I lowered my hand to the grip of the Sundered Heart. “You planning on betraying us, Labu?”
“We should move before they lock us all in one of these,” Labu suggested as he avoided my question.
I took a step away from Kumi as her eyes widened in concern.
“Aren’t you going to untie me?” she asked.
“I want to,” I said. “I’m just a bit worried about what happens when I bend down to do that. When my hands are busy and my attention is elsewhere.”
I stared at Labu. He looked away.
“Get it done; we’re running out of time,” he said. “Do really think that I’d bring you all this way just to execute you in front of my sister? Really?”
“I think you do a lot of things,” I said slowly. “Where were you when the monsters came into Qihin City? Why wasn’t it guarded? If the guild is responsible for the monster attack, they had to have someone on the inside. Someone to lay lures to draw the monsters in. To let Cadrin know about the side entrance to the temple, to enlist the temple guards. And then, there was the route we found to sneak in here. If everybody hated you as much as they make out, how would you know there was a hidden entrance behind a secret door in the cellar?”
Labu regarded me with a blank expression.
“Ethan, Labu couldn’t have been behind the attacks. He’s my brother,” Kumi insisted. “He might train with the guild, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely betrayed everything he stands for.”
“He seems pretty cozy with the guild, though, right?” I asked her quietly. “A secret route into the guild house? That’s the sort of thing only people at the top would know about. The sort of people who would make rescuing you so easy, leaving just enough guards to make it convincing.”
“Truly, Ethan, my brother would not—”
“The guild would need someone to lead me here,” I continued despite the princess’ words. “Someone I could almost trust. Someone like you.” I glared at Labu as I prepared to end him with a swift strike of the Sundered Heart.
Labu raised a hand. He seemed about to protest his innocence. I almost hoped that he would, that I would be proved wrong for once and that Kumi’s brother hadn’t just betrayed her. The princess gazed pleadingly at Labu and silently begged him to disagree. To call me a liar, or wrong. But then he gripped his spear again and smiled tightly.
“You’re not wrong,” he said. “They don’t hate me as much as they make out.”
Footsteps rushed down the corridor toward us. A crowd of guild members appeared in the hallway behind Labu, armed and ready for action.
Fury boiled within me. Labu had shown his true colors.
“You bastard,” I said. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“And now, here we are,” Labu snarled. “I will finally restore my honor.”
“Not without a head you won’t.”
Chapter Fourteen
I flung myself at Labu as he jabbed his spear at my body. I dodged left and felt air brush my skin as the spear hissed an inch away from my arm. As his weapon came back around, I sidestepped right and grabbed the shaft. Labu and I pushed and shoved as we grappled for the spear. We twisted around the doorway to the cell while his guild companions waited in the corridor. They seemed content to watch Labu for the moment, at least until they could get through and into the fight.
“Can you use your Augmenting?” I called out to Kumi.
“Not while I’m bound like this,” she said. “The silk straps are blocking my powers.”
I couldn’t afford to let go of the spear and step back to draw my sword now that I was up close. If I did that, he would get a free attack, and the guild warriors would have a chance to swarm into the room. I had to create an advantage some other way.
I yanked at the spear, but Labu had a vice-like grip, and there was no wrenching it from his hands. Instead, I took one of my hands off and released a Stinging Palm thorn into his stomach. It punched through his abdomen and came out the other side. His eyes widened, and I snatched his spear from him. I caught him in the chest with a high kick, and he flew back into the guards.
I summoned a Burning Wheel and cast the chaotic technique into the corridor. The flaming tornado quickly grew and consumed the first line of guards, but the others threw a torrent of ice spears into the attack and rendered it little more than an ember.
I grabbed the cell door and slammed it shut with a boom that echoed around the small room. I jammed the spear blade as hard as I could underneath the bottom of the door, wedged it shut, and bought myself a couple of seconds.
“I think I just killed your brother,” I said to Kumi. The room filled with the sound of thudding as the guild disciples hammered at the door. I probably only had 10 seconds before they got through to us.
“He isn’t so easy to put down,” the princess assured me.
I drew my knife and rushed over to the seat where she was still tied.
“Does silk always do this?” I asked as I sliced through the first of the bonds. “Stop Augmenting powers, I mean?”
“It has to be specially prepared,” Kumi said. “But if used carefully, yes, it can restrain almost
