Kendra around the perimeter of the room, avoiding quicksand, and scrutinized the depiction of each individual creature.
The keys appear identical to me, he said after studying the dwarf. I think the game is selecting which foe we believe we can overcome.
I hate to be cruel, Kendra said, but I'm thinking the dwarf.
I would choose him last of all, Warren said. He carries no weapon, which leads me to believe he must be strong in magic. And he looks the easiest at first glance, which almost certainly means he is the most deadly.
Then who? Kendra asked. The Minotaur carried a heavy mace. The Cyclops wielded a cudgel. The blue woman held a sword in each hand. The hobgoblin, as
Warren had named the snakelike man, clutched a pair of axes. And the half-spider man bore a javelin and a whip.
I suspect the Minotaur may be the lesser of these evils,
Warren said at length. I would no sooner choose the woman than the dwarf, and a Cyclops is nearly as adroit as he is strong. Of the others, the Minotaur carries the most cumbersome weapon. His mace will limit his reach and hamper his ability to avoid the tip of my spear.
You mean your key, Kendra said.
We'll use one key to get another.
Kendra regarded the Minotaur. Black fur, wide horns,384 bulky musculature. He stood a full head taller than Warren.You think you can take him? Kendra asked.
Warren was testing the sand and outlining the sinkholes.
I'll want you to stand still, he said. The Minotaur may catch your scent-I want to keep him in doubt as to your location. You'll keep the ax, and if I should lose the key, you may be able to toss it to me. If I should fall, the Minotaur will roam the room searching for you. If you keep still, you may have one free swing at him.
But you think you can take him? Kendra repeated.
Warren looked at the image of the Minotaur and hefted the key. Why not? I've made it through some tight scrapes before. I would give a lot for a few of my regular weapons.
Maybe you could use the ax to help me mark all the quicksand?
They spent much longer than Kendra liked delineating the areas of treacherous sand. She knew Vanessa and Errol were on their trail. Once the sand had been marked, Warren positioned Kendra so that the largest region of quicksand was between her and the Minotaur. He approached the mural.
You ready? Warren asked.
I guess, Kendra answered, squeezing the handle of her invisible ax, her heart pounding.
Maybe I can get in a cheap shot right at the start, he said, touching the image of the Minotaur and raising the key, holding it ready to strike. The mural wavered for a moment and then vanished. The sharp tip of the key clinked against the wall, and the Minotaur appeared behind Warren.385 Behind you! Kendra screamed.Warren ducked and lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding a blow that would have brained him. The Minotaur swung the mace briskly. The weapon was big and heavy, but the Minotaur was strong enough that it did not look very cumbersome.
Warren faced the Minotaur, staying a few paces away, key held ready. Why not just hand over the key? Warren asked. The Minotaur snorted. From across the room, Kendra could smell the beast, an odor like livestock.
The Minotaur charged, and Warren nimbly danced away. Warren pulled back his arm as if to throw the key, and the Minotaur raised his mace protectively. Feinting like he was hurling the key, Warren leapt closer and used the long reach of the key to scratch the Minotaur on the snout.
The Minotaur roared, chasing Warren around the room.
Warren ran from his pursuer, trying his best to lead the
Minotaur toward quicksand while keeping the beast away from Kendra. Either the Minotaur understood what the lines in the sand meant, or he instinctively knew where not to step, because he skirted the quicksand just as effectively as
Warren.
Sniffing the air, the Minotaur turned toward Kendra.
Over here, you coward! Warren shouted, moving in closer and brandishing the key. The Minotaur strode boldly toward
Warren, holding the mace off to one side, tempting Warren by leaving his chest exposed.
After a few feints, Warren took the bait, driving the tip of the key toward the Minotaur's chest. The Minotaur386 grabbed the key just below the slender spearhead with hisfree hand and wrenched it from Warren's grasp, yanking him closer in the process, and swung the mace.
Warren saved himself by diving backwards and managing to keep his feet. The blow had missed by inches. The
Minotaur quickly reversed his grip on the key and hurled it like a javelin, burying the head in Warren's abdomen despite his attempt to dodge it.
Roaring triumphantly, the Minotaur rushed at Warren, who pulled out the key and stumbled away, the spearhead red with his own blood. Scrambling, spraying sand, Warren managed to get a small area of quicksand between the
Minotaur and himself.
Kendra flung the flashlight and struck the Minotaur in the back. The brute turned, but she was invisible again. The
Minotaur picked up the flashlight, sniffed it, and then sniffed the air, moving toward Kendra.
Using the key like a crutch, Warren came around the quicksand, approaching the Minotaur from behind. The
Minotaur whirled and gave chase. Warren skipped away, ending up with his back to a broad expanse of quicksand.
Warren, quicksand! Kendra cried.
Too late, he stepped beyond the line in the sand, one leg sinking to his thigh, the rest of him collapsing forward onto the sturdier sand. The Minotaur dashed forward, mace held high to issue the killing stroke. Quick as a mousetrap,
Warren thrust upward with the key, the razor tip of the spearhead entering the Minotaur just below the sternum, angled up to pierce his heart. The Minotaur stood still,387 impaled, and snorted. The mace fell from his hairy hands,landing heavily on the sand. Warren twisted the key and shoved it in deeper, toppling the Minotaur backwards.
Panting, Warren withdrew his leg from the mushy sand.
Kendra ran to him. That was an amazing trick! she shouted.
A desperate one, he said. All or nothing. His hand covered the wound on his abdomen. He swatted at the damp sand coating his leg. Probably wouldn't have worked, except the Minotaur thought I was mortally wounded.
Course, he might have been right.
Is it bad? she asked.
It pierced me deep, but clean, he said. In straight, out straight. Belly wounds are hard to read. Depends what got punctured. Go fetch the key.
Kendra crouched beside the supine Minotaur, enjoying the livestock smell even less up close. The key hung on a fine gold chain. She pulled hard, and the chain snapped. I
have it, Kendra said.
Get the big one too, Warren said. The big key was still lodged in the Minotaur's chest. Kendra had to brace a foot against the beast to tug it free. Warren had taken off his shirt. The blood stood out sharply against his white skin.