Page 70 of Mostly Shattered

He?

What does that mean?

At least he’s okay. He’s saying something.

I try to send him a question mark, but the phone says there is no service. I hold it up, walking the length of the platform, searching for a signal as I watch the screen.

The flicking overhead lights become more intense. Another piece of ceiling falls and clinks onto the floor next to me. I look up only to find more tiles coming toward me. They rain down, striking me on the head and arms as I try to shield myself.

The stone rain pelts harder, scratching my arms as it falls. I spin in circles, looking for safety. The spiral on the wall falls away to expose a tunnel. The butterfly flies inside. I run to follow it.

The second I crawl inside, the rain stops. I look behind me to see the stone wall grinding to a close with a decisive finality. The subway station is gone, and I’m left in darkness. Not even the butterfly remainswith me.

“Costin?” I whisper, hoping he can hear me like he did when I called for him during the engagement party. “I’m not sure where I’m at.”

Cold air comes at me, and for a second, I think it might be him. A shiver runs down my spine. Suddenly, flames burst close by as torches are lit by an invisible force. The light is enough to show the only way forward, but it leaves most of the cavernous space veiled in shadows.

“The labyrinth,” I whisper as the realization dawns on me. That is what the spiral design on the wall represents. A magical entryway into this nightmare.

The troll’s parting words echo in my mind,“She must face the trials alone, vampire.”

It would seem the labyrinth agrees.

The tunnel curves to the right, the beginning of an ancient, mystical maze. The air feels charged with energy and smells of burnt, spent magic. I can’t help but wonder how many have come before me.

Taking a deep breath, I force my fear down to the pit of my stomach. The troll said I had to do this alone. I need to be brave.

I need to have faith.

I’m not sure how one finds faith. It seems to be a thing that you either have or don’t, that you find or lose, but never a thing you can will into existence.

I feel so alone, abandoned. I want to curl up intoa ball and cry until somebody comes to save me. But if I give in to my fears, everything I love will be destroyed. I have to try.

I attempt to push my swirling thoughts down so I can concentrate on the task at hand. These are my trials, and I have no choice but to pass them.

As I walk by the torch on the cave wall, another appears ahead of me. The labyrinth is more than stone and shadows—it’s alive, watching me, testing me. Costin warned me that it would try to deceive and misdirect me. I need to stay sharp and fight any paranoia that tries to set in.

I am alone. I have to believe I’m taking the right path.

I pray that path does not lead straight into Draakmar’s lair.

My feet step steadily over the ground. My breath punctuates the silence. I keep my eyes focused ahead, watching for what may come to test me.

I continue along the curve. Torches light the path ahead. Behind me is unwelcoming darkness and a sealed subway wall. There is no going back, only forward.

I keep moving, eyes focused ahead. I wonder if the labyrinth is a maze and I must find my way through, but there is only one path spiraling to the right so far. Every so often, I touch the wall just to make sure it’s real. A new torch appears to revealthat the pathway is turning to the left. I hesitate at the change and slow my steps. As I stop to watch, the path twists like a living thing, writhing and reshaping before my eyes. Yet the terrain beneath my shoes feels solid.

The ground vibrates, and a giant rock wall shoots up from the floor to block my path. I turn, but another wall blocks me. Firelight appears overhead, showing me the way.

The first obstacle.

The route behind me is closed. There is only one way to go. Up.

“You want me to climb?” I ask, half expecting the walls to answer.

They don’t respond.

“Any chance I get a safety harness?”

---