Dead to honor a particularly wily leader of the thieves' guild.

The tall hedges closed around Gustin and Sophraea. With a quick hop, she sidestepped a revolving stone meant to trip up the unwary. She yanked Gustin out of the way of a branch that whipped by their faces.

"Look out," Sophraea pushed the wizard back before he could trip a set of bells cleverly concealed behind a small piece of garden statuary with a pointy hat, which was noted in the Carver's ledger as an exact copy of the Master Thiefs most revered opponent. Time and weather had softened the famed thiefcatcher's stern features and left the stone gnome with almost an expression of amusement.

Gustin's bright eyes widened as he sidestepped the alarm. Sophraea realized that his earlier illusion of disguise was fraying. His eyes were clearly green and he seemed thinner. She wondered if she continued to look like a moon elf or if she had reverted to Sophraea Carver. Glancing down at her basket, still weighted with the bits of broken brick, she saw that it seemed to waver between velvet ribbons and wicker handle on her arm. The sight made her almost as dizzy as her double vision earlier.

"Where are we?" Gustin stuck close to Sophraea, matching her almost step for step as they followed the curving briar hedge. His quick walking pace was the same as her running stride.

"The Thief s Knot," she answered. "We used to come here as children on hot days. It's always shady here. Leaplow and the twins loved jumping out at the rest of us and trying to make me scream."

Another twist of the path took them by the perpetual flame, burning to light the way of any thief lost in the eternal night.

Then they passed under the arch carved with copies of evety piece of jewelry that the Master Thief had ever stolen. The decorative gems had long ago been looted by his mourners, but the stonework still marked the entrance to the center of the maze. The center was perfectly round and felt hushed. Even the wind couldn't penetrate the tall hedges. Once Sophraea had rather liked the silence and even come here to escape the noises of the household and workshops.

"Now!" someone shouted and broke the peace.

She and Gustin froze, staring wildly at each other. Someone else was in the maze, quite close, and whoever it was sounded angry.

"Try it now! Come on, you coward, get up, there's no one here to help you!"

Gustin started to push her behind him.

Sophraea sighed. "Don't bother," she said, "I know rhat voice!"

Then she shouted, "Leaplow!"

Marching between the hedgerows of the maze, she turned a corner and stopped.

Her youngest brother stood with his feet apart, straddling a lump of twisted coat and cap. A thin trickle of blood ran from his nostril and the flesh atound one eye was turning purple. When he saw her, he lowered his clenched fists, grinned and said, "And who would you be, little elf girl?"

His victim rose on one elbow, looked up through streams of blood that covered his face. He looked terrible but at least he was alive.

"Are you going to kill that man?" she demanded.

Leaplow shook his head. "Of course not. We are settling a wager. As soon as he pays me, I will help him back to the Coffinmarch gate."

The soft hair, the wide shoulders, the familiar grin, oh dear, no wonder Briarsting thought he saw Sophraea's father, still a young man, in the City of the Dead the night before.

"Have you been patrolling the graveyard?" she demanded.

"Moon elf, do I know you?" Leaplow said.

"Why were you roaming the City of the Dead at night?" she insisted.

Leaplow scratched his head. She could see the bruises on his knuckles. "Last night, after the dead passed through our gate, I heard a noise. So I went into the graveyard. I thought I could catch whoever was stirring things up. And then there was this girl, I know she's dead, but she's a fine dancer and I thought if I saw her again…"

"Into the City of the Dead at night!" Sophraea exclaimed and flung up her hands, interrupting Leaplow. Didn't her stupid brother know how dangerous that was! Well, of course, she'd gone following the dead into the graveyard at dawn. But that was different and Leaplow didn't need to know about that anyway.

"This afternoon, I caught this one with his companions, trying to climb over the graveyard wall into our courtyard," Leaplow went on. "And I chased him all the way to Stunk's house and then I chased him all the way back here. Well, a few of my brothers and my cousins were with me, and a few more of Stunk's men were with him."

The fighting in the streets in the North Ward, thought Sophraea.

"I should have known it was you!" she said out loud.

