CHAPTER#86

The glowing moss on the walls suddenly vanished, plunging the tunnel into darkness. Blue and Red lit the path ahead, and Mike stayed in Sofia's shadow. Green landed on Sofia's shoulder, then flew back to land on Mike's.

"We're getting close," Green informed him in a whisper. Mike nodded, trying to breathe a little more quietly. Green's light went out, and Red led them the rest of the way, floating close to the floor. The tunnel now curved dramatically onward, like a spiral staircase. A golden glow from ahead lit the tunnel, so Red extinguished her own light before landing on Sofia's shoulder to sit with Green. Mike followed the cyclops, who was now crouching as the tunnel grew smaller. Soon, both of them were hunched over, walking carefully. The stone floor had smoothed itself out, and the ceiling dropped again. They were both crawling when holes in the stone wall appeared, revealing a view of a giant chamber beneath them.

Up above, a giant yellow gemstone the size of a garden shed floated, held to the ground by several very thick chains that hooked into natural stone towers at the chamber's edge. Mike could feel its warmth, making him think of a sunny day on the beach.

Lily. The thought of her came unbidden, triggered by his own memory of how they had met. Trapped inside a dream, and surrounded by the ocean of his mind. He wondered if she was doing okay. Shaking his head, he shifted his thoughts to Tink and Abella, who needed him now. He didn't know if Sofia would ever apologize for getting them into this mess. Then again, if he had come with them, maybe he would have fallen prey to the traps in the Labyrinth. In fact, if not for the faeries, he would probably have died long ago. Whatever they had done to make Emily so mad, they didn't deserve to be locked up here.

The glowing gemstone illuminated a large chamber beneath them. Piles of treasure had been shoved in the corners like junk, chests of coins and gemstones alike. Several areas below them contained long tables with implements that made Mike think of a mad scientist's laboratory. Scanning the ground, he noticed the chamber seemed to be equally divided in two. The other half had a large structure toward the back. It looked like a miniature version of a pagoda, maybe something that would be seen on a mini-golf course, about twenty feet tall. A long table covered in food made Mike's stomach grumble in protest. He felt like he was looking into someone's dining room.

"There," Sofia said, elbowing him and pointing. At the end of the table was a small metal cage. Huddled inside it was a green figure, legs pulled to her chest, her face buried in her knees.

"Whoa!" Sofia's strong grip pulled Mike back into the tunnel. Without realizing it, he had drawn the dagger, sliding through the hole before them. "I know you're feeling heroic, but it's a twenty foot drop from here."

"Take us down there," he whispered. Blue hopped off his shoulder, walking in front of him. The tunnel they were in dipped down in several locations, and Blue had taken him to the one that had sunk lowest. It was fifteen feet to the ground. Mike picked her up, putting him back on his shoulder.

"I'll lower you down," Sofia said. Squirming backward, he grabbed on to Sofia's hand. The cyclops held tightly to him, lowering him from the opening. She moved farther out, his feet on the smooth wall. He was about six feet up when he let go, landing in a crouch, his heart pounding. Sofia pulled herself back up, disappearing into the darkness.

The chamber was huge, and Mike moved across it, seeking shelter behind piles of gold. Moving closer to one of the tables, he saw a crystal orb on a pedestal sitting next to a gem encrusted wand. Moving across the gap in the middle, he moved closer to the cage, his eyes on Tink. She wasn't moving, and it wasn't until she sighed that he felt a tremendous load off his chest.

Moving closer to the food table, he saw Tink lift her head, her nose in the air. Sniffing around, she turned to face Mike, who was almost twenty feet away. A large smile broke out on her face, followed immediately by a frown.

"Tink hates the Labyrinth," Tink whispered. "Tink wants to go home and never come back."

"I'm working on it." The door itself was padlocked shut. After a few quick cuts with the knife, Mike pulled the whole mechanism free, setting it down on the table. Tink pushed the door open and threw herself into Mike's arms.

"Tink so happy to see goblin husband," she whispered. "Snake lady try to make Tink do a bad thing, get mad when Tink refuse."

Snake lady? Mike thought about the large snake skin they had found. "Okay Tink, we can go after we get your goggles."

"Snake lady has them." Tink shook her head. "Husband can't talk to snake lady. Snake lady has bad magic."

"Seems like everybody does, these days." Grabbing Tink's hand, he led her away from the table covered in food, his stomach growling in protest. They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. Squeezing Tink's hand, they ran across the middle of the room toward where he had come in.

Braziers all around the room lit themselves, casting away the shadows. Mike and Tink slid to a halt when they saw the minotaur now blocked their path, his fierce eyes locked onto Mike. Mike pushed Tink behind him, drawing the dagger. The minotaur held a small bag in one hand and his axe in the other.

"I don't want to hurt you," Mike said. "We just want to leave."

"Hmm." The minotaur let out a snort. "You may not leave without her permission."

"And you do not have it." The voice was powerful, filling every portion of the room. Mike felt Blue grab tightly onto his ear, letting out a tiny squeak of fear. Looking all around, Mike froze in place when he realized the walls were moving. Something large was circling the room, scattering gold coins and treasure chests everywhere. Clutching the dagger, Mike stared in awe as the head of the snake appeared, a golden crown upon its head. The flattened hood spread out as it sat upright, regarding him from nearly twenty feet above. A tongue the length of Tink flicked out at them, tasting the air.