11. Minotaur Madness

Crete

	“Come on boys,” Carlos told his thugs as the last light of 
the setting sun faded and plunged the cloudy sky into complete 
darkness.  The three of them donned their night vision goggles 
and made off toward the mammoth door.  The pace was slow so they 
wouldn’t alert the people in the tent to their presence, but they 
eventually made it to the door.
	“Open it,” Carlos commanded.  The smaller, bulkier one pushed 
gently on the door and it eased open.  “I guess when the lock is 
open, the door works easily.  Let’s go.”

***

	Ryan opened the tent flap and stepped out into the crisp 
morning air.  Scott, Spider, and Dierdre were still asleep, but 
Sean was up and rummaging through the sled bags.
	“What’s up?” Ryan asked, trying to force a more common 
dialect to come from his lips.
	“We’re not alone here,” Sean said.
	“What?” Ryan exclaimed.
	“There are tracks leading from that hill over there down to 
the door, and the door is wide open.  Whoever they are, they were 
either too clumsy to cover their tracks, or they didn’t think it 
was necessary.”
	“So what are you doing?”
	“Getting the weapons ready and operational, but I’m beginning 
to think that they took them.  I can’t find anything in 
here...except this,” he said with a bit of surprise.  He pulled 
the Stingray out of one of the bags and tossed it to Ryan.  “I 
guess it looks too much like a hair dryer,” he said with a laugh.  
“At least one of us will be armed.”
	“What do you think they want?”
	“Treasure.  I’d say we’re dealing with pirates.”
	“Like you.”
	Sean turned sharply and gave Ryan a piercing glare.  “Don’t 
ever call me a pirate,” he hissed.  “I’m a thief.  I take what I 
want, but with stealth and cunning.  If anyone sees me doing it, 
I have failed.  A pirate will take things from you right in front 
of your face.  If you try to stop them, they will kill you.  A 
thief will run, or escape later when you’re not looking.”
	“So you have never hurt anyone?”
	“Not while working.  I’ve had my share of fights, but they 
weren’t during heists.  Let me guess, you’ve never been in a 
fight before.  It would be just like my brother to hire a 
pacifist to protect us.”
	“Taking things without hurting people is your job, protecting 
people is mine.  Don’t worry, your brother hired the right man,” 
Ryan said confidently.
	“Oh great, you’re a cop,” Spider said quietly enough not to 
wake the two sleepers in the tent she was emerging from.
	Ryan grinned.  “No, I am not.”
	“Then what are you?” Sean asked.  Ryan couldn’t answer.  He 
looked to Spider with wide eyes, who raised an eyebrow at him.
	“Drop it, Sean,” she said with a calm voice.
	“All right,” he said quickly.
	“Pirates?” Spider asked.
	“Yes,” Sean said.  “They’re in the Labyrinth.”
	“I saw them yesterday,” Spider said, “three of them, on the 
way here.  I didn’t think we’d have to deal with them until we 
were done and on our way back.”
	“Three?” Ryan asked.  “A greasy man and two thugs?”
	“You know them?”
	“Scott and I ran into them yesterday.  They must have 
followed us here.”
	“My question,” Spider asked, “is how do they know about all 
of this in the first place.”
	“I don’t know,” Ryan said sternly, “but I know who does.”  He 
turned and walked to the tent, followed by Sean and Spider.
	“Wake up, now,” Ryan commended.
	“What’s going on?” Scott asked groggily.
	“That’s what we are going to find out,” Ryan stated.  
“Dierdre, wake up.”  As she opened her eyes, Ryan immediately 
began.  “Who is he?”
	“Who is who?” she groaned.
	“Short skinny guy with a goatee, looks like he hasn’t bathed 
in a few months.  Who is he?”
	“The guy we met yesterday?” Scott asked.
	“Yes,” Ryan said.  “He knew you, Dierdre.  He followed us 
here with two thugs and he’s in the Labyrinth.  They have all of 
the weapons but the Stingray and they will probably try to kill 
us.  Now I ask you again: who is he?”
	“Carlos came back?” Dierdre gasped with starry eyes.
