Chapter 9 Old Friend
Eerie silence permeates the air now. The only sounds are those from the storm around us. I crouch, keeping close to the walls, and move slowly. My ears are straining, the hairs on my arms standing on end. There are things within this maze that won't need to get past my obsidian armor to kill me, and I refuse to be one of the people killed by a freaking fungus.
The deeper I get into the maze, the more plant life becomes more prevalent than stone walls. I stop, my harsh breathing a reminder that I spend most of my hours perfecting satin and chain stitches, not fighting for my life. Rain streams down my face as the sky flashes between black storm and white lightning.
Vines of ivy stir like snakes, writhing on the walls as if waiting for the first sign of prey to snag and destroy. Roots tangle the path ahead, twitching and slithering with a mind of their own. I swallow hard, pinching my eyes closed and preparing myself for the dance I’ll have to do to get past this snare.
I do not doubt in my mind there’s a scale somewhere on the other side.
“No! Oh fuck, no!” someone screams.
By instinct, I jump back and round a corner quickly. The only thing I know about the voice is that it’s male and coming this way. Slipping a dagger from my belt, I crouch and wait. I can hear the thundering footsteps of someone running for their life, can feel their terror the closer they get.
“Wait! You have to slow down!” a woman screams. “The vines! The—”
But it's too late.
A man barrels into the vines and roots I was about to traverse and trips. He wails, thrashing around and clawing for purchase, but the vines drag him toward the wall.
“Sarah! Save me! Sarah, please!” he screams. His eyes bulge as something comes closer, the sound of its steps causing the puddles in the vines to ripple with the sheer size of the beast that’s approaching. The deluge isn’t letting up, every moment it seems to get worse. “Sarah!” he screams.
His voice is choked to silence as a minotaur steps around the corner and faces him.
I have to cover my mouth to stifle a terrified scream. This beast is nothing like the minotaurs roaming wild in the Flamepeak woods. This is a monstrosity. The creature is so tall its horns pass the top of the maze. Its humanoid body is overly muscled, veins popping out of its short, tawny fur. It carries a mace in one hand, the weapon swinging back and forth as the snout of the beast splits into a sneer.
“S-Sarah…” the man whispers, his head shaking in disbelief.
The minotaur’s shoulders tremble with what I can only assume is laughter as he raises his other hand. Blonde hair is clutched in its fist, Sarah’s bulging eyes protruding from her severed head. The creature lifts it above him and licks the still-warm and steaming blood of the shredded neck.
“I’ll kill you! You fucking monster, I’ll kill you!”
I turn away. I can’t watch this. I hear the mace swing and the sickening squelch of a head splitting and splattering over the ground. Taking quick, shallow breaths and trying not to smell the scent of hot blood, I look back.
The minotaur is distracted, feasting on the open wound where the man’s head used to be. There’s nothing behind me but the entrance, no other turn to take. I have to pass the creature if I want to continue. I steel myself, putting the blade of the dagger between my teeth, and circle the corner.
I’m risking it all trying to get past this murder scene, but it’s the only way. I have to pass the creature while it feasts or I die without even trying to win.
The closer I get, the more I can smell it; the scent of feces and rotting flesh. My stomach somersaults as I register the creature's back is split with whip strokes, the infection rampant and putrid. This beast was not only starved but also beaten. A part of me mourns for it. In the wild, these creatures are hardly ever deadly, only protective of their herd. What Silas has done to them is inhumane and grotesque.
I’m directly behind the beast when it growls low in its throat. I freeze, trying to appear as small as possible as I watch it turn slowly. Crazed black eyes find me and it roars, flashing sharpened teeth covered in sinew and gore from its feast.
I stand slowly, pulling the dagger out of my mouth as I take a step back.
“You have a meal, let me pass,” I say softly, holding my left hand out. On my right, I flip the dagger so the blade is running parallel to my arm. If I have to fight, I’ll be ready.
