Page 11 of Of Monsters and Mazes

I’ve been working in fantasy games for far too long.

“I already know you’re not disappointed. The rhythm of your heart beat certainly isn’t the drum of fear, Sela.” He snorted, and I hid my face so he wouldn’t see me blush. Stupid magic senses. “Back on track now.” He twirled a finger in the air. “In your world, my subjects are typically referred to as ‘devils.’ A judgmental designation, in my opinion, but words only have the power that you give them. I quite like the power I get from such a title, truth be told.”

I rolled my eyes, “So this is literally Hell?”

Jericho scrunched up his nose at the question. “We call it Tartarus, but I suppose you can call it whatever you want. The concept is the same.”

“Does that make you Satan?” I raised a brow.

He raised one back. “There’s more than one realm in Hell, Fraulein. He’s several circles down. Jericho is, in fact, my real name.”

“Cool.” I shook my head and attempted to push the conversation along. Holding onto this branch was getting exhausting. “And I’m here as a tribute? A tribute to what?”

“To me, obviously.” The grin on his face could only be described as catlike. “Since you seem interested in the lore of it all, many millennia ago, the gods of Olympus thought it would be cute and funny to break down my gates and invade my kingdom. Which was especially amusing considering how pampered and civil they are up there. They had no clue what they were in for. I’ll just say, our trauma runs deep, and hurt people definitely hurt people. Some more violently than others.”

“I noticed.” I couldn’t not pluck that low hanging fruit.

“Thank you, I always try to be honest about my intentions.” The friendly smile didn’t suit him. “Anyway, when we crushed and murdered half their fluffy little army, in exchange for not invading their realm and brutalizing their families in vengeance, we agreed that they owed me a debt of blood. I would get to take a mortal of my choosing from any territory under their protection every year for the rest of time, so long as they wanted to retain peace. If you’d seen the beating they’d taken, you would understand why they were so quick to agree with such a small ask.”

Christ, he really liked to listen to himself talk.

“And then?” I motioned with my fingers as much as was possible while squeezing onto that tree for dear life.

“That’s all, really. We’re really not complicated people. I choose a tribute each year, and I choose what I want to do with them. Typically, I just enjoy the spectacle of their violent murders at the hands of my various toys, beasts, and traps, but that’s gotten boring. Plus, I’ve already decided that I like you, so I thought I’d mix it up a bit this year. I’ve had the same slave for ages now, and you’ve done a great job on building that cute ass of yours, so why not give you a chance to impress me.”

Lucky me. Note to self: No more glute days.

“Do those kind of sweet nothings work on all the girls?” No longer wanting to look at his stupid face and waste stupid time, I resumed navigating the rocks and trees to get myself down. This guy was an idiot.

“No.” He remained at the top, yet his voice was always loud and clear. “Just the emotionally damaged ones.”

“You’re hilarious.” I glared at him, while I inched my foot towards another tree branch.

“I always aim to please, Fraulein.”

“Well you’re doing a terrible job then.” I made sure my next sigh was adequately loud and exasperated, much to his amusement.

“Your cat seemed fine with my technique.”

Low blow.

“Speaking of which, if you’re here, who’s taking care of Pumpkin? If you put my cat in a cage, I swear to fucking—Ah!” My foot slipped and my whole life flashed before my eyes. I flailed for a saving branch, but there was nothing in reach.

Every mistake I’d made paraded through my vision, nearly blurring the view of the ever nearing ground as I plummeted to my death. I’d let him distract me, and now I’d already lost this whole event on obstacle number one. I resented myself for playing directly into his hands. It was a surreal moment, realizing I was truly about to meet my end, yet somehow not believing it at the same time.

Delusional.

That was what my last boyfriend had called me. I’d thought he was a gaslighting son of a bitch at the time, but in these moments before I landed head first into the hard ground, yet remained in unexpectedly calm denial about reality, I suppose I was a bit delusional. The fact that I had the gumption, audacity, and arrogance to think I was going to take on a magical king in his murder kingdom and win was just a testament to that fact.

My terror was masked by my complete and utter disbelief. Knowing he was on top of the cliff watching me fall made it worse somehow. At the very least, the fact that I was about to disappoint him by dying so soon, stealing his chance to be entertained at my expense, was marginally satisfying. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my imminent end as it came to pass.

“Careful, careful, my beautiful princess.”

I heard the words as my body landed on hardened muscles, and my nose was filled with the comforting scent of vanilla and nutmeg. At some point, Jericho had jumped down to the lowest branch, scooped me up in his arms, and cradled me against his chest. He’d moved so quickly, I was still trying to process that I was no longer falling. The ridiculous thought that I felt safe in his arms entered my head, and I shoved it back out in pure anger.

“I don’t need your help. I would have caught myself somehow.” The fuck I would have, but I’ll be damned if I’m telling him that.

“Of course you would have.” His laugh was low and mocking, and I resented the gentle way it vibrated through me. “Consider this your one and only free pass. I promise I won’t get in your way again in the future.”