	“Hello,” Spider said.  “Perhaps you didn’t hear the first 
time, but he’s going to try to kill us.”
	“Oh no, he wouldn’t do that,” Dierdre said in a dismissive 
tone.  “Carlos is as gentle as a puppy.  He’s my partner and my 
boyfriend.  He wouldn’t kill me.”
	“And why didn’t you tell me about him when you came to me for 
help?” Scott asked.
	“I thought he’d left me,” she said, “but he’s back now and we 
can go back to the way things were.”
	“Answer my question,” Scott said.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”
	“Because he wasn’t an issue.  He left a month ago when we 
were digging here without any results.  He said that I was a 
‘crazy woman with dreams of finding imaginary places.’”
	“And he’s back now that you’ve found what you were looking 
for in order to claim the prize,” Spider concluded.  “What a 
catch.”
	“No, silly,” Dierdre said.  “He’s back to help me and to mend 
things between us.
	“I believe you,” Spider said with a sincere tone.  She looked 
like something popper into her head.  “Dierdre, could you get my 
skillet from the bags?” she asked.  “If you do, I promise I’ll 
make breakfast.”
	“Today just keeps getting better,” Dierdre said as she opened 
the tent flap and walked out into the clear cold morning.
	“She’s nuts,” Spider whispered.
	“Do you think so,” Scott asked.
	“Not completely, but as far as this Carlos is concerned, 
there will be no reasoning with her.  I’d recommend leaving her 
here while we go in and face him if we didn’t need her to find 
our way through.  As it is, we’re going to have to watch her or 
she’ll betray us to him.”
	“I have to agree with Spider,” Ryan said.  “Dierdre has made 
up her mind about Carlos, and nothing we can do will change it.  
What’s wrong, Scott?”
	Scott refocused his eyes and looked back at Ryan from staring 
at the tent wall.  “What?  Sorry, I was somewhere else.”
	“We have Scott to factor in as well,” Ryan said to Spider and 
Sean.  “He has a crush on her - not too big, I hope - but he 
might hesitate she turns against us.”
	“I won’t...I don’t,” Scott stammered.
	“You do have a crush on her,” Ryan said.  “It is not your 
fault.  We just have to add that to our list of factors.”
	“She’s a lunatic,” Scott said.  “Why would I have a crush on 
that.”
	“If you keep repeating that, hopefully you will convince 
yourself of it and we will not have to worry about you.”
	“Shut up,” Scott snapped, then looked at Ryan with wide eyes 
and an open mouth.  “I’m so sorry.  I...I didn’t mean it.  Please 
forgive me.  I promise I will never speak down to you again.”  
Ryan caught him by the elbow and pulled him to standing just 
before Scott could fall to his knees.
	“Quiet,” Ryan hissed, “we’re not alone here.”
	“Are you two...?” Sean began.
	“Are we what?” Ryan asked.
	“You know,” Sean said.
	“No, I don’t.”
	“Oh I don’t have time for this,” Spider said.  “Sean wants to 
know if you and Scott are a couple.”
	Ryan released Scott’s arm and backed away quickly.  “No way,” 
Ryan blurted.  “I’m not like that.”
	“Come on,” Scott said to Sean.  “Didn’t we just establish 
that I have a crush on Dierdre?”
	“Oh yeah,” Sean said.  “I forgot.  It’s just the way that you 
were fawning over him - I was a little concerned.”
	“Concerned?” Spider asked.
	“That my brother might be one of those people.”
	“I happen to have several friends who are ‘those people,’” 
Spider stated.
	“Who?”
	“The Fatellis for instance.”
	“The Fatelli Brothers are gay?”
	“They’re not brothers,” Spider said, “they’re married.  Sean 
winced.  “If you’re going to date me, you’re going to have to 
outgrow that antiquated notion of yours that there’s anything 
wrong with being attracted to your own sex.  There are so many 
good reasons to hate people other than common prejudice.”
	Sean’s eyes bulged.  He opened his mouth to give a retort, 
but Ryan put a halt to it.
