After a few painstaking minutes of searching, I came up completely empty-handed. Not wanting to waste any more precious time—who knew when the owner of this place would return—I pressed my body against one of the cool stone walls, using it to feel for a door.
Twice, I bumped into objects that were decidedly furniture—a small desk and a sitting chair—before I finally found where the stone transitioned to wood. I took a half-step back, making sure to keep contact with what I assumed was the door, before searching for the metal of the handle. After a moment ofcontinued bumbling and a few low-muttered curses, I finally grasped a metal ring and twisted.
Mercifully, the door was unlocked, and I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
The door was large and heavy, and it squeaked slightly when I pulled it open just enough to see through the crack into the hallway beyond.
Light streamed through the crack into the room, which temporarily blinded me. I squinted against the sunlight, rapidly blinking to clear the black floating spots from my eyes. Eventually, the hallway beyond the room came into focus, and I was met with a sea of black stone.
The ceilings, floors, and walls were all the same scarab-colored stone that sparkled and shone in the sunlight.
Where in the name of the gods was I?
I’d never evenheardof a place with stone walls that shone, much less seen one.
Finally drawing my gaze away from the spectacle that was the building, I scanned the area for signs of life. Strangely, there were none. The same soundlessness permeated the space, which, coupled with the strange shining black stone, started to prick the back of my neck in unease.
I shoved the feeling down, the need to escape too high to ignore.
Content I wasn’t going to be caught by Mages or guards, I shoved the door open enough to slip my body through the crack, which was significantly easier than it would have been even three months ago.
I peered down at my body as I shimmied through, my back pressed against the doorjamb, and my stomach dropped. My abdomen was sucked nearly into my spine, exposing each of my ribs and the ending curve of my ribcage. My legs were thin and my knees knobby. Even my dick looked smaller than usual.
My skin bore the marks of years under my mother’s tobacco roll and well-placed abuse in addition to the more recent evidence of my months on the streets. Indecipherable scars and marks littered my body, and I grimaced.
No one will find this beautiful anymore.
I nearly snorted aloud at the thought, but caught myself in time.
To be concerned with vanity at a time like this.
I tore my gaze from my body before slipping the remainder of the way through the open door. I left it cracked, not daring to take the time to shut it and risk alerting anyone in the vicinity of my presence.
Left or right?
Both sides of the hallway ended in a corridor, their directions completely unknown.
Fuck.
Instinct, something whispering in my mind, told me to go left. I left the safety of the doorway and hugged the side of the hall, sticking as close to the shadows as possible.
My bare feet slapped against the cold stone as I quickly approached the end of the hallway. I peeked around the corner into the corridor, trying to decipher which way to continue. Again, something whispered in my mind to take another left. I heeded its call, quickly scanning for signs of life. Content there was still no one present, I hurried around the corner and down the hallway.
I progressed this way for some time. Running alongside walls in the shadows, peeking my head around corners, and keeping alert for any signs of other occupants or someone in pursuit.
The quiet was eerier than normal, and by the fifth turn, the hair on my neck was standing on end.
Where were the occupants?
Eventually, the hallways began to blur together, a mass of glistening black stone and arched wooden doors. Twice, I thought I’d inadvertently returned to the hallway where I started, but I never found the open door that led to the room where I awoke.
The further I ran, the quicker I tired.
Fuck.
My breaths came in short, shallow pants, and it was getting difficult to disguise my presence. I was sure my panting and exhausted flapping of my feet could be heard hallways away, but I continually pressed onward. The humming in my mind grew louder the further I traveled until it was all-encompassing.
I blinked and rubbed my forehead as I ran, trying to dislodge the sound. The temporary blindness caused me to not check my surroundings, and the result was careening directly into a solid wood door.
