Page 5 of The Minotaur's Maze
When was the last time someone had touched me with any real tenderness? Not just sex, but actual care? I couldn't remember. Work had consumed everything for so long that I'd forgotten what it felt like to be seen as more than just a department manager, a problem solver, a corporate asset.
The water lapped at my chin as I sank deeper. My thoughts drifted to tomorrow, another day of impossible metrics, angry customers, and a CEO who couldn't give less of a shit about the human cost of his profit margins. I'd have to figure out how to cut staff without destroying morale completely. I'd have to find a way to make fewer people do more work without breaking them.
"Fuck," I whispered to the empty room, the word echoing slightly against the tiled walls.
A soft knock on the frosted door pulled me from my thoughts.
"Occupied," I called out, annoyed at the interruption.
Instead of footsteps retreating, I heard the door handle turn. Before I could protest, the door opened, and a figure stepped inside.
"I said it's—" The words died in my throat as I registered who it was.
The creature that entered was massive, nearly seven feet tall, with skin the deep blue-green of the ocean floor. His broad shoulders barely fit through the doorframe as he stepped in, his biceps fitted with gold cuffs catching the light. He was human-shaped, but far bigger and muscular than seemed possible. His eyes were a warm purple, softly glowing in the darkness. I had no idea what kind of creature he was. A demon? A Djinn? Something else?
“Apologies,” he said, his accent thick. “I didn’t realize…”
“It’s alright,” I sighed, pushing myself out of the water. “I was just leaving anyway.”
“Are you sure?” He looked me up and down, taking in my naked body hungrily. “I could?—”
“I’m sure,” I said, forgetting my towel and pushing past him. “Enjoy the bath.”
I stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind me before he could say anything more. Leaning against the wall, I forced myself to take a few breaths. The man, whoever he was, hadn’t done anything wrong. But with my brain so full of work thoughts that wouldn’t leave me be, I felt like my entire body was twisted up with stress again. I had this craving to be alone, but that would only lead to more overthinking. Maybe I should find someone to fuck, just to get my mind off it for a bit. The problem was, it always came back.
I wished there was a way to escape my mind, a way to let go for more than a single orgasm. But it was impossible. No such power existed.
My feet were silent against the wet tile as I padded back toward the locker room, my mind churning with the same corporate bullshit that had driven me here in the first place. The brief respite from my racing thoughts was already fading, replaced by mental images of spreadsheets and the CEO's smug face floating behind palm trees.
I was almost to the stairs when I heard it, a low, resonant humming that seemed to vibrate through the walls themselves. The sound stopped me mid-step, my hand gripping the stair rail as something deep in my chest responded to the melody. It wasn't coming from upstairs where the main action was, but from somewhere deeper in the building, a part I'd never explored.
And then I realized what it was saying.
“Julian…”
It was my name.
I had no choice but to follow the sound. I'd been coming here for three years and nobody knew my name. I never shared it with anyone. Privacy was rule number one at the bathhouse. I had to find out who was calling me, where it was coming from.
“Julian…”
I walked past all the familiar areas, the main bath, the saunas, and the stairs leading to the private rooms on the second floor. But as I followed the voice I found myself walking down a corridor I'd never noticed before, one that curved away from the main hallway like it was leading into the building's hidden heart.
The humming of my name grew stronger as I walked, joined by what sounded like the forest sounds of birds and insects. The air grew warmer, thick with humidity that carried scents that didn’t feel like they belonged, something like damp earth, wet leaves, and burning sage. Emergency lighting cast everything in a dim red glow, making the wet walls look like they were made of blood.
At the end of the corridor, I found a heavy wooden door carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly.
“Julian…”
The humming was definitely coming from beyond it, along with a faint pale light that leaked around the edges. My rational mind screamed at me to turn around, go get dressed, and drive home to my empty apartment like a responsible adult.
Instead, I pushed the door open.
The room beyond defied physics. It was vast, far larger than the building could possibly contain, with a ceiling that disappeared into shadows. In front of me was a green hedge some nine feet tall with an arched opening carved into it. I glanced to the left and right, the hedge going on for what seemed like forever.
“Welcome to the Maze, Julian,” the voice said, deep enough to vibrate me down to the bone.
I froze, my naked body suddenly feeling exposed in a way it hadn't in the bathhouse. This was different. More intimate somehow, as if the maze itself was looking at me.
