The king withdrew a key from his pocket and thrust it into the door of the cage. He twisted and a sharp click followed. Then the door swung open. Ruby, Julian, my brother and I gasped and leapt back at once as the vultures immediately flew forward in an attempt to escape.
The brothers moved inside and a few seconds later, the vultures had become tame, docile, malleable. More of their mind control at work.
Each of the brothers grabbed hold of collars that were tied around the birds’ necks and pulled them out of the cage. Then the two cronies stepped inside and collected three more—one of which they passed to the king.
I exchanged nervous glances with Benedict, Julian and Ruby. It looked like we were going to be riding these birds freestyle.
The sentries mounted the vultures, swinging their long legs over each bird’s side, before the brothers each held a hand down to pull us up. I gripped hold of Tejus’ forearm tensely as he jerked me upward. I sat behind him on the vulture’s feathery back and found myself forced to cling on to him for dear life as the bird’s wings spread and jerked us upward with barely a second’s warning. My arms snaked around Tejus’ muscled waist, the front of me pressing flush against his back. My heart was racing as we rose higher and higher. There was nothing stopping me from falling—the strength of my grip around Tejus was my only safety. As I caught sight of Benedict and his sentry flying shortly behind us, my fear consumed me. Hold on, little brother. Hold on.
It didn’t help that the flight was so bumpy. These vultures really weren’t the most graceful of birds. They darted up and down, varying their altitude erratically, almost as though they were deliberately testing how firmly we were holding on. Perhaps Tejus sensed my fear, for he turned his head slightly as his hands dug into the feathers behind the bird’s neck.
“You can sit in front of me if you’d feel safer,” he offered.
I declined. I was too scared to attempt to change positions now that we were mid-flight… and besides, it would feel weird being so engulfed by Tejus, his arms and legs enveloping me.
Thus I remained clinging to the sentry. Even with such weight on their backs, the birds were able to fly far faster than any bird I’d ever witnessed in the human realm. Almost dragon speed.
I wasn’t able to concentrate on the ground below—how much progress we had made since leaving the palace, or whether I could spot any sign of the labyrinth in the distance. It was all I could do to simply hold on. Making myself acutely aware of the height at which we were flying would only make the experience ten times more terrifying.
I only got a clue that we were nearing our destination when the king barked a command to his sons. “Start flying low! We don’t want any of you getting a special advantage as to the labyrinth’s contents…”
Yeah, right.
Tejus made us descend, and so did the others… though Jenus was the last to obey his father, clearly hoping to gain some small advantage.
I felt the bird soaring lower and lower, and then I finally mustered the courage to look beneath us.
We had completely passed over the vast stretch of kingdom I had beheld yesterday from the window. The buildings, the roads, the patches of agricultural land… now we were nearing what appeared to be a rocky wasteland—except for a wide patch of green looming in the distance.
The labyrinth.
Perhaps it was just my nerves, but we suddenly seemed to be closing the distance much faster. The next thing I knew, I could make out details of the maze. It was a massive area—so vast that I couldn’t even see the end of it—though if we had still been flying high the end may have been visible. I wondered how they had even created such a place in the first place. The maze was so at odds with its surroundings—its walls dense with giant thorns and tightly wound vegetation grown so high that five sentries standing on top of each other wouldn’t have been able to see over the top. The rest of the terrain was dry, dusty, painted with hues of brown, almost like a desert. It was like the labyrinth had sprung up here by way of magic. It made me wonder whether the king might have an alliance with a magic-wielder after all—a rogue jinni or a witch, perhaps.
Whatever the case, I wasn’t left with much time to mull it over. The vultures took a sudden dive, and then we had all landed on the parched ground with a thump that almost caused me to go flying off the vulture. I slipped off its sleek feathery back, my knees feeling weak as my feet touched solid ground. My eyes immediately shot toward my brother and two friends. They had landed safely too, thank God.
Turning to face the thorny exterior wall of the maze, I realized that there were five wooden doorways into it, spread about eight feet apart.
“You will each enter through one of them,” the king announced. “They will take you on parallel but separate paths through the labyrinth. The sword lies deep within the maze. I will post my men in the sky to hover and monitor you, to ensure no foul play goes on,” he added.
Yeah, right, I thought again.
Though this could make it more difficult for my brother, Julian and Ruby to attempt to slow their sentries down. However they tried to do it, they’d have to be careful that the watchers wouldn’t detect any foul play from them.
The king’s eyes passed over his sons. “I know that, whatever the outcome of this trial, each of you will do me—and your kingdom—proud… May the best man win.”
Then he gestured toward the doors, indicating that we head to them.
Is that all their father is going to tell them before thrusting them into this?
Perhaps some other meeting had taken place before now that I didn’t know about, because none of the sentries looked surprised.
As we all took positions outside the entrances, my palms were sweating. I eyed my brother and friends anxiously one last time before the sentries opened the doors and we stepped inside.
