“Higher than high tide should be and a hell of a lot higher than it should be with the tide going out.”
“Whoa, that whole dune just…” Thomas said suddenly, pointing.
Farther down the beach a large section of dunes had collapsed into the water. Dust from the sand was still rising and I could see sand sliding down the remaining dune. There was no beach there either. Another part of the dunes just sank away as we watched, collapsing into the water and vanishing.
A violent splashing came from behind us and we turned as the hillside in front of the resort rolled and tumbled into the water. The entire resort – what was still standing, at least – began to pitch sideways, toward the ocean.
The ground beneath our feet began to vibrate as several cracks split up the beach and the hill, passing the destroyed hotel and us. Another huge part of the dunes collapsed. Then, the last visible part of the dock sank beneath the surface and out of sight.
“What’s happening?” Charlie asked, voice shaking. “Please tell me the whole island isn’t going to… collapse?”
“I vote we don’t wait around to find out,” Dani said. “We have to find the labyrinth doorway and get the hell out of here.”
“But you’re not human,” Mariana gasped. “You guys can’t cross it!”
“We might not have a choice,” Thomas said.
“Oh, you aren’t going to like this…” said Dani slowly. “There’s water under us.”
“We’re on an island!” Charlie shot back, eyes flaring.
“Islands aren’t supposed to float.”
“Are you saying we’re floating?!” Charlie shrieked.
Dani glared down at his feet. “I’m saying water is where it shouldn’t be. And there’s quite a lot of it. It’s…” He tilted his head like he was listening. “It’s rushing. Moving. Fast. Like it’s… like it’s filling an empty space.
“Under us?” Charlie said.
Dani’s answer was drowned out as the entire hotel went crashing down into the ocean, leaving little doubt as to what that answer had been.
“Run,” TS suggested.
We turned and ran, heading for the woods away from the shore as fast as we could. The frantic race seemed insane once we were inside the trees. It felt like a beautiful, tropical day. The sun was still shining through the leaves and everything was quiet and peaceful… except the island was quite possibly collapsing all around us.
Soon we were back at the part where the path split off, standing on the safe side of the barrier, trying to catch our breaths.
“They wouldn’t actually destroy the island, would they?” asked Thomas. “They’ve got this whole thing all set up.”
“Alaria said it was time, didn’t she?” TS said grimly, glancing at me and Mariana. “She said...”
“The island was compromised,” I said. “That she couldn’t leave any evidence and…”
“It served its purpose,” Mariana finished darkly. “Sounds like she won’t care if it collapses into the ocean. She said they aren’t coming back.”
“If the non-magics all believe there was a hurricane, they’ll probably accept the island was destroyed,” TS said.
We all turned and faced the path to the cabanas, the path only three of us could safely take. What did we do now?”
“We have to find the doorway,” TS said. “You two and me.” He nodded to me and Mariana. Then he turned to Thomas and the others. “As soon as we find it, I’ll signal you. Come right to me, as quickly as you can.” He paused and shook his head. “There’s nothing else we can do.”
“What if the doorway is closed?” Charlie asked with a visible shiver as he cast a look over his shoulder.
“Then we’ll figure out something else,” Dani said firmly. He pulled Charlie against him protectively. “One way or another we’re all getting off this stupid island. Alive.”
“Go,” said Thomas. “We can’t waste any time.”
Once again, I found myself running toward the ritual site. This time, I felt even more desperate. Hopeless. My head was swirling with what-ifs. What if the doorway was closed? What if it wasn’t; could the others even make it there? What if…
We didn’t slow down until we reached the ritual site, even then we only did so out of caution. As soon as it was clear the blood casters really were gone, we hurried out to the open area.
There was a loud splash and Mariana hurried to the far side of the site.
“Oh no, the water is right down there!” she cried. “The cliff is already starting to fall!” The end of her sentence was punctuated by the sound of cracking rocks, quickly followed by another splash.
“We’ve got to find it!” TS said. “Look everywhere!”
The three of us combed the ritual site, but none of us could see anything that looked like the entrance to the labyrinth. Maybe it really was closed.
For a moment, the three of us stood together helplessly, then we split back up to check it all over again, growing more frantic with every wasted minute. Periodic cracks and splashes made us feel even more desperate. The ground was noticeably shaking now; the slight vibration had turned into a rumble that threw me off balance if I wasn’t careful.
“The air elemental!” Mariana cried suddenly.
“What?” I called back, half-expecting to see his body or something. “What about him?”
“Where did he come from?!”
“I didn’t see because of the smoke,” I answered. “It was like he came out of thin… air…” I realized with a thrill what she was getting at.
“Or a labyrinth!” TS finished out loud. “Come on!”
We rushed down to the alter and started inspecting it. Nothing. I circled it several times, while TS and Mariana did the same. Just as I was starting to think it was another dead end, I spotted something odd about a rock at the base of the alter. The rock had been split by Alaria’s spell, but the shadow it cast seemed strange…
I knelt down and pulled away one of the broken pieces. It wasn’t a shadow at all, it was a crack! A crack that looked bigger than it should have been.
“Mar,” I whispered.