Not hearing her, Leaplow continued, "So we had a small scuffle, not much of a fight at all, the others ran away and my cousins ran after them. This one ducked into the City of the Dead to hide and I caught him and dragged him here, because the Watch never patrols in here. And he started blustering and making threats, so I told him that if he could win in a fair fight against me, I'd show him how to get out of this maze for free. And if he lost, he could pay me properly to lead him home. Besides, he works for Stunk. Anyone who works for Stunk is in need of a beating."

"Oh, Leaplow, there's no point talking sense to you." Turning to the wizard, Sophraea said, "Come on, we need to get out of here."

Behind her, her confused brother said, "If you weren't a moon elf, I'd swear you were my sister. She is always saying things like that."

Remembering that he was her brother, and no matter how annoyed she felt she did not want him harmed, she said, "There's a wolf outside the maze. You should stay here for a bit until it leaves."

She thought about urging him to come with them. But Leaplow's most likely reaction to a number of armed men running after them would be to turn and fight. Better he remained hidden while she led Stunk's men away from the maze.

"Can't remember ever hearing a wolf here before. I wonder how you wrestle one," Leaplow said, dropping heavily down to sit upon his fallen opponent. The beaten man grunted under his weight.

"I'd rather you didn't," said Sophraea. Then, with an idea born of desperation, she patted Gustin on the chest. The wizard had been watching their whole exchange with an expression torn between amusement and bewilderment. "It's his fight," she said to her brother. "You wouldn't want to spoil his fun."

Leaplow blinked sleepily at the wizard. "You look familiar too. Do I know you?"

"Not at the moment," said the wizard with some relief.

Leaplow shrugged. "Oh well, I am a bit tired." He yawned and settled more heavily upon his opponent. "I have been up all night. I'll keep this one quiet until they're gone. Then I can collect my payment and go home."

On the other side of the thick briar hedge, they heard a sniff and a scratch. The wolf had found them, probably smelled the blood on

Leaplow. Branches shook as the beast tried to claw his way through. A surprised howl came from the wolf as it encountered the thorns hidden behind the evergreens and the shaking stopped.

With a wave to the brother who had no idea who she was, Sophraea grabbed the wizard's hand and hurried back toward the center.

"The wolf can never make it through the thorns," she said. "Even if they find a way in, they'll be sure to get themselves in a tangle. It's nothing but traps in the outer ring."

"What about your brother?"

"They'll never see him, unless he wants them too," Sophraea said. "He knows all the twists and turns of the maze. He'll be safe enough-I hope!"

"And how do we get out?" asked Gustin.

"There's a secret way, of course, just as any good thief-would discover. Straight out from the center." Sophraea slowed so she could count her steps past the perpetual flame toward the round stone circle that marked the center of the maze. At the edge of the circle, she turned sharply left and walked straight into the thorn hedge.

Gustin recoiled behind her, then started forward to see if she was hurt.

"Sophraea, where are yoU?" he called.

She popped her head out of the hedge. "Come on, it's only an illusion here. But be careful, it's not a very wide path." She held out her hand to the wizard, who took it with a smile.

Edging sideways through the briars, Sophraea whispered to her companion, "This will put us close to the Deepwinter tomb. And then it's just a short run from there to our gate. With luck, it will take them some time to figure out that we're not in the maze and start following us again."

They slid out of the hedge and back to a normal path. Two more turns revealed the Deepwinter monument. Just past one black corner, Sophraea could see the high wall surrounding the City of the Dead. They were almost home.

She ducked around the high flowering bush that marked the Carver's gate. The moss-covered steps were still there. But now rather than an iron gate at the top, the steps led to a smooth stone wall, perfectly matching the rest of the high barrier separating Sophraea and Gustin from the courtyard of Dead End House.

"Where's the gate?" they said together.

"Another illusion?" added Gustin.

Sophraea ran up the stairs and felt along the wall. "No, it is real." The mortar under her fingers felt slightly sticky. "When they found the gate broken this morning, they must have decided to wall it up."

A frustrated baying sounded behind them. Stunk's bully boys and pet wolf must have discovered their prey had escaped the maze.

Sophraea ran agitated hands across the stones blocking the Dead End gate. The work was perfect, of course, only the best as usual from her family. And it perfectly blocked their safe exit from the City of the Dead! Her family had trapped her within the graveyard.