	“Enough!” he commanded.  “Both of you sit down and stop this 
arguing.  We have other things to do right now.”  Spider, Sean, 
and Scott all dropped to the floor and sat with a mixture of 
fear, awe, and adulation on their faces.  “We have a murderous 
archaeologist and two hired thugs to worry about, all of which 
have our weapons, I might add, and you two are fighting over 
ideologies.  Why I was cursed with such incompetent people, I’ll 
never understand, and oh my god, I’m turning into my father.”  
Ryan placed his hand to his head and joined the others in 
sitting.
	“Ryan’s right,” Spider said.  “I think we should go in there 
and take them out, one by one.”
	“Not my style,” Sean said.  “I won’t hurt or kill them if I 
don’t have to.  I think we should do unto them as they were 
planning to do unto us.  We wait out here and and take the 
treasure from them - while their backs are turned of course.”
	“I say we go in there and beat them to the treasure,” Scott 
said.  “They have the head start, but we have Dierdre.”
	“I would agree with that,” Ryan said, “if Carlos wasn’t 
Dierdre’s partner.  Chances are he can navigate the Labyrinth as 
well as Dierdre.  I am not going to go in there and kill people 
either.  My job is to protect them, even scum like Carlos, not 
hurt them.  Sean, your plan would work well if we all had your 
talent, but we would slow you down if we tried it.”
	“What do you suggest, Ryan?” Spider asked in a surprisingly 
non-confrontational tone.
	“I have to confess something before I tell you my plan: I 
opened the door yesterday, which is how they got in.”
	“How?” Sean asked.
	“I cannot tell you,” Ryan said.  “It is one of my secrets.  
Anyway, When it opened, I smelled some rather fresh excrement 
inside.  Something is alive in there, and I have a hunch that it 
is our Minotaur.”
	“How could it be alive after three thousand years?” Scott 
asked.
	“The same way the poison on the door was still fresh: magic,” 
Spider told him.  “Remind me never to hire you as a detective.”
	“Either that,” Ryan said, “or a descendant, in which case, 
there may be several minotaurs in there.  Either way, I have to 
go in there and rescue those three, pirates or not.  Whatever you 
guys decide to do, I must go, and soon.  I know Dierdre will help 
me.”
	“So will I,” Scott said.  “I don’t know what I can do, but I 
will try.”
	“What about you two?” Ryan asked.  “We still have the traps 
to get past.”
	“We came here to get the treasure,” Spider stated, “not to 
rescue some homicidal thief and his goons from an ancient beast.  
Sean and I will find the treasure on our own.”
	“Spider,” Sean said, “let’s not be impatient.  We stand a 
much better chance of cashing in if we have Dierdre to help us.  
I think we should stay with them and do this little rescue job so 
we can get to work the way we intended to in the first place when 
we’re done.”
	“I hate it when you’re the sensible one,” Spider said.
	“Are you sure you packed a pan?” Dierdre asked as she walked 
into the tent empty handed.  “I looked and looked and couldn’t 
find anything to cook with at all.”
	“I guess I forgot it,” Spider said.
	“Dierdre,” Ryan said, “we have to go now.  Carlos may be in 
serious danger in there and we have to go save him.”
	Her eyes widened and she immediately began nodding her head.  
“Of course,” she said.  “If he’s in danger, we must help him.”
	Ryan said nothing more, but began to pack the supplies he had 
used during the night.  The others followed without words and 
soon they were all at the doors.
	“Are you ready?” Ryan asked.  They all nodded.  “Dierdre, 
lead the way,” he commanded.
	Dierdre pushed the door and immediately the stench of feces 
assaulted their nostrils.  With their flashlights, they stepped 
lightly and avoided the piles of spoor large enough to have been 
made by a human.  Not only was there stool on the floor, but 
there was also garbage: piles and piles of food scraps and bits 
of hand worked debris.  Whatever was living down here, the long 
unused entrance was their dump.
	Dierdre sighed loudly.
	“What’s wrong?” Ryan asked.
	“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied.  “Carlos remembered the way 
we discussed exploring this place is all.”  She pointed her light 
at the floor where a string was laid which led off down one of 
the corridors and around a corner.  “He’s my little Theseus,” she 
added proudly.”
