Page 69 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

Zorina shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “We can save you, we can—”

Caliban coughed, his brown eyes locked on Zorina. “No. Forget me. Forget all I’ve done.”

“But—”

“Go. Live. Be happy. Be loved.” His gaze shifted then to Herrick. “Love her the way I wish I could.”

It was all Herrick could do to give the most-likely-dying man a solemn nod, his hand protectively landing on Zorina’s shoulder. “We should go,” he whispered in her ear.

“But, Caliban—”

“I’ll be fine,” Caliban said with a croaking cough as he peered up at her, humming a gentle tune despite his obvious pain.

Herrick doubted his words, but if the statement would get Zorina to safely leave, he wouldn’t complain about the probable lie.

“With those injuries?” Zorina asked with a deep frown as she assessed Caliban and took his badly damaged hand. “You are not alone. We can get you help—”

Caliban interrupted with a slight shake of his head. “No. I just need to rest. Whatever my fate, I won’t bother you again. Your soul is now free.” He looked at Herrick once more. “Take her and go, before this place falls apart around you.”

With a nod he hoped looked understanding, Herrick shifted to coax Zorina away, but she refused to budge from Caliban’s side, even as the man who’d terrorized them closed his eyes and lay in silence. His breathing, though heavy and strained, was steady.

“He’s right,” Herrick prodded. “We need to leave.”

Zorina bit her lip with a frown. “Will he be all right?”

Herrick furrowed his brow. “Maybe? It’s unclear.”

“Will Caliban…die?” Zorina whispered, an odd mix of grief and horror in her voice.

“I’m…not sure,” he answered honestly. Bits of the ceiling began to rain down on them, and it looked like the room was about to cave in on itself. “But we can’t really stick around to find out.”

“He sacrificed himself…for me?” Wonder laced her tone.

Herrick frowned, still not sure what to think of the crazed mage’s sudden change of mind. “I don’t know. But we need to go. Now.”

Gently raising her up by her hands, Herrick led her to the door she had mentioned before—the one that did not lead back into the maze. Though seeming a bit dazed, Zorina sent dark pink magic at the door, but nothing happened.

She shook her head. “We can’t get out that way. It’s magically sealed to Caliban alone, and he is in no position to be working magic—unless he can heal himself.” With a visible swallow, she met Herrick’s eyes, apprehension dancing in them. “We’ll have to go back through the labyrinth.”

Herrick gritted his teeth at the suggestion. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Chapter twenty-one

Redemption

Zorina

As they reentered the maze, Zorina grimaced at the sight of the blackened ooze that had once been Herrick’s dark double. She sighed in relief that they would not have to face him again, and she desperately hoped that the labyrinth would return to dormancy now that Caliban was no longer a threat.

The crackling sound of magic behind her told her that hope was in vain.

Zorina whirled around to face whatever came their way, only to find…herself.

Or, rather, like both Herrick and Anala had fought in this room previously, a shadowed version of herself with black hair, gray skin, and dark pink eyes to match the sizzling pink and black magic in her palm. Instead of a dress, her replica wore tight black breeches and a fitted black shirt. Black leather straps crossed the bodice with small scabbards filled with sharp-looking knives.

With a quick glance at Herrick, she caught him assessing her duplicate with a critical eye and an arch of his eyebrow. At her glare, he smirked and said, “You look good in breeches.”

She shot him a deadpan look. “That is not me.”