by Kenna Bardot
We took several steps forward, being careful not to bring attention to ourselves. After all, we had no idea what could be around us at that very moment.
At first there was silence. A deep ringing silence as we took slow and purposeful steps down the only path available to us. At the first intersection, we collided face first with the hedge as it ended in front of us.
"Which way?" I asked, and there was a moment of silence where I panicked I'd lost Cel. "Cel?"
"I'm thinking of a way to keep track of our movements."
"I can make a rift? Draw a little line in the dirt at the left edge. So we'll know where we've been and which direction we came from."
"Good plan," he said from across the gap between us. I turned his way as he murmured, "Let's go right."
"Okay." I walked until I bumped into him, stumbling and letting him catch me. "Are you facing the path?" I asked.
"Yes. My right is to the right side." I navigated around him and sidestepped to the edge of the path. I hefted my sword to my right hand in order to free my left to make the rift. I ignored the jarring feeling of my two Conduits coming into contact with one another for the first time. I almost expected my whip to flinch back, but they seemed to be fine with one another at that moment.
I let a pulse of Earth flow from my fingertips, drawing the slightest fissure in the ground and started walking, hearing Cel's movements at my side. He was light on his feet for being so much taller, and we both proceeded and only made enough sound to affirm to the other that we were still together.
"Do you hear that?" he asked, and I froze in place. A rush of wind came from ahead, throwing my hair back and out of my face as it barreled down the tunnel.
"What is it?"
"Whatever it is, it's up ahead. I imagine we'll know by the next intersection. Should we decide what to do before we get there?"
"Keep right," I said. "If we can anyway."
"Always keep right," he murmured. "For as long as we can."
I nodded my agreement, only too late realizing he couldn't see me. We walked again, and I kept drawing my line in the ground even though every fiber of my being longed to put my sword in my left hand where it belonged.
"When we hit trouble, I won't be able to-"
"It's alright, Kai. Just go back to it as soon as you can." The closer we came to the pressure of the wind, the louder the sound and the harder it became to take those steps forward. I wondered if we should turn around, take the path of least resistance.
But, if the previous trials were any indication, the right path wasn't bound to be easy. Nothing was going to be easy. Cel seemed to be in agreement, and I could feel him forcing his body through the wind threatening to knock us off our feet. My body angled in, nearly facing the ground to meet the least amount of resistance possible.
The opening in the path caught me off guard. The sudden shift of the wind from directly in front of me to striking against my right side jarring me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, and Cel's hand suddenly lifted me against his body.
"Run!" he shouted in my ear, and I could barely hear him over the deafening roar in my ears. "LEFT!! Go left!"
I went left.
I know Cel shielded us to the best of his ability, deflecting the cyclone of air away enough for us to move because it became easier to run when I felt less of a resistance.
"What was that?" I shouted when my hand found the edge of the path. I continued with my line in the dirt, toiling away at what I was beginning to suspect might be my most active contribution of the day.
"Pretty sure that was a fairly big tornado!" he returned, and his voice rang loud and clear as we got further from the storm.
They'd put a fucking tornado in the maze.
Gods.
"Should we be trying to go through it?" I asked, swallowing my fear down deep.
"There's no way to get around it when we can't see it. Even just feeling my Air isn’t giving me much clue with it blowing everywhere. It seems to be a big mass of air."
I inwardly cursed the blindness; they'd made the Trial more difficult just for the sake of it. Blindness had nothing to do with what any of the Sects did in their daily jobs. Even working in the middle of the night wasn’t as bad at this. If there was anything I hated, it was cruelty for no damn reason at all.
We made our way in silence, listening for the next task that would spring on us. We came to a juncture, our hands fanning out along the hedge and stepping out to blindly decide where we could turn. There were three turns to take, I decided quickly, feeling around another corner. "There's two paths over here," I said to Cel. "Still right?"