	“Ryan,” Sean whispered as Dierdre began following the string 
with Scott close on her heels.  Ryan looked where Sean pointed 
with his flashlight.  Illuminated by the beam was a dead 
Minotaur, the size of an adolescent.  The burns on its back were 
definitely from an energy weapon.
	“What do you think this means?” Spider asked, once again 
asking Ryan for his opinion in earnest.
	“It could mean that that little guy was attacking the three 
of them,” Ryan said, “but I can’t believe that.  Carlos’ two men 
were huge and all three of them were armed.  For a monster, that 
Minotaur is frightfully small, and it was shot in the back.  I 
think it was trying to escape.”
	“I’m guessing,” Sean said, “that this means our bad guy is 
once again the bad guy.”
	“And the rescuee has changed,” Ryan added.
	“How so?” Spider asked.  “The Minotaur is dead.  Who would we 
rescue.”
	Ryan answered by pointing his flashlight down a different 
corridor and illuminating the faces of two more young Minotaurs.  
Their skin, like the corpse, was the pale white of cave dwelling 
creatures and their horns were small, like they were just growing 
in.  Their faces were human, though.  Only the horns and hooved 
legs suggested that they were other than human.  Ryan placed all 
of his equipment on the floor, held out his hands, and took a 
step toward them in a gesture of peace.
	“We don’t want to hurt you,” he said gently.  “We are not 
with those men who killed your friend.  We want to protect you 
from them.”
	One of them made a bleating noise and stepped out into full 
view.  “Do you really understand what I am saying to you?” Ryan 
asked skeptically and almost to himself.  “Or are you responding 
to why actions?”
	It looked toward the other corridor and retreated a step.  
Ryan turned to see Dierdre and Scott returning.  “We saw that you 
weren’t with us and we came back to...” Dierdre stopped as soon 
as she saw the Minotaur.  “I never expected...” she said softly, 
trailing off in amazement.
	The Minotaur stepped back into the light and spoke, but it 
was nothing he could understand.  Its voice was gravely, but in a 
higher register than Ryan expected to hear.
	Dierdre gasped.
	“What is it?” Ryan asked.
	“If I’m understanding the ancient Greek correctly,” Dierdre 
said, “she said, roughly, ‘I will give myself to you if you will 
spare my sisters life.’”
	“Tell her that we mean her and her sister no harm.  We are 
here to keep the safe from the ones who killed her friend,” Ryan 
told her.
	Dierdre said something in the same strange tones the Minotaur 
had used and was answered promptly.  “She says that those men 
killed her beloved.  What does she mean by that?”
	“Show her, Sean,” Ryan said.  Sean pointed the body out to 
Dierdre with his flashlight.
	Dierdre cried out and exclaimed, “we have to go save Carlos 
from the men who did this!”
	“Carlos did this, you nut,” Spider snapped.  “Can’t you see 
now that he’s the bad guy?”  Spider clenched her fist and said 
with anger as she stared at the body, “he needs to be stopped.”
	Ryan couldn’t believe his ears.  Was that really Spider 
advocating compassion and heroism?  This sudden bout of altruism, 
though unlike her, seemed more natural than her usual standoffish 
personality.
	“I can’t believe he would do such a thing,” Dierdre moaned.  
“That poor boy looks so innocent, so young.”
	“Translate for me,” Ryan told her.  She nodded and he began, 
with her translating his words into ancient Greek almost as soon 
as he said them.  “The men who came here are after the treasure 
that is rumored to be in this labyrinth.  Their greed is 
limitless and they will stop at nothing to get it.  If you know 
where it is, take us there quickly so we can prepare to catch 
him.”
	The Minotaur looked at her sister, who nodded approval, then 
spoke briefly.  “She says to follow them,” Dierdre said.  
	The Minotaur spoke again and Dierdre translated.  “She also 
says to turn off your lights.  There is enough light coming from 
the glow-moss that you will be able to see in a few minutes.  
Your lights are blinding to their people.”
	“Ask her how many of them there are,” Ryan said.
	“In her enclave, there are thirty-seven,” Dierdre translated, 
“but we’re going to the main city, where there are several...did 
she just say thousand?”
