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Avso sat next to his father. His father stared at him.
“You did well to protect Uk like that, but you should have acted faster.”
“Yes, father … I had no idea what was happening. What’s wrong with Uk?”
“Nothing, he’s just an immature idiot. The only reason he’s on the team is because he’s the best at boosting Otu.”
“What about the amulet? We didn’t find it.”
“There are other ways to kill the Emperor.”
Avso didn’t like that answer. But there was nothing he could do about it.
“Why couldn’t Ohvocdu just give us the answer to where it was?”
“I don’t know. Now leave me. Go to Kraz’s house.”
Avso nodded and left. As he was walking, he thought of Ohvocdu’s execution.
He had always sung his lessons to Avso. Ohvocdu said it made them more memorable and that he liked singing.
Avso wondered why Ohvocdu had sung before his death; maybe he just liked singing.
But his song didn’t even make sense. It had been about the Guha Labyrinth, where Avso was meant to bring the Emperor. Why would Ohvocdu sing about that?
It didn’t make sense. It—
Wait …
What if?
Avso started running. He ran down the streets to Kraz’s house. When he reached the door, he knocked and bounced on his toes, waiting for someone to come.
Kraz’s wife came to the door. She smiled when she saw him. “Welcome, Murok-blessed. It is an honor to have you in our home today. Please, come in; Kraz is in the lower levels.”
“Thank you,” Avso said. He rushed down the stairs.
When he got to the room, Uk sat on the floor, staring into space, and Kraz and Skamtos talked.
“He needs to hurry up. We don’t have time. We need the soldiers before we attack.”
“I agree, but it’s difficult to find warriors willing to betray their Emperor. He barely was able to convince us.”
“He was barely able to convince you. I always intended to oppose the Emperor.”
Kraz turned to Avso. “Welcome, Avso, let’s get started—”
“I think I know where the amulet is,” Avso blurted out.
Uk stirred and sat up, Skamtos’ eyes narrowed.
“How so?” Kraz asked.
“I think that Ohvocdu left a message in his song. He kept talking about the Guha Labyrinth. What if the amulet’s there?”
“Well … it could be, but why wouldn’t he have just told us?” Kraz said.
“There was no secret message,” Skamtos said. “The old fool went insane and decided to sing a song, that’s all.”
Uk stood up. “No … Maybe Avso’s right.”
“Think about it," Avso said, "you said that the Guha Labyrinth was where the Emperor’s powers would be weakest, right?”
“Yes,” Kraz said.
“And why’s that?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“What if it’s because the Amulet was there? That’s what the Amulet does. It dampens Otu. So what if the Emperor is weakest there because of the Amulet?”
Uk smiled. It was subdued but still there. “You might just be right, Goldy.”
Kraz thought about it. “I trust Ohvocdu. And he seemed like he genuinely did want to help us. He just wanted to know that Murok had blessed the mission.”
“He didn’t want to help us,” Skamtos said. “He was doing everything in his power not to tell us. “
“Wait,” Uk said, “when Avso walked in, Ohvocdu said something like, ‘It’s true, then.’ What if Avso was the sign that Murok had blessed the mission? And then Ohvocdu decided to tell us where it was?”
Kraz nodded. “I say let’s go to the Guha Labyrinth. We need the amulet to win, and it’s the best option.”
Skamtos hesitated. “I’m not sure … But we can try regardless. And if we don’t find anything, we’ll just train there.”
“Then it’s decided,” Kraz said. “Let’s go to the Guha Labyrinth.”
