by Priya Ardis
Vane read the response in my face. His head bowed.
I slid out of his lap. I sat on the ground facing him, our knees touching. My fingers tangled in dark soft hair. “Vane, don’t do this. Let me help—”
“Don’t.” His head jerked up. Eyes flashing green again. The tiger snarled. “The pathetic part of this is—I always knew your answer. I just hoped I was wrong.”
He moved into a crouching position and reached for the trident. I moved quickly too. I picked up Excalibur and pinned the trident in place on the ground.
“No,” I said.
He laughed. “When you make a choice, you really make it.”
“Let the trident go, Vane. It’s poisoning you,” I said evenly.
His hand tightened onto the metal stick. “Do you think you can win against me?”
“You know I can. You’ve spent the past month making sure I was well trained.”
Vane released the trident.
I grabbed it with my free hand and he blasted me with magic.
I didn’t have time to raise Excalibur to block it and without the amulet for protection, the spell worked instantly. I froze at an awkward angle. My eyes remained open. I couldn’t move. He’d shot me with a paralyzing spell. Vane adjusted me so I lay on my back, albeit still in pretzel shape.
Fingers pushed back the hair that fell over my face. “Hunt the wizard if you dare, Dorothy. It’s time look behind the curtain.”
He pried the trident from my fingers and stood. Then, my boyfriend walked into the darkness of the maze.
***
Blake found me. Unable to break Vane’s spell, he ran to get Matt. Matt’s magic remained fairly weak so it took a combination of him and the other wizards to finally release me. All the commotion had woken Grey and the gargoyles.
“What were you thinking?” Matt paced back and forth in front of a long hedge and yelled at me. “Why didn’t you tell me about your suspicions? Why did you take off the amulet?”
“I didn’t know!” I rubbed the stiff muscles on my arms. They tingled painfully from a lack of proper blood flow. And I was cold. Vane had left me wearing only the bikini. I’d gotten several speculative looks at the state of my undress. Matt’s expression reminded me of someone who’d eaten a sour lemon.
He stomped up to peer down at me. “Didn’t you know about the scar? The trident? What exactly didn’t you know?”
“I didn’t know he was going to run off. I didn’t know he was going to ask me… never mind.” I wasn’t about to tell Matt that I’d turned down sex… and more… something infinitely more fragile. My insides churned with unexpected guilt. I’d been right, but it didn’t feel right. So I sprang up and shouted at Matt instead. “Why didn’t you know? You’re his brother. You’re the all powerful wizard.”
His nostrils flared. “I can’t know everything and I’m hardly all powerful at the moment.”
“That much is obvious,” I retorted.
Matt’s eyes flickered momentarily with hurt. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. I was on a roll. Who did I want to kick in the teeth next?
“What do you think he’s doing?” Blake asked.
He and the others sat gathered around the fire. They’d been watching us go at it without a word until now.
“He’s going to the center of the maze,” I said. “There’s something here. It’s calling us both.”
“The Minotaur?” Matt said.
“I think I see it because of Excalibur, while the trident is leading Vane.” I stared off into the opening of the maze. “It’s at the center. It must be.”
“Then, that’s where we go too. Gather up. We’ll head out in a few minutes. With any luck, we’ll make it to the center before Vane.” Matt glanced at Grey. “He doesn’t have a map.”
Grey looked up from the fire. “I’m not sure he needs one. I noticed when we walked here, he seemed to know that path before you picked it out on the map.”
Matt threw up his hands. “And you didn’t think to mention this before?”
“I didn’t know he was going to do a crazy Tarzan on us,” Grey retorted.
“Coming from the one who’s turning into a gargoyle,” Blake said.
Grey growled. “Shut up, Emerson.”
Colin said, “Should we take a different path than you’ve plotted since he’s seen it? I noticed you marked out the shortest route, but there are multiple ways to get to it.”
Matt said, “No, let’s not lose focus. Whatever is at the center is most important.”