	“You mean to tell me that there is a whole civilization down 
here?” Ryan said.  “That is incredible.  Tell her that we will do 
whatever we can to keep her people safe from harm.”
	“She thanks you for your generosity,” Dierdre said.  “She 
says that she had always been afraid of humans from the ancient 
tales of monsters from above they were told as children.  Now she 
knows that, like her kind, there are good and bad people.”
	The Minotaur reached for Ryan’s hand and scrutinized it 
closely.  “She says that your people are lucky to be ruled by one 
as kind as yourself.”
	“But I don’t rule anyone,” Ryan said, feeling trapped 
suddenly.
	“She says it had to have been you who opened the Door of 
Kings.  Your bearing is regal and you command us benevolently.”
	“Tell her she’s wrong,” Ryan pleaded.
	“I did, but she said that I’m either commanded to say that, 
or that you’ve disguised yourself and have us fooled,” Dierdre 
said, giving Ryan a piercing gaze.  Scott was the only one of his 
companions who was looking at him as if he had just sprouted 
wings.
	Spider turned on her flashlight and blinded Ryan with it.  
“How could I have been so stupid,” she exclaimed.  “I guess the 
rumors of your death were exaggerated.  The way Scott treated you 
back there in the tent...and the powers mean that...and the 
wanting to help people...and he picked you to help us...he knew 
it all and kept it a secret.  I have a whole new respect for you, 
Scott.”
	“What’s going on?” Sean asked.
	“I’ll explain it to you later,” Spider said.
	The Minotaur and her sister were laughing.  “Froya, the 
younger one, says that she wouldn’t have been so scared of all 
the stories if she had known how funny humans really were.  
Pseira says this is like a butchered fairy tale.”
	“I’m glad they’re amused,” Ryan said.  “I can see now, so we 
can go to the treasure now.”
	“Pseira says, ‘yes, your Highness.”
	“Ryan is a king?” Sean asked.
	“He must be great in bed,” Dierdre said to Spider, and both 
of them laughed.  Sean smiled, taking it as a compliment.  Ryan 
shook his head and smiled.
	They followed Pseira and Froya for hours until they came to a 
large open space.  At once, Ryan was glad that he wasn’t relying 
on his flashlight.  The single, small beam wouldn’t have been 
able to capture a micron of the splendor before him.  They were 
standing on a rise, above a city that shone, even in the dim 
light from the glow-moss.  The buildings were made of giant 
glittering shells, spiraling upward to points.
	“This is beyond cool,” Sean said.
	Pseira led them to the largest building - a collection of 
shells with delicate and graceful arches connecting them in an 
intricate lattice of walkways.  To call the building majestic 
would have been an understatement.  Ryan was awe struck.  The 
next thing he knew, he was standing in a large hall, lit 
internally by some of the more luminescent glow-moss, manicured 
into designs and patterns on the walls.  Before him stood a 
handsome king with the traits of the Minotaur and the dress of 
royalty.  Ryan bowed on instinct.
	“You are now in the court of King Cornus,” Dierdre repeated, 
but Ryan had understood the squire who announced it.
	“Young Pseira tells me that you opened the Door of Kings and 
sent three of your people to enter to murder our young,” the King 
said.
	“You speak English,” Ryan said in shock.
	“The magic of Daedalus has been adjusted to compensate for 
our language differences,” Cornus said.  “It was not complicated 
using the knowledge of your translator.  Now what of the story 
Pseira tells me?”
	“I did open the Door of Kings,” Ryan said, “but I did not 
send the three men.  I did not even know they were near.  I have 
told Pseira, as I am pledging to you now: I vow to capture those 
three men and bring them to justice for what they have done.”
	“You speak well,” King Cornus said, “even at your young age, 
and your courage and honesty speak well for you.  Your diplomatic 
skills say that you will make a fine king when you grow up.”
	“I thank you, your Majesty,” Ryan said, bowing, “but I will 
never be a king.  I am Second Son to my father.”
	“Second Son is an important role as well.  Do not lose heart.  
I almost did when I was your age.”
	“You were Second Son?”
	“Yes,” the King replied, “but my brother and father were 
killed in the plague that ravaged our kingdom twenty years ago.  