A flame burst to life on the end of my wand and I poked it down into the crack. I could just barely see what looked like stairs!
“Stairs,” I choked.
“What?” TS called.
“Stairs! Here!”
They were by my side in an instant.
“How do we get to them?” Mariana asked.
We looked frantically for something that would make it open. This had to be the way in to the labyrinth.
“If I could just fecking shift,” TS muttered, scrabbling at the dirt around the crack with his hands in a dog-like way that would have been funny under better circumstances. “Ow!” he yelped. He pulled back his hands and examined a nail that had bent back.
I tugged desperately at a rock as hard as I could. It wouldn’t even budge. I tried another angle, then slipped and sliced my palm open on the jagged edge.
I cursed and examined the wound; it wasn’t too bad thankfully. Blood began to drip from my palm, a couple of drops hit the ground and sizzled.
Forget my palm, that wasn’t right. Blood magic. Blood! That’s what Taylor was trying to say!
Hardly daring to breathe, I turned my hand and clenched my fist, wincing as my fingers dug into my wound. Several drops fell and splattered onto the rock below. They sizzled too and then, with a lurch, the ground began to slide, opening up into a hole just large enough for a person to drop down through onto the stairs.
“This has to be it,” Mariana said.
“Look, there,” TS said eagerly.
A smashed bottle and a bunch of potions ingredients were on the stairs below us. The blood casters must have come this way.
“Call Thomas,” I said quickly.
“Done,” TS said almost instantly.
We stood around the hole, waiting. I knew the smart thing would be for one of us to get inside. Even if the worst happened, even if on
ly one of us escaped, someone had to tell Jon what happened here. He had to know about Alaria. But I knew none of us wanted to be the one to run to safety.
Several crashes and a rush of movement caught my attention. I could see the tops of nearby trees falling. Was the water that close?
The entire ground suddenly pitched sideways and we all staggered.
“Are they close?” Mariana asked.
“Not close enough,” TS answered. “Come on!”
He sprinted for the trees, leaving Mariana and I to follow. It wasn’t long before we reached the others and I was instantly glad we had. They would never have gotten to the site in time.
Thomas practically collapsed into my arms, breathing heavily. He was already covered in the horrible network of blackened veins, looking darker and more swollen than ever; even the capillaries in his eyes were black.
I immediately positioned myself under one of his arms and started back toward the ritual site. He stumbled along next to me, audibly gasping for breath as I tugged him along. Running was out of the question, but each passing, wasted second was critical. By the time we reached the site I was almost dragging him.
The cliffs were noticeably smaller and a huge chunk fell down right before our eyes. The water sounded higher. More trees fell, followed by another section of cliff and then I saw the ocean. None of us had any time. For a moment, I thought at least Mariana would be okay if the island sank, but no, she’d turn into a mermaid once she hit the water and the blood magic barrier would affect her too.
We were nearly to the alter when the ground pitched again. Thomas slipped from my arms and fell. He barely caught himself, but stayed on his hands and knees. Before I could help him up, he started coughing, then vomited black blood.
I cried out in alarm. TS was by our side in a flash.
“Tom!” he gasped. “Thomas, come on, you’ve got to get up. We have to get out of here.”
Thomas coughed a couple more times, but gave no indication he had even heard TS.
Dani leaned heavily on the alter where TS had left him and I forced myself to go to his side. TS couldn’t leave his soul-packmate, not like this. It would be a waste of time to try.
“TS, get him out of here,” I said.
TS looked at me and nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered, knowing I understood.
He may have been human, but he was still twice as big as Thomas and it was hardly any trouble for TS to lift him completely off the ground.
Dani was a lot harder to assist than Thomas, considering he was a foot taller than me, but I managed. Like Thomas, his veins were all swollen and black. I glanced up at him as we went and to my horror, black blood was trickling out of his ear.
TS dropped down into the hole with Thomas and we were right behind them. After only a couple of steps, Dani stumbled and we both almost went down. I barely managed to catch my balance, but he leaned against the wall weakly.
“Dani, come on,” I pleaded.
“I can’t…” he started. I was about to repeat myself when he finished, “I can’t see.”
I assumed the blood magic was interfering with his abilities, just like TS hadn’t been able to shift. It was dark down here. I quickly cast my night vision spell on myself, then turned my attention to him.
“Mar. Better?”
“It’s not… it’s not that,” he panted. He pressed a hand to the side of his head with a grimace.
“Come on, then,” I cried, practically dragging him down the stairs with me, silently cursing blood magic.
Thankfully there were only a few stairs. We hurried down, rounded a corner, and tumbled out into a room. TS stopped so abruptly I nearly slammed into him, behind me Mariana and Charlie almost ran into us.
“We’re…” Mariana gasped.
Chapter Nine
Jen
We were in a small, circular room with seven arched doorways, each with a stone staircase curling up beyond them.
“Jen,” TS cried. “Can you sense Rak?!”
I reached out. No. “No!”
“We’re in,” he breathed. “We made it.”
“Is everyone… okay?” Charlie asked. He, too, was covered in black veins. The arm Donna had injured hung limp at his side and he looked paler than I had ever seen him. But if we were in the labyrinth, then we had to be away from the influence of the barrier.
