by Kate Nova
But I took a deep breath, bunched my ridiculous dress around my waist and began carefully sliding along the ledge.
One small step at a time, inching my way across like a cat.
“Where did you disappear to?” I asked, trying to make conversation to keep my mind off the terrifying task at hand. “I was looking for you at the party. Even with a mask on, I’d recognize you anywhere. Griffin and Liam both said they’d been looking for you all afternoon.”
“Liam and I were trying to find Griffin, so we could figure out how to help you. Didn’t figure you’d bust yourself out,” Callan growled through his pain and gave me a weak smile. “When I couldn’t find him and hadn’t seen any sign of you, I thought maybe Or— I mean Headmaster Armstrong hid you away in the basement or that Griffin was here. I came down here like an idiot.” He grimaced, shifting against the wall that held him upright.
"Not like an idiot. Like a hero,” I said, my voice filled with affection.
“I was trying to find Griffin to tell him… to tell him that I’d figured out …”
He gasped then and my heart sank. Don’t die, Callan, I chanted to myself. Please don’t die.
“Next thing I knew,” Callan went on weakly, “a horn the size of a broadsword was pinning me against the wall. Then everything went dark.”
A horn.
My mind went through all the possible monsters that could be down here and as soon as my concentration wandered, my foot slipped.
I stumbled, both feet searching for stability, but the ledge was too small. I toppled backwards, into the darkness, the pit swallowing me up.
Somewhere above me, Callan called my name; he even dragged himself over to the edge, watching me fall. His face got smaller and smaller as I descended.
I braced myself for my landing. I tried to make peace with the fact that I was going to die like this, falling like a piece of fruit, going splat on the bottom of this pit, even after surviving for thousands of years in my sea cave—
And then I landed in something liquid.
The texture was mud like and I immediately identified it as the source of the smell, but it stopped my fall. I pulled myself to the surface, gasping for breath, wiping the substance away from my eyes and nose.
“Medusa!” Callan was still calling, his voice filled with anguish.
“I’m here!” I shouted back. “I landed in … in something wet.”
It was quiet for a moment. I kicked my legs, treading whatever liquid this was to stay at the surface where I could breathe and searched around me. There were no footholds, no divots, nothing but smooth walls around me. No way to climb out of this. I’d have to tread this substance until I was tired and then I’d sink to the bottom and drown.
Death by falling or death by drowning—I didn’t know which was worse.
But I did know that I didn’t want Callan’s end to be death by goring.
“Hold on!” I called out, “I’m going to try to find a way out of here.”
“Medusa,” Callan replied, and now his voice was steady, almost like he was trying to keep me calm. “Don’t look around you. Just climb. Find somewhere to climb. And don’t look down.”
Don’t look around me? What was he—
My foot kicked at something hard.
Just then, out of instinct, I recoiled and glanced down at the stuff I was swimming in.
A skull floated past my elbow.
Another bone, a rib, was hugging my chest, each ripple from my kicking pushing it into my body.
A little trickle of the substance trailed down from my hair and seeped into my mouth. When the taste hit my lips I nearly vomited.
Blood.
I’d landed in a pit of blood.
Chapter 31
Medusa
Blood.
And bones.
And who knew what else.
Panic overtook me.
I floundered and my head dipped under once, which was disgusting enough for me to keep it above. I swam over to the walls, clawing at them.
“Blood!” I screamed up to Callan, even though he already knew that. “It’s blood!”
“It’s all right,” he replied, his voice still calm. “It’s going to be all right.”
But it wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t. I was drowning in a pit of blood with no way to climb out and above me, Callan was dying.
Somewhere else, Katie was running for her life, chased by something she couldn’t escape—the very same thing that had gored Callan, I was betting—and perhaps Laura and Natalie were running from it too.
Or perhaps they’d already been gored and bled out. Perhaps they’d already been caught.
Perhaps this was them, in this very pit—
No. My mind rejected this thought—too much, too creepy, too horrifying.
Somewhere else, Griffin and Liam were trying to get into these tunnels, or else they’d already found a way in and were running from the monster that had gored Callan, same as Katie.
I had to get out of here.
I had to get to them.
I thought of Griffin and Liam and Callan … All of them. Griffin’s kiss by the auditorium doors all those weeks ago. Liam, kissing me outside the ballroom only a short time ago. Callan and I kissing outside Eric’s pool party … I never thought I’d share a kiss with one man who I cared about, let alone three.
And it was this thought—of the three men who had, yes, made my life hell, but who’d also targeted me to keep me safe—that reinforced my body with strength and filled me with resolve.
I wouldn’t die in this disgusting pit of blood and bones and other body parts. I’d find a way out.
“Medusa!” Callan moaned. His voice sounded fainter than it had earlier—he was fading, and I had to get to him now. “Talk to me.”
“I’m here,” I said, scanning the walls of the pit. “There’s really nothing. Nothing that I can use to—” I screamed as something else nudged my foot. Another bone—I could feel its hardness as it floated beneath me.
Damn, I hoped there was nothing alive down here.