I was here to keep the kingdom from falling apart.”
	“But surely you must admit that, when one’s sole function is 
that of the kingdom’s security blanket, one can become 
dissatisfied rather quickly.”
	“Second Son has other functions,” Cornus said.  “He can be 
married off to unite kingdoms and form alliances.  He can also 
function as a diplomat.  Second Son is a peace-keeping force as 
well as a kingdom’s insurance.”
	“Right now, your Majesty,” Ryan said, “my duty is to keep 
your people safe from the three rogues who want your treasures.”
	“Our treasures are too powerful to give to bandits.  The 
magic here is strong, and it is absorbed by other magical items.  
Those items have become so powerful that they can only be used in 
dire circumstances.  If these rogues get hold of them, they could 
level your kingdom.”
	“I have magic of my own,” Ryan said.  “Take me to the 
treasure room and I will protect it.”
	“Come with me, young prince,” Cornus said.  “We will protect 
the treasures together.”
	Cornus led Ryan and his friends through the palace and into a 
large room filled with gold and jewels.  In the middle sat a 
table with a large selection of carefully organized and labeled 
displayed on its surface.  
	“We like to know exactly what we have and what it can do,” 
Cornus told him, picking up a pink stick with a gold crescent 
moon on the end.  “We did have help with this one though.  The 
ghost of an ancient queen gave this to me when the plague was 
ravaging our people.  She said I could use it to heal, though the 
power was weak.  My father and brother were already dead, but the 
crescent moon wand cured everyone who was still alive.  The queen 
told me that this wand had belonged to her daughter, but she had 
long since received more powerful magic, making this wand 
obsolete.  Since then, it has been absorbing magic here and now 
has the power to stun a person.”
	“Oh good,” Ryan said.  “I am pleased you do not intend to 
kill the pirates.”
	“This wand is an item of purity and light.  It cannot kill, 
no matter how much magic it acquires.  Besides, I do not believe 
in taking a life to pay for another life; it would make me no 
better than the criminal.”
	“Highly commendable, your Majesty,” Ryan said.
	“Yes, highly commendable,” came a mocking voice from above.  
Carlos and his two thugs dropped ropes from the rafters and 
scaled down into the room, keeping their weapons aimed at the 
king.  “I am so glad to hear that you don’t have a weapon to kill 
us with.  Now I can just take your treasures and walk out of 
here.”
	“I can still stun and imprison you,” Cornus said.
	“And the second you try, my boys will open fire on you and 
your new friends.  I know for a fact that they don’t have any 
weapons - my boys saw to that last night.”  Carlos took some 
sacks out of his pack and tossed them at the King.  “Load them 
with jewels,” he ordered, “all of you.”
	“You don’t know who you’re messing with, Carlos,” Scott said.
	“What?  Are you going to ‘mess me up’ with some ‘bad ass 
moves?’  Come on now.  I have weapons and you don’t.  Get to 
work.”
	“Do what he says,” Ryan said.  “He’s right, you can’t stop 
him.  Saggitarius Power, Make-Up!”  Ryan transformed into Senshi 
Saggitarius, awing everyone in the room.  “But I can,” he added.
	Carlos, trembling, said, “kill him, boys,” but got no 
reaction.  “I said take care of him, now!”
	“No way, boss,” the taller one said.  “I saw him on TV.”
	“Yeah,” the other one confirmed, “I don’t wanna end up a pile 
of dust.”  He and his partner set their rifles on the floor.
	“Now, your majesty,” Senshi Saggitarius said.
	“Moon healing embrace,” Cornus said in a faraway voice as he 
pointed the wand at Carlos.  Glowing rings of light were emitted 
by it, which settled over the pirate and gently held him.
	“Who shot the young Minotaur by the door?” Saggitarius asked.
	“I did,” the shorter thug said quietly, “like Carlos told me 
to do.”
	“King Cornus, what does your law say we should do with these 
men?”
	“For threatening the king’s life: thirty years in prison.  