“Mostly,” Thomas said hoarsely. “I will be.”
“Me too,” Dani groaned, although it felt like I was the only thing keeping him on his feet.
“Seven stones, right?” I asked.
“Right,” TS confirmed.
We quickly found the doorway with seven stones and hurried through. The stairs curled around and I prayed with each twist that we’d find ourselves in the minotaur’s cave. I didn’t think we would all survive a trip through any other layer of the labyrinth.
I nearly sobbed in relief as the stairs led out to a large hallway. We made our way down; TS still holding Thomas, me practically dragging Dani, and Charlie leaving heavily against Mariana.
The hall opened into the minotaur’s huge cave. It was where I wanted to be, but the memory of what happened here made my stomach twist nervously.
The ground suddenly jolted as I heard the sound of a huge hoof. I swallowed nervously as another hoof thudded down. The air echoed with the thunderous clop of the minotaur’s steps and, at last, he appeared.
“You have… returned,” he said as he towered over us. A dry, dark chuckle emanated from him. “Worse for… wear, I… see…”
“Can you help them?” I blurted, even thought I knew he couldn’t heal blood magic.
“Two. Only… for a… moment.”
I shrieked in surprise as the ground beneath me gave way. Dani and I splashed down into a pit full of cold water. I stood instinctively; the water came up to my shoulders. I knew Dani couldn’t drown, but it was surprisingly hard to not try and dive down to help him.
Mariana jumped back, just as a fire burst into life around Charlie.
The minotaur swung his massive head toward Thomas and TS. The memory of his horn goring Thomas ran through my head and I felt sick. Yet now, here he was helping us.
“Blood, I… cannot… conjure in… a manner… that will… aid you,” the minotaur said.
“Feed,” TS said in response. He knelt down and offered his neck to Thomas.
“Teth…”
“Just fecking do it.”
Thomas sighed, but weakly began to lick TS’ neck.
“You…” The minotaur stomped suddenly forward, sticking his face terrifyingly close to mine. “Alaria lives.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Yes. But, now we’ve seen… we can… we’re going to find her,” I stammered.
He laughed and a cloud of his rancid breath hit me, nearly gagging me.
“She was… here. She is… furious… You ruined… her island.” He laughed again. “I like… when she… is pained. She… does not… realize… but she, too… sustains me… her emotions… are strong… delicious.” His huge head tilted and I got the impression he was studying me. “That power… is why… I resist… for now…”
“Resist?”
“Her… orders…”
“She said she controls you?” I asked, filled with the odd feeling I needed to delay something, but I couldn’t put my finger on what.
“Yes!” the minotaur bellowed.
Thomas hadn’t had nearly enough, but quickly began to close the punctures on TS’ neck. TS let him, obviously as unnerved as I was.
“She has… discovered… the way… to bind… a minotaur. Only… with her… death can… I be… free.”
“We’ll kill her,” I promised.
“Go,” the minotaur said flatly.
The cavern shook as a large hole opened, leading to the exit.
“Go. Now,” he repeated.
The fire around Charlie faded and he climbed weakly to his feet, looking at the water in concern.
“Dani needs more time,�
�� he protested.
“So does Thomas,” TS said. “And you,” he added, nodding to Charlie.
“No!” raged the minotaur, rattling the pebbles on the ground around us. “Alaria has… commanded… me to… kill all… who enter… from the island.”
“What?!” I cried in horror.
“I resist… for now… but I… weaken… go… before I… kill you… all…”
“How do we get home?” I begged. “Which doorway? We can’t kill Alaria without help. Please.”
“Five… stones… now go.”
TS heaved Thomas to his feet, as Mariana quickly pulled Charlie’s good arm over her shoulder.
“Jen,” Thomas said weakly.
“I’m coming, go!” I cried.
“Now!” screamed the minotaur. “Run!” Several stalactites broke off and hit the ground, shattering in a spray of broken rock. “Run!”
He took several huge, ground-covering steps toward the others as they struggled away, then swung his club. It looked like he was still fighting the compulsion, but the deliberate miss was still too close for comfort.
“What’s happening?”
I shrieked as Dani popped up out of the water next to me.
“Are we…” He stopped and looked around the cavern. He was squinting, but obviously could see better. “Is this the labyrinth?”
“Yes, and Alaria is making the minotaur kill us,” I whispered. “Let’s go!”
I heaved myself out of the water and turned to help Dani. I knew he was still in bad shape, considering he not only accepted, but seemed to really need my help.
The minotaur roared in anger as the others made it into the hallway to the doorways. He spun and bellowed again.
I pulled Dani behind a large boulder and tried to figure out how to get around the minotaur. Thankfully, Dani was moving under his own power again. We both crept along behind the rocks. It was the long way around, but we were nearly there.
“Jen!” Dani hissed suddenly.
“What?”
“Where the hell is the minotaur?!”
I turned and looked around in alarm. I was so focused on getting out, I had completely lost track of the huge monster.
Suddenly, a rock near us exploded as the club swung through.
Rise of the Arcanist Series: Books 1 - 6 Page 39