Cryos & Jade Labyrinth

by Luke T Barnett

  “How did you know they would be fake?” he asked as she picked up her rock and tossed it again. It klinked against the spikes ahead of her. She tested a couple directions and found the path curving to the right.

  “I’ve listened to many tales about secret labyrinths and places with traps and secret pathways,” she said, following the path. “It seemed to me that if there was a passageway on the other side, there must be a way to access it.”

  They continued at a snail’s pace, Jade testing the path every few feet and having to adjust their course as the path turned corners. It was slow work.

  “Do you notice anything about this place?” she asked, tired of the silence.

  Cryos looked around.

  “It looks as if no one has been here and that it is untouched from the air,” he replied.

  “Precisely,” Jade said, tossing her stone again. “There are no bodies. Either we’re the first ones here or…”

  “…or someone else has already been here,” Cryos finished for her, “Someone who knows how to get through.”

  “The details of places like these are usually not told outside of those who built them in order to protect whatever it is that they have hidden. If anyone’s been here before, they were either the people who built this place or an expert thief.”

  “Like you?”

  Jade stopped and turned to face him. His statue face stared at her in the dancing torchlight.

  “I am no thief,” she said, her voice serious.

  Cryos stared at her, his brow moving in what Jade suspected was confusion. She turned away from him and continued forward.

  “I’m…I simply enjoy exploring places, discovering secrets. And I like to collect things, especially if they’re made of jade. They’re reminders of what I’ve accomplished.”

  Reminders of what you’ve stolen, you mean.

  Jade swallowed and pushed the voice aside as she continued forward. When they reached the other side, Jade hauled herself up into the passageway, Cryos following behind her. The passage was a large square of cut stone stretching forward into the distance, the end illuminated by two glowing orbs. A pedestal stood between the orbs, a small object that Jade couldn’t make out resting upon its surface. She squinted her eyes, attempting to see what it was, but it was just too far away. She looked around the passageway.

  “What is wrong?” Cryos asked.

  “I don’t have a map of this place,” Jade replied. “I don’t know if there are any traps. Keep to the wall. And watch out for holes or anything that looks out-of-place.”

  Jade led the way, her back to the wall, alternating looking at the wall and the floor. Cryos had more difficulty in doing this due to his bulk and his tail. They were half-way to the pedestal when Jade heard a grinding sound behind her. She turned to look back at Cryos when a thick wall of glass slammed down between them. Another slammed down on her opposite side, sealing her inside a narrow section of the passageway.

  Jade swallowed and looked around for some release switch. She started at Cryos slamming his fists into the glass. Over and over again, he pounded the glass, light cracks being the only result. His muffled voice shouted something at her as he swept his hand to the side. Jade moved against the opposite stone wall and hugged it. She could see Cryos undulating, looking like he was taking in great gasps of breath. Movement underneath her caused her to look down. At the opposite wall, the stones fell away into nothing and her eyes went wide.

  “Cryos!” she screamed.

  More stones fell away. Cryos lurched and a cone of white mist blasted the glass barrier. More stones fell. Jade dropped her torch and jumped to brace herself against either barrier which was icing over beneath her fingers. The last of the stones beneath fell, taking her torch with them, plunging them into darkness once again. Her hands slipped on the now frozen glass. She scrambled for a firmer grip, but it slipped from her grasp and she fell.

  Cryos’s name screamed from her throat as the darkness swallowed her.

  *********

  Cryos watched as Jade slipped from his sight. The use of his ability weakened him. For a few moments, he could not move. But his mistress was in danger. He had to save her! On shaking legs, he stood, backed up a few paces and stumbled forward in as best a charge as he could manage. He threw himself at the frozen wall of glass. It shattered upon impact and he smacked into the opposite wall and allowed himself to fall into the darkness below.

  ********

  Jade was falling. There was no end to the darkness. Cryos should have reached her by now, if he had even been able. Her heart in her throat, she flailed about, searching for something, anything she could grab to break her fall. At any moment, she would smack into the hard ground and that would be her end. Tears filled her eyes. She didn’t want to die. Not here where she would never be found.

  Please… her mind said the words as her mouth made the motion.

  Please…

  She didn’t know to whom she was calling, only that she did not want to die.

  Something brushed her hand and she reached out. Her hand struck open air. But then she felt it again.

  Rough, flexible.

  Fighting against panic, she reached out with intention, thinking on where her hands had been the first two times. Her hand found the rope and clamped down upon it. It burned her palm as she gripped with the other hand. Her momentum slowed, pain ripping through her hands. Teeth gritted, she held tight as she came to a stop. She hung there taking big gasps of breath, leaning her head against the rope.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. She knew not who had heard her, but she felt strongly that she had been heard.

  Her hands stung with pain. Her heart was still racing. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeves of her tunic and attempted to steady her emotions. Silence surrounded her. Only darkness met her eyes. Her foot felt the rope extend below her. She could go up or down. The crystal might be down, but the way out was up. Of course, the reverse could be true as well. She hung for a moment in indecision. Deciding it would be best to re-unite with Cryos, she pulled herself up the rope.