However, the fact that these two were under orders will probably 
cut their time in half, and their peaceful surrender will 
probably only mean a year or two if they behave themselves.  Of 
course, the one who killed the boy in cold blood will be 
sentenced to life, but the same considerations will be taken.  I 
say he will be free in twenty to thirty years.  Carlos faces life 
at the very least.”
	Cornus took Senshi Saggitarius to the side and began talking 
quietly.  “These two men were hired, weren’t they?”
	“Yes,” Carlos is the real problem.
	“Then if you have no objection, I will have my captain of the 
guards talk to them about joining.  They seem to take orders well 
enough unless they are outmatched.”
	“I have no objection to that.  What will you do about 
Carlos?”
	“Exactly what I said.  Our prison guards are very good with 
those who are faced with life in prison.  Since they will not be 
released into society, their spirits can be broken.  Once they 
have no will to escape, the guards work on them to bring their 
spirits back up into more functional channels.  I admit, it is 
harsh at first, but the lifers become happier after they are 
retrained, and they are treated well.”
	The three prisoners were carted off and Senshi Saggitarius 
powered down to Ryan as his friends came over to join them.
	“Now I have a confession to make,” Ryan said.  “We came here 
in the first place in order to find the treasure in here, not to 
help your people.”
	“Speak no more of it,” Cornus said.  “Almost everyone who has 
come here in the past has come here for that reason.  Most of 
them change their minds when they see that the treasure is a part 
of a civilization.  Each case was recorded in the books of my 
ancestors and date back to when the son of Minos was murdered.”
	“By Theseus?” Dierdre asked.
	“You know the story,” Cornus said.  “The first of our kind 
was a hideous beast with few social skills, but he wasn’t a 
monster by any means.  Daedalus built the Labyrinth to house him 
and keep him occupied, but the loneliness was driving him insane.  
Minos sent many people into the Labyrinth under the pretense that 
they were sacrifices to the Minotaur, but none of them were 
killed.  The food Minos secretly supplied was enough to sustain 
his son and his friends, and none of the ‘victims’ were ever 
sought after again.  Theseus came in here to protect Ariadne and 
bring her out to safety, so he killed the Minotaur, who was 
unarmed, and fled.  Luckily, our ancestor had already fathered 
children to almost all of the women, so the race lived on.
	“The Minotaur blood is stronger than human blood, so when the 
Minotaur first bred with human women, the children were mostly 
Minotaur in shape.  However, since there was only one Minotaur, 
and several hundred humans, the race of the Minotaur is now more 
man than beast, as you can see.  When the Labyrinth was sealed 
off, finally, the treasure hunters began arriving.  The ones with 
good hearts stayed with us, and the bad ones were punished for 
their acts against our people.  Either way, no one returned.
	“About five hundred years after the Door of Kings was sealed, 
according to the records, humans stopped arriving.  We think that 
the door was buried and forgotten.  Anyway, it was a few days 
after that that the excavation crews broke through the back walls 
and found this place.  That tunnel you came though when you 
arrived at the city was where the Labyrinth stops and the natural 
caves begin.  There were underground lakes and rivers down here, 
and the soil was rich enough that our ancestors could grow more 
subterranean plants and not live off of glow-moss any more.  I’ve 
tried to eat it to see how it tastes and I do not know how they 
did it.
	“They also found a plant that attracted giant crustaceans.  
The crustaceans loved the plants so much that they were always 
around.  They still live in the fields today.  When they die, we 
use their shells for our dwellings.  It is a kind of symbiosis.”
	“You and your people have it well down here,” Ryan said.
	“We have our problems, as does every kingdom.”
	“It is still far more peaceful down here than where we are 
from.”
	“You are all free to stay as long as you like.”
	“I have a wedding to attend in a few weeks, but I have no 
plans until then,” Ryan said.  “Does anyone else have to leave?”
	“Actually,” Dierdre said, “I would like to stay and learn 
about these people.  Their record keeping skill is phenomenal, so 
I could learn their ways and history in no time.”
	“I should go back and tell Jack what’s going on,” Scott said.  
“He is waiting for us after all.”
	“I’d like to stay for a while,” Sean said.  “That is, if 
Spider wants to stay.”
	Spider gave him a warm smile and settled into his arms.  “I’m 
not going anywhere for a while,” she said.  “I like it here.  As 
for the rest of you: when we go home, I was never like this.”
