She felt the fabric of the labyrinth jerk under her feet. She stumbled, passing through the doorway. The corridor she’d been expecting was gone, and in its place she’d stepped into a large, square room that looked like some kind of storehouse. There was stuff piled against the walls: a giant mirror in a gilded frame, a pile of winter coats, an armchair lying on its side, trunks and strongboxes piled high or lying open and empty on the floor, even a suit of medieval armor on a wooden stand that looked like it belonged in some European castle. Everything was covered in dust, as though the room had not been used in a long time.

Alice just had time to glance around before Torment came through the doorway behind her, a huge cloud of dust billowing around his feet as he skidded to a stop. He was panting, dark red tongue lolling over his teeth. Slaver and thick, black blood dripped from his jaws.

“Enough,” he growled, so loud that the piles of junk shivered and rattled at the word. “No more doorways. No more hide-and-seek. No more games.”

He stalked forward. Alice slid off to the side, hoping to find room to make a dash past him to continue her flight, but her chest went tight when she looked at the opposite wall. The doorway was gone. She was trapped in a room with no exits, alone with the great black wolf. She reached for the labyrinth-fabric, but Torment’s grip was all around her, pressing down hard, and she didn’t have the strength to fight it.

“This is my place,” Torment said. “My sanctum. My private stash.” He looked around, through the billows of dust. “I suppose I should clean up more often. But it has the advantage that, whatever happens, we will not be interrupted.” His tongue flicked across his teeth. “I want to savor this.”

Alice backed up, looking desperately around in the junk. There has to be something here, something I can use— But she didn’t think Torment would be foolish enough to bring her somewhere with any kind of a weapon. Think, think, think—

The huge wolf pounced, and all other thoughts were forced from her mind. Alice threw herself to one side, dodging the snap of his jaws but ending up on her back in the dust. Before she could get to her feet, he stepped on her chest, pinning her to the ground. He put only a fraction of his weight on it, but the pressure was still enough to make her cry out in pain.

Torment’s muzzle slid into view, topped by his cold, blue eyes.

“You led me on quite a chase, girl,” the labyrinthine said. “If that offers you any comfort.”