Labyrinth Wall (9780991531219) (5 page)

Darith smacks my arm, jolting me back to reality. “Come on.”

We continue for what must be about fifteen minutes when finally the guard stops. She lets her eyes settle on a dark wooden door. “Here,” the small framed, muscular woman motions, “this will take you downstairs.”

My nerves suggest there’s a trap behind the door. Darith also seems unsure. “Ya know, don’t forget what I told ya back in the baths. Ya know what happens if ya try to pull somethin funny, right?”

She shakes her head, taking in a deep breath. “Look, I’m not against you. I’m happy to help.” She opens the door with a smile on her face.

I’m confused by her fake happiness to assist. That behavior makes me certain she’s tricking us. The door swings open, and she enters, motioning us to follow her. My fingers tap on my hip. As I glance at Darith, a puzzled look crosses my face. “Happy to help?”

He raises his already slightly higher eyebrow. Grinning without a care, he then follows her down the stairs. Another minute or so passes as I debate what her words meant before I then trail behind them.

We travel down the shadowy stair case until we reach another hallway. The surroundings are more familiar now, the same dark rough rock walls from the day I was created. Waking up in darkness among a crowd of people, they were one of my first sights.

There were Mahk of many ages all huddled together in a bunch. I still don’t understand why they create us so uniquely, just to send us on our way into the dark labyrinth.

Even the musky air brings back my first memories of lingering moisture created by the collection of bodies in the room where I took my first breath. We were corralled into a line, then one by one taken through the door leading out of the space. Upon exiting the door, we discovered a stone table to our left lined with clothing. We were told to grab undergarments, a shirt, pants, shoes and to head to the next station. There we were given one canister of water as well as two loaves of bread. That bread will never escape my memory, because I have never had any since. Our last stop before being released into the world was the weapons table. The Creators allowed us to pick one weapon for self defense in the wild. That’s when I obtained my handy little dagger. It has become like a physical extension of me; always either in my hair or my hand.

Preparing to make our exit, they gave us each a number. That was the one piece of helpful instruction given at the time of our creation. One guard lined us up in an obviously intentional order before announcing that when we communicate with the Creators in the future, we would need to tell them our number. “You must always give us your number to collect,” the guard said. At the time, it wasn’t clear what she meant by collect, but I was sure to remember my number when it was given to me: “P329111.”

That was my first encounter with Simul. We didn’t speak, but it was the first time my eyes absorbed his leathery face. He watched as we were shoved through the castle doors with our few belongings. “Live long and serve well,” he would occasionally spout at us as we were released.

The Creators’ statements that they care for us meant something then, before reality set in. When Simul would give his speeches of encouragement that we have done pleasingly on our obsidian offerings so we should expect to be greatly rewarded, I thought we would be. It seemed logical the Creators took pride in their creations, or at least desired us to find some joy in our lives. But there was no joy, only obsidian taxes and meager food and water enough to keep me searching for more obsidian.

The guard pauses and motions her head to the right. “That way.”

“You’re sure that’s where the man would be?” Darith asks with force in his voice.

“He’ll be down this hall, I assure you.”

“Ladies first.” Darith motions for her to continue in the lead.

Moaning and occasional sobs leak from the walls as we work our way through the corridor. Curiosity overcomes me so I peek through the small barred windows of the doors. Men and women are in each cell, dressed similar to the man in white. They cling to the sides of their confinements in fear. All of them appear skinny and malnourished. The entire place stinks of human excrement. The disgusting waste piles in the corners suggest they’re never brought out of the cells.

I raise my shirt up over my nose to help mask the stink, and Darith does the same.

“Who are these people?” I ask our guide.

“They’re Mahk criminals.”

“Oh really?” Darith chimes in. “And what exactly earns one the title of a Mahk criminal?”

She pauses, as if carefully assessing the best response. “Anyone who refuses to pay their obsidian. This is what happens when you don’t pay your obsidian.”

“I thought you starve to death if you don’t pay taxes!” I retort.

She’s lying through her teeth. Still, I’m not really sure how to coax the truth out of her. It doesn’t matter much anyway. We should find the mystery man soon. He’ll likely be happy to answer our questions.

Trailing behind the two of them, I notice Darith has picked up an extra weapon or two in the baths. He now carries an additional axe along with a bow. That bow could come in handy.

The woman finally halts at a door. “This is where the prisoners are usually sent first.”

“Get him out of there,” Darith demands.

She scoffs. “You said take you to him, not get him out. I don’t have a key!”

“You’re really a bright one, eh?” he snorts. He shoves us both aside then forcefully kicks the door. It doesn’t budge.

Commotion from down the hall draws my attention. “Someone’s coming,” I whisper under my breath.

The woman opens her mouth, but Darith knocks her out before she makes a peep. My arms swoop to catch her so she doesn’t loudly crash to the floor. The wall and I keep her propped up.

“What now?” I ask anxiously.

“Follow me.” He drags the woman with us two doors down and pushes it open. He must be extremely observant to have noticed a barely cracked door on our way through the halls. The cell serves as a perfect cover. We wait a moment until the guards pass.

Next we hear a door open down the hall, followed by some voices, then a struggle. Darith leans cautiously through the doorframe to inspect. He flies out into the hall before I’m through assessing the vexatious sounds. I timidly follow him. The guards have entered the mystery man’s cell, and one has him strapped to a stone table while another is forcibly pouring something into his mouth. One guard speaks to the other. Only a couple words are audible from my distance. They say something about the wall and Kathar. I’ve never heard that word before so it piques my interest. The other guard nods, but his response is interrupted by Darith.