	“It seems your people like my kingdom,” Cornus said.  
“Pseira, have your sister take these three,” he gestured to Sean, 
Dierdre, and Spider, “to the guest rooms.  You take Scott back to 
the door so he can inform his friend of the situation, and I will 
talk to the prince alone.”
	Pseira nodded and led Ryan’s friends out of the room.  When 
they were alone, the king asked Ryan, “you said that your kingdom 
was having some difficulties.  Is there anything I can do?”
	“The planet was frozen over in order to save it from attack 
over three hundred years ago.  Our kingdom was able to survive, 
but out power supplies are running low.  From what I have seen, 
though, your people do not use electricity, so I doubt you have 
any on reserve.”
	“Is this electricity some kind of fuel?”
	“Yes.”
	“Can your people come up with some alternate fuels?”
	“We have tried, your Majesty, but there is nothing left.”
	“What does this electricity look like?  Maybe we have some of 
it here.”
	“It is not a material, it is an energy, like fire.  It looks 
like this,” Ryan said.  He raised his hands to eye level with the 
forefinger of each pointed up.  He concentrated and pulled them 
apart, and an arc of electricity streamed between them.  “I am 
the only one of my people that can do this, otherwise, there 
would be no problem.”
	“Actually,” Cornus said, “I think I do have something that 
could help you.”  He went to the table and lifted a small jewel 
from it.  Ryan took a closer look and saw that the crimson gem 
had golden veins on the outside and inside.  “This is the 
Community Stone.  According to our documentation, it is one of 
five stones, each with the power to augment a person’s control 
over the elements.  I have never seen it work, however, since 
there are none among my people who have those abilities any more.  
I believe your control over electricity qualifies.”
	Ryan took hold of the Community Stone and immediately felt 
his power jump.  He became aware of the variations and fluxes of 
the electromagnetic fields around him.  He held the Stingray and 
tried to channel a trickle of power into it...and blew a hole in 
the floor.  “It works,” Ryan said, embarrassed.
	“It is yours,” the King said.
	“I could not take something so powerful from your people, 
even as a reward.”
	“Nonsense,” Cornus said, “it is useless to us, where it could 
greatly help your people.  Think of it as one kingdom coming to 
the aid of another for the sake of alliances.”
	“It would be nice to have our kingdoms become friends and 
have open trade.  Yet...” Ryan trailed off.
	“What is it?”
	“Our land is in permanent winter, while yours is at a 
constantly comfortable temperature.  I am afraid that if our 
people found out about your land, you would get a exodus larger 
than you could handle.”
	“That would be a problem,” the king said.  “And all those new 
humans would further dilute the Minotaur blood, which I cannot 
allow.”
	“Why is that?” Ryan asked.
	“There was a prophecy long ago.  ‘When the Minotaurs die out, 
all life will join.’”
	“Your land must remain a secret then,” Ryan said.  “When 
Scott returns with Jack, I will inform my friends.  The origin of 
this gift and our vacation in your kingdom will have to be 
between the five of us in my kingdom.”

	Ryan, Spider, Sean, Scott, and Jack stayed a full two weeks 
in Cornus’ kingdom, most of which was spent in either revelry or 
relaxation.  Jack and Scott taught the Minotaurs about 
electronics and mechanics - enough to start them on their own 
road to technology.  Spider and Sean tested and retested the 
palace’s defenses, working and reworking them each time until 
they could not get in without the king’s permission.  Ryan, 
however, received the most benefit, getting more training in 
running a kingdom from Cornus than he had in his whole life from 
his father.  In return Ryan, with the help of Dierdre, told the 
king and his scholars about what had happened in the world above 
since the doors were sealed.
	As they opened the Door of Kings at the end of their stay, 
the six humans, including Spider, gave tearful farewells.  
Dierdre said goodbye to the friends who had helped her come to 
this new land, and the others bid adieu to the wonderful friends 
they had met deep in the Labyrinth.
	The door was shutting as Ryan heard the parting words from 
little Froya: “Pweeze come back to see me, Pwince Wyan.”

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