“Good,” the captain answered. “Drop anchor. I’m going below deck.” He turned to his crewman. “Follow me, Goodwin. I’ll need someone to help me search.” He looked at us before leaving. “Ladies, I assume you can keep watch while I’m below?”
“Of course,” the princess answered.
As soon as we dropped anchor, the captain and crewmen left the room. As the door clicked shut behind them, the room seemed unusually quiet, with only the lurching of the ship and the waves crashing outside to remind us we were at sea. I turned back to the maps.
On the bottom of the stack, I found a map with a winding path drawn on a smaller island. Some sort of passage, perhaps? Inspecting it more closely, I was surprised to find that a structure had been sketched on the island’s center. It was an odd building—round, with three rows of walls, each circling one another, almost like a labyrinth. I tried to study it more closely, but the princess pulled it away from me. I eyed her as she restacked the pages, keeping the map with the labyrinth on the bottom.
What was that?
There shouldn’t have been any structures at all on those isles. Obviously, the princess knew what it was—why else would she try to hide it from me?
“Your maps are impressive,” I said, “although I wonder how a labyrinth would be drawn on them.”
She gave me a sharp glance. “That was not for you to see.”
“Yet I saw it—the damage has been done. Do you care to explain what’s out there?”
“I would rather not.”
“Why?”
“Because it is guarded information. I cannot trust anyone on this ship. Not even you.”
“But I will be making the journey with you. And as I carry the bloom, don’t you think it wise to share with me? It would be in your best interest. I would hate to bring the bloom to the wrong island, wouldn’t you?”
Crossing her arms, she gave me a shrewd look. “I can tell you only what I’ve been told. These maps were drawn mostly by magical scribes with scrying abilities. They recorded only what they saw, although they were also baffled by what lies out there—by the unusual structure. As far as we know, there are no species living on those isles who have the ability to create such architecture.” She removed the paper from the bottom of the stack. “It is drawn with three rings, and each circles the other. Have you ever seen a structure such as this?”
I knew she was toying with me. Any practitioner with half a brain would have known what it was. “It’s the orbis majica,” I said, “or magical circle. It’s considered a sacred symbol by many cultures, including elves. It’s also a very ancient symbol—and was said to be the first magic word learned by practitioners.”
She nodded. “You are correct. However, long ago, this symbol was also used in protection spells.”
I scrutinized the map. “If that’s the case, then what is this labyrinth protecting?”
She shook her head. Reflexively, she clutched the crystals hanging around her neck. Three crystals—just like the three circles. Was it a coincidence? Three was a common magical number, but still, I had a feeling the crystals and labyrinth may have had something in common. Maybe it was intuition, but I sensed there was more to those crystals than she was letting on—and that there was more to the labyrinth, as well. Besides, she seemed to have miraculously regained her strength, and her crystals were the only explanation for it.
“Few elves have actually traveled to the islands,” she said, “which is what worries me, and which is why I will spare you from all the theories I’ve been told as to how the structure appeared on the outer isle. Some even claim that it was constructed by space travelers. However, I’m determined to know the truth, for we must know what we’re up against. Here.” She scooted the map with the animals to me. “Do you recognize any of these species?”
“Dragons,” I said. “That’s about it.”
She nodded. “That makes two of us. What do you think of this creature?” She pointed to a black, scaly creature with spines protruding from its back and neck. The artist had drawn it with eight legs that ended in claws.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Nor have I.”
A black skull took up the center of the island. “What’s this?” I asked her.
“It denotes creatures that our scribes could not see.”
I eyed the mark. “But if they couldn’t see them, how do they know they’re there?”
A dark look crossed her face. “Because they are creatures who reside within the labyrinth, who possess a very strong magic and are able to use their powers to keep their identities hidden.”
“Do your scribes know anything else about them?”
“Only that they are very dangerous. The first person to scry upon these creatures lost consciousness. After that, he was plagued by hallucinations, and the visions eventually drove him mad. He took his own life after that.”
I stared, shocked. Elves abhorred suicide. For an elf to take his own life meant that he must have been driven to extreme measures. “That’s horrible,” I said. “Was anyone else affected by these visions?”
“Yes,” she answered. “And they got worse. The original scribes who discovered these creatures grew increasingly unstable. Eventually, they had to be locked away for their own protection. None were able to explain what these creatures were, though assumptions have been made.”
“The Regaymor?” I suggested.
“That is one possibility, although the creatures have inhabited this island for hundreds of years, and the Regaymor crossed to our world only recently.”
“That’s true. And why would they be on the islands? My stepfather said he sent them away.”
“Yes, the sky king did indeed banish the Regaymor on the dragon islands, but this island,” she pointed to the smallest island, “is not inhabited by dragons.”
“So my stepfather wouldn’t have traveled there.” Scanning the map, I recognized the smaller island as the same place with the labyrinth, although the structure had