We emerged at the beginning of a long, shadowed path, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Tejus’s hand moved immediately to his spear, which he had fastened to his belt with a clip. He held it out in front of him, as the wooden door swung shut behind us. I could hear the others on either side of us—their feet crunching over the ground—beginning to roam down the path. Tejus didn’t lose time either. Meeting my gaze, he looked at me sharply before nodding to move ahead.
“What are the rules?” I asked. “There must be some? And will our paths cross at all with the others? Will we be constantly traveling parallel to them?”
“We are not supposed to cross paths for a while,” Tejus said. “At least according to what my father shared with us earlier this morning, after the funeral. He said we may cross paths at some point though, as we get deeper into the maze. As for rules, my father discussed that with us earlier too. None of us are to harm each other, or our humans. That would not be fair play. Our father has stated that the obstacles are designed to test our tenacity and durability—both things we will need in surplus if we are to stand a chance of taking the crown.”
I wasn’t sure I really believed that. I guessed only time would tell, as we wound deeper into the maze and stress levels got higher. At least Tejus was well armed, and, as he’d indicated, he was supposed to be a fine swordsman. It unnerved me that I didn’t have any weapon at all on my person though. For all I knew a monster could come bursting from the shadows and hurtling toward us at any moment.
“Can I have one of your weapons?” I asked him.
“There’s no point. I need to start carrying you now anyway or we will be putting ourselves at a disadvantage.”
He lowered himself to his knees, quickly beckoning me to climb onto his back. Clutching his shoulders, I did so carefully. As he rose, I tucked my legs around him to make sure I wasn’t going to slip off. Then he began to run.
“H-How long is this going to take?”
“I don’t know,” came his predictable answer. “The faster we go, the sooner we’ll be done.”
“Has this maze always been here?” I asked, gazing around the thick thorny walls in wonder
ment.
“No.”
“Since how long then?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, who put it up here in the first place?”
“Again, I don’t know. I have not roamed this side of the kingdom of late.”
I huffed in frustration. If it was installed by a witch or other magic-wielder, I would have liked to know in advance.
We fell into silence as we turned a corner, finding ourselves at the beginning of yet another long passage.
Something told me that I was going to be sick of hedges by the end of this.
Hazel
While Tejus carried me I kept looking up at the sky for the watchers. They didn’t seem to be following us the whole time, but rather checking on us sporadically. As for the king, perhaps he had returned to his castle to wait for the result.
As Tejus ran with me, there were a number of directions we could have chosen to go in, but at every turn, Tejus was trying to keep us moving ahead. But where we had to choose between right and left, he just seemed to take a random guess. I was becoming increasingly worried as to how we’d even find our way back out again—but then I supposed that was what the watchers were for. They should spot the winner—hopefully Tejus—retrieve the sword, and then swoop down to help us all get out of here.
Winding deeper and deeper into the eerily quiet maze, I felt more and more nervous. I was on edge the whole time, expecting something to leap out at us at any moment. It became so agonizing, I almost wished something would leap out at us just to break the suspense.
I could no longer hear the footsteps of the others. I guessed that by now we must have distanced ourselves too much. As I found myself wondering if any of them had met with an obstacle yet, a shrill scream pierced the air from somewhere in the distance. It sounded like Ruby’s scream.
My heart hammering against my chest, I tightened my grip around Tejus’ neck.
Oh, God. What’s happened?
Does this mean she and Jenus have already managed to gain a headstart over us? I hoped that Jenus hadn’t caught her trying to slow him down.
We continued venturing forward and I sensed Tejus going more slowly than previously, as if he, too, were fearing what was around the corner. We passed several more twists and turns before arriving at the edge of a clearing. It was a large square patch of grass, which offered three paths to choose from—right, left or straight ahead. Straight ahead was the obvious choice but as Tejus took a step forward into the clearing, the ground suddenly gave way beneath us. We found ourselves falling down, down, down into a shockingly deep earthen pit and landed in a pool of murky water.
During the shock of the fall, Tejus’ grip had loosened on me, as my grip had loosened on him. I landed a couple of feet away from him, on my hands and knees in the water—the ground beneath us surprisingly soft—while he had been deft enough to land on his feet.
He reached down to grip my arm and helped me up. Then we both gazed upward at the distance we’d fallen.
“Well,” Tejus said, resuming his stony demeanor. “It looks like we have met with the first task.”
He was eyeing the wall closest to us. Leaving my side, he moved toward it. Just as he reached within three feet, razor-sharp blades pierced through the soil so densely that it was impossible to go near the walls now without risking getting spiked.
I wasn’t sure what Tejus had been intending to do exactly, perhaps push his hands into the soil and see if he could gain a grip on it to begin climbing upward. Whatever the case, that option was long gone.
“What is going on?” I whispered.
“Goblins,” Tejus said.
My heart stopped.
Goblins.
My eyes shot toward where Tejus was gazing—up at the mouth of the hole. Twelve horned greenish creatures about the size of eleven-year-old children had gathered around the hole’s entrance and were gazing down at us, their small eyes black as night. Their noses were thin and pointed, their lips wide and thin, revealing the tips of their sharp teeth as they gazed down at us.
