I frowned and looked at Mariana once we were certain everyone was real. “Would there be actual doppelgangers in a labyrinth?”
She shrugged. “Probably. They seem like the exact kind of magic a minotaur would like having around; I imagine they cause plenty of chaos and confusion the minotaur can feed off.”
“Minotaur?!” Danio demanded.
“Wait, labyrinth?” Thomas said at the same time.
I nodded grimly. “I’m afraid we’re all in a labyrinth. That’s why our bond was blocked.”
“Oh god,” Thomas groaned. “This gets better and better, although it explains the ocean from hell.” He looked at Charlie. “I’m glad you missed that one.”
“Me too,” Charlie said, eyes flaring in alarm.
“Okay,” Thomas turned to Danio. “Labyrinths?”
“Don’t look at me, I don’t know anything about them.”
“Aren’t they Greek?” Thomas asked.
Danio snorted. “That’s racist. No, labyrinths aren’t Greek. Just the labyrinth that all the non-magics go nuts over. The semi-mythological one I mean, not the one with David Bowie and his...” He cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow.
“Thanks for clarifying,” groaned Thomas.
“Mariana’s our labyrinth expert,” I said.
“Speaking of which,” Mariana said, “we should keep moving before we’re forced to.”
“Moving where though?” asked Thomas.
“Doesn’t matter,” Mariana said with a shrug. “We’re going where the minotaur wants us to, whether we like it or not. Just keep your eyes open, sooner or later we’ll find another stairway that will take us back to the seven doorways.”
I felt a flash of emotion from Tom. “Seven doorways,” he muttered, slapping himself in the forehead. “Of course!”
“What happens once we get there?” Danio asked.
“We pick another and hope it’s the one where the minotaur is. Then, we fight him and hope we win.”
“Splashy. I think I’d rather be stuck in the one with Bowie.”
“Be alert too,” Mariana added as we started walking. “The minotaur is going to want us scared and might even try to kill us. It’s going to get worse and worse until we find the doorway.”
~~~***~~~
We filled Danio and Thomas in on what happened after we were all separated as we walked. By the time we were done there was a noticeable chill in the air – almost twenty degrees cooler, according to Charlie – and a wind had picked up. Danio was confident there was no rain on the way, but after being unable to sense the moon’s position in the last layer, I wasn’t so sure. Then again, I could sense it just fine in this layer. To my dismay, sunrise was getting a little too close for comfort. I did not relish the idea of facing another layer unable to shift. Then again, with my soul-packmate by my side again, not to mention nearly my whole pack together, I felt invincible.
Tom told us his terrifying experience on the beach layer, then he and Danio recounted their fight with their doppelgangers.
Through it all, the wind kept picking up; a stark reminder that we were far from safe yet. We had to survive this layer and then face the minotaur, assuming we didn’t have to endure another layer or two first.
Even though the sunrise was getting closer, it started getting noticeably darker.
“Oh no,” Mariana said. “I think this layer is going to mess with our night vision too.”
“So, it is getting darker,” Danio said dryly. “Fan-fucking-tastic.” He cleared his throat and glanced at Mariana. “I mean freaking.”
She glared at him and I had a feeling he was minding his language solely to annoy her.
A howling stopped her retort and we all turned in alarm in the direction of the sound.
“Is that wind?” Jen gasped.
It was. An insanely strong wind came rushing through the trees, sending branches and leaves flying. The wind stung our eyes and pelted us with dirt, grit, and twigs. Nobody had to suggest running, we just started. The others shielded their faces as they ran and I veered around them and tried to put myself between them and the wind, hoping I could block some; even with my fur protecting me I could still feel debris hitting me as we went.
Then, I stopped.
Something was wrong.
I couldn’t say what, but something was just wrong.
My tail drooped of its own accord and I just stood there.
I barely heard my name until Tom put his hand on my shoulder. “Tethys?”
Everyone had stopped running and were all standing near me, watching me in concern.
“Something…” I stopped, trying to figure out what was gnawing at me.
Danio drew a knife and looked warily around us.
Concern and curiosity emanated through my bond with Thomas, thanks to the labyrinth, I still couldn’t sense anything from Shannon and Delilah, just the same strange blank…no!
I gasped and my heart felt like it skipped a beat.
“Teth?” Thomas pressed.
His hand tightened on my shoulder and I leaned against him, struggling to breathe.
“D-Delilah,” I choked out.
Horror surged through Thomas and his eyes widened in alarm. He grabbed my snout with both hands and put us eye to eye. “Tethys, stay with me!” he snapped.
“I’m…” I swallowed hard. “I’m okay…”
“Is… she?” he asked.
“No…” I said slowly. I couldn’t sense her at all. It was no longer a strange place in the back of my mind where ‘she’ was and it wasn’t empty like with Shannon either, it just wasn’t there anymore. But I knew. In my heart, in my soul, I knew. “She’s dead.”
I was sad, of course, but not shattered like I expected. If nothing else I should have felt her death; it should have torn me apart, at best. Just the thought of a soul-packmate dying was agonizing, but now she was gone and with the bond broken, it was almost as if the compulsion that caused a werewolf to care so unfathomably deeply about a soul-packmate was gone as well.
