The Labyrinth (Ashira)

[Substitute Author]

The fur on Ashira?s next stood on end as the wailing and shrieking reached a new pitch just behind her.  She wheeled around with her teeth bared in anger at being startled into fear, bearing down on the rabbit that clutched his ears and howled.

            ?Rabbit, if your squealing does not stop I will send you to the depths of hell on a one-way trip,? Ashira said, but then he jumped up and ran directly at Sableclaw, bowling her over to run past and down the hall, still screaming his head off.  Ashira swiped at the rat when she had gotten to her feet and left four, bloody tracks on her cheek.  ?You fool,? Ashira shrieked.  ?You were supposed to keep your eye on them!  Now watch the other one and I may not kill you for your lapse.?

            Ashira then turned to stare down the hall, and she could faintly hear the rabbit?s wails mingled with the other mysterious moan emanating from this tunnel.  Longears is running right into the source of the noise, the imbecile, Ashira thought and then pointed a claw down that hall.  ?We follow him!? 

            She broke into a run and hurried down the hall.  When I catch a hold of that stupid rabbit, I will make him beg me to close his eyes forever, she mused as she ran well ahead of the group, her anger at having lost yet another slave spurred her paws.  She took a couple turns by simply listening for his voice, but then it was suddenly silenced.  Ashira halted at the next fork and turned her head carefully to listen down each tunnel.  Odd?why is he no longer screaming?  Did his voice finally tire?  Ashira was never given to premonitions, but fearful shivers ran down her spine and she was fairly certain the rabbit had not ceased his screaming of his own volition. 
            Gingerly she sniffed the air just as the rest of the group caught up to her. 

            ?Ashira,? Silus began but she held up her paw. 
            ?Quiet,? she commanded to him and continued sniffing.  She finally put her nose to the floor and sniffed out his scent.  ?He went left,? she said and started down the path again.
            ?Stop!?  He grabbed her arm before it slipped out of his reach.  Ashira shivered at the touch and glanced down at her arm as if it had fallen off.  He quickly released it and cleared his throat before he continued again, ?The tunnels twist and turn.  We could get lost in here.  We should exercise caution at finding our way back.?
            Ashira scoffed.  ?Nonsense, Silus, I can track our way back. ?Tis no mean feat for me.  What would be a shame, however, is to lose yet more profit from this hellbound adventure.?   Her anger at Jonas had still not abated and she clenched her paws.  If it were not for him, they would not be flailing in this dark, listening to the terrible wails searching for a slave.  To hell with his daughter.  She shouldn?t have wandered here in the first place.  ?If you keep close to me, you won?t get lost,? she said with a sly smile.

            The ferret darted off again, heading down the left path but it wasn?t long before there was a triple fork to halt her progress.  Again, she carefully sniffed out his scent and finally singled it out to move further ahead.  They had been running for some time when Ashira splashed through a puddle that made her halt.  A puddle?  We have not run into any water down here.  She stepped back a couple of paces and then Silus showed up a torch that helped light the substance.  A little puddle of blood gleamed in the torchlight and a couple of bloody footprints from where Ashira had treaded through it.  She wrinkled her snout in distaste and immediately started scuffling her footpaws to remove what little of the blood she could.

            Silus stared down at it in utter disbelief as he held up the torch.  ?He?s dead?  So quickly??   Ashira saw something soaking in it and she gently plucked it out, only to see it was a broken quill.  Such a waste of a quill.  The feather appears to be quite lovely, she thought and then shook her head.
            ?If that rabbit is dead in such a short amount of time, the odds are dear Dyera is not among the living either.  We should abandon her while we still have some dignity,? she grumbled.
            ?You said you caught her scent sometime ago, in the opposite direction of this rabbit.  She could still be alive!  Perhaps she didn?t run into the ?Big Evil,?? Silus said.  Ashira looked at him questioningly and then nodded her head.  He probably does not want to return emptypawed or Jonas might egg him to death.
            Her heart ached to be done with this ridiculous quest so that she could go back and fully realize Jonas? unfortunate demise, yet she simply nodded but not without a grimace of pain.  ?Fine.  We?ll continue looking for the brat.  But if we do not find her before the rations out, luck did not favor her.?

            Silus hesitated for a moment and then he said, ?Agreed.?
            Ashira glanced back at the puddle once more, her curiosity at the rabbit?s fate intrigued her but she preferred to get back to rounding up the living slaves, wherever they were.  Trying to get off this island, if I had to guess.  Which means that they must be on the beach, but where?  No matter, she would not ponder it until she got back to the fort.  Thinking about it now would only incite her to anger, again.

            They backtracked for some time.  While Ashira had been running it had only felt like a short distance, but now it felt like miles to the beleaguered group.  Ashira continued to press on and carefully got back to the tunnel they were originally meant to take to track Dyera.
            Ashira led the way once more with Silus just behind her, providing her light with the torch he held.    Hours passed as they walked until the ferret finally said, ?We break for lunch.?  She leaned in closer to Silus and whispered, ?I would like to speak with you alone.?  She tugged on the sleeve of his tunic, implying he had no choice in the matter and then walked off still with her death grip.

            ?Ashira, what is??  He had no time to finish that sentence for she had pull his head down and kissed him square on the lips.  At first he attempted to pull back, trying to get out of the embrace but then he relaxed.  After another moment Ashira let him go and he stepped back, surreptitiously smoothing his clothes to regain his composure.  Finally he said, ?So this would explain your behavior towards me.?

            ?I am pleased you caught on.  If only you had been a little quicker??  She started to walk away but she had a devious smile on her face.
            ?If you did not play so many games with everyone then I might have taken you seriously earlier,? he said, straightening his back so that he could more easily look down on her. 

            She still continued to smile.  ?And where would be the fun in that?  Now come here!?