I bent down and picked up my amulet. I put it back around my neck. The albatross hung on me again. “Do you hear yourself? And you wonder why I didn’t tell you about Vane.”
Matt ground his teeth. “I’m doing what is best for everyone. Not just for one person.”
I looked at him. Maybe that’s the problem.
A rustle sounded from beyond the hedge. All our heads jerked to look at the spot. Gia rounded the corner and came into the concealed area. She frowned at us. “What is going on? Why do you all look so depressed?” Her gaze zeroed in on me. Whatever she read in my expression caused her to put a hand to her mouth. “Did someone die?”
Blake let out a laugh that bordered on hysterical. “It’s much worse than that.”
I flinched.
***
My legs were going to fall off. My head hurt worse, hungover from lack of sleep. We’d left the clearing without delay. I yawned for the umpteenth time. I forced myself to climb another rocky path inside the black walls of the maze. Nothing stretched out before us. Nothing fell behind us. We saw only inside the bubbles of light that a few small floating fireballs afforded us.
We moved along, what was left of the group—Matt, Blake, Gia, Grey, Colin, two gargoyles, and two wizards. The last vestiges of the band that originally left the boat. After a little more than two weeks on mermaid island, our numbers were thin.
Matt led us, but Vane remained a tangible presence among the group. At one point, I got so tired, I caught myself standing in a spot, but still felt as if I were moving. I wasn’t the only one it happened to. Matt made us hold hands after that.
Gia held mine tightly. Blake hung onto hers. Grey and the gargoyles, however, refused as did the two guardian wizards.
As soon as we neared the center, adrenaline started pumping inside me. The others perked up too. The passageway ended at a large opening. Another set of columns topped by a triangular slab of stone framed the exit. A sheen of green light shone beyond it.
Before we made it to the exit, Blake came to a sudden halt in front of me. “Wait. Shouldn’t we have a plan? Vane can kill us with his bare hands.”
“He won’t do that.” I paused. “I think.”
“We don’t have a choice.” Matt stalked past us and through the columns.
I was the next to follow. The center of the maze could have been part of the Parthenon. On top of a small hill sat a Grecian temple with perfectly symmetrical Doric columns. A triangular lintel adorned the top of the building. Unlike the Parthenon, this temple was in perfect condition.
“Look.” Matt pointed to the top. Intricate carvings in the marble showed different Olympians. “They seem to be in order. Zeus takes the center with Poseidon and Hades beside him.”
“I don’t understand. Why would the Olympians be here?” I said. “I thought we were looking for the Guides. The Lady.”
“The Lady was one of the Greeks. They are called gods for a reason.”
“Look at the top of the triangle,” Blake said. “Poseidon’s trident goes up to the center point. Inside the trident prongs—an eye and the crescent moon.”
“Why are we standing around?” Gia said. “Didn’t we come into this nightmare to see what’s inside?”
Swords in our hands, we went up the hill. A short set of marble steps led onto a veranda with the columns. A smaller door was inside. Matt instructed two of the gargoyles and the two wizards to stand guard at the columns. Meanwhile, Grey, Blake, Colin, and I went th
rough the door. Blake floated a fireball to light the way. Matt came in last.
Torches hung on another rectangular set of columns that held up the roof inside.
“Agni,” Matt commanded.
A burst of wind blew around us and the torches flared to life. Four statues made a square in the middle. I recognized Poseidon with the trident and the conch; and I knew Zeus from his lightning bolt. Hades was the third statue. The last statue on the front corner was a woman with a crown on her head. I didn’t recognize her.
“The red doors,” Blake pointed behind the statues. Another set of red doors like the one in the cavern and Lelex’s room stood framed against the far wall behind the statues. The door stood out. The rest of temple had classical Greek architecture, except it. It seemed Old English.
“There is no golden bull on the door,” I said.
“Meaning we don’t know how to open it,” Blake said.
“Then, there’s only one way in or out.” Colin inclined his head at the door we came in. The walls all around us were solid. No other windows or openings existed.