Again, I’ve hardly taken in the scene; meanwhile, Darith is already in action. His towering body swoops across the room in an instant, attacking the guard who poured liquid into the prisoner’s mouth. Darith’s opponent is a fairly plump man that isn’t particularly tall.

I’m close behind, kicking at the other guard, who stands barely above my height.

Knowing the muscles in my arms are pathetic, I rely on my lower body strength. Two good kicks at his chest followed by one to his groin send him to his knees. My dagger is out now, but I can’t bring myself to stab him. Darith’s already finished with his guard, and he’s freed the man in white from his restraints. The man in white massages his wrists where the prickly rope had been. I stash the rope in my bag; it’s a potential tool I’d be foolish to leave behind.

“Quit wastin’ time, will ya, Araina?” he lectures as he bops the guard on his shaved head with his fist, rendering him unconscious. Darith takes down anything in his path like they’re little dandelions. Coordination combined with lack of fear clearly gives him an advantage in combat.

I huff at him a couple times, unable to invent a clever response.

The man in white is okay, but his system is full of whatever they were forcing on him. Two more bottles of liquid remain on the copper tray, so I assume they didn’t finish their treatment. They might be useful in the future. I throw them into my tote. Hopefully they don’t spill.

There’s no time for more observations. Thunderous bells ring out around the castle. I take a deep breath. “I guess they figured out we’re here.”

My hand motions for the man in white to follow as we head back into the dark hall. Darith glances both ways, and he propels back down the direction we came in. He launches a door open then disappears into a cell.

“Darith,” I whisper. “What are you doing, come on!” I pause at the doorway to the cell and find him shaking the woman who led us here.

She opens her eyes, staring blankly in a daze before jumping up with surprise. Sharply tightened lips wordlessly convey her attitude as she remembers. Her eyes roll as Darith smugly says, “Okay, lady, I’m gonna make a sweet deal with ya. Get us out of this place and I’ll let ya live. I’ll even give ya back the bag I stole from ya.”

“You’re so kind,” she replies with agitation.

When we head into the hall, she starts back the way we came.

“Think again. The guards will be looking for us that way. I bet you know a safer way out, right?” My dagger grazes her stomach.

She flinches as it almost pierces through her shirt to her tan skin.

“Fine.” She takes off in the opposite direction.

The four of us swiftly glide through the halls until we come to a dead end. Despair burns in my stomach, my throat, and my lungs.

That’s it, then. She cared more about our capture than saving her own life. Or never knew a good escape route in the first place. My shoulders jolt in response to the sound of Darith’s fist pounding into the wall that denies our escape.

Chapter 5
Trapped

Sweat collects on my palms. My eyes shut for a moment, trying to picture Blue. Remembering our peaceful naps and her pretty big eyes, I escape for one second from the chaos I’ve gotten myself into. Accompanied by a deep breath, I open my eyes again.

Little balls of sweat accumulate above Darith’s eyebrows as he shakes the guard violently. Knowing him, he could kill her at any moment.

The sound of running fills the halls. The guards will be here soon.

“Damn it, lady, I told ya what we’d do if ya decided to pull any tricks on us.” Darith shakes her forcefully in frustration. He extracts a spear from the holder on his back.

“Wait,” she insists.

Her hands flutter quickly to grab the torch on the wall. Standing on her tip toes, she pulls a metallic chain, one of several hanging from the ceiling. Gold, gray, copper, and maroon colors reflect across the space. They clang quietly as she pulls. Until she yanked at one, I assumed they were only decorative. The rest of them may not even have a use, but it would certainly be interesting to discover if they do. Each link in them is thick and formed into a unique shape: some circular, many triangular, and some rectangles.

Grating of stone rumbles as the wall to our left opens. It’s barely cracked. The woman is already sliding through. We follow hastily. Light exudes from the torch revealing a skinny underground tunnel. Exposed roots protrude from the dirt walls.

She pulls another chain from within the dim passageway, causing the door to shut behind us. “That should buy you some time,” she encourages.

Again, I’m unsure of her words. At times, she acts almost pleased to help us, but I don’t know why. It’s possible she wants to win our trust so she can deceive us. Hopefully she can get us out of here quickly so we can ditch her. Being a Creator automatically makes her unlikeable, but I’m rapidly approaching hating her. I’d actually trust her more if she admitted her disdain for us instead of pretending she’s happy to help.

We stumble as quickly as we can on the uneven ground, making our way through the cramped space. Leg muscles tightened and throbbing, breathing staggered, my body is wearing down. We must’ve been in the castle a long time.

“Where is this gonna take us?” Darith inquires.

“Back to the field you came from,” she answers quietly.

Eyes shifted to the ground and wavering in her voice convey her dishonesty. Still, I let every step carry me farther down the path. We can’t very well turn back now. We follow her quietly through mostly straight passageways. Occasionally there’s a turn in our path, but not often.

I utilize the travel time to talk with the man in white. He’s been oddly quiet. The two of us bring up the rear behind Darith and the guard.

“I never got to introduce myself earlier today.” I glance back at him.

A vacant expression occupies his face. The man’s light brown eyes still haven’t made contact with mine. He seems unsure of what I’m talking about. “Have we met before?” he asks.

“You remember? You came through the labyrinth wall. Then you healed me.” I point at my leg, but the Creator guard pants I now wear conceal the undamaged skin. “It was amazing. I’d never seen anything like that before.”

His eyes blink a couple times in such a way I can tell he’s trying to figure something out. “Are you sure that was me? I don’t remember. I don’t really remember anything at all.”