Page 38 of Demanding Discord
Thorns hummed with magic, the sound so deep that my heart fought against the rhythm to maintain its normal cadence. As I moved forward, the brambles closed in behind me, Lucifer’s infamous Labyrinth of Lies shifting and changing, making it nearly impossible to escape.
Nearly.
I had beaten this maze thrice before, and I would do it again.
“Cinder, can you hear me?” I kept my voice even, unalarming, even though I fought not to tip into a panic. “I need you to remain calm. The maze feeds off fear.”
Silence answered, and my heart sprinted in my chest. The hedges rustled, the pitch of the thorns’ hum increasing with my anxiety. I chose the left path, turning to head farther into the maze, but the hedges sensed my angst.
They grew, reaching their spiny branches toward me. One wrapped around my wrist, another around my ankle. I had ten seconds at most before the maze consumed me, turning me into one of the brainless monsters that roamed its paths and terrorized those who entered.
I inhaled deeply, picturing Cinder’s mischievous smile and focusing on our bond. My nerves calmed as I felt the warm pulse of her essence, and the hedge released me, allowing me to venture forward.
“Cinder, my love. Are you okay?” I paused, holding my breath and straining to hear her over the hum of magic. Still no answer.
I powered ahead, turning right and then left, the maze shifting and rearranging, making it impossible to retrace my steps. If I knew where my witch was, I could possibly muster the strength to bend space and join her. But all I sensed from her was a whisp of her essence.
Each step I took forward echoed with my determination, my senses straining for a clue to Cinder’s location. The magic of the maze pressed against my skin, thick and oppressive, but I clung to the resolve that our connection would guide me through the shifting labyrinth.
I reached the end of the path and turned right, where a half-dead shedim awaited me. Its skin, normally a mottled black and gray like burnt charcoal, had turned pale, completely ashen, and its curling horns had been snapped off, leaving only two inches protruding from its forehead. Six-inch talons extended from each of its fingers, and yellow sludge dripped from its teeth as it snarled.
I felt pity for the beast. Shedims lacked the cognitive development of most mid-level demons, but I would not wish this fate…wandering aimlessly for all eternity…on anyone, not even an imp. Obliterating the creature would be the kind thing to do, but in my human form, weaponless and in this weakened state, I chose not to fight. Finding Cinder was my only priority, so I turned to head in the opposite direction.
The hedges solidified, blocking my path. I turned to go back from whence I came, but that path had vanished as well. The shedim crept toward me, making a clicking sound in its throat.
“Stand down for your prince. On your knees.” I squared my shoulders at the beast, but my attempt at control was futile. Even if I had not been stripped of my title, creatures in the maze never obeyed. When the labyrinth devoured them, they became a part of its being, losing all sense of self and free will.
“Discord?” Cinder’s voice echoed in the distance. “Where are you?”
“I’m here,” I shouted, my words spurring the shedim into action.
The beast lunged, lashing a taloned hand toward me. I dodged its attack, stepping to the side and using its momentum to shove it into the bramble. The thorns hummed louder, slashing into the shedim’s skin as it struggled to escape. The hedge pushed it onto the path, and it snarled like a hellcat before lunging at me again. I planted my feet and blocked his attack, knocking his arm aside as he lashed out.
“What the…?” Cinder said, the sound of a fist hitting her stomach cutting off her words.
Her struggle gave me newfound strength. I shoved the shedim against the hedge, but the branches pushed back, launching the beast toward me. I stumbled, and Cinder shouted a pained profanity. The brambles reached for me, wrapping around my neck and shoulders, pulling me into the hedge as the shedim rocked from foot to foot.
Cinder let out a grunt and then fell silent. Panic flushed my veins, fueling the maze, but I refused to become a casualty to Lucifer’s macabre toy. Not while my witch needed me.
I set my arms ablaze, white-hot hellfire erupting from my skin and singeing the shrubbery. The brambles recoiled, the burning thorns squealing as my demonic claws extended from my fingertips. Slicing into my restraints, I freed myself from the hedge and jabbed my talons deep into the shedim’s chest, piercing both its hearts.
The beast wheezed, its eyes bulging before it crumbled into ashes. The hedge absorbed what was left of the shedim, using its remains to extinguish the fire I’d set. But my flames burned too hot.
Shades of blue, white, and green engulfed the leaves. Unable to put out the flames, the maze shifted again, withdrawing from the burning section to save itself. I darted through the opening, my legs pumping, my talons still extended as I raced toward my witch.
“Seriously? Not you too.” She spun in a circle, reaching for the imp latched onto her back. “My hair is not food.”
“Cinder.” Relief flushed my system as I stopped in front of her and plucked the imp from her shoulder before setting it on the ground. I retracted my claws and took her arms in my hands, searching her face, her neck, her body for signs of injury. Aside from the dried blood on her shirt, she appeared unscathed.
I smiled, attempting to lighten the dire situation. “All that noise over a little imp?”
She arched a brow. “All that noise was over the six-foot zombie demon who wanted my brains for lunch. I killed him, and then this little shit decided having a Cinder snack was a good idea too.” She pointed a knife at the imp, and it cowered behind my leg.
My hands ached, the exertion of breaking through Lucifer’s binding magic taking its toll. The pain spread up my arms, and I pulled Cinder to my chest, allowing myself a moment of respite before the race began.
“Where the hell are we?” she asked, pulling away and offering me a knife.
I accepted and strapped it to my thigh. “We’re in the Labyrinth of Lies, one of Lucifer’s favorite ways of toying with people.”
