Keepers of the Labyrinth Read Online Free Page B

handmade GPS,” Lil said.
    Sydney pointed at the screen. “We’re coming up on another turn, heading up the mountain now. This is going to be sharp turns all the way up.”
    Lil watched the X as it embarked on a series of S-turns.
    â€œYou were right about the road,” Lil said, looking out her window, trying to get a glimpse of where they were going. The bus tilted, carrying them higher and higher. As they continued, the shuttle got quieter and quieter. Lil pulled the window open, searching for some air. The Cretan wind blew in, and she sucked in a breath as she watched the world below become smaller with each turn. The road was narrow, and without guardrails. The only thing stopping the van, if it started over the hill, would be a few rocks, some shrubbery, maybe a roaming goat. Otherwise, they would tumble, perhaps for miles.
    A tiny church on a pedestal marked the next corner, and Lil could see the stems of some flowers poking out of it.
    â€œDo you think that’s for religious offerings?” Lil asked.
    Sydney looked up and shook her head, staring back down at the GPS. “No, that’s where people’ve died. Crete has an extremely high percentage of automobile deaths. One every couple of days or so.”
    â€œEvery couple of days?” Charlie’s knuckles grew white as she clutched the seat back.
    â€œGive or take,” Sydney said, nodding. “Another turn.”
    They climbed onward, and Lil watched the bees spin between wildflowers that marked the side of the road in big colorful splashes. She wondered if Mom had climbed this road. Had seen these wildflowers, had felt this breeze on her face. Lil closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma.
    Opening her eyes once more, she watched as houses disappeared in the distance. They climbed to a rocky mountaintop where the road leveled off, and drove along a straightaway for a moment. The passengers on the bus seemed to take a collective sigh of relief as the sheer drop-off became guarded by trees on both sides. A mile or so later, a long stone wall cropped up on their right and hugged the bank as it wound its way toward a large sunny spot in the distance. Finally, they rounded a corner and the trees peeled back, revealing a large stonework building.

4
    W ELCOME , FUTURE LE ADERS OF THE WORLD ! The banner on the front of the manor waved like a flag in the wind. Lil made her way down the shuttle steps behind Sydney and Charlie. She slowed to a stop and stared at the manor. This was going to be their home for the next twelve days? Lil had never seen anything like it. Windows were splayed open-eyed by wooden shutters. The late-afternoon sun reflected in the glass. Below, old urns and modern plastic buckets sat side by side, holding flowers of every color. Some careened forward in floral waterfalls, and others climbed up the wall toward the balconies above them. There were two stone stairwells that wound from the ground floor up each side and plateaued into simple but decorative gardens before melding into the mountainside. Lil craned her neck, taking in the scene before her.
    The natural beauty of the place seemed endless. Back on the ground, over to her left stood a large vegetable garden, and Lil took a deep breath as a warm, salty aroma sailed toward her on the breeze. She spotted a large fire pit with several roast chickens spinning above it. The grease spattered into the flames, as if asking them to rise higher. The garden reminded her of her mother’s herb garden. And the herb on the chicken had to be rosemary. That was Mom’s favorite, and the smell seemed to surround Lil, fill her senses. She stepped toward it without thinking.
    â€œIs that—”
    â€œDinner,” Aestos said as he handed the last bag to the last girl, closed the bus door and headed toward the garden. “And that’s not all, so do not be late.”
    â€œWe’d better check in,” Sydney said, dropping her device into her