Suddenly, Delilah was just another non-magic. I felt guilt, yes, that she had died because someone was trying to kill me, but on the other hand, I did help save her life once as well. I supposed I could be grateful I helped her life a full life after that, even if she didn’t know it.
Beyond the guilt and the sorrow was relief, which I honestly felt a little guilty about as well. Nevertheless, I sighed as a decades old fear of dying when she did simply evaporated: no more would I have to dread the day both Thomas and I died because of my non-magic soul-packmate. It was over.
“What?!” Thomas gasped.
“She’s dead,” I repeated, almost laughing with relief. I hoped it had been peaceful and painless for her.
“Are you okay?!”
“Yes,” I said in wonder. “I’m… grand!”
Thomas let out a slightly disbelieving laugh.
Everyone, my pack, crowded around me and for the first time in a very long time, I could truly breathe.
If only we were actually safe.
A harder, stronger wind began relentlessly lashing the trees and the already dark sky seemed darker.
“We have to keep moving,” Mariana reminded us. “TS, will you be okay?”
“Yes.”
Once again, we started to run. The wind grew so loud I couldn’t hear anything. We kept moving as leaves and debris swirled around us, then, over the wind, I heard a crack, followed by a sense of alarm from Thomas; I quickly followed his gaze and saw a massive tree falling into our path! He shot forward and flung out his arms, stopping Jen and Charlie in their tracks as I lunged and swerved in front of Dani and Mariana, blocking them with my body and the ground shook as the tree slammed into the ground. If we hadn’t stopped, it surely would have crushed us.
“Question,” Danio shouted over the wind. “Why is the ground still shaking?!”
We all exchanged a look of alarm. The ground was indeed still rumbling, in fact it seemed to be getting stron
ger. I spread my legs to brace myself as the ground began to pitch beneath us. I heard several cracks, followed by thuds, as trees all around us broke and fell.
“Run!” Thomas screamed.
“Look for the stairs!” shrieked Mariana.
An enormous crack split the ground nearby and we all sprinted away, struggling to stay together as the driving wind whipped around us.
I felt a familiar itch starting. “No!” I gasped, slowing down. Only decades of practice kept me on my feet as the rising sun forced me to shift. I stumbled on the roiling ground as I lost two feet. Worse, it was even darker now.
“Oh, shit,” Danio said looking at me, barely audible over the thundering of wind and trees and rocks all around us.
“How can it be so dark with the sun up?” Thomas demanded, grabbing my arm to help steady me as we ran, he let go as soon as he sensed I had my balance. I nodded gratefully and sped up again.
A tree, too close for comfort, hit the ground near us with a deafening crash and another crack in the ground shot past us, opening a small rift and separated Jen and I from the rest of the group.
“Stay together!” someone shouted.
I jumped the crack, nearly tripping. Then, the ground sounded like it was exploding as it opened into a wide chasm. Jen had jumped after I did and screamed as she realized she wouldn’t make it. She hit the edge, scrambling frantically to catch herself before she fell.
“Jen!” Thomas cried, lunging forward. He grabbed her by the wrists and hauled her up. She was barely clear of the crack when it slammed violently back together, sending up a spray of rocks and dirt and throwing us all from our feet.
“Look!” Charlie cried, pointing.
It was almost impossible to see in the dark and driving wind, but I protected my eyes as well as I could and squinted into the distance. There was a hole in a tree! It was barely visible and I couldn’t be certain it was a hole at all, but we had nothing else.
“Let’s go!” I bellowed.
We rushed forward, sticking as close together as we could dodging flying sticks and leaves and jumping cracks. The wind only grew stronger. An entire tree was torn out of the fecking ground and hurled at us. We all frantically dodged backward as it hit right where we had been, shattering and showering us with splinters and I felt several scratch into my arms as I covered my face.
“Come on!”
Miraculously, we were all alive. Scratched and bleeding and dirty, but otherwise unharmed. The wind roared around us as we scrambled over the tree and continued our desperate race for the stairs.
Then, we were upon it, it was a staircase!
“Do not get separated!” Thomas warned.
“Grab hands,” Jen suggested.
We all paused, wind screeching all around us, just long enough to form a chain, then we all clamored one by one into the hole and down another twisting flight of stairs.
My heart was in my throat as we made our way down but I realized I couldn’t hear the wind anymore. Then, we were all back in the room with seven doorways. All of us.
There was an audible mass sigh of relief. Nobody seemed willing to drop hands yet.
“They’re still marked,” Charlie said with relief.
“Get that bloody one,” I said.
He stopped to squeeze Danio’s hand, then turned and scorched the wall next to the staircase.
“Okay then,” Thomas said. “What now?”
“I’d see if my compass helps but…” Danio glanced at his hand, then frowned. “Drought, check this out.” He lifted his palm, every single direction he had inked was visible, making it look like he had a non-magic tattoo instead of a working one.
“Freaky,” Mariana said.
“Well, I’m going to assume that one is Tom’s ocean,” Danio said, pointing to one of the marked staircases. “It’s wetter than the rest.”