  *****

  Jade’s hand smacked against solid stone, smarting. She shook her hand, then reached up and felt around. The rope was attached to a ring which was attached to a stone ceiling. She searched until she found a small notch. It turned out to be a narrow channel running in a square around the area where the rope was attached. She dropped her hand back to the rope, looking up into the darkness, not liking what thoughts were running through her mind.

  She felt around again, farther out this time, and found another small ring jutting out of the stone. This one sat outside the square channel. An idea came into her head.

  It was difficult tying a secure knot with only one hand, but after a few minutes, she had the rope cut and the free end tied to the ring outside the channel. Her hand ached. After taking a moment to rest, she grabbed the rope with both hands near the first ring. Inverting herself, she braced her feet against the stone ceiling…and pulled.

  The grinding sound of stone against stone cut through the silence. Every muscle in Jade’s body contorted with the effort. The block slid out of its frame. One hand slipped from the rope as it jerked her back. Her body whipped out like a tether. She flailed, desperate to orient herself in the swirling darkness. Her other hand, weak from climbing and pulling, slid down to the swinging block. She managed to wrap a clumsy arm around the stone. Her body dangled above an unseeable abyss, her grip loose and awkward.

  Her arms ached. It was an effort to find the rope, grip it, and pull herself up. Twice she slipped, but managed to hold her grip on the rope. At last she had both feet up and was standing on the stone block.

  After a brief rest, she looked up. There was nothing to see. She couldn’t tell from where the stone had fallen. She took a moment to shake out her hands one at a time before reaching to the smooth stone of the ceiling.

  Further and further out she searched, one hand on the rope and her feet braced against
the block, which swung out opposite the direction she reached. Her arms stretched. Gravity pulled at her. The darkness continually disoriented her. She was at the extreme edge of her reach when she felt a rounded edge to the stone.

  With deliberate slowness, she pulled her hand back along the stone to her position. Both hands on the rope, she swung the stone, keeping her face oriented in the direction of the edge.

  Her momentum building, she reached out a hand. Her fingers caught the inside edge of the hole and then slipped off as the stone swung back. She kept swinging.

  The stone reached the apex of its swing. Leaning out over the darkness, she reached up and felt a ledge, only to be pulled back as the stone again swung away. Her rope hand clamped down as her feet slipped from the stone, the pendulum now wobbling, threatening to shake her off. Still, she managed to get her other hand on the rope and climb back up onto the stone.

  Taking a moment to breathe, she began her momentum anew. Again, she reached her apex. She reached out, testing the ledge’s location with each upswing. After several tests, she decided she was ready.

  She swung.

  Her heart slammed against her chest.

  She swung.

  She wiped her stinging, sweating palms against her britches.

  She swung. The stone reached its apex. Her hands stretched out and found the ledge. She grabbed onto it with both hands. The stone beneath her swung out from under her feet. Her fingers immediately began to slip. She twisted her body and moved one hand to grip the opposite ledge. Her tired limbs screamed at her as she forced them to haul her up through the hole. Her feet clearing the hole, she rolled away and collapsed, taking great gasping breaths. Her heart pounded, her body soaked with sweat. Pain streaked through her limbs as she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  *****

  Cryos plummeted into darkness. There was nothing around him. Either this darkness was unnatural that his eyes could not penetrate, or there was simply nothing to see. There was no sign of his mistress. The salty smell of moisture hit his senses. He spread his wings, slowing his momentum. He landed in a cold pool of water as vast as the chamber in which he found himself. He immediately called out for Jade, but received no answer. He still could see nothing, but he could sense movement in the water around him. Then he heard something break the surface. He reached out to where the sound had come from, but the object dodged his grasp.

  “Who are you?” he called out. “Where is Jade?”

  It is a gargoyle.

  The voice was nowhere, yet everywhere at once, echoing in every corner of his mind in crystal clarity.

  But not a gargoyle.

  This was a second voice, almost identical.

  Aren’t they all? Said a third.

  Some are different, said the first.

  “Tell me where you have taken her!”

  He seeks a human female.

  She is not here.

  But we can see her in your mind.

  Each voice spoke in turn as if the three were of a single hive mind. Cryos thought on what to do. These three were useless to him, whoever they were. He would have to find her on his own.

  But you do not know the way.

  “I will find a way,” Cryos reached out an arm to swim, but was halted by the feeling of clammy hands gripping his bicep.

  You will be lost in the waters of the Dark.

  The Dark Ones may find you.

  And they are too many for you.

  But we are the guardians of the crystal.

  That the Dark Ones may never find it,

  By the path of the waters.

  We know the way,

  For those who are not of the sea.

