Page 24 of Pain Run Rampant

“Laconia’s not completely defenseless,” I say. “If anyone attacked, I’d make Invictis do it.” As I say it, a loud groan is heard from the bastard himself, as if it’s the worst thing in the world to be forced to protect Laconia instead of wiping it out. “Speaking of which, open the doors for us and light the way, buddy.”

If Invictis could kill, he’d kill me right then. Or, you know, he’d try to. The look he gives me as he stalks toward the door, his wide shoulders slumped, is downright deadly. He easily heaves the stone doors open, and for the quickest of seconds, all we see is blackness inside. Magical orbs appear in the depths of the tree trunk, a yellowish-white, and we see it isn’t a straight hall like Pylos’s.

It’s a staircase that goes down, into the depths of the land.

“Mass-murdering, ancient evils first,” I say with a grin, and I grin even harder when Invictis groans and marches inside.Frederick is busy giving me a strange look, but I don’t pay much attention to it; instead, I follow Invictis inside.

The three of us head down a spiral stone staircase, our path lit by Invictis’s magic. I don’t know how far down we go, but it’s quite a while before the stairs let out into a long hall. My legs are going to kill me on the way back up.

We move through the straight hallway, stopping before another stone door. This one isn’t blank, much like the inner door in Pylos’s labyrinth. It contains an etching of something with wings: my guess the magical guardian lying within.

“It says the same as the other door,” Frederick says. “It seems each labyrinth is guarded, and to get to each inner chamber, we will have to prove ourselves.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we have Invictis,” I mutter. Although, if we didn’t have Invictis, maybe I’d still have my magic and I’d be able to handle these magical creatures on my own. Or maybe we’d all be dead. Who can say for sure? “He’s our attack dog.”

Invictis prickles. “I do not appreciate being called a dog. I am—”

I wave his words off. “Inevitable, incomprehensible, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I know. You’ve said the spiel a million times already, dude. Let’s just get in there and have you kick some ass.”

After letting out an explosive huff of a breath, Invictis pushes past the doors and struts into the underground arena with a swagger that no one could hope to match. Frederick and I are right behind him, although we stop just inside the large, circular, dome-like chamber and let him continue to the center.

Invictis’s magic lights up the large space, balls of light hovering in midair around the arena. It’s just as large as the first, the air just as stale, only with an earthier taste. The door to the innermost chamber, where a piece of Invictis was trapped formillennia, sits on the opposite side of the arena, magically sealed until we defeat whatever magical beast is here.

“The carving on the door looked almost like…” I trail off, the word refusing to come out.

And just like that, an unearthly roar splits the air. Invictis stands smackdab in the center of the arena, ready for whatever defense gets thrown at him. What we all expect is for the creature to pop out of the ground like the one in Pylos did; however, this one materializes in the air, mid-flight. Its path swoops down to Invictis as it tries to snap at him, but he avoids the red shimmery teeth easily.

Large, with two strong wings on its back, and a thick, spiked tail. An angular snout that houses teeth larger than my fingers. Although it glimmers due to being made of magic, it still throws me back in time and forces me to remember the woman I did not get to know nearly well enough before she died.

Before Invictis killed her.

My mom.

“It’s a dragon,” Frederick whispers, clearly in awe. “My word. She’s beautiful.” We watch the dragon fly in circles over the arena, and when it unleashes a breath of orange fire at Invictis, he actually chuckles in glee. “She’s inspiring. I wish we didn’t have to fight her so I could draw her.”

“The dragon’s not real,” I whisper.

“Oh, yes, I know that. It’s just… true dragons went extinct a long time ago. All anyone has seen are old pictures in books.” Frederick quiets as he tears his gaze away from the battle, off the dragon, and onto me. “Other than you, I suppose. Your mother… I’m sorry, Rey. This must be difficult for you.”

Shrugging once, I mutter, “It’s not harder than anything else.” Even though looking at the magical dragon makes me remember my mom, I have to watch.

The tattoos on Invictis’s arm glow, and he uses his magic to counter the dragon’s attacks. He moves faster than a human could, his reaction time worlds better. Watching him, it’s clear he was born to fight, made to be in the thick of battle. He never hesitates, and I swear, even though he’s far away, I see a smile on his face as he fights the labyrinth’s guardian. He summons a great ball of light above the dragon the moment it lands before him and brings it down like a comet crashing to the earth. The snarl of the dragon is all I can hear after that, the magical creature pissed the fuck off.

Frederick folds his arms over his chest as he watches beside me. “I must admit, he is impressive.”

It takes me a few seconds to realize what he said, and I have to tear my eyes off the fight and look at the man beside me, as if looking at him will make him repeat what he said. He doesn’t, though, which makes me say, “You called Invictis a he.”

“I don’t do it lightly. During our journey, I’ve spent a lot of time watching him, studying him. At the start, I wholeheartedly agreed with my father in thinking Invictis is only a weapon. But after watching him, after listening to him… after how furious he was when we—” Frederick coughs, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. “—kissed, I’m unfortunately forced to reckon with the fact that you were right all along.”

Don’t get me wrong. Just like anyone else, I love hearing I’m right. It strokes my ego in all the right ways. But at the same time, the reason behind Frederick’s changed opinion is not something I want to think about right now.

“A weapon doesn’t have emotions. I didn’t see it before. When you argued with my father over what he is, that you believed Invictis was a he and not an it, I didn’t want to believe you,” Frederick goes on. “But it’s clear to me now you were correct.”

My eyes return to the fight just in time to witness Invictis slam a dozen or more swords made of sparkling light into the dragon’s chest. The dragon is slowing down, but it’s not defeated yet. Unless I’m mistaken, he’s taking his time in the fight, relishing it, making it last because it’s the only fight he’ll get until we reach the last labyrinth.

“Be that as it may, I cannot forgive him for the things he’s done. He is the reason so much of Laconia is lost, why so many are now dead. He is behind my father’s imprisonment. He is ultimately the reason Prim is dead.”

“And my mom,” I whisper. “Trust me, Frederick, I can’t forgive him, either.” With my peripherals, I’m pretty sure Frederick is now staring at me and not the fight, but I’m kind of afraid to look at him.

---