by Cora Choi
Chapter 9: The Labyrinth
Drev and I scaled a steep, rocky path, specks of dirt flying into our faces as we grabbed shrub roots to pull ourselves upward. When we heaved ourselves up onto the Five Ring Road, I saw the long path before us. I sighed, disheartened.
“Look, we could take those stairs up there,” said Drev, pointing to a long stretch of stone steps that shot off like a wayward tentacle from the Five Ring Road.
The stairway curved over a cliff and disappeared suspiciously. Wherever it ended could take us farther away from our destination.
“No. Remember what I said about the labyrinth,” I said, walking rapidly along the cobblestone path.
“Oh, yeah, right,” said Drev absentmindedly.
I began to run. Drev soon followed. We continued to run and exchanged not another word for several minutes. Drev noticed a smaller path, set with cobblestones, and was about to veer off the main course; once again, I grabbed the back of his shirt but this time was careful not to tug him backward.
“I want to see where it goes,” he objected. He lunged forward and slipped from my grip. Reluctantly, I went on to the wayside path with him. The passage soon narrowed, and we were forced to slow down to a walk.
“I told you, these paths were made to confuse and prevent the phantoms from reaching the abbey—I mean, Stauros Hall. It’s more than likely that this path will end abruptly, or you’ll find yourself facing an abandoned shrine or a sinister statue.”
“There’s nothing scary about statues,” said Drev, continuing down the path.
“The statues on this island aren’t like statues you’d find elsewhere,” I muttered. Drev didn’t respond to my comment. Instead he paused in the middle of the trail and studied the rest of the path before him, as if wondering if he should continue.
“How come you’re not confused by this maze of pathways and stairs?” he asked.
“This labyrinth was made more for the members of the Order of the Shrike, to appease their guilty conscience, no doubt. None of the phantoms here are confused.” I looked over my shoulder as I spoke, anxious about the Saboteurs approaching.
“You mean there are still other phantoms on this island?” asked Drev, turning his head to look at me.
“Yes, I told you, they’re the lost heroes and heroines of the books that were burned.”
“I thought that was back then, in 1615.”
“I died in 1615, and I’m standing before you now!” I said, exasperated. He began walking again and quickened his pace within seconds, as though the thought of other phantoms made him want to get through the path more quickly.
I huffed and puffed loudly behind him, exaggerating the urgency of the situation. Although we couldn’t see the Saboteurs, I knew they weren’t far. I walked quickly and soon passed Drev.
“You should hurry up,” I said.
“How do you even know those shadow things—the Saboteurs—are going to harm us?” asked Drev.
I responded without looking behind me. “Because I’ve seen it!”
“You’ve seen them kill someone?”
“Yes! Well, no, I’ve seen them . . . I’ve just seen them . . .” The truth was, I had never seen them kill anyone. “They’re a bad omen, and . . . and that’s enough to stay away from them! Move faster. Why are you so slow?”
We were more than halfway up the island when Drev noticed the roses. He stopped suddenly, and I reluctantly stopped as well. He looked past me to a door on the second floor of a stone building that opened up just a few feet above a hedge of rosebushes. I groaned when he ran over to them.
“Hey, look. They’re black and blue.”
“Right.” I looked at them sadly. After the fall of the Order of the Crane, the luscious flora that had inhabited the island had died, and all that had grown in its place were black and blue roses.
“But most roses are red or pink, right?” he said, continuing toward the shrub.
“The ones on this island come only in black or blue,” I said, retracing my steps. I glanced over my shoulder. The Saboteurs were not visible, but we needed to keep moving. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Drev’s hand reached out and plucked a dark blue rose. Despite the thorns, he grasped it tightly in his fist while I pulled his upper shoulder, dragging him along. As we traipsed into a more sequestered area of the island, the shrubs became denser and slowed our progress. I steered off the small path and headed toward the Five Ring Road. I could see the belfry of Stauros Hall. We were close.
When we reached the wide, polished road, my attention was immediately drawn to the second floor of Mizu House, the elite all-girls dormitory. The large stone maison that towered three floors was the last building before the main stairway leading up to Stauros Courtyard, which then led to Stauros Hall itself. Upon careful observation, I noticed that the shutter of one of the French doors on the second floor was open and could see several girls moving about in the room. A girl in a white robe stepped out on to the balcony and leaned against the iron rail. She gazed at us and raised her hand, almost about to wave, but then pulled it back down.
I stood still, not knowing how to respond. I looked at Drev to see if it was a friend of his. He stared back at her, just as perplexed.
“Is it someone you know?” I asked.
He didn’t answer, just continued to stare.
“Come on, then. Let’s keep moving.” I broke into a fast trot, as I saw we were nearing the steepest part of the island. But when I looked back over my shoulder, I saw Drev had not moved. He continued to stare at the girl, entranced.
Several voices from inside the room grew louder, and the girl immediately turned her back to us. Before walking away, she took one more glance over her shoulder at us and disappeared into the soft golden light.
“Let’s go, Drev,” I said. He ignored me and ran to the balcony. When he reached it, he tilted his head back while walking backward and forward, trying to peep into the room.
I heaved a long, tired sigh and hurried over to Drev.
“This is a girls’ dormitory!” I said, as his eyes went past my head and toward the open window.
“I can’t . . . I can’t see her,” he said, as the light from the room reflected in his eyes. His opportunity was cut short when one of the girls closed the shutter from inside. The light vanished, and the night became one shade darker. He threw the blue rose he was holding up to the balcony floor.
Although I wanted to keep moving quickly, I let Drev have another moment, realizing that, bizarrely, during that short span of time, he had developed some sentimental feelings for the girl. Without saying a word, I then beckoned him to follow me, and we continued up the road. I couldn’t see it from where I stood, but I knew the Forgotten Cemetery was behind Stauros Hall.
When we reached Stauros Courtyard, so close to our destination, Drev stopped abruptly and said, “I think someone’s following us.”
I lifted one eyebrow and lowered my voice. “They’ve been following us this entire time. Did you think this was just a moonlight stroll?”
“No, I mean a person. I can feel someone’s eyes on us, watching us,” he said, squinting into the dark portico that surrounded the courtyard. He turned in place, looking around at all angles.
His confident tone forced me to look as well, but I was annoyed when I saw nothing. I didn’t hear anything, either. Only the shuffling of our feet, turning in place, reverberated through the air. All seemed peaceful for a moment, but then I sighted those dark, macabre outlines of flapping jaws and thrashing limbs resurfacing on the facade of Mizu House. For a moment, I thought I even heard them calling out my name.
“Run!” I cried.
Drev looked at me. “Run where?”
“To the Forgotten Cemetery, behind Stauros Hall,” I said, clutching his elbow as he dragged along.
“Why the cemetery?”
“Nobody goes there except me. It’s probably because the deceased members of the Order of the Crane are buried there. Whatever th
e reason, it’s the safest place on the island for you right now.”
He planted his feet and jerked his arm away.
“Look, I don’t like being chased. I’m sick and tired of running.” His eyes continued to dart from one corner of the courtyard to another as he still searched for those elusive eyes. As much as I wanted to avoid the Saboteurs, I couldn’t leave Drev to face them alone. I decided to stay and face the Saboteurs with him.