Labyrinth Wall (9780991531219) (9 page)

Fifteen Creator guards are advancing on foot in our direction. By this time, they’ve seen us for certain.

“Let’s see…” Korun looks at me inquisitively. “Now what?”

“Now we run!”

Korun takes Rase, his strength making it easier to force her along.

I bolt swiftly but find myself hanging back for Korun and Rase. She refuses to make this simple for us.

I’m problem solving intensely as the guards gain on us. They’re probably a quarter of a mile away.

Korun finally catches up to me. “We aren’t going…to make it,” he says hoarsely, trying to catch his breath.

“No, I agree. We can’t outrun them like this.” My finger points a different direction from our initial route. “We need to head for the Rotting Pass!”

“Rotting Pass?” he repeats nervously. “Doesn’t sound good.”

“You’re mad!” Rase’s lip curls. “The Creators don’t even venture there.”

“Exactly,” I respond, “it’s our only chance to lose them. Come on.” I motion again down the newly selected passageway.

The guards are drawing nearer. Their arrows speed through the air.

Grabbing Rase’s other arm, I help Korun drag her as we run for our lives.

I’ve never actually gone through the pass before. Rase is right to be scared of the place. Still, we stand a better chance of survival there than in the hands of the Creators. Fortunately, we make a couple turns so the walls provide cover from the guards’ deadly arrows.

“We’re almost there,” I tell Korun. The foggy path beneath towering canopy trees comes into view. “There!” I point.

He nods. He must have a million questions, but he refrains.

We converge with the dark overgrown valley of decay. “Stay behind me,” I tell him. “There are things to look out for in this place. Be careful.”

“That was my plan. Think you’ve got this figured out better than me.”

We all take in the maze of giant tree roots along the ground entering the Rotting Pass. Attempting to maintain our speed, I navigate the roots smoothly, sometimes having to leap across them. Korun doesn’t stray from the path my footprints create. Upon our entry, even Rase is cooperating. That’s in her best interest. Now that we have dragged her into this death trap, she’ll have to work with us to survive.

The guards have let up on the shooting now, probably due to the large trees protecting us from their view. They laugh as we work our way deeper in this place.

“We’ll keep guard here, but they aren’t going to make it out anyway.”

“Can you believe how stupid the Mahk are?” another chimes in. “Intentionally running into the Rotting Pass. They’ll never make it out.”

They’re all so smug and proud.
At least our impending deaths can be of entertainment to someone
.

“Looks like they’re not coming in after us,” I tell Korun and Rase. “For that matter, I think we’re far enough they can’t shoot at us.”

“It does look that way,” Korun agrees.

My root skipping comes to a stop as musty air settles on my skin. Despite the chilling atmosphere, the trees are breathtaking. They’re far wider than others in the labyrinth and much taller. The branches tend to grow away from the parallel walls, forming a canopy roof over the pass. Black and silver moss hangs hauntingly still above us. The entire area is shaded, enabling it to be cooler than most of the labyrinth.

“Rotting Pass?” Korun interrupts my thoughts. “Why such a daunting name?”

“Because no one ever survives this place, and we assume their corpses all rot in here,” Rase answers bluntly.

“Thanks, Rase, for putting that so delicately,” I respond sharply. “That
is
where the name comes from, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make it through. Other people might die in here, but they don’t have a miracle worker with them.” I bat my eyes cleverly and smile at him.

Despite the dismay in his slouched body language, a small grin cracks across his face.

“At least we have some idea what to look out for,” I encourage him.

“And what’s that?” he replies.

“Based on my previous observations from the edge of the pass, it’s filled heavily with fumes. Those are common in the labyrinth. Not a problem. They’re small steaming volcanoes attached to the walls. Small, as in tiny,” I emphasize, “and easy to avoid. As long as we don’t set one off, we’ll be fine. There’s one now.” I point.

“What happens if we set one off?”

“It releases poisonous gas.”

