The Plan Works

"That simple?"

The man shook his head in confusion. He had thought separating them would be an arduous task, but "Hermes" had stupidly leaped into the trap before it was even fully dug. He did not even know how he was supposed to explain the whole sequence of events to his master. "At least the result is good."

This man, who had once been the leader of Sicily's wizards, followed behind Andros and jumped down from the vines.

"Whoosh!"

A shrill whistle tore through his eardrums. The man felt something slam hard into his abdomen, and his falling body lost its balance, swaying wildly in midair. He could not help remembering the afternoon he had left Sicily, and the raging gale far out over the sea.

The tough vine cinched tightly around his waist and snapped taut as the man fell. His body bent downward at an unnatural angle. Bloody froth and fragments of organs were forced out of his mouth by his suddenly constricted esophagus, spreading across his tongue with the fishy stink of entrails mixed with rust. His sharp eyes widened, then turned cloudy. In his daze, he saw Andros hanging from the vines, looking down at him.

"Actually, it's you, Labini."

Andros's voice struck his brain through his ruptured eardrums, stirring his mind into chaos along with the buzzing. There was no longer any confusion in his tone. Though there was some reluctance, his voice was unusually firm. "Ever since we came here, you've been full of curiosity about Pythia. You clearly saw her die with your own eyes, yet you acted as if you had to confirm something. You seemed even less willing than I was to believe the news of Pythia's death."

"I was only trying to..." Labini dredged the last of his awareness from