"Yes, let's keep right," he said from beside me. I made my way to him, and he helped me position myself at the proper edge to keep making my guide. We'd only gone a few feet, and we stepped through a barrier - the Air Magic of it sweeping over my skin. It was like coming up for air after being underwater. One moment there was only silence but for the noise of our feet shuffling along the path, and the next a cacophony of sound burst into being all around us. Beyond the din I heard even Charlie’s cawing that had a near-panicked tone to it. He’d been looking for me and, somehow, I hadn’t realized that we were trapped inside a fucking bubble.
Besides Charlie, we heard other people. People yelled. They screamed, and they shouted. We froze in place, and I could practically hear Cel considering what to do, listening for a safe direction to turn. He turned his body, and I heard his palms smack against the impenetrable barrier to our backs. Something rustled along the ground, slithering through the dirt. I could feel it coming our way.
"Cel!" I yelled, and his arm brushed my body as he turned, gripping me there to keep me close to him. Something wound around my ankle, and with a rough pull, my legs came out from under me.
"Kaia!" he roared, his deep voice panicked as he no doubt felt me yanked away from him. I slid along the ground, feeling the dirt rub at my skin. My vine twisted and thrashed on my arm, and I threw myself to my other side so it wouldn't be taken from me with the speed of which I was pulled down the path. A thud hit the ground as Cel was yanked forward, dragging behind me as whatever grabbed me took hold of him too.
Then suddenly I was airborne. Launched into the sky and dangling by my ankle. I couldn't see any others, couldn't see anything, but I could hear them. The panicked students nearby, the grunts and whimpers as they desperately tried to free themselves. When whatever had me by the ankle started to slither up my leg, I joined them in their cries.
“Cel!" I panicked. "Stay away!"
"I can't reach you!" His voice sounded from too far down and there was a hacking sound as he struggled against whatever took hold of us. The mystery thing wound its way over my hip, slipping into my tunic to brush against my bare skin. Thorns scratched at me, leaving a path of fire behind as they gripped into me.
I felt rather than heard Charlie swooping near me. “Charlie, no. It might hit you.” He swooped in again and I became mad. “Charlie, go!”
He did even as I desperately tried to get the thorns off of me.
Thorns.
Thorns meant plant. I sent a pulse down my whip, a warning to whatever was curling its way around my midriff. Like called to like. If I could convince the plant I was just like it, maybe it would release me.
But it didn't. No, apparently it didn't take kindly to friendly overtures. If anything, it wound tighter, cutting off my air supply as it pressed on my chest and those thorns pierced my skin. I gasped, sputtering for breath when I could.
"Kaia!" Cel shouted, his voice desperate as he no doubt listened to me choke. Something screamed, and there was a thud below me.
"Gods, please let this work," he whispered. Heat rushed through my vine, wrapping around my waist and spreading to me. I could feel Cel’s magic in it, already familiar from all the times he trained me, as though he was touching me, the only connection being the clone of my vine around his ankle. My own Air rose up to answer the call of his, dancing along my skin. The plant flinched
back, loosening on my chest enough for me to get a deep breath. I tossed my sword into the air, catching it in my left hand and channeling it into the whip I so desperately needed in that moment. A sickening crack sounded in the distance, and there was a pained scream in the air.
And then I was falling.
And falling.
I landed on Cel with a thud, his back breaking my fall as I sent him sprawling to the ground. I tore at the remaining plant now stilled around my waist and leg, and Cel wormed his way out from under me and used the end of his spear to cut it from me. Thorns pulled from my body, and I cried out in pain.
"Shh," he soothed, running his hand over the calf of my leg that took the most damage with the tightly wound vine. My ankle throbbed, and I could feel the wetness dripping from it. The thing had bled me, but I guess I could be happy we'd taken a chunk of it in return.
But it was only just a chunk. Other students still struggled with it as Cel lifted me to my feet, and wrapped an arm around my waist to help stabilize me as we burst forward into a run. Those things slithered on the ground around us, and we had to stop and hack away at them when they tried to grab us a few more times.
“No!” a woman’s voice screamed, and I felt my heart clench. There was only one other woman in the maze with us.
