“I’ve had . . .” Alice hesitated. “A warning. A sort of feeling, from one of my bound creatures. It says the labyrinth we’re walking into is still active.”

“An active labyrinth?” Garret looked up at the tower, and the maze of passages beyond. “Here?”

“That’s not possible,” Ellen said primly. “Esau’s guardian would have left when he was killed. And an active labyrinth requires a guardian.”

“I hate to say it, but Ellen’s right,” Garret said. “Our masters wouldn’t have sent us here if the labyrinth was still functioning. It’d be suicide.”

Alice shrugged lamely. “I just have a feeling, is all.”

“Maybe some trace of the guardian lingers for a while?” Garret said. “A . . . scent, or something.”

Ellen gave him a withering look. “An active labyrinth is a kind of tightly folded space. It doesn’t have a scent.” She paused, looking reflective. “I suppose there could be some kind of backup power source. That might keep it going for a while, even without a guardian.”

“Maybe,” Garret said. “But regardless, without a guardian, it’s just a harmless set of confusing passageways. All we have to do is find our way through.”

“Still,” Ellen said. “We should be careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

Garret addressed the rest of the group. “All right, in we go. Ellen and I out front, Dex bringing up the rear. Stick close together.”

“Which way are we going?” Ellen said, eyeing the room inside the tower. There were no other doorways on this level, only the staircase leading up and down.

“Up,” Garret declared confidently. “I saw a bridge near the top. We should get as high as possible, it’ll be easier to see where we’re going.”

And a longer fall, Alice thought, but she didn’t argue. She hadn’t really expected Garret to turn back, and in all honesty she wasn’t sure they ought to. He has a point, after all. Geryon wouldn’t have sent me here if it were as dangerous as the Dragon thinks. And Ending would have warned me. But something about Garret’s attitude made her uncomfortable. He’s too . . . confident. Her own explorations of Geryon’s library had taught her to never be too certain of her assumptions.

In single file, the apprentices passed through the doorway and into the tower, giving the pile of books a wide berth. Soranna maintained her place beside Alice, while Isaac stayed as far behind her as he could, huddled inside his trench coat as though he’d much rather be anywhere else. Garret led the way up the stairs, big stone things dished in the middle by centuries of wear, and they began to climb.