Page 132 of A Drop of Anguish
The beast roars with his whole chest, so powerful it blows my hair back but only makes the jinn chuckle.
“Cute, isn’t he?”
“What did you do to him?”
Jarron’s beastly form charges the two of us, and I cower against the cave wall, but the jinn just snaps her fingers. When I peek up, the monster is gone.
“Your friends were having too easy of a time in the maze, you see. It wasn’t created for powerful beings, and Jarron defeated the most dangerous beasts. Well, and that pixie used her one shot on the minotaur.” She shrugs casually. “They’re cute, your new friends. Anyway, we needed a new obstacle to even things out a little bit.”
“Excuse me?”
The jinn grins wide and horrifying. “Jarron is a monster. All we have to do is shut down his memory and increase his sense of danger. Now, he’s a mindless beast that will destroy any being he comes across. He’ll hunt them down mercilessly. We probably overcompensated because he will tear those little friends of yours apart in seconds. Oh well.”
“Liz,” I hiss.
“Shhh,” she says quickly, “You’re not supposed to know that part yet. We’re playing along now.” She winks at me.
My breath trembles. I grab her forearm. It’s hot to the touch, but I force myself not to let go and make her meet my eyes. “Is there a way out of it? The maze?”
She blinks, her gaze finally softening. “Yes,” she whispers. “Back the way you came. They’ll have to climb. I’ll clear the way, but—”
“Fine. Jinn, send me back. Send me back to the maze too.” I say it loudly because I get the feeling she’s concerned someone is listening to us now. I can’t leave my friends alone to face this.
“You want to play the game?” The jinn tilts her head innocently. “Only if you insist. Terrible idea, though. Remember, you’re nothing to him now.” She snaps her fingers again, and the world disappears.
54
Jarron Wouldn’t Hurt us. But that Is Not Jarron
Alien shrieking shakes the very stone around me. I cover my head until my feet land on solid ground. My stomach clenches, ready to heave my lunch onto my boots.
“Candice?” a voice shrieks.
I’m once again in the massive cavern, the ceiling over a hundred feet high, with stone walls surrounding us. Two sets of arms circle me, and a tiny body drops to my shoulder.
“Where did you go?” Janet asks frantically.
“Jarron and I had a meeting with the jinn,” I tell them.
“Where is he? Where is Jarron?”
I swallow. They let me go and look me over. Janet, Thompson, and Lola look no worse for wear than before. “He’s… in the maze too, I think. What happened to you guys?”
“Not much,” Thompson claims. “Just some more of those stupid light birds trying to eat Lola.”
I wince. That sounds fun.
“But it sounds like something else is coming,” Janet whispers.
“Yeah, I happen to know what’s coming next, and it’s not good news.”
“That’s ominous.”
“But I do have some good news. I know the way out.” I turn around, trying to get my bearings in the maze again. “Back the way we came,” I say, not even sure how we get back there. “And climb.” I point to the small opening where the luminescent stairs once stood.
“There was a force field before,” Thompson says, squinting up.
I can’t tell one way or another, but I’m praying that when my sister told me to climb, she meant she was going to remove the barriers to help us escape.
