Just one circuit to go, and you’re done.
Forcing myself to stand, I shivered as I stumbled toward the end of the passage. A U-turn later, I pushed through the dangling moss. A heavy silence descended just as a scorching heat washed over me.
Layers of sand covered the ground here. Dead branches peeked through the cracked walls. Cacti, skinny bushes, and thorny shrubs could be seen here and there. Pebbles sporadically peeked out of the sand, small and sharp. Shimmering heat waves rose from the floor, making my view of the passage swim ever so slightly.
The air was just as dry as it had been in the last circuit, only it didn’t have a frosty tang. Instead, it was boiling hot—no exaggeration. I could have toasted bread off the ground, I was sure of it.
My fingers and toes tingled as warmth bled back into them. Spotting a tarantula crawling along the floor, I pulled aface and shook the snow crystals from my clothes and hair. I had the distinct feeling that this circuit was going to be one of my least favorites.
I started to walk, the hot ground heating the soles of my boots to seriously uncomfortable levels. At least my ankle was feeling somewhat better now.
Sand shifted beneath my feet and clung to my boots, causing them to make a loud scraping sound with every step I took.
I couldn’t simply walk straight. There too were many things obstructing my path. Small boulders. Twisting tree roots. Prickly cacti. Thin shrubs. Fallen or dangling branches. As such, I had to do a lot of sidestepping, hopping, dipping, and turning on my side to squeeze past any obstacles clustered together.
I also had to pretend that there weren’t a lot of dead, decaying insects sprawled on their back on the ground. I wasn’t sure what killed them. The heat? Predators? The Minotaur? There was no way to be sure.
A light breeze piped up and whispered over my chapped lips and damp skin. There was nothing cool about the gentle brush of wind but it felt good all the same.
Gods, I’d give a kidney in exchange for a drink right now. My mouth was all dry and sticky, my tongue felt kind of swollen, and my throat ached with both thirst and the discomfort of breathing in the dry air.
Soon enough, I was so hot that I had to shove up my sleeves and roll up the legs of my breeches. I would have shed my tunic all together, but it would be like leaving a trail for the minotaur to follow. If it came upon the garment, it would catch my scent and hunt me.
I took a sharp turn, careful not to trip over a dying shrub. I skidded to a stop as my eyes landed on a big patch of driedblood. Like the last one, it had been smeared by the drag of something large.
An animal, I adamantly insisted to myself. It was just an animal.
Even as my mind tried protesting that, I shoved my uncertainties aside and kept walking. As I came upon what appeared to be my first real challenge, I paused to study it even as my whole system wentugh.
Seven thick logs zigzagged in a forward-fashion along the center of the floor. A portion of the floor that was covered in cacti spines, which meant there would be no running over or around it. The thing was … the logs themselves were also covered in spines, so there would be no walking over them either.
There were, however, square patches of baked earth zigzaggingbeneaththe logs in the alternate forward direction. Which meant that the only way to pass the obstacle was to jump over each log diagonally, always ensuring that my feet landed on a square.
It didn’t sound too hard. Typically, I wouldn’t worry about it. But my coordination wasn’t at its best, and my balance was shot to shit.
Swearing to myself, I shoved my damp curls from my face and crossed to the first log. I’d fought my way through harder challenges today. Of course, I hadn’t felt weak as a kitten then, but …
Shaking off that thought, I tossed my leg over the log and pressed my foot down on the square there. All right. So far so good.
A growl echoed throughout the cavern.
I stilled, my heart thrashing in my chest. The growl had come from somewhere behind me, and I wasn’t sure justhowfar behind. Terror crawled over me, sharp and ice-cold.
Move, move, move.
Trying for stealth, I carefully eased my other leg over the log. Which was right when the square began to tremble. Shift.Crumble.
Fuck. The grating sounds didnothelp my need for stealth.
Moving as fast as I dared, I cleared the second log. The exact same thing happened: the square shook and heaved and felt as if it would crumble to nothing. So, once more, I acted fast. The pattern yet again repeated itself with the third log. And the fourth. And the fifth.
I quickly eased my first leg over the sixth log—
Another grating growl drifted through the passage.
I made a misstep as my body jerked in panic, and my foot landed right on the bed of thorns. I clenched my jaw to muffle a pained hiss as I snatched my foot back and then carefully stepped onto the square. Ithurt. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt. The thorns had pierced my boots and stabbed the bottom of my foot.
I couldn’t afford to baby the injury, though. Couldn’t afford to even think about it. I needed to get on the move againpronto.