  Another pair of hands gripped his other bicep as a pair of arms encircled his waist. A body press up against his abdomen in the water. Then he was pulled into a forced dive. He felt the water fill his wings as wind fills the sails of a ship, fighting his momentum. He maneuvered his wings through the push of the water to hug his frame. The water rushed around them in a torrent. It was fortunate he did not have to breathe. In the darkness of the water, his vision returned though somewhat distorted. Two figures of blue held his arms and undulated as they pulled the water. Their direction changed, and he was launched from the water. Smooth stone smacked his body and rolled beneath him. He pushed up to see a lengthy passage much like the one from which he had fallen. He shook the water from his wings and turned to look back at the water. Three identical figures floated in the dark water, only their shoulders and up sticking out. Their skin was blue, their eyes solid white and where their hair would have been, appeared to be thick tentacles swept back and hanging just below their pointed ears.

  Your heart seeks vengeance.

  While you feign to serve.

  You cannot serve two masters.

  One you will love.

  One you will despise.

  Your heart is divided.

  And you will be rent in two,

  If you do not decide.

  Before Cryos could object to their words, they dove back into the dark waters and were gone. He stared at the water lapping against the stone, their words cutting him to his heart. Heart? Did he have a heart? Not since…

  Since? Was there a since?

  There was, but when? His claw went to his head. Some awareness buried deep inside slammed against his conscious mind, fighting to get out.

  Like in the chamber with the statue, he was aware of choice in his actions…in whom he would serve.

  But…I do not have a choice. I must serve my master. That is all there is.

  His master.

  He had to find Jade, whatever his thoughts might be telling him. His mind still swirling, he pushed to his feet and walked down the corridor.

  *****

  Jade started awake and scrambled to her feet, attempting to escape the nightmare into which she had fallen. Her head whipped from side to side as she attempted to gain her bearings. She stood at one end of a long hall of stone. The other end held a dais and two, glowing orbs set on poles.

  “Who are you?”

  Jade jumped at the sound of the voice. It was feminine and seemed to echo throughout the chamber. She looked around for the source, but saw no one.

  “Who’s there?” she asked.

  “Who are you?” the voice repeated.

  Jade continued to search.

  “My name is Jade. Who are you?”

  “But who are you truly? Come, that you may see.”

  Cautiously she made her way to the other end, stopping before the dais. The orbs dimmed, then flared back to life. Standing on the dais before her were five figures, their faces and forms each bearing a striking resemblance to her own. One to the far left was dressed in a royal gown, a shining crown on her head. Jewels adorned her neck and her wrists and her head was held high in a royal pose.

  The one next to it was dressed in her current clothes; tunic, jerkin, breeches and boots. She cradled a small box in her arms. Her form was hunched over, her eyes looking back behind her as though she were sneaking away from someone.

  To the far right was a version of herself that looked like some undead thing. Her skin was ghostly white. Her eyes were empty sockets, her hands formed claws with nails that were long and sharp. Her hair was frazzled and her clothes were in tatters.

  The figure to the left of the ghoul was much like the version of her with the box but this one stood straight, looking ahead with some determined look on her face, a lit torch held in one hand.

  In the center was what looked like a statue in a relaxed pose. It was made entirely of jade.

  Jade looked at all these in turn. The jade figure she did not understand and so moved on. The ghoulish figure shook her to her core. She couldn't look long at that one. The thieving figure made her hot with anger. The queen figure brought a sense of sadness and shame to her and she tore her eyes away to look only at the figure holding the torch.

  “I do
n't understand,” she said.

  “You must choose,” said the voice.

  It’s a riddle.

  She looked to the two normally dressed figures. They seemed most like her in appearance, but she despised the thieving figure.

  Definitely not her.

  She looked at the one holding the torch. There was something in the figure’s expression, something in her eyes; a determination that lacked in her own will. Then she spotted it.

  The eyes! They’re jade!

  “None of these are me,” she said.

  Her eyes glanced over them again and landed briefly on the princess.

  Least of all her.

  “Your answer,” said the voice, “is not true. For they are all you.”

  Jade did not look up but stared at the floor contemplating the words. How could that be? That didn't make any sense.

  “But I offer you this:” said the voice, “the treasure before you is not the one you seek and to find your way forward you must go back.”

  Before she could contemplate further, the ground beneath her gave way and she was sliding down a slick embankment. Her hands groped in the dark for something to latch on to, but she felt only smooth stone sliding endlessly beneath her.

  Then the stone itself was gone, and she falling deeper into darkness. Her fall ended abruptly in a pool of water, salt-water.

  Her limbs screamed at her as she pushed her way to the surface. She looked around in the dark, searching for something of which to grab hold. But there was only the darkness and the water. Pain streaked through her arms as she stretched them forward. The water was freezing. She had to get out. Her arms would not obey her. Her legs felt like lead. They flopped in the water in a mockery of their normal strength. Her body was sinking even as she attempted to swim. The more she pushed herself, the more she sank. Her head dipped underwater only to shoot back up enough for one gasping breath, only to sink under again until she sank more deeply and could no longer bring herself up.