Page 116 of The Song of Sunrise
The old Akemi would have frozen. Would have waited for assurances.
But I am not her. Not anymore.
The area in front of me is dark, almost pitch black. My eyes barely have time to adjust before I slam into something hard. A stone wall.
Ouch.
I brush my hands along the unforgiving stone, feeling for a divot or corner or something. I need to slow down. Assess the situation. How is my breathing already labored when I only just began? I take a few breaths and back away from the wall. It appears endless, stone disappearing into the murky black depths above. A draft of crisp air is the only indication that the maze opens to the night sky beyond. I squint my eyes to get a better look. Dark clouds are barely visible beyond the top of the stone wall, outlined by a sliver of moonlight.
I’m alone. Selene and Gryphon are nowhere to be seen. In fact, there aren’t any champions around me at all.
Every door must have portaled each champion into a different part of the maze!
I cast a smallsunfyrespell and lift the ball of light in my palm, illuminating the area surrounding me. There is only one pathway to the left.
With no other option in sight, I stride forward at a brisk walk. Fast enough to cover ground, but slow enough to stop myself before slamming into another wall.
I reach the edge of the aisle, dragging my fingertips along the rough hewn edges of the stone. With my sight limited, I’ll have to resort to using my other senses. The aisle comes to an end,splitting into two different paths. I choose a direction, following no logic other than my gut.
Left.
After a few minutes, the sense of dread that started as a seed has taken root in my gut.
It’s quiet. Eerily quiet.
I keep turning left until I hear the clash of metal ahead. I stifle mysunfyreand run straight ahead. My arms are just long enough to touch either side of the wall with my fingertips.
“Get off me, you bitch!”
“I take that as a compliment.”
Slowing my pace, I peek around the edge of the wall. Cassiopeia has Pictor Lang pinned to the wall. Both first-stones are impressive duelists, but Cassi always has that hungry gleam in her eye. Blood is splattered along the floor, and from what I can tell, both cadets are injured. We aren’t supposed to be making killing blows, but deep down, I know that Cassiopeia, Sabra, and Ragnar would do it. The Jord team has been playing dirty this whole time; what would stop them now?
I compartmentalize any empathy for Pictor. I have to focus on myself.
Get to the center of the maze. Win the Summit. When I phrase it that way, it sounds easy enough, right? Words can be weapons, even if they are the ones I tell myself.
If Cassiopeia and Pictor want to lose time dueling, so be it. After all, one is representing the Jord, the other the Human sponsors. As one of Terraguard’s champions, I should stay separate.
The edge of the opening is mostly lit, but if I can just slip past them in the shadows near the edge, I can keep straight in the maze…
“Hey! Who is that?” Pictor yells, no doubt trying to use anything as a distraction from the knife at his throat.
Shit, shit, shit.
I run full speed ahead and snuff out mysunfyre. Throwing my hands out to each side to feel for the walls, I run, rolling my feet carefully with each stride, so as not to make a sound. The only things guiding me in the darkness are my bleeding fingertips and the faint pulling sensation that leads me with each turn. It’s an indescribable feeling of rightness.
Come find me.
I’m here.
This way.
As sure as a compass, I can feel the pull of the Helios Blessing. Can the other champions hear the siren song of the object? I begin to run, using it as a guide to pick my way through the gigantic stone walls. After ten minutes in near darkness, I miraculously manage not to flatten myself into a wall. And what about these “obstacles”? It’s strange that I haven’t run into anything yet—other than the walls.
I approach another split in the maze and take the path leading to the right.
Left. Left. Straight. Right. Left. Left. Right.
