The minotaur doesn’t drop to all fours. He doesn’t bother to pick up the axe. He lowers his head, aims the horns right at us, and accelerates.

  The crevice does not pass through to anything. After a few tight steps in, it becomes an impasse. Dead end.

  That’s a really, really bad phrase.

  I try to draw my dagger. Dammit. I’m Sadie. This is a toga—no knives!

  Bullboy gets to the entrance to our hidey-hole. He reaches in. His wrist is thicker than my waist, but he can’t reach as we squish to the far end. The walls are uneven, and he can’t figure out how to navigate that massive arm. I can hear Jes yelling, trying to pull his attention away. But I’m the marked one, which means he’s just after me. Even though I’m not me.

  The minotaur is pissed and tries to use both hands to spread the crevice wider like a curtain. Bits of rock break away under his grip, and for just a second I think he might be able to do it.

  “Turn around, jackass,” Jes is screaming. “I’m right behind you.”

  The black, taloned hand scrapes the walls, trying to slice us. We could reach out and touch him if we wanted.

  “Five!” Jes shouts. Not the most effective taunt.

  “Four!”

  Oh no.

  “Three! Dom I can’t pull him away!”

  She’s been counting the thirty seconds until he goes into super berserk mode. She had the foresight to count it out the first time she saw him before we met. If he shrinks, he can stuff himself in here with us and we’re shredded. The claw retreats, literally shrinking away.

  He turns his head sideways so his horns don’t get caught and sidesteps into the crevice.

  We hit the glyph on our forehead. There was no instruction manual, but there’s an instinct that kicks in. A weird, electric wind washes over us and then we’re looking at Jes firing arrows in front of us, into the minotaur who has wedged himself into the slot in the wall.

  Baco zips by, his hooves a drumroll of dirt and dust. Jes is shooting high and Baco lowers his head, ramming his spiked helm into the minotaur’s calf, just inside the crevice.

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  The brigadier has scored a solid hit. He starts goring, slamming his tusks into the minotaur’s leg over and over. I’ve been on the receiving end of that attack and it is not fun. There are thick sprays of minotaur blood on each repeated impact, complete with wet thudding sounds.

  He’s vulnerable after he shrinks!

  “Hit him hard,” I scream. It’s as disturbing as anything that I scream that in Sadie’s voice.

  The minotaur turns from the empty crevice and smacks Baco in the face, sending him sliding away. He sees me and there’s a snarl of recognition on his bull lips. Baco’s helmet is covered in blood, but I’m ninety percent sure it’s from the minotaur’s leg. He runs for his huge axe.

  “No,” Jes barks, and an arrow lodges in the back of the minotaur’s reaching hand. He yanks the arrow out with a roar and snaps it in one hand. We’re clearly doing some damage now.

  “Nice shot,” we call.

  “Ammo out,” Jes announces, drawing her axe from her back. The minotaur gets his axe from the ground at the same time.

  “How long before he can get huge again?” we ask. I’m not sure if I’m asking Jes or Sadie, but if Sadie knows the answer, just thinking it won’t help.

  “Few minutes, if it’s like when I first saw him,” Jes says. She runs at the minotaur, swinging her axe. The monster sidesteps. He’s agile for something so bulky. He charges right at us.

  “Changing lanes to Baco,” I scream.

  INTO. LEG.

  Baco is thinking and we are mid charge. We lower our head, aiming the spikes on the top of the helmet for the unwounded leg. Wham. It doesn’t even hurt. Baco’s head is an extremely effective blunt weapon.

  BLUNT. WEAPON. HEAD.

  Yes, Baco. Good boy.

  The minotaur yowls in pain and looks at us. He then takes a step toward Sadie but stops. Instead, he squares off and charges straight at us, golden axe held high over head.

  He knows where I am.

  WHERE THAT?

  Don’t worry about it, Baco.

  I’m back in Sadie and running away from Baco, past Jes. Each time I switch, The minotaur pauses precious seconds to give us a moment’s edge. I give a quick glance back and throw up a middle finger while I’m at it. The minotaur is clearly confused. I’m the mark, Sadie’s the mark, Baco’s the mark. It’s the indecision we tried to create with our three-pronged assault earlier, but in a far more bizarre metaphysical game of hide and seek.

  “I think he’s tracking your psyche,” Sadie pants as we run. “He seems to know where the Essence of Dom is.”

  Jes rushes laterally, attacking the minotaur’s side as he hurtles toward us. She gives a war cry and the blade of her axe draws a nasty gash in the minotaur’s hip. I don’t know how long we have, but we need to keep piling on the damage while we can.

  Jes ends up next to Baco. She’s casting, but it’s not the last invisibility she was holding in reserve. She must have just gotten some power back. She’s sweating and panting, so I’m guessing she’s used her spell points and is taking hits to vitality.

  Before we’re in axe range, I’m back in Baco.

  STRONGER!

  He’s right, Jes did something. We charge. I swear that Baco’s tusks are longer and more cruelly curved. There might even be a few extra ones poking out of the corners of our mouth.

  The impact is something to behold. Taking the full force of the blow to the top of our armored head, the minotaur is sent into a gorgeous cartwheel over us. He slams to the ground. Jes punches her cestus spikes into one of his shoulders. He smacks her away, sending her tumbling, but the spikes pull an impressive rainbow of blood from him into the air. Already on the ground, he rolls into the all-fours charge position and heads straight at us.