I made it.
The pendant pulsed as if agreeing. I pushed up and shoved against them, then tried wedging my fingers in the crack and pulling on them. They refused to open. With a huff, I used mybody weight and slammed against them, only to bounce off and hit the ground. The orbs swayed from my effort, making the light dance along the walls.
“Did you think it would be easy to leave?”
I scrambled back on my hands and feet as Astaroth strolled out of the shadows. He blended so well with them with his darker hair and skin that he could’ve been there the whole time and I wouldn’t have known, unless I saw his eyes. They twinkled in the darkness. Squatting in front of me, he shrunk his intimidating size to appear more human.
“Shouldn’t you be looking for a pixie?”
“Answer the question.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I almost made it.”
“Made it where, exactly?”
Compelled to tell the truth, I said, “To the portal that will take me home.”
Astaroth’s head leaned to the side, his features softening in the warm light. “There is nothing beyond these walls, Calista.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Astaroth stood and faced the door. With a quick twitch of his hands, they opened with a loud groan. He raised an arm, gesturing for me to exit.
Hesitant, I joined him at the threshold. Dirt rested against the bricks and extended as far as I could see. I refused to believe nothing was out there. “You’re trying to trick me again. It’s dark, that’s why we can’t see it from here.”
“The only portals that exist are the ones I create. They require too much energy to leave open. Random humans and animals would wander through.” He looked down at me. “Or out.”
A terrifying roar came from within the labyrinth. I knew that roar and never wanted to come face to maw with that… thing ever again. I spun around, looking for it, but the outer corridorwas silent. The only movement was the slow slithering of the thick vines that had grown over the walls.
“Day’s end is not kind to outsiders, as I’m certain you remember,” he whispered.
Memories flooded my mind and slicked my body with a nervous sheen. Of course I remembered. He was the one who tossed me to the proverbial wolves. Any sane person would never forget it, nor would they be sane after. Yet here I was—again—questioning my sanity.
“It’s not kind to insiders either.” I turned to him, but he wasn’t there. “Where’d you go?”
His voice echoed off the inside of the labyrinth walls. “Better hurry. Their dinner time approaches.”
Another roar sounded not far away.
“Astaroth!” I shout-whispered as I crept along the wall in search of him. Silence. That bastard left me to figure out this puzzle yet again. Was this my punishment for trying to escape?
No. I’ll be okay. He won’t let his personal sex slave die. That defeats the entire purpose of me being here.
With careful, quiet steps, I eased along the inner wall trying to spot the hidden openings that blended in. Maybe I could find the tunnel that spit me out and climb it back to the beginning. Frustrated, I began patting the walls as I went.
Light clicks nearby raised the hairs on my neck. I exhaled slowly and glanced over my shoulder. Glistening, razor sharp teeth grinned back at me from a gaping mouth. Hunched over me on two bird-like legs was one of the most terrifying things I’d ever encountered and hoped to never encounter again. It reminded me of an extraterrestrial ostrich. Or velociraptor. A velostrich. Its dingy, pointed teeth spun like a circular saw as they opened to reveal rows of the same teeth inside, only smaller. Then, it screeched. The high pitch made me clamp my hands over my ears to keep my rattling eardrums from bursting.I bolted. The second I moved, so did it. I stared down the long path, remembering that the outer corridor of the labyrinth went on forever. The only way out was through the doorways residing along the walls, hidden from view to outsiders. This was the guardian of those doors.
“To conquer your fears, you must face them.”A voice rang clearly in my memory as I ran, but I couldn’t remember who had said that to me before.
This was not something I wanted to face, but I was not in peak physical shape and couldn’t keep going. The bird from hell was gnashing those saliva-covered teeth at my heels.
“Fuck,” I gasped, lungs burning, as I leaped over a giant dead root I almost missed. Then it occurred to me: nothing in this place was ever as it seemed. It was all ass-backward and puzzling, much like the labyrinth. Maybe I didn’t have to literally face it.
Here goes nothing, I thought, and dove onto the unforgiving bricks nearest the wall and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the stampede of talons. It never happened. The velostrich moved so fast that it ran right past me. I jerked my head up when it screeched. It attempted to shuffle its awkward shaped body around, but its feet couldn’t turn. Neck stretched out, it furiously pecked in my direction.
“Shit,” I grumbled as it wobbled backward to reach me.
I shoved to my feet and jogged back the way I came. The thing stopped screeching and gave up the farther I got. I finally slowed and caught my breath. Thankfully, I would be deep inside the labyrinth by the time the velostrich made its way back around.
