Page 154 of House of Lilith

But how am I supposed to know which, I wonder as my eyes drag down their identical wooden surfaces.

I start walking around the room, looking, the girl following me around, but not saying anything.

I find that there’s a chandelier hanging off the ceiling that I haven’t noticed before.

I lean over the edge of the trap and inspect the spikes shooting upwards. Sharp. They’re fucking sharp.

I check the walls, finding the stone too slippery to hold onto, at all. Made from some special material.

And I find that the stone pillar actually has a stone bowl at the top, with two hollows, one at each side of the hourglass. Weird. Don’t know what to think aboutthat.

But by the time I’m done inspecting, the hourglass is telling me I don’t have a lot more time.

So, despite not knowing what the Game is even about, I come to stand in front of the trap, opposite the first door from the left, I take a deep breath and I jump.

And I land on my feet, right on the other side, pushing myself up immediately and grabbing the doorknob to try to get out.

I do manage to open the door, but there’s only blackness on the other side and when I walk through…

I just come out the other side, facing the same room, just with one less door and the punji trap leaving less footing between its edge and the wall with the door.

What the fuck, I curse as I stare at the empty wall where the first door to the left was.

And I glance at the girl standing to my right, that scared little smile on her lips as she lifts her finger again. “Only one,” she repeats.

Does she not think about the doors?

Maybe I have to getherthrough, it occurs to me.

And I let my eyes sweep over the room once again, taking a hesitant breath as I look up and at the chandelier.

Without hesitation, I grab the girl and I hoist her over my shoulder. And my muscles are already straining, but I jump onto the pillar with her, I take a deep breath and I kick my boots off the stone.

We fly through the air, the girl and I, and I grab onto the chandelier while midjump and I propel myself even farther, finally landing with her in front of the second door.

I don’t hesitate. Putting the girl down, I pull the doorknob and I push her through.

She disappears and the blackness behind the door shimmers a little, making my heart beat a little faster.

Was that it, I think to myself. And I can’t be sure, but I have to give it a try. So I step through the door myself.

Only to find myself in the very same situation I was in a moment ago. Standing on the other side of the trap, the girl to my right, staring at a single door on the other side, now withzerofooting before the spikes start.

Fuck, I curse with gritted teeth. Fuck. Fuck.

“So you’re just dead weight, aren’t you?” I turn to snap at the girl, hating how scared she looks.

But it’s then that the stone pillar occurs to me. And I walk up to it, frowning, my eyes darting from the smooth stone surface of the bowl to the only remaining door ahead, “Only one” echoing in my mind.

Blood Magic. I’m supposed to use Blood Magic for this? To make the two of us into one so we could walk out the third door?

I can’t fucking believe this, I think as I start pacing left and right, watching the grains of sand keep trickling, reminding me of how little time I have left.

Never have I ever encountered an example of a Game that forced you to use a certain type of Magic.

But of course, that’s just my luck, I think with gritted teeth, my hands balling into fists. Now, if I don’t do it, I’ll lose the Game and that’s it for me. But if I do, I’ll have Nikolay, Mother and Lilith knows who else at my back again.

I inhale deeply and I decide Iwon’tbe using fucking Mind Magic to do this. I won’t be forced into using it.

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