Page 114 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
Tigon stood at the far end of the hall, his bulk towering over his kalator, Neri. She held an empty potion bottle in her hand, while Tigon held a map out to her. The coloring and symbols on the map reminded Aryana of the kind her uncle often used to make battle plans. Three kingdoms on the map were circled. Kingdom Aeria, the vampire kingdom, and the human kingdom.
Tigon's and Neri’s gazes locked with Aryana and the guard. Tigon quickly stuffed the map in his pocket, yanked the empty potion bottle from Neri, and then slammed the human with his massive fist so hard she went sprawling onto the ground. Aryana flinched, her whole body tensing.
“Take this one with you while you’re at it,” Tigon commanded, before lumbering around the corner and out of sight.
Aryana dislodged herself from the guards’ grasp and raced over to Neri, who was pushing herself up on shaking arms.
“I’ll be fine,” Neri said. She looked up at Aryana, her eyes widening. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I finally decided I wanted to look like the rest of you,” Aryana said.
Neri sniffed. “I don’t think you are quite like us.” She was right. Aryana had quite enjoyed her “torture” session with Zarathos.
Neri studied her. “Nice armor.”
Aryana touched Zarathos’s armor, covering her body. There would be no more hiding. “What was that?” she asked, motioning toward where Tigon had disappeared around the corner.
Neri climbed to her feet, and brushed off her torn and stained clothes, though her hands were shaking. “Tigon occasionally likesto taunt me with his plans for when he becomes arch king. His plans to attack other nations. Including the humans.”
That made sense. Tigon from Terra Monstrum probably had good reason to want to attack all three kingdoms. The vampires because they were encroaching on Terra Monstrum’s land, Kingdom Aeria because they were assholes trying to take over every other kingdom, and the humans because they were weak and easy pickings.
And yet, something nagged at Aryana. It hadn’t sounded as if Tigon had been taunting Neri. It had almost sounded as if Tigon was using the battle map to reassure her of something. And what of the potion bottle that had been clutched in Neri’s hand?
The guards came with their spears, ordering them to their feet. Neri refused to look at Aryana as they continued to their cells. A slightly fearful smell drifted off of her, and Aryana got the sense that she was agitated about something.
“Is everything all right?” Aryana asked.
“Sure. I was just slammed in the side of my head by my champion and we are going into the next trial where who knows what horrors await. I’m wonderful,” she snapped.
The reminder of the upcoming trial put Zarathos again at the forefront of Aryana’s mind. Whatever Neri was hiding, it would have to wait until after the trial. The guards tossed them into their dingy cells, and she immediately paced back and forth, wringing her hands. Pohan and Jesir were there. However, her thoughts centered solely on Zarathos.
As if on cue, the mark on her leg became terribly cold. Her nails dug into her skin. He was indanger.
“You look and smell as if you’ve had a night,” Jesir said, watching her anxiously.
She realized she must look a sight to him and anyone looking at her. But Jesir didn’t look great either. More scars and wounds crisscrossed his body since the last occasion she’d seen him.
But before she answered, the large slab dropped, slamming into the earthy cell.
“No belladonna this round. Go out, and try to survive in the maze, if you can,” the guard said.
Aryana rushed up to the waiting area. She took a few slow breaths before rushing forward. How quickly would they put Zarathos and the others into the arena? Had they already? In the past, they’d started the champions just after the kalators, so she had to assume this would be the same. She shoved the barred opening wide, racing out into the open.
Aryana held her breath. Immense stone walls that stretched in both directions rose above her, making her feel small. The guard had called it a maze. A narrow gap in the wall was the only way into the labyrinth. Was Zarathos somewhere inside there? She possessed no weapons. What manner of lethal creatures might inhabit the twisting, dark passages?
But Aryana was a deadly creature as well.
The air was thick with the scent of dust and sweat, and the distant roars of the arena’s monstrous inhabitants echoed off the stone walls. Members of the demon syndicates moved up and down the rows of spectators taking their bets. She touched the upside down crown on her wrist, wondering how many of her experiences weregoing to be used to inflict pain on others. All so the syndicates could get rich.
“Welcome to the third round of the demon trials,” the announcer’s voice echoed throughout the arena. “In this round we will see how well our champions can use their minds to navigate the challenge placed before them. But be forewarned, deadly creatures do not wait for brilliance.”
She spotted Pohan, Neri, and Jesir coming toward her. She’d have to protect Neri at the same time that she protected Zarathos, but at least the human wouldn’t be hard to find. Pohan greeted her with a nod, his eyes narrowing with determination. Guards lined the edge of the arena, no doubt ready to grant them a swift death if they didn’t enter. Aryana couldn’t escape the impression of being trapped, but she had no choice now. They had to navigate the maze if they wanted to survive, and she needed their help if she was to get to Zarathos quickly.
Pohan’s brows pulled together as he looked her over. Swiftly, he slipped her a piece of bread and she took it, popping it in her mouth.
The four of them faced the maze. Somehow, she knew Zarathos was somewhere inside that labyrinth. She had to find him. Whatever horrors waited for them, it wouldn’t be easy. As they moved into the twisting corridors, the walls seemed to close in, each turn more ominous than the last. The silence between them was laden with the weight of their unspoken fears, but there was no turning back. Only onward, deeper into the heart of the maze.
Then the sound of a wild creature brought them to a halt.
