CHAPTER#92

"Naia?" Beth stepped toward the back door of the home to get a better look at the figure, then clasped a hand tightly across her mouth to hold in a scream.

The statue standing by the fountain's edge had a look of surprise on her face, her hair flared back as if a breeze had been running through it. One hand was outstretched, fingers spread as if trying to stop a ball.

It was Naia. Stunned, Beth gazed at her for several seconds, uncertain of what to say or do. Asterion now held the axe tightly in both hands, his intense gaze sweeping across the backyard. Beth's heart slammed against the inside of her chest, and she touched Naia's hand.

"What could have done this?" she asked.

Asterion shook his head. "I do not know."

Another loud bang kept from the front of the house. Beth grabbed Asterion by the wrist and pulled him toward the house. Once inside, the sounds were muffled, but loud enough that she could tell they came from out front. Grateful for the warmth of the home, she was nearly at the front window for a look outside when the front door opened.

Tink and Reggie went flying across the front room and crashed near the bottom of the stairs.

"Run!" Sofia yelled, then the door slammed behind her. Tink stood up and adjusted her goggles over her eyes.

"Tink, what's happening?" Beth asked.

"Bad lady!" Tink picked up Reggie by the scruff of his neck and pushed him up the stairs. "Tink saw, turn other rats to stone." Outside the door, the sound of clashing steel echoed through the window.

Beth tried to look through the window, but Tink slammed her club into the floor, drawing her attention back.

"No look, or turn to stone." She pulled Beth away from the glass and then went back, eyes closed, to pull Jenny out of her dollhouse. "We run, find husband, he fix everything."

"How is Mike going to fix this?" She could hear voices through the door.

"Husband fix. Husband always fix." The look Tink gave her left no room for argument. Tink believed in Mike. There was room for nothing else in her heart. "Run for rat halls."

"No." Reggie stood on the stairs, his tail whipping back and forth. "We must lead her away from my people. We cannot risk them being turned to stone."

"We should return to the Labyrinth," Asterion said, wary eyes on the front door. "It is the safest place for us."

Reggie nodded, and Beth agreed. Asterion's knowledge of the Labyrinth would keep them safe. They ran up the stairs together, stopping briefly for Reggie to tell a pair of rats to lock up the tunnels. At the top of the stairs, they ran into Carmina. The fairy followed, and they were in Beth's room when they heard the front door of the house open.

"Move!" Asterion pushed them all to the closet, then grabbed the bed and shoved it up against the door. They ran together, Carmina lighting the way ahead. They were near the end of the tunnel when they heard a loud crash behind them.

Asterion's thick arm circled Beth's waist and he jumped down the steep incline of the switchback trail. Tink and Reggie followed, the air filled with the sound of rocks tumbling around them. With every landing, Beth felt the air pressed out of her lungs, her heart jumping into her throat. Her skirt billowed up on one jump, exposing her bare ass to the others.

She thought she heard Tink giggle, but it was hard to tell.

Once at the bottom, the minotaur set her down and they all moved toward the thick door of the Labyrinth. Beth cast a wary eye at the reflecting pool, hoping that Oliver didn't have a way to jump out and ambush them somehow. She noticed that Asterion kept himself between her and the pool, and she was grateful for it.

"Bad lady!" Tink suddenly cried, and Beth looked over her shoulder. Frost was forming at the top of the hill around a figure in white who emerged from the cave. Beth spun around, suddenly frightened that she might get turned to stone. The large doors of the Labyrinth were in reach, and Asterion stood on the pressure plate, causing the doors to open.

In the air around them, giant swords appeared out of nowhere, swirling around them like leaves in a storm. They slammed into the ground, attempting to pin them in place, but Asterion smashed them out of the way with his axe, the group following close behind him.

Just inside the door, several rats were surprised to see everybody come running in, but joined along when they realized that Reggie was there too. The doors slammed shut behind them, and Asterion led them down one of the long corridors, guiding them past a tripwire and into a hidden tunnel. He slowed down just enough to make sure that everyone could keep up, and soon they were traveling a narrow underground tunnel that Beth knew from experience took them to Ratu's lair.

Behind them, the Labyrinth was silent.

Asterion had them wait in a hidden cave, disappearing back the way they had come. Beth finally felt like she could breathe again, and Tink sat on the floor, her face twisted into a sour expression.

"What happened up there?" Beth asked.

"Not too sure. Fox Lady and Stone Butt get into big fight. Tink go and watch. Stone Butt frozen in big ice, then fox come at Tink. Tink brave, but One Eye throw Tink and Rat King into house. Tink see other rats turn to stone through window." She let out a deep breath. "Husband in big trouble this time."

Beth wondered what special nickname Tink had for her. "Where is Mike? Is he back yet?"

"Tink don't know, but Tink can find."

"How? Didn't he leave through a magic door or something?"