slobbered his tongue over her mouth. 'Been a long time since I've tasted a woman!' he groaned. 'A long time!'
Incensed, Eddinray whaled, slicing the groper's arms from the wall. He then yanked Harmony by the wings and safely from the walls clutches. Gasping, the pair watched as those decapitated limbs rejoined the wall of tears with a slithering will of their own. The large creep then laughed, trying to tempt Harmony back with his tongue.
'Fiend!' roared Eddinray, preparing to stab that face.
'No Godwin!' Harmony cried, taking hold of him. 'He's not worth it. None of them are.'
'She's right,” I said, looking back. 'Be more careful! Come on!'
And so we continued in stricter formation. Word quickly passed around the wall that we travellers were not here to help, thus their begging ended, and a vile barrage of cursing and spitting began.
'You scum! You dirty, filthy scum!'
'Better than us? You're no better than us you rotten knight! You stupid, prick ugly samurai!'
'Hells high and fucking mighty coming through!'
'There's a boy over there! You'd leave a child to face the flood? A child?'
'They'd leave their own mothers this lot!'
'Keep walking you selfish bastards! That's right, and don't look back!'
Thankfully, we found their cursing easier to ignore.
The lamenting tapestry stretched onto exhaustion, and we five endured it without rest or conversation. Relief came when Wisp led us a curving right turn and finally away from the morbid sights, if not sounds — we would be hearing their pathetic whining in the background for some time yet.
This fresh section of the labyrinth had no wall of tears, but those numerous iron grates at our feet, and the remains of recent travellers bunched in mounds against the walls. Across our path lay one ravaged corpse. There was a longbow over the bile and guts, a quiver full of arrows and a red bandanna. There was also the blood, spattered liberally.
'It's him!' yelled Harmony, running to the pieces.
'A friend of yours?' asked Wisp, recovering his old breath.
'We knew him,” I said, gathering round. 'Christ, there's nothing left…'
Apart from weapons, there was no identifying trace of the Apache in this collection of organs and bones, but we all knew it was him. 'The perils of the labyrinth,” said Wisp. 'Experience is not nearly enough.'
The green-skinned merchant crouched to wander his hand over the bloodied chunks.
'The soul has moved onto something very small,” he said. 'A fly perhaps. There is nothing we can do for him now.'
Sombre faced, Harmony bent to retrieve the bandanna 'We never should have let him go,” she said, folding it through her fingers.
'Take his weapon,” Kat ordered, prodding her clasp. 'You have none.'
'I can't do that!' she exclaimed. 'It is disrespectful! Besides, I cannot use a longbow.'
'Neither could he,” was Kat's cold-hearted reply, flippancy that made my blood boil.
'Where is your respect?' I asked, thumping my fist against his red chest plate.
Kat warned me with his squint, slapped away my fist then strode for the next bend, with Wisp hobbling after him.
'Take the longbow Harmony,” I said, scowling at Kat's back. 'It's not right to use it, but it wouldn't be right to leave it.'
'Go on dear,” added Eddinray. 'You do need to arm yourself here.'
Reluctantly, Harmony picked up the longbow from the pieces and secured the quiver over her shoulder. 'I will see part of you out of here,” she said, wrapping the red bandanna around her forehead, holding back her golden fringe and hardening an otherwise wholesome appearance.
'Suits you,” said Eddinray, with a hollow smile.
Walking to Kat, I searched his face for the warmth I had seen before, but there was none of it now. 'You don't care about a thing do you?' I asked, watching spittle drool down the prickly hairs of his chin. He didn't wipe it, but brushed me off to take the turn with Wisp.
'Your friends are a high spirited lot,” I heard Wisp say.
'They,' he snarled back, 'are not my friends.'
***
Blood mired our way past corpses old and new. Greedy rodents scavenged through theses remains and left with what they could between their front teeth. 'Appalling,” gawked Eddinray. 'What villainous abomination could cause such gruesome destruction?'
'Perhaps that?' Harmony suddenly croaked, recoiling at the snivelling creature stood not ten feet away.
I thought it was a man at first, because some of it was. Holding two curved blades, its human body was as greasy and burly as any wrestlers, but at the neck grew the oversized head of a rat. Two fur-less ears pointed to the sky, it had a protruding snout with sprouting whiskers and a snarling mouth full of razors and disease. Kat removed his sword then rushed back to defend us. With a hurried step and limp, Wisp came too whilst Harmony screamed at another half man/half rat, arriving behind.
'What are they?' I yelled, arming my short sword.
'Our home!' hissed one. 'Our home!'
'Just passing through!' stuttered Eddinray. 'And may I say what a pretty home you have!'
'Our home!' both freaks repeated, moving in on us.
Kat swivelled his katana and the spear of Wisp threatened the air, but the rodent man facing them showed no fear, and presently sprang for the old merchant's unseen face. A match for the mutant, Wisp thrust the spear forward to stick his enemy's throat. The mousy man dropped with a gargle, and Wisp finished it off with a skewer through hair and guts. Impressed by Wisp's swift strength, Kat and I faced the last of them.
'Our home!' he said, retreating. 'Our home…”
Back and back this cowardly rat went until disappearing behind a corner.
'There will be more,” Wisp panted. 'Too many.'
'Then let's get a move on,” I said, with shifty eyes. So faster Kat lead us down hopeful corridors to heart sinking dead ends, encountering no well, no super-sized rodents or anything else. It was only when our quest for the centre seemed futile, when we questioned the point most in our minds, that we turned a right corner, and were startled by pure starlight. At last, we had reached the heart of the labyrinth…
'Beautiful,” gasped Wisp, stumbling. 'It is beautiful.'
And certainly it was. A healing aroma of syrupy light and tickling pixie dust, the well was a sumptuous garden feature in the middle of a circular stoned enclosure. Like the hedonistic bath of a Roman Emperor, its glazed water were filled to the brim and a rainbow arose from it, shooting beads of health off to the further reaches of Hell, and the souls needing them most. In awe, we stood before its majesty, that resurgent life force.
'Made it old man,” said Kat, patting Wisp's hunched over back.
The craggy merchant drooped both shoulders under that tortured cloak — long had he searched for this treasure, and we had found it for him. He limped alone from our group with the spear flopping in his withered hand. I found myself escorting him with a lone eyeball fixed on the enchanted water — could it really repair my sight?
'You first,” said Wisp, placing a palm of green hair on my back. 'Please…'
A hungry grin curved at the corner of my mouth, but I refused. 'This was your quest Wisp. You'll be first.'
The others shared my opinion — my eye could wait a few minutes for this creature to regain his former glory. Taking a grateful bow, Wisp lumbered forth to the pool of diamonds. The spirit of the well seemed to know whenever a soul approached, for it reacted with popping bubbles to this weary presence.
Three wide steps led up to the water, and Wisp took his time with each; we heard his brutal heaving under the weight of the cloak before at last, he conquered the last step. The water was far from welcoming and ready to open my mouth with encouragement, I need not have bothered — Wisp audaciously leapt into the bath, and was instantly consumed. Hurrying to the stony edge, we searched through the churning bubbles to see nothing of Wisp.