I kicked my feet as hard as I could to stay above the surface, clearing a space free of bones so I could think without being poked by someone’s former body part. As I caught a glimpse of the golden buckle, that’s when it hit me.
My sandals.
The golden sandals gifted to me by Athena—I’d assumed they were merely shoes to cover my bare feet while I was at school.
But they were gifts from a goddess.
So of course, they weren’t ordinary.
I searched frantically for them, assuming they’d sunk to the bottom of the pit, but there they were, floating just a few feet away. I swam closer and grabbed them. Quickly, I studied them, looking for any sign that they were more than mere shoes. To my surprise and relief, when I stroked the braided strap wings popped out.
Little golden wings.
These weren’t just ordinary sandals. They were like the ones worn by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. I fumbled in the blood, struggling to slip them onto my feet and when I did, I began to slowly rise from the muck.
My sandals could make me fly!
The wings lifted me up and out of the blood and I soared out of the pit, dripping a disgusting trail behind me, but I didn’t have time to marvel at the glorious gift Athena had given me. I landed next to Callan, who was ashen and limp.
“Callan,” I said, frantic, running my hands along his cheek. “Wake up.”
He was unconscious.
I glanced down at the wound in his side. It was dark and clotting. His clothing was bunched up around it, but he was still bleeding. And he’d still lost far more blood than I was comfortable with. I had to get him help.
But how?
I was lost in the tunnels. There was no way I’d be able to find my way out of here again.
Whatever had gored Callan would find me, would find the other girls lost in here and Orcus would win.
It was hopeless.
I lay my
head against Callan’s chest, hearing his heartbeat. It sounded sluggish, plodding along, each beat taking longer and longer as the life drained out of him and my own heart felt like it was broken.
All this time, all these years waiting to find someone like Callan. Like Liam. Like Griffin.
Someone who’d look at me and see a person, a wounded woman, not just a monster.
And now I was losing one.
I’d never forgive myself for allowing him to slip through my fingers.
Never forgive myself for letting him go.
I closed my eyes and a gush of tears soaked Callan’s chest. I lifted one of his massive arms and draped it around me, since he didn’t have the strength to do it himself.
I had winged sandals. I was capable of flight.
But I couldn’t lift this man who I adored. There was no way I could carry him and I refused to leave his side for his final breaths.
Even if I could, there was no way to navigate these tunnels and find my way back out. I’d already fallen into a blood pit—who knew what other dangers waited in this maze? There could be giant spider webs that I could catch myself in, or spikes in the walls or other booby traps meant to impale and sink anyone who tried to make it out of this place.
No, this was the end.
Thousands of years in a sea cave, then Athena finally released me and promised to help me get revenge against Poseidon … and this was how it ended.
I wished Griffin and Liam were at least beside me.
I wished I could’ve seen my mother one last time.
I wished I could have …
Wait.
A light, shining not far ahead.
An amber glow, like one of the flickering lights I’d passed on my way into this maze of tunnels, but moving, floating, like an oversized firefly.
Coming nearer.
I felt warm as I saw it, a blooming in my chest.
Comforted.
It came closer, illuminating the place where Callan and I lay and I got my first good look at the space. Brick walls, sloppily rendered, stacked up almost like they were hurriedly done. A concrete floor covered in dust, bugs and who knew what else. The ceiling was dirt, and low. And behind me … Well, I didn’t dare look down into the pit again. I’d seen it.
I was more interested in what was ahead.
The light floated closer and I held my breath, waiting to see who was bearing it—but there was no one there.
Just a light, floating alone, like a bubble.
And then I could hear it.
A faint growling, down the hallway. Heavy breathing.
The sound of a monster.
And it was coming closer.
Every hair on my body stood at attention. This was it, then. A light had been sent forth so the creature who belonged to this horrible place could see me before he gored me to death, just like he’d done to Callan.
But when the light came even closer, a strange voice whispered, “I know the way out.” It was a woman’s voice, light, airy and almost timid.
My eyes danced with the brilliant glow of the light and my head was spinning.
“Who are you?” I replied.
“Shhh,” the voice implored. “Follow me if you want to survive.”
The light bobbed then and started floating in the opposite direction, pleading for me to follow.
But Callan was still beneath me, still breathing, but barely. “I won’t leave without him,” I practically snarled. “So if that means I’ll die—”
I was cut off by the growling sound, even louder, even closer. My entire body knew the noises of a predator. I could almost hear the dripping fangs, the moist maw of death coming near me.
Horns. Goring. Blood. Death.
“Here.” From the floating light dropped a single piece of string. It was worn out, nothing more than yarn. “Use this to tie him to your wrist and you’ll be able to carry him out as if he was a feather.”
I chortled. “Um, sorry, do you see the size of him? He’s a giant—”
“Do you have Athena’s sandals, or don’t you?” The voice was patient but stern. Whoever this was desperately wanted to help me avoid death and my lack of understanding was likely obnoxious, but I didn’t believe it could work.
It was just yarn and Callan was enormous. How could I possibly lift him out of here with this simple fix?