I walked up to the statues. Inside the square, the floor revealed another pit. Unlike the Aegae pit, this one extended only one level deep and couldn’t have been more than twenty feet across.
“I see the bull.” I pointed the others to the bottom of the pit. A Minotaur had been painted in red into the marble. A mask of gold had been laid over its face. Two emeralds gleamed from its eye sockets. “It’s the Minotaur.”
“Just like Lelex’s crown,” I said.
“Wait, I see something.” Blake jumped down into the pit.
“Blake,” Gia cried.
He squinted up at her through a pair of dented glasses.
“Don’t die,” she finished lamely.
A pleased smile lit up his thin face. “I don’t plan to.”
Gia smiled back.
I smiled, my heart easing a bit at the sight of their happiness.
“Please,” Matt muttered inside my head.
“Scrooge,” I told him.
“There’s a ring of columns embedded into the walls,” Blake called out. “What do you think that means?”
“Nothing good,” I said.
“A ceremonial stage,” Matt answered.
Beside me, Gia nodded. Grey and Colin jumped down into the pit. Matt followed. Gia and I looked at each other.
Matt knelt by the Minotaur’s golden head. He looked up at me. “It has to be a lock and to unlock it—”
“You need the blood of the sword-bearer,” a voice came from the shadows. “And the trident.”
Gia and I jumped. Faster than I could blink, Vane moved out of the shadows near the door and grabbed Gia.
“Gia,” Blake cried. He scaled the columns up out of the pit.
Vane held a sword to Gia’s throat. “Drop it.”
Gia’s eyes flashed.
“Do as he says,” I told her.
Gia met my eyes and dropped her sword.
“Good girl.” Vane kicked the sword out of the way.
Matt, Grey, and Colin scrambled out of the pit. Matt said, “Let her go. You’re outnumbered.”
“Gargoyles,” Colin yelled at the door.
“Oh, they’re quite incapacitated,” said Vane.
Colin’s face turned red. “Bastard. Those gargoyles fought at your side.”
Vane shrugged. “Unfortunately no longer true.”
“And the two wizards?” Matt asked.
Vane gave another shrug. “Not very good with swords, I’m afraid.”
“Vane, you don’t have to do this,” I said.
His eyes locked on mine. “I did give you a choice.”
“You won’t win, Vane, we still outnumber you,” Matt said.
“No,” another voice said from the doorway. “Actually, we outnumber you.”
Leonidas stalked inside. Theras followed close behind him. Soldiers pushed the two gargoyles and two wizards ahead of them.
Theras observed Vane holding Gia hostage. He remarked, “Interesting.”
“I thought I lost you lot in the maze.” Vane sighed and lowered his sword, releasing Gia. “So much for that plan.”
“Y-you,” Gia sputtered and elbowed Vane hard in the stomach.
“The crown showed us the way,” Theras said.
My eyes fixed on the two gargoyles and two wizards, still very much alive. I turned back to Vane. “You didn’t kill them.”
Vane’s lips formed a bittersweet smile. “Yet, you so easily believed I had.”
“I don’t have a problem killing any of you,” Leonidas commented.
Vane faced him. “I suppose you don’t want Aegae to survive the day of reckoning?”
Theras stilled. “What?”
Vane held up the trident. “I came to Aegae for a reason. I was meant to come here. And the answer to your future and mine lies right here.” He pointed the trident to the pit. “Poseidon rests here.”
“Your tongue is smooth. Your words like honey, but you are a snake. You cannot be trusted,” Leonidas interjected.
“No? Then, trust yourself.” Vane pointed to the pit again. “Put your crown to the test. Try to open that lock with it.”
Leonidas scoffed. “There is nothing there.”
“Afraid?” I said.
Leonidas strode over to the pit. He held up the crown. The emerald on the crown glowed green. The emeralds on the golden bull’s head also lit in response.
“What is this?” he said.