I instinctively huddled closer to Tejus as I attempted in vain to even out my breathing.
Then the goblins backed away. This was actually more frightening than if they had continued glaring down at us.
What are they doing now? What the heck is going on?
They did not leave us waiting long. They returned with what appeared to be a circular wooden board, whose diameter looked wide enough to slot perfectly over the entrance of the hole.
A lid.
Attached to its corners were handles, which they were gripping as they cooperated to move it over the hole.
They’re going to lock us down here? For what purpose? To see how long we can survive?
Oh, God.
I was fully convinced that they were about to secure the lid over the hole, but as they aligned it perfectly, I realized that it was slightly too small—small enough to fit inside the hole, not quite large enough to cover it. Which meant that if they dropped it, it would come crashing down on top of us.
I was left to wonder what exactly was going through their heads as they flipped it over to reveal the other side of the wood… only no wood was visible. It was covered completely with clusters of tightly-bound vines that were bright red in color. Their leaves resembled ivy a little.
Tejus tensed next to me. “Blood vines,” he murmured.
“What?” I choked. “What are blood vines?”
“The most poisonous plant in all of Nevertide—and likely one of the most poisonous in all of the supernatural realm. A single touch against the skin of either human or sentry causes almost instant death.”
My mouth pried open as I noticed that one of the goblins had fetched thick rope—which they were quickly winding through the handles… and then the vines were descending: one foot deeper, two feet, three feet.
They stopped abruptly.
I looked to Tejus. His eyes had hardened and glazed over, his lips tightly pursed, his fists clenched. He must have been attempting to control the goblins. Break into their minds. The blood was rising in his otherwise palish face, a vein in his temple pulsing.
I didn’t dare speak, and I hardly even breathed, in case I broke Tejus’ concentration. I just remained biting my lip so hard it almost bled and praying the vines would start lifting.
After what was probably only five minutes but what felt like half an hour, the vines began to recede. Slowly but surely they raised upward, until the goblins’ hands were close to reaching the handles again.
But they never got the chance.
A harrowing snap sounded and the next thing I knew, the vine-infested wooden board was tumbling down toward us at the speed of gravity. My knee-jerk reaction was to instantly drop to the ground, get my head down, even dipping myself underwater, as if that would help me survive the impact in any way.
My life flashed before my eyes. I saw Ruby, Julian and my brother. I saw my parents. All of my family and friends.
A loud splashing noise erupted next to me.
I did not feel any vines or heavy weight upon me. I was not squashed flat. I was still alive.
When I raised myself from the water enough, my eyes fell on Tejus. He had gotten himself into the most bizarre position. He was doing a handstand—his hands deeply embedded in the base of the pool as his heavily booted feet were pressing against the vine-covered circle. I feared that some of the vines could brush against his ankles, but his boots were high.
I was left to gape in awe as Tejus, with the strength of his arms, began to push the circle backward and then maneuver it into an upright position with his feet… until it was leaning against the blades sticking out from the rounded wall opposite us.
Only once he seemed completely certain that he had secured the circle in place did he dare remove his feet and relinquish his handstand. All the blood had rushed to his head as he stood up and gazed at the circle cautiously.
Then he looked upward.
Apparently during
the fall of the circle, he had released his influence on the goblins, because now they were all gathered again around the edges of the circle, ogling us as they had done before.
Then the blades pulled into the walls, leaving holes in the soil. Their suddenly giving way caused the circle to fall back further, but thankfully it looked in no danger of falling upon us.
It seemed that we had completed the obstacle, and were allowed to begin attempting to get out of this hole by other means. But when Tejus once again approached the earthen walls, he didn’t have to go so far as to try to gain a grip on the soil. A rope dropped from the heavens. The goblins had chucked it down. Tejus tugged on it firmly, checking the strength of their grip. Then, apparently satisfied, he turned to me and lowered himself, indicating that I resume my position on his back.
My legs were still quivering as I waded my way over. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his midriff, and clung to him like a monkey as he gripped the rope firmly and climbed up.
I couldn’t help but bury my head against the back of his neck as we reached above twenty feet. I didn’t want to look down. My limbs were feeling unsteady holding on to him, and watching the distance increase would do nothing to help.
Reaching the entrance, Tejus transferred himself from the rope to the ground and hauled us both out.
The goblins clothed in dark robes parted around him and me, their heads panning upward comically just to be able to look Tejus in the eye. He was incredibly tall by anyone’s standards, but a giant compared to these little beasts.
One of them shuffled to the front of the group and placed his gnarled hands on his hips.
“Remember, Tejus Hellswan, that an emperor can never rely solely on his mind for control. He must know how to react fast and instinctively to all types of situations, and be ready to exert all aspects of strength.”
As the goblin retreated, Tejus nodded darkly.
I wondered if the creatures had been intentionally supplied with weak rope. Given the goblin’s message, it must have all been planned.
Tejus turned his focus to the path that we had intended to take on first entering the clearing—straight ahead, and deeper into the maze.