“The fumes aren’t exactly comforting, but they can be avoided. That can’t be all there is to this place,” he pushes.

“There’s more, be patient,” I scold him “Some reports suggest the ground consumes people.”

He doesn’t look pleased as he warily eyes the terrain.

“That’s not going to happen to us. Stay away from the softer looking patches of ground. Basically, near the trees is best.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” he admits. “That all I need to know?”

“No,” Rase jumps in. “She hasn’t even told you the worst part. Go ahead, Araina.” She nudges my arm.

“The saber tooth mutts are supposed to be a bit problematic,” I confess. “I don’t know much about them, or even if they really exist. Rumors say they devour anything that enters this place.”

“You know any secrets to dealing with those?”

“Climb the trees?” I offer.

“I guess we’ll deal with that if and when the time comes,” Korun replies. “For now, let’s try to get through here as quickly as we can manage.”

I don’t argue with that statement. This creepy place makes me shiver.

“Now that I know all about it, let me lead,” Korun insists.

“I’m fine. I’ve dealt with the rock wall fumes for two years, so let me.” I push past him and Rase.

We make our way, step by step, through the obnoxious tall roots on the ground. Staying near those makes the soft ground easy to sidestep. Unfortunately, the roots bring us in close proximity to the jagged labyrinth walls, but working around the fumes doesn’t pose much of a problem either. We cover a decent amount of distance in about an hour, which increases my confidence we can make it to the other side if no other problems arise.

Every couple minutes, I glance behind me. Korun and Rase are making sound progress.

“I guess you over-estimated the pass,” I tell Rase.

She rolls her eyes. “We’re not through yet,” she retorts.

I look over my shoulder preparing to spout a smart comeback, but my foot catches on a tall root. As I fall forward, my body threatens to sway toward the soft ground. In a panic, I dart back toward the wall, but my hand braces my fall only a couple feet from one of the miniature steam volcanoes.

Korun grabs my arm, yanking both me and Rase past the danger. Then we hear a loud pop. Gas starts spewing into the air.

We’re running again, this time from the gas instead of the Creators.

“Cover your mouth!” Korun’s muffled voice instructs.

I’ve already done that and so has Rase, but he didn’t notice. Our shirts are pulled up over our noses, but I know that isn’t going to do much good.

As we push forward, I’m getting dizzy.

“Don’t stop!” Korun demands, but it’s obvious he’s being affected too. He’s stumbling, and his speech is slurred.

I’m fighting to keep my focus, despite the fumes. Things are getting hazy.

“Korun?” I call out when I lose sight of him in the mist.

I vaguely make out a response, but I’m not sure which direction it came from. The sound was so muffled, I’m not even positive it was Korun.

Growling rumbles around us, and I’d guess it didn’t come from the gas. I try desperately to keep my eyes peeled, but they sting. It’s difficult to distinguish each root on the ground from under my barely open eyelids.

Animalistic growling still fills my ears, but I can’t see anything around me. I’m moving laggard now, from one tree to the next, pausing to prop myself on each one.

The roars are getting louder. They might be a figment of my imagination, brought on by the poisonous gas. My arms and legs feel heavier than usual. It’s hard to think clearly, as if I’m drifting in and out of awareness.

“Korun?” I say again quietly.

This time I don’t hear anything but rumbling.

Two dogs appear in front of me. Mist mostly conceals their details, but they growl ferociously. The bloodthirsty canines must be thrilled to have found me in my disoriented state.

One barks loudly, causing me to jump with fright.

They’re waiting for me to make the first move, probably excited for the chase.

The effects of the gas are so strong, stifling. There’s no way to outrun them. I waver for a moment before reaching for the branches above; applying all my strength I pull myself up.

The mutts charge ferociously, some yipping while others howl. Evidently the rumors of the saber tooth mutts were true, or else the poisonous gas has brought on some very serious hallucinations.

My arms barely hoist me onto a large branch in time. The sharp tip of a claw scratches my foot before I pull it up.