“The source of your magic,” Matt replied. “Your father has been coming here to recharge the crown with magic whenever you needed. That much I glimpsed in his mind. The magic is charged with whatever lies here. He couldn’t have known its effects. I believe exposure to it has turned the mermaids into something… harsh.”
Leonidas stared at him. “You speak nonsense.”
Theras turned to Vane. “How will this save us from the reckoning?”
A cold smile echoed a chill of green that flashed in Vane’s eyes. He turned to look at me. “To answer that, I will need a maiden.”
CHAPTER 19 - SACRIFICE
CHAPTER 19
SACRIFICE
“The Minotaur is a warning,” Matt said. “If there is something resting here, it may not be a good idea to wake it.”
“Losing your courage already, Merlin?” Vane sneered.
“I hope you’re coming up with a plan to get us out of this,” I told them.
Matt, Vane, and I stood inside the pit. Leonidas and everyone else peered at us from overhead. The Aegae soldiers held the others at sword point. Grey didn’t look at all happy to be a prisoner again. Neither was I. I knelt on the floor, took Excalibur and sliced my forearm. Drops of blood dripped over the bull’s head. It pooled into the emerald-laden sockets.
Vane handed me the trident. I fired a shot at the bull’s head. The bull glowed. Between the ring of columns, a green ring of light outlined a circle of stone. The stone slid up and a hole opened. Water poured out from the spout.
Vane reached for my hand, but Matt grabbed it away from him and healed the wound. We climbed out of the pit. Leonidas took the trident from me. Everyone watched the water fill up and the pit quickly became a small pond. Then, the light died. The pond sat still.
“Now what?” Grey said.
Matt knelt by the pit. He touched the water. “This is Lake water.”
Vane knelt too. “Is she here?”
“Who?” Leonidas asked.
“Where is the cup?” Colin asked.
Matt put his palm on the water. “The pit must be the cup.”
Grey went to edge and touched a finger to the water. “It feels like gel.”
“Is she here?” Vane repeated.
Matt looked back at him. “No.”
“You’re missing something,” I said.
Vane’s hand slammed down on the floor. “She has to be here, Merlin.”
I saw a small disturbance in the water. A slight trembling, al
most imperceptible. I turned to Matt. “Say your name.”
“Merlin,” he said. A ripple shot through the water.
I looked at Vane.
“Vivane,” he said. The ripple became bigger. Under the water, the Minotaur glowed red. Light pierced through the Lake and projected onto the ring of stones that made up the walls of the pit. The rings started to glow. The pit shook. Tentacles of light traveled up to the statues.
The lone maiden moved.
Behind me, the mermaids retreated to the door with fearful expressions. Only Leonidas remained in place.
The statue’s bowed head lifted. Blank, stone eyes opened. “My sons, long have I awaited your coming.”
***
“Lady?” Vane said in shock.
The statue laughed. “Not quite, Vivane. We left your shores long ago, however I left this memory for when the time was right—during the final days, when you would find me again. It will answer your questions, if it can.”
“Who are you?” Matt asked.
“The woman who raised you, Merlin, the one who set you upon this path. I took a risk hoping you would make it here. Yet, you have always been so clever. I knew you would not disappoint me.”
“Where is here?” Matt asked.
The stone face smiled. “This is one of my earlier homes. I have lived here before you knew me.”
“You didn’t answer his first question,” Vane said.
“Ah, Vivane, my daring one. You are correct. I am a Guide, a guardian sent to protect the flock. You have called us many names throughout your time, but we have always been the same. I am one of a handful sent to this world. In this place, I was called Rhea.”
“Poseidon’s mother?” Vane said. “The mother of Zeus and Hades?”
“We are all Guides,” she said. “We fostered life on this world. We helped it grow. We shaped it for a while. Then, our time passed. You did not need us anymore. But we did not leave you alone. We knew a day would come when everything we’d built would be tested. On that day, your world would be tested. Thus, we picked our champions.”