Page 67 of Of Kings and Thieves

The towering stone archway at the bottom of the stair loomed before us, guarding the entrance to the labyrinth. Its dark, weathered surface seemed to absorb the dim torchlight that flickered on the rough walls, casting eerie shadows that danced and wavered with each gust of wind. The air, heavy with dread, clung to my skin like a damp veil.

“Creepy,” Silvius muttered. Everyone shifted uneasily.

“Ready?” I asked, swallowing my fear.

Only terse nods answered me, and together we crossed under the archway.

As we ventured deeper into the shadowy corridor, the tension grew palpable, feeding on our fear. Our steps echoed in the silence, accompanied only by the faint whispers of our breaths and the distant drip of water from some unseen source. A shiver crawled up my spine, and I fought the urge to hunch my shoulders against the chill.

Scarlet gave a little shudder, the torch she held casting eerie shadows on her face. She exchanged a worried glance with Melion, who scowled. In the flickering torchlight, the scar across his face made him look even more menacing.

We came to the first turn, a sharp bend that seemed to swallow the dim torchlight. As we rounded the corner, the labyrinth revealed its true nature—a wall appeared behind us, sealing us from the exit.

“Fuck,” Silvius said.

I agreed. Though I didn’t want to turn around, it would have been nice to know we could.

The walls closed in around us, adorned with cryptic symbols that seemed to pulse with some sinister energy.

“These aren’t tunnels,” Scarlet muttered, her eyes darting between the twisting passages that branched off from our path, “they’re a nightmare.”

Kolvar studied the symbols intently, his brow furrowed in concentration while Melion looked forward, ready for action.

“There,” Kolvar warned, pointing to a barely visible raised stone embedded in the floor just in front of Melion’s right foot. “This labyrinth is not without its traps.”

Carefully, we stepped over the stone one at a time, with Melion making sure we placed our feet in the right places. As we pressed onward, he took up the rear.

The weight of the shape-shifter’s gaze bore down on my shoulders as we turned first one way, then another. His trust in me was non-existent, and the feeling was mutual, no matter what Col said. Volunteering to go last in line would have put him in front of me instead of behind, but I feared the unknown of the labyrinth more than I feared Melion, so I didn’t object.

After a few more turns, I was hopelessly lost, but it seemed Kolvar knew the way, navigating through tunnel after tunnel using the runes glowing softly on the walls.

“Watch your step,” Melion grunted as he crowded beside me, his eyes never leaving mine as his foot nudged a loose stone out of my path. It was a gesture that seemed more threatening than helpful, but I merely nodded in response, refusing to let him see how much his distrust affected me.

“Is it just me, or does it feel like the ceiling is getting lower?” Silvius asked.

I hurried to catch up with him, leaving Melion behind. “Maybe.”

Within a few steps, I knew Silvius was right about the ceiling. Eventually, we all ducked, having to walk hunched over in a way that meant the journey would soon become not only painful, but more dangerous if we couldn’t easily defend ourselves.

A sudden gust of cold air blew through the corridor, snuffing out one of our torches and plunging us into near darkness.

“Damn this place,” Kolvar muttered, reigniting the extinguished torch with a flick of his wrist.

The labyrinth continued to toy with us, its tricks becoming more elaborate and unnerving. Illusory walls materialized before us, only to dissolve into dust as we approached. Glimpses of other passages flickered in the corners of our vision, tantalizing and maddening in their elusiveness.

At one point, the ground opened in front of Kolvar, who threw up a hand to halt the rest of us. Scarlet had been looking upward, craning her neck to see a rune above her head, and she didn’t see Kolvar’s warning.

Silvius grabbed Scarlet and pulled her back from the edge. She shot him a grateful nod, her eyes wide with shock. His quick reflexes had saved her from a nasty fall.

The opening in the stone floor was too wide to jump, and the ceiling too low to even safely try, forcing us to retrace our steps back to the last intersection. From there, we continued as the maze wormed upward over several steep switchbacks. We reached the top after about an hour’s climb. Exhausted and out of breath, we all cheered softly when the floor evened out.

After Kolvar checked for any obvious traps at the top, we sat with our backs to the wall and took our first break. No one wanted to linger, however. After passing around water and catching our breath, we moved on.

The labyrinth seemed intent on testing our courage, and as we ventured deeper into its winding passages, it became apparent that it wouldn’t yield its secrets easily. Our next challenge revealed itself in the form of a narrow corridor, its floor littered with crumbling stone tiles. The section was too long to hop over, so it was either turn around and find another way, or figure out the purpose of the tiles.

“Another trap,” Melion muttered.

“Really?” Scarlet quipped. “I thought this was just the labyrinth’s idea of interior decoration.”

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