“Blythe,” Cel whispered, pausing our momentum to listen. I heard the despair in his voice as she screamed again, not far from where we stood.
Overhead if I had to guess.
“I have to-”
“Do it,” I agreed, not hesitating in the slightest as I took up a stance with both my sword and whip at the ready to fight off whatever might come our way. Cel’s body stilled, and I could practically feel him focusing in on the Air around him, recognizing and searching for Blythe in the mess of that clearing. A gust of warmth brushed past me, making the hair on my arm tickle as it flew up.
“Thank Zeevar,” Blythe groaned, and then there was a thud nearby when she hit the ground. It was a light thud. She’d clearly been more prepared for the fall than I had.
“Let’s go,” Cel grunted, grabbing the back of my shirt suddenly and pushing me forward.
“Thank you,” Blythe whispered, taking up pace beside us. “For waiting.”
“No harm, no foul,” I returned as we moved slowly in an attempt to not draw attention to ourselves unnecessarily. We found a hedge, and I dragged my hand over the rough branches until we came to a path.
I heard Charlie’s distinctive croaking caw a moment before I heard the whistle, something flying through the air - a sound I recognized well from my familiarity with the whip. I flinched back, yelling out to Cel and Blythe too late. Whatever it was snapped across Cel’s flesh, sending him flying back into the hedge beside me.
He groaned, and when I reached out a hand to help him he was doubled over in pain. I tugged on his arm, pulling him into the open path and shielding him behind my body as we tried to put some distance between us and the monster plant the Earth Mages had concocted to torment us.
Another whistle. Another airborne plant zooming our way. I drew my hand out from the hedge, calling it to follow me. It extended, growing in a rush to block the blow from the plant looking to take off my head. Only the very end of it came through the hedge, striking against my cheek just hard enough to open my old scar. Blythe bumped into me in her efforts to avoid the threat she couldn’t see, jarring Cel in the process.
"Kaia?" Cel asked, straightening behind me, though the sounds he made confirmed it pained him to do so.
“I’m fine,” I grunted, turning away from my makeshift barricade. It hadn’t sealed up the entire path, so I wouldn’t be interfering with the others escaping after they got away from the monster plant.
I went to the left of the path. Cel went to the right. Blythe took up the middle. We kept going, me limping and him grunting as quietly as he could with every step that shook him. When we'd reached a comfortable distance, I stopped, turning to him so that I could touch his chest. He groaned when I ran my hands down over his abs, sliding them up underneath his shirt to feel the swelling there. A perfect, vine shaped welt ran across his stomach and ribs, and I winced as I felt my fingers along the crack in one of them.
"We have to keep going," he hissed.
"Okay," I agreed. "Thank you. For saving me." I pressed my lips to his jaw gently and pulled back, continuing along the path. I was comforted by the fact that Blythe couldn’t see the public display of affection. While I’d never gotten the vibe that Cel was interested in his friend, Blythe herself would need to be blind to not be interested in Cel. If only for sheer beauty alone.
"You returned that favor getting us out of there." I smiled in the darkness, or what I referred to as darkness. It felt strange to think it could very well still be daylight in the maze while we all stumbled around blind, and no one would know the difference.
We made our way to the end of the path and veered right into a new one without issue. As we kept going down the path, we heard a rustling beside us. My hand tightened on my sword, but a voice I didn't recognize spoke.
"Is there someone there?" whoever it was asked.
"Gage?" Cel asked with relief.
"Cel?"
"Oh thank Gods. I thought you were another plant." Cel let out a dark chuckle.
"Are you alone?" the other guy asked.
"No. Kaia and Blythe are with me. You?" Cel asked, and we all continued to walk at our slow pace.
"I lost Miles. No idea if he made it out of that clusterfuck." Gage closed the gap, his voice getting closer as he approached Cel's side. Our trio became a quad, just like that.
I trusted Cel's judgment as to whether or not we could trust the other man I didn't know.
