Page 9 - My FlipBook

THE RED LABYRINTH

marches toward them. “Delilah Anne, I swear to the Leader,
if you’re within ten feet of that maze . . .”
The kids both stiffen at once. “Go, go, go,” Delilah whis-
pers, pushing the boy back toward the crowd and away from
the labyrinth.
I slink back into the shadows before the angry woman can
see me. A slight smile twitches across my face. It’s nice talking
to people who don’t immediately hurl insults at me, even if
they are little kids. And really, they’re lucky I was here. I’m not

sure whose bright idea it was not to station guards outside the
labyrinth entrance for the festival. If Dex was going to creep
out of the maze and steal his next victim, this would be an
opportune time, with everyone drinking too much grog and
wandering around the Square.
I shiver thinking about it. With a quick glance left to right,
I hustle back to where Ma stands, still examining the expensive
crystals. “Can we keep walking?”
Ma puts the string of shiny beads back on their tray.
“Where do you want to go?” She wraps a brown cloth around
her head, protecting her neck and face from the desert sun
burning in a sea of blue above us. Almost everyone around us
wears either a scarf or a floppy hat, as the Leader picked the

hottest hours of the day for this. My insides are practically
boiling in my brown leather jacket, but it’s better than frying
my skin in the sun. Dry heat smothers my face like a blanket.
“Want to check out Court Jentry’s stand?” she continues, even
though I’m only half listening. “Maybe he’ll cut a bargain on
that cured meat you love so much.”
My fingers jitter against my thighs. “Maybe, yeah. Sure.”

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