There's something comforting about walking into danger with a friend by your side. It's so much more daunting when you're alone. The threat of death weighs heavier with only one set of shoulders to fall on.To simplify things, I was beginning to miss Helena. Our time in Castle Mist and the Library made me realize what a reliable partner she was. As I hopped out of the cab that took me out of the main town, I wondered if she was currently feeling the same thing.Cabs were free to contestants, more a courtesy than anything else. We couldn't run all over searching for clues if we had no means of transportation. I was dropped off at a small park out of the main town.It was unusual, but everything here was. There were no playgrounds, sandboxes, or screaming children. In fact, there were hardly any children here at all. However, there were a multitude of animal shaped shrubs. Bears on their hind legs, eagles with their winds spread, wolves howling, and dolphin's emer

The humming was beautiful and cold as it echoed down the hall and into the office, I currently stood in. Goosebumps lifted across my skin, and the sickening sense that something was horribly wrong, bubbled in my gut. A cold gust of air carried a sickly-sweet stench that burned my lungs and eyes like bleach. The sound of feet padding sound the hall hit my ears, light and feminine. 'We've overstayed our welcome.' Rayna urged me, "I think we should take the necklace and leave while we can.' I gripped the amulet in my fist and darted from the room, paying close attention so I wouldn't stumble on the hundreds of journals scattered along the floor. I ran down the hall I had initially come from, the one with the least amount of trash. I was hyper focused on my surroundings, on the thickness of that eye-watering stench. Every creak and groan in the house held my attention. As much as I wanted to sprint in terror from this place, I needed to keep my wits for o

For a long time; I felt nothing. I existed, suspended within the stars, peering into the never-ending darkness. They hung everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. Miniature orbs of light that were my only beacon. They floated through this thick liquid with ease, where everything else would sink. The moment the water rushed into my lungs, settling like bricks, I knew that I was dying. Even the amulet on my neck, which hummed and pulsed seemed unable to save me. Where death lingers close, waiting to claim another soul, that is true darkness. It doesn't just surround you, but makes you a part of it. Unfathomable peace and rest, the weight of mortality lifted from your shoulders. The choice was there, suspended in midair like an orb of shimmering light. A kid from our town had been struck by lightning a few years ago, and had claimed he saw a white light, and felt endless peace. I laughed at the time, like all of the kids in the neighborhood.

"You could always take it off and give it to me." He suggested for the fifteenth time, rather than answer a single one of my questions. "Then you could be on your way. No muss, no fuss." The Game Master's brother--did anyone even know if he had a brother? In all of the rumors I had heard about Iridian, never once did I hear of the Game Master's family. I studied the man, wondering if the Game Master bared any resemblance. His hair was dark as night, and eyes a washed-out shade of navy. His face was thin and angular, probably from his diet out here in the forest. His limbs seemed a bit long for his torso, making him gangly. As he loomed over me, he all but shouted predator, but in a different kind of way. There was something off about him, something not quite right. I had asked numerous times what his name was, why he was out here in the middle of this creature infested forest, and what need did he have of the necklace I wore. He chose to answer none of them,

"I have absolutely no clue how I'm bringing myself here. I'd much rather be enjoying a night--day of peaceful sleep." I pointed out dryly, "And anything I've gotten myself into was you're doing. You're the Game Master."I shifted on my feet and let out a sigh. It was different when he called on me, when he brought me to him. If the Game Master was telling the truth, and I suspected he was, why did I keep bringing myself to him? It made it hard to be sour about the whole thing, considering I was the one to blame. The attraction I felt towards him wasn't nearly enough to erase the suspicion and wariness, not to mention that I found him to be an ass half of the time."I am, aren't I?" He chuckled joyfully, proving my last point. His voice was playful, but always with that razor sharp edge of cunning. "I hate to burst your bubble, darling, but you are where you are because of you and you alone.""Why does it sound like a horrible, dangerous thing when you say it?" I