will kill us both.'
'Then go!' she screamed at him explosively. 'I did this to save your stupid life. Why throw it away?'
'Why?' he screamed back. 'I would rather die than have you die! You gave me nothing!'
She glared at him, abruptly calm. 'Sosa told me all men were fools.'
Var didn't see the relevance. But before he could speak again, there was a bellow from the labyrinth.
'Minos!' she - whispered, terrified. 'Oh, Var please, please, please go! It's too late for me now.'
The shape of the giant loomed at the cave entrance. Vapor snorted from the god's nostrils.
Var threw himself on Soli as though to shield her from the onslaught of the god, knowing this to be futile but determined not to desert her. He held her close and tight though she fought him, tearing his clothing with her feet and teeth. Finally he got her body pinned firmly against the wall so that her legs split and kicked behind him ineffectively while she hung by the manacles. 'I will not leave you,' he panted in her tangled hair.
Then her resistance collapsed. 'Oh, Var, I'm sorry!' she sobbed. 'I love you, you idiot.'
There was no time to be amazed. He kissed her savagely, hearing the tramp of Mines' hoofs, the blast of Minos' breath.
Desperately they embraced, experiencing what had been building for three years; compressing it all into these last moments. Sharing their love absolutely, exquisitely, painfully.
And Minos came, and stopped, and paused, and made a noise half fury and half laughter, and passed on.
Only then did Var realize what had happened. What Minos had tried, subtly, to suggest to him.
He had, indeed, been a fool. Almost.
There were screams from the temple as Var yanked and pried and banged at the manacles still pinning Soli's bruised wrists against the stone. If he could get even one prong out, her hand would be free-but the stone and metal were, too strong.
He found a corroded spike in the dirt just beyond the canyon and wedged it under one bond and pounded it with a stone-and finally, reluctantly, one prong pulled out. But his spike snapped as he pried up, and was useless for the other manacle.
The furor at the temple subsided. After an interval Minos came back, carrying two bodies. Var and Soli waited apprehensively.
The god halted.. 'This one's the high priestess,' he remarked with satisfaction. 'She deserved this, if anyone does. Poetic justice.' He looked at Soli, who averted her face.
'Hold this,' Mines said, handing Var a dead girl. Var took her, not knowing how to decline. She was about Soli's age, still warm, and blood dripped from her. There was something incredible about her posture, even in death; it was as though her guts had been pulped, leavng a humanshaped shell. He knew how close this corpse had come to being Soli herself. -
Minos reached forth with the hand thus freed and grasped the stubborn manacle. The muscles of that great arm twitched. The metal popped out of the wall with a spray of stone and fell to the ground. Soli was free.
Then the god fished a small package from his torn clothing and gave It to Soli, forcing it into her reluctant band. 'A gift,' he said. 'There never was anything personal about this-but i'm glad you became ineligible.'
Soli did not answer, but she held on to the package. Mines took back the second corpse and marched into his labyrinth, humming a merry tune. He bad reason to be happy: he would eat well this month.
'We'd better get out of here before the temple recovers,' Van said. 'Come on.' He took Soli's hand and led her away.
Once they were In the forest he took off his tattered shirt and put it about her. It formed into a short, baggy, but rather attractive dress, for her exposed legs were firm, her torso slender, and her face, despite the sunburn, lovely.
Soli, mutely curious, opened the package Mines had given her. It contained two keys and a paper with writing on it. She stared.
