Page 118 of The Song of Sunrise
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s going to be okay.” I will not believe otherwise.
“Trap!” she warns. Leaf stands and backs away, surveying the dark aisle.
Thhhunk.
Leaf stumbles forward. An arrow protrudes from the side of his leg.
“LEAF!” I scream.
He slides carefully down the side of the wall, grunting in pain.
I crawl to him, keeping low to the floor, and grab ahold of his large, warm hands. He is always so warm. It kills me to see him injured like this. I let the fury bubble inside at the Sponsors and their political games. It’s one thing to compete in the Summit as a way of reforming an alliance and peace betweentreaty members. It’s another thing to prepare the maze to kill champions. For what? To kill your opponent’s champions so yours can win? Is the advantage of negotiating the treaty first really worth the death of others?
I think of Atlys and the people of Terraguard, trapped under the surface, unable to feel the sun’s warmth, see its light, because of other’s biases being written into law.
“I’ll be alright,” Leaf adjusts his position, gripping the arrow. “I just need to rest for a bit. I’ll pull it out and cauterize the wound. I can take care of Selene. Keep going, Akemi. One of us should win.”
“No, I can’t just leave you here!” I blink away the tears furiously.
“You will,” Leaf insists. Those brown eyes split me down the middle. “We will be okay. They won’t just let us die in here. Go! Plus, my spoiled Elven sponsor doesn’t need the prize. Go!”
I slowly stand and face the darkness. I cast asunfyrespell and hover the orb of light ahead of me. Sure enough, small slits line the sides of the walls, likely prepped with arrows and other weapons.
“Take care of her, Leaf.” I look at Selene. “Promise!”
“I promise,” he says, already starting to pull the arrow. I wince and turn the other way, not allowing myself to see the graphic scene he is about to inflict on himself.
I throw a star down the corridor. One by one, arrows, axes, and spikes dart out of their hiding spots. I throw a few more until I’m certain all of the traps have been triggered.
“Just a game, huh,” I mutter and jog forward to retrieve my stars.
Time passes quickly in the maze, each hour slipping between my fingers. I’m exhausted from the constant vigilance, but I continue on, dragging my fingertips along the walls until they are raw and bleeding. The commander never specified how long this would take, but surely it couldn’t be much longer.
No more monsters or traps spring out at me after roughly thirty more minutes of walking along the stone corridors. The burn from the firemonkey on my leg screams in pain with each step, rubbing and chafing on my loose trousers.
Must… continue… forward.
I keep mysunfyreorb to a minimum, listening for the distant song of the Helios Stone to guide my steps.
I hum lightly to myself, remembering each turn until it’s committed to memory. I have only had to turn around a few times after a dead end. If I have my song right, I should be closer to the center of the maze, or at least headed in the right direction.
Loud footsteps approach from behind. Then another pair. The distinct sound of a sword unsheathing slices through the air, followed by shouting.
I snuff mysunfyreand quicken my pace. Left. Wall. Right.
“Shit!” It’s a dead end. I’m trapped.
The sounds of fighting draw nearer. A small, much younger part of me wants to shrink into the corner. But I am not her anymore. I crouch into a Corediver fighting stance and ready a star in my palm. I’ll be damned if I get this far only to lose now.
A large figure turns the corner, almost running straight into me. Eyes bright withmoonglow, an advanced night vision spell for Moon’chers.
“Castor?”
“Throw!” he bellows, then slides onto the ground with incredible grace for a man so large.
I throw my stars straight where Castor’s chest was moments ago.
Clank. It bounces off the armored chest of the incoming opponent.