“I think that one was the tunnel,” Mariana said, “and that’s the forest with the shadows.”
“Then the one we were just in,” Jen said.
“Three more,” I said grimly.
“But which one do we choose?” Danio asked.
“Someone’s coming!” Thomas cried, just as I heard the sound of footsteps.
We all spun, just as a witch stumbled out of one of the staircases.
“Oh!” she gasped, looking at us. “What… what are you all doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Charlie blurted.
“I…” She cleared her throat. “I was hiking and I saw the hole. I suddenly really wanted to take a look inside. I don’t know what I was expecting. I should go…”
“Wait,” I warned. “That won’t lead you out.”
The witch turned back toward me with a weak laugh. “What do you mean by that?”
“This em… this might be a bit hard to believe, but… we’re in a labyrinth.”
“A labyrinth?” she laughed. “That’s absurd.”
“Can you sense your familiar?” Jen asked softly.
“Of course I…” The witch trailed off as her bemused expression turned into one of shock. “Oh my god! She was right behind me!” She whirled to the staircase in alarm, then spun back to us. “What do I do?!”
“Come with us,” Thomas said. “The only way out is to find the minotaur that created this place.”
“And then what, ask him nicely to let me out?” the witch snapped.
“Kill him,” Danio said grimly.
The witch started to giggle nervously, then swallowed hard when it became evident Danio wasn’t joking. “I uh… I’ll pass.”
“It’s that or try your luck lost down here until you stumble onto the minotaur anyway,” Mariana said. “Alone instead of with a group.”
The witch sighed and cast a nervous glance behind her. “I…” She looked at all of us warily. “You’re all serious?” We nodded somberly and she took a deep breath. “Sorry, I just… you have to admit it sounds a bit crazy… I’m Donna. Is this really a labyrinth?”
We quickly explained the basics to her as she listened in a mix of concern and disbelief. When we were finished she squared her shoulders.
“Well, if we can’t linger here, then let’s get going. I need to find my familiar before she panics. You marked the ones you tried?” Without waiting for an answer, Donna marched toward one of the unmarked ones.
“Wait, we can’t just—” Thomas began as she started up the stairs.
“Bloody hell,” I mumbled, exchanging a look with the others. We certainly couldn’t let the impulsive arse go alone.
Danio threw up his hands in a shrug.
“It’s not as if we have a better idea,” Charlie said grimly. “We have to try one sooner or later.”
With a chorus of sighs, we all moved to follow her. Tom rubbed my shoulder briefly and I smiled at the comforting gesture. Then, we headed up the stairs.
We actually caught up to her as we spiraled around and around.
“Are you sure these aren’t the stairs I just came… down…” Donna’s question ended in a whisper as she trailed off.
The stairs opened into a tunnel.
“We’re sure you marked our tunnel, right?” Jen asked Charlie nervously.
“Yeah,” he said grimly.
They said their tunnel grew smaller as they went, but after only a couple minutes this one began to get larger. We all gasped as it opened into a huge cavern. Large, sharp looking stalactites hung from the ceiling and towering stalagmites stretched up toward them, tucked amongst boulders and…
“Are those…” Jen breathed.
Bones.
The entire cavern was scattered with the bones of dozens of people, some of them, based on the smell, fresher than others.
“God,” Thomas gasped, giving off a rush of shock and horror. “The werebear we were looking for!”
“What’s left of him,” Danio said grimly.
“I think we’ve found the minotaur,” Mariana said.
A sound. Then another. And another.
>
Slowly, steadily, a clopping like the sound of simply massive hooves came toward us. Around a boulder, that I couldn’t believe had hidden it, loomed the minotaur.
Chapter Eleven
Jen
I don’t know what I was expecting a real minotaur to look like. In my experience my expectations that were based on non-magic stories were usually pretty far off base. The minotaur did look like a traditional minotaur, so it wasn’t a total shock but I was not prepared for the sheer size of him.
The beast was easily twelve feet tall. He took a step closer to us, rattling the rocks on the ground near him as he slammed down a wickedly sharp hoof the size of my head. His furry legs alone were the size of Dani, both in height and width. He took another step, lashing a long, bull-like tail as thick as a rope. The minotaur’s torso was equally massive, leading to intimidating muscular arms, one of which held a frightening club as thick as a tree and probably as long as the minotaur himself. The huge, terrifying body was topped with a bull’s head so large it could have belonged to an elephant. Two terrifying horns longer than me stretched out, one covered with rust-brown splatters. Blood stains.
“It’s fecking huge!” TS cried.
“We are so fucked,” Dani said.
Donna gasped and backed away. “Oh my god, oh my god!”
I didn’t think something so large could move so quickly, but the minotaur suddenly began to run. He crossed the room in only a few steps and was right on top of us! The club swung around and we frantically dodged as it slammed into one of the stalagmites near us. It exploded in a shower of rocks and the club, impossibly fast, swung back the other way and smashed into a boulder on our other side.
There was no time to regroup, no time to plan, we just scattered as the minotaur swung the club over and over. The massive club sent rocks, some of them quite large, flying across the room, as a dust cloud settled over everything.
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 28