We walked.
And we walked.
And we kept right.
Turn after turn.
And then it happened.
We found a rift in the ground.
One of mine. Gage tripped over it on his right side, so we were about to walk down a path we'd already come down in the opposite direction. "What do we do?" I asked.
"We take the only path we haven't been on," Cel murmured. We turned around, feeling through all the paths to find a rift in three out of four, as expected. So in the end, we turned left. The path was quiet. Too quiet really, and I wondered if we'd hit another one of those sound barriers and find something horrible inside. Reality came in a different form. I listened for any sign of Charlie’s presence in the sky. But I heard nothing, which didn’t bode well.
I knew Gage was walking slightly ahead of the rest of us, and then he was gone. He yelled, the sound coming from below, and we froze in place. "HELP!" Gage yelled.
I fell to my knees, hands feeling the ground in front of me. I touched Cel’s hands and realized he was doing the same.
“There’s a chasm on the ground,” I declared. I felt it start but I didn’t feel it end.
“Gage, there you are. He’s clinging to the edge,” Cel’s panicked voice told us. “I’m holding one of his hands. I need help pulling him to safety.”
“I’ll take the other.” I fumbled around until I brushed up against Cel, using him to determine where Gage’s other hand was. I grabbed it with a grunt and together, we pulled him up, and I felt his weight shift, the sound of rustling as Blythe reached over, grabbing to help with that last heave.
“I’ve got him too.” She expelled a breath and let out a groan. “Zeevar, Gage, too many buttered rolls.”
I laughed even as the ground shook underneath us, and the sound of rocks thumping into a pool of water below covered any sounds we heard. I crawled along the ground, feeling for a way to move around the chasm. The vine on Cel’s ankle felt more distant as he did the same on the other side. "There's a tiny ledge here," he said, “but we'll have no clue how far the gap is or if the ledge goes the whole way."
"We could jump." Gage gasped it out, but I couldn’t blame him after his ordeal.
"Without knowing how far it is?" I asked, voice risi
ng.
"No. I'm not jumping,” Blythe added in agreement.
"Okay, Princesses. Whatever you both say." That voice was full of disdain, and I snorted. So much for appreciating our asses helping to haul him back topside.
"Watch it," Cel ordered. "You do what you want. We're using the ledge." I heard the rustle of clothes as Cel's body rose. I sensed him step forward and using the connection to his vine, I rushed forward and stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"Me first."
"No way, we have no clue what's waiting on the other side," he protested.
I blinked blind eyes at him. "Maybe I can do something if the ledge ends," I said under my breath. Seconds passed before I heard him expel a breath.
“Give me your hand.” I reached out, and he grabbed it, helping me up. I was at an advantage as I was small and with barely any adjustment, I got my grip situated along the hedge wall, gripping the branches tightly as I eased my way out and over the chasm.
Fear of heights was much easier to deal with when you couldn't see the height.
Glass half full, right?
I made my way across slowly, feeling Cel following close behind me every time our rhythm faltered and his arm would brush mine.
The ledge ended. And judging by the way my foot hovered over the gap with nothing to step on, we hadn't reached the other side. "The ledge ends," I said, letting my whip slither down to caress the branches at the bottom of the hedge wall. They sprouted, growing in response to the sparks of electricity from my vine.
"Step on the branches," I announced. "They'll hold."
I tested the first one tentatively, letting my tingles of spark guide my feet to the right places, perfectly spaced for me. I knew the steps would be small for Cel, but he'd manage.
"What fucking branches?" Gage grunted.
"You'll see," Cel returned as he moved from the first to the second.
“We can’t see anything, Marcellus,” Blythe reminded him gently, making me smile.
"Feel, sense, whatever. They'll be there."
We made our way across, branch to branch until my feet hit the ground, and I stepped away from the wall. Cel followed suit, then Blythe, and then Gage. Judging the distance from the ledge to the other side, we could have made the jump from the ledge, but there would have been no way to do so from one side of the hole in the earth to the other.