Page 50 of Of Monsters and Mazes

That was when I realized we were in yet another closed room. The walls had already risen, blocking every exit, and it was just a matter of time before the next challenge would be issued.

“I think I’m okay now.” I tested my weight bearing, shifting from one foot to the other until I could confidently hold myself up.

Alessi nodded in agreement, before he moved straight into the more pressing topic. “If everything goes as usual, we’ll be given pair challenges from here. I’ve done this before. It can get uncomfortable, but you’ll just have to trust me.”

“You said that was a devil relaxant? What does that mean?” I insisted. I could still feel my heart beating in my chest with an uncomfortable vividness. My head felt hot, and my limbs were uncharacteristically heavy. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle. I’m not a devil, after all.” He dismissed me with a wink. “Though it affected you a bit more than I expected. I wonder why that is?” His genuine confusion surprised me. I wanted more of an explanation, but before I could sort out the words in my muddled brain, the next command began etching itself along the wall.

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper, it said.

A new pair of cubby’s appeared at shoulder level, both hidden by a small sliding door. As much as I wanted to turn back and not see how much worse this rabbit hole might be, I willed my feet to carry me over to the two compartment doors.

I already knew I had to keep playing the game, and there was no point in pretending there was any other choice. Just like I’d always done: head down, work hard, and don’t give up.

I reached for the knobs.

Chapter 25

Back in my castle, I returned to the throne room to see just how this little game was going. I didn’t have to worry whether or not Theron would do as he was told, but who knew what manner of tomfoolery I could expect from the fox. Alessi was a wild card and a hex on the entire realm on his best days, and I looked forward to a time when I didn’t have to account for his meddling. If I ever successfully caught that bastard, I would revel in tying him up and dropping him at Zeus’ feet.

Though that didn’t mean I didn’t look forward to seeing him struggle alongside my Fraulein in the meantime. The Yellow Sector was always fun and full of surprises, and there was no reason they shouldn’t have made it at least that far by now.

As I entered the room, Pumpkin was nestled on my throne, stretched out across the entire cushion. Mildly annoyed by his possessiveness, but also not wanting to disrupt a good stretching session like some sort of sociopath, I opted to stand as I watched the projection.

Alessi was forcing her to place a needle in his neck, and he was stuffing his own into her arm. They were locked together, and the mortification and fear shining in her damp eyes was delightful. Just seeing her affected so strongly by every death defying twist and turn made my cock twitch. She was a fighter purely out of necessity, but she was just as soft as anyone else on the inside. I never tired of the duality of the human spirit. Women were fascinating.

“Rai.” I hollered to my pet. He should be enjoying this too, after all. The maze was a part of his soul, each segment covering different portions of his personality in incredibly obscure and indiscernible metaphors, but as the Yellow Sector pulled from his own deepest fears and desires to craft its challenges, he didn’t often watch the tributes navigate it. I couldn’t say how much control he had over the specifics—it was much more likely an involuntary manifestation of his mood—but I still wanted him to be present. I’d just spoiled him with a date last week. He could at least cuddle with me for a movie night.

Plus, considering he didn’t seem to like the woman, it would surely be gratifying to see her suffer at the hands of his own irritation.

I waited for several moments for him to come at my beckon call, yet after multiple minutes passed, there was still no sign or answer from him.

That was odd.

Mildly offended, I headed towards his room. I could sense his location through his slave collar, so I knew he was in the castle, but I had no idea why he was being difficult. It wasn’t like him to disobey me. Not recently anyway.

The light was off in his room, and I took the initiative to turn it on. He practically hissed as the pitch black bedchamber lit up.

I leaned against his doorframe with my arms crossed. “Sleeping? At this time of year, my pet?”

Rai scrunched up tightly into fetal position, but he didn’t answer. The glisten of sweat twinkled on his temples, and the moisture collected on the too many piercings in his ears and on his eyebrows, his lip, and his nose. He burrowed his face more deeply into himself.

Very unusual. I’d never seen a devil take on illness, and yet he currently seemed near human in his distress level. Like he was fighting off a killer hang over or a flu.

“Rai, Love. What’s wrong?” I attempted when he continued to ignore me. I paced over to his bed, then gently brushed his bangs from his forehead. His hair, his skin, his everything was drenched in cold sweat. If I was capable of compassion, I might have been concerned. But since I was absolutely not capable of such weakness, I crouched and checked his temperature by comparing the feel of our foreheads, largely as a means of satisfying my curiosity over this odd development. For unfeeling research purposes.

“I’m fine.” He muttered, and I absolutely did not believe him. I moved my touch down to his collar, and I verified it wasn’t malfunctioning. I’d not actually used the thing in an age, so there was no reason it should be pulsing anything through him on its own.

“You don’t look fine—”

The minotaur shot upright and grabbed a waste basket, where he promptly heaved his guts out. I watched on as my strongest warrior became a sniveling pile, and I blinked rapidly trying to understand what I was looking at. He resembled a tribute trying to reject poison, rather than a proud devil bull who got off on the death of humans.

His hands shook as they gripped the basket, and snot dripped from his nose ring while trace bile dribbled off his lips.

“Can I… get you anything?” I asked with both concern and disbelief.

“No.” He mumbled before he collapsed back on his pillow and returned to fetal position. He resumed his shivering in this eighty degree room, and I stood up and frowned.