Energy is draining from me rapidly. Just a little higher, I need to get a little higher in the tree. Out of reach from the mutts, but I still need more distance from the gas.

My eyes are failing badly now. Only blurry objects are around me. I grasp for a branch within my reach.

Snap.

Now I’m falling. Don’t even have the ability to scream. Like a wilted flower tumbling from a tree, I’m helplessly writhing through the air. My weight collides violently with the ground, my back making first impact. There must be pain, but I’m too shaken up to know. Any second, I’ll be dog food.

Drool drips in my eyes. It’s pointless to open them.
Why keep trying?
My body refuses to respond to anything I ask of it. Korun and Rase are likely in no better shape. It’s the end of my road. I close my eyes and greet the unconscious abyss brought on by the poisonous gas.

Chapter 10
House of Mutts

Everything before my loss of consciousness is unclear. The guards chased us into the Rotting Pass. Korun, Rase, and I were making our way through the tall roots of the huge trees. Attempting to avoid the soft ground, we pushed forward, dodging the rock wall fumes. We were doing well. The Rotting Pass didn’t seem so bad after all. At some point, cockiness got the best of me. Rubbing Rase’s face in how well we were doing led to me tripping and setting off the fumes. It’s extremely difficult to recall anything that happened after that. I can’t discern in my memory what was real or what was dreamt.

A dank smell makes me sick to my stomach. The patter of animals running around, along with other various noises, invades my ears. I’m fully conscious now, but I’m too afraid to open my eyes. My pinky wiggles, so I guess my body is responsive. My eyes open.

My vision has recovered. Everything is clear around me, but it’s not a pleasant scene. Two saber tooth mutts sit directly across from me, watching me intently. They’re fairly sizable creatures, about four feet tall in their seated position. Drool drips from their mouths as they pant heavily. Little drops of blood fall from their giant fangs every few seconds. It’s not my blood, but whatever the blood came from must have fared poorly against them. They’re a deep ashen color with short-haired shiny coats. All the skin on their faces is scrunched, giving it a wrinkled appearance. Ears pointed straight up in the air, they refuse to look away from me. I hate their beady little eyes.

Rope binds my arms and legs to a chair. There’s more going on than I’ve been able to discern. I can’t imagine what or who would have tied me up in the Rotting Pass. For a second, I think Simul and the Creators are behind this, but this isn’t their style.

Wiggling in an effort to dislodge myself from the rope proves useless. Its coarse texture scrapes my skin. I try standing, attempting to bring the chair with me, but it’s a permanent fixture, attached to the ground.

Whining sounds to my left. My eyes look up past the terrifying mutts. I would have guessed the sounds came from animals, but they came from people. They’re crouched over or lying on their sides, whimpering pathetically as if they were animals. Collars around their necks connect to the wall via chains.

“Help me.” I try to get their attention.

No one responds. They won’t even look at me.

“Hello,” I keep trying. “What is this place? Can you help me?”

They’re horrified to communicate at all, or they don’t even know how. Realistically, they should probably be the ones asking for help. Some of them are wearing Mahk clothing and others Creator clothing. The round labyrinth symbol has been torn from their garb. Obviously, not everyone who enters the Rotting Pass dies, though this seems a worse fate. Some end up here. I still don’t know where here is.

I force myself to focus. My gaze travels the space around me. If I’m quick enough, maybe I can get out of here before whoever bound me to this chair comes back. With the poisonous fumes out of my system, it may be possible to outrun the mutts.

The walls are comprised of dark wooden boards. I follow the lines between the boards up to the arched ceiling. Really, the place isn’t that big. My chair is facing two large windows in the back of the house. The same huge trees from the rest of the Rotting Pass can be seen through their dirty glass panes. Shelves line the twelve-foot tall walls. Carved wooden dogs in various poses live on the shelves. Some are playing, and others taking a nap. All are carved with delicate care. Whoever created them spent a lot of time going into elaborate detail.