“Listen,” the voice from the light said, “he’ll be here in seconds and then you won’t be able to outrun him. And you cannot hide forever. If he found you once, he will find you again.”
I picked up the string, feeling how weak it was. “Who is he?” I said just as another animalistic growl came from around the corner.
The voice from the light paused for a moment before answering with some audible fear, “He’s always hungry. Now hurry. Time is running out.”
I could feel the monster breathing. My skin broke out in goosebumps. I had to get out of here now. Even though it seemed impossible, I had no other choice but to trust this.
This string. This light. This voice.
“Who are you?” I asked as I tied Callan’s wrist to mine. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because someday soon I’ll need your help,” the answer came cryptically. “Now fly. Follow me.”
My sandals began to flap and lifted me up into the air along with Callan. The voice from the light was right; once the string bound Callan to me, it felt like he weighed nothing.
His head slumped onto my shoulder as we left the floor and he whispered in a faint, groggy voice, “Where are we going?”
“We’re getting out of here,” I told him, and followed the light, hoping we’d leave the growling behind—
But the growling got louder.
Closer.
Cloven hooves clomped on the cement floor. Sulfuric beast smells of a hungry monster running after its prey filled my nostrils. My sandals were fast, but I prayed they’d be fast enough. I could hear the thing behind me, feel the wind of its claws reaching forward to grab my legs—
A scream pierced the air from somewhere else in the maze.
Another girl.
The beast stopped, turned down another tunnel and I froze, my heart skipping.
Somewhere in the maze of tunnels, a girl was being chased.
I hoped she’d find somewhere safe to hide until I could come back and save her. Save all of them. Katie was still alive, or she had been moments ago. Maybe it wasn’t crazy to hope that Laura and Natalie were alive too.
When we reached the steps, my sandal wings folded back into my ankles and I touched down on the bottom stair.
“Who are you?” I asked, spinning around to address the light.
But it faded away, leaving us in darkness.
I didn’t wait another second. I bounded up the stairs, Callan trying his hardest to take steps along with me, and jiggled the doorknob.
It gave, and the two of us fell beyond the door and into a hallway. As we collapsed on the hard floor, my sandals slipped free from my feet and flew off back into the labyrinth.
“No!” I cried, trying to get my legs to cooperate and stand me up. “Come back.” I stumbled toward the open doorway leading back into hell, determined to retrieve the goddess’s gift.
“What are you doing?” Callan groaned.
“N-nothing,” I stammered. As much as I wanted to go back, I couldn’t leave Callan. He was far more important than some magical shoes. I dropped back to his side, looking around cautiously to figure out where we were. We weren’t in the hallway behind the auditorium, but another one, one on the far end of the school. I recognized it immediately as the gym hallway. There were the locker rooms, right there.
And there, standing above us with bewilderment written on their faces, were Liam and Griffin.
“What the fuck?” Griffin searched my face and body and I remembered I was covered in blood. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”
“Not me,” I said. “Him.” I pointed at Callan, watching the other guys
find his wound and wince at the sight of it. “He needs help. Help him.”
I was suddenly exhausted. Drained. I felt like I’d scaled a mountain and rolled down the other side.
“Medusa,” Liam said, holding my shoulders. “What’s down there? What did you find?”
I gazed into his sea-colored eyes and it was like the light which had guided us through that maze suddenly clicked on in my head.
Horns. A monster. Hungry. Callan, gored. Young girls sent down to run through the tunnels for their lives.
Not a maze. A labyrinth.
Of course, Orcus the beast keeper would have this beneath the school.
I managed to say one word before the darkness took me and I fainted. “Minotaur.”
Chapter 32
Medusa
I woke to warm water being gently poured over my head, rolling down my neck. Someone was washing my face and someone else cradled me in their arms.
My eyes fluttered open and I recognized where we were by the tiles on the ceiling—white and grimy like they hadn’t been properly washed in decades.
The locker room showers.
I peered down at myself. My dress, the poufy thing covered in sparkles, had been mostly torn off me—well, everything flashy had been ripped away. The dramatic sleeves were gone. The layers and layers of tulle had been torn off the skirt. Now, the whole thing now resembled a simple shift dress and it was soaked through, stained with blood.
A part of my brain tried to tell me that I should cover myself, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.
Then I focused on something else far more important. My bare feet. My sandals … they were gone.
They flew away as soon as we were out of the labyrinth and I was instantly ashamed. They were a gift from Athena and I knew she’d think I was ungrateful when she learned how I’d so easily let them part from me. But I tried not to let myself worry about that now.
“Hey,” a voice said. It sounded far away, but as my eyes focused on the person leaning over me, I could see Griffin studying me with concern.
“Hey,” I returned weakly and tried to sit up.
“Hold on,” Callan cautioned, helping me push up and lean against the shower wall. He’d been holding me against his chest, which was surprisingly comfortable considering how muscular it was. “Take it easy. You must have hit your head on something down there when you fell in that pit. You’ve been out of it ever since we came up.”