CHAPTER#71

"You have a tail?" Beth asked. "That's so cool!" Asterion was now beside her, and he casually lifted the large stone blocks off of the pile. His muscles bulged lifting some of the larger pieces, and Beth patted them appreciatively. The small pile moved on its own, and Abella rose, the heavy stones falling around her. She stretched her arms to the sky, her wings unfolding behind her back. Beth saw that the stone webbing had torn in multiple places beneath the rubble, and Abella's body had dark flaws across it, cracks in the stone that glistened with dark fluids.

"Thank you, Asterion." Abella bowed her head at the minotaur, who now contemplated her.

"Are we friends too?" Asterion asked.

"Yes, but not the same as you are with Beth," she told him, rubbing her shoulders. Her stone breasts rippled, tiny chunks of debris falling off of her. "Thank you for freeing me."

"You are welcome." Asterion smiled.

"So, we can go now?" Abella asked.

"Hmm." Asterion frowned. Beth kept smiling, but she watched Abella roll her eyes. Asterion knelt to retrieve his axe, holding it casually over his shoulder. "We must go to see the Lady. If you want to leave the Labyrinth, you need her permission."

Abella swore under her breath, but Beth patted Asterion on the arm. "That sounds like a great plan. Lead the way, friend."

Asterion beamed at Beth, then led them out of the room of stone columns.

…

Water flowed through a crack in the wall. On the other side, Mike could hear the river. Placing his hands against the hard stone, he could feel the vibrations through it. Cupping his hands, he collected a mouthful of water and drank it. It was cold with a slight metallic taste, but Blue had informed him that it was safe enough to drink.

"Is it good?" Blue asked from her perch on his shoulder.

"It tastes like water," Mike responded, sucking down huge mouthfuls. Wiping his mouth, he turned away from the wall. Blue had led him away from where the fairies had found him, citing safety concerns about the potential arrival of the minotaur. The river acted as a natural barrier, but Blue had informed him there was a single bridge that the minotaur could cross if it needed to.

In the distance, he heard the minotaur cry out. It sounded different from earlier, but Mike was no expert on monster shouts. If Mike had to venture a guess, it sounded like the minotaur had found a bag of gold or a shiny new axe.

"Lucky boy," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Blue asked.

"Oh. Nothing. Thinking out loud." He contemplated the paths before him. There were three, and each one looked equally suspicious. Blue had informed him that they were in the inner circle in relation to the river and that the passageways had been booby-trapped. They had only walked for about ten minutes, and Blue had pointed out at least three traps that Mike could have triggered that would have killed him.

Mike leaned against a dry section of the wall, closing his eyes and letting the rhythmic vibrations of the river lull him into a meditative state. His clothes, dried by Blue with fairy magic, still retained a mystical warmth.

He had asked Blue about the traps. The Labyrinth wasn't just a random maze, he had informed her, and the fact that someone would put in a giant maze with killer traps and a minotaur meant that the Labyrinth must have a secret or a treasure worth protecting. Blue had shrugged away his answers, being deliberately evasive. She also wouldn't speak to the fact that she and the others were trapped, which was also a piece of the puzzle.

Why would a maze be designed to keep people out, but then never let them leave? His eyes closed, he sank deeper into a state of relaxation, tiny lights flickering behind his eyelids.

The world of darkness receded, chased away by glowing beams of light streaming through his windows. He walked through his house, humming a song to himself that he didn't recognize. A large table had been set up in the family room, with an equally large game board.

"Every room has its purpose, every monster has its place," he sang out loud, but it wasn't his voice. It was Emily's, but that wasn't quite right either. It almost sounded like Emily's voice mixed with Naia's. The game board in front of him reminded him of Clue - it was a layout of his house. On the board, he saw that several pieces were scattered through the house. He picked up a sultry figurine that was standing in the fountain, immediately identifying Naia. Setting it back down, he picked up another one on the front porch. This one was Cecilia. Even Lily was there, her figurine currently in the back yard with Naia and Zel.

There were other pieces on the board, pieces he didn't recognize. When he held them up, they were blurry, his vision unable to see any detail. Frowning, he stared at the board. Where was the Labyrinth?

He touched the spare bedroom, tracing his fingers over to the closet. The board shimmered beneath his touch, and unfolded another section, revealing the enormous structure somehow in the walls of his house. The pieces were on the board, standing in various locations. He found his own piece, picking it up to inspect it. Setting himself back down, he spotted the minotaur with a couple of other pieces.

Beth and Abella. Fuck. He set these backdown. He saw the other fairies, their figures very tiny, and even Sofia. Her figurine scowled at him somehow. In the center of the Labyrinth was a pair of figurines. One was Tink, but the other one was blurry. Holding the piece in his hands, he tried to identify it by feel.

"Mike!" His eyes snapped open, and he stood up. Had that been a dream or a vision?