“Not hungry,” the beast groans, taking a lumbering step towards me.
I suck in a sharp breath, horror gripping me. The minotaur can speak? Sorrow and pain for the creature rip through me, but this is no longer a wise creature of the woods. It’s been made into a monster, a monster with a taste for blood like mine.
“Just…angry… Human… must… die!” It roars and lunges, its very human-like fury reaching out and grasping for me.
I duck and roll between its legs, slathering myself in the blood of its last victim. The minotaur’s tail snaps, whipping me across the face and knocking me to the ground. I blink, trying to clear my vision and realize I’m face to face with the severed head of Sarah. Unable to stop myself, I let out a shrill scream and scramble backward on my hands until my spine hits the man’s legs.
The minotaur laughs, the sound garbled coming out of the mouth of a cow as it turns to face me. It kneels, grabs its mace from where it dropped, and smiles. “Dumb… little… human,” it mocks.
Rage fills me, making my veins feel like they’re burning through my entire body. I stand slowly, sheathing my dagger behind my back and pulling out my sword. I spin it with a flourish and brace myself to fight.
“You should have let me go, beast,” I snarl, looking over the sharp blade.
“No… human… goes!” the minotaur screams, lowering its horns as it scrapes its hooves on the ground and prepares to charge.
Dodge to the right!
The voice in my head demands.
“Go right!” another voice yells as the beast lunges.
I duck to the right instantly, narrowly dodging an arrow as it wizzes past my head and sinks into the dead man behind me. I roll, pulling myself to my feet as the minotaur rams its head into the corpse, then the wall, trapping its horns in the unforgiving stone.
“Anara!” the voice roars.
Ignore the male, he is a distraction!
I look up, defiantly, just as a flash of lightning illuminates the sky, blazing the world in blinding white. All I can see is the sheen of obsidian armor on an arm that’s reaching down to me from the top of the maze. I leap, grabbing the outstretched hand, our matching armor clinking like glass as my feet land on solid stone. I’m hauled from the ground as if I weigh nothing and strong arms encircle me in a tight hug.
Fool, he will be of no help to you! You put yourself at greater risk of death!
“Fuck, girl! You were almost a goner!”
The man’s familiar tone makes my head jerk up in surprise. Golden skin glistens with the rain on his face, blue eyes sparkle beneath shaggy blond locks. He grins, that crooked half grin I could never forget.
“Oberon?” I ask, breathlessly, unbelieving.
You know this fool? Never mind him, get away! Your life depends on it!
I ignore the voice, thrilled to see my old friend.
“The one and only! How’s my girl?”
“I was never your girl,” I huff, pushing him away. His arms don’t loosen.
“That’s no way to thank me,” he chuckles.
“I’ll thank you if we live!” I yell over a crash of thunder. I turn away, trying to pull out of his arms, but he crushes me against his chest again.
“I wasn’t sure I’d find you,” he whispers, his mouth against the top of my head.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I mutter, unable to resist the touch of someone so precious to me. I slowly rise on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck to hug him. “You shouldn’t be here…” I whisper again. His being here adds a new level of fear for me, fear of losing another friend.
“I couldn’t wait anymore, Anara. Although when I came to find you, I didn’t expect to see you signing up for the Trial. Why did you do that?”
“I had to, Oberon. I need to learn how to kill a dragon so I can avenge her.” My voice breaks, my body shuddering in his arms.
“My cousin would not want you to die just because she did. I came to bring you home, Anara. No matter what that bitch queen says. You belong in Obsidian Reach. You belong beside me, as we always were.”
“Oberon, I—” My voice stalls as I look over his shoulder. Someone else had the same idea to search me out.
Malachi is climbing the wall next to ours.
“Oberon, run!” I scream, grabbing his hand and turning just as Malachi’s devilish gaze finds me.
The murderous intent in his eyes is a hot, feverish promise.
One that I will never let him keep.