Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Jacinth
Iimmediately dodged the attack, retaliating with a punch sent towards them, only for my hand to sail through right through thin air. I staggered for a second, off balance from the attempted hit, before I straightened in shock as what just happened registered fully.
How was there no one there? I’d felt the attack, the air moving as a hit sailed towards me, my intuition screaming at me that it was heading right towards me.
I dodged its attack, but ended up crashing into the wall.
I huffed angrily as I looked around critically, trying to figure out what in Adamah was going on.
I finally caught the barest glimpse as it approached once more; a dark shadow, barely noticeable in the darkness surrounding me.
All I could make out was that it was shaped vaguely like an Elf, only with no features or true form to it.
As I dodged another hit and tried to counter with my own once more, I still couldn’t land a single hit, my fists meeting nothing but air.
That told me one thing: It wasn’t real.
It had to be an illusion of some sort, one that kept coming at me, likely trying to force me off course like the water.
I wasn’t sure if it could actually touch me, it would depend on what kind of magic was used in its creation, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Examining the tunnel, I could see it wasn’t strictly a tunnel, as other paths split off from it, making it all too easy to get lost in the darkness.
I could only guess that I had to make it to the other end without getting sidetracked.
More shadows appeared, but I forced myself to ignore the projections chasing after me, barreling onward so I wouldn’t lose the path forward.
A new illusion popped up, trying to wave me over to a tea party that was taking place at the entrance to one of branching paths.
All the ladies around the table invited me to join them with loud shouts of welcome.
Fortunately, I had absolutely zero desire to spend time with most noble ladies, so the temptation failed to take hold. I merely shook my head and continued.
More illusions popped up as I went, and I ignored each and every one, unwaveringly set on my course.
As I neared the end of the visible path, I expected it to continue or open or something, but instead I hit a wall, nearly smashing my face off where the tunnel apparently came to an abrupt end.
I immediately began running my hands along the wall, looking for a lever or a rock to push, anything that would trigger an exit.
A spike of panic shot through me as I realized there was no way out.
No way, except doubling back.
Fuck.
One of these illusions had to lead me to the right exit.
My very incorrect assumption of how this worked had already cost me precious time.
I hadn’t paid any attention to the illusions after passing the tea party, but I would need to evaluate them and see if there was any way to determine which was the right one.
The wrong choice would only cost me further.
I slowly retraced my steps, ever mindful of how much time it was taking me.
Every second counted when it came to my chances of winning.
My vengeance counted on those seconds.
“Linnea.”
Every muscle in my body froze, and my heart contracted like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed. That name had no place here. There was no way for anyone to know that name—not in connection to me, at least.
“Linnea. Come here, my little pearl.”
My breath caught in my throat alongside the sob I tried to strangle down.
This was too cruel.
I hadn’t heard my father’s voice in years, but I remembered its resonance easily enough, and there was no mistaking it now. My feet led my trembling body forward without my mind’s command, aching to be closer to the voice calling out.
“This way.” he whispered, and I sped up, his voice a lighthouse in the suffocating darkness, a shining beacon to save me from the storm of my existence.
Except…he wasn’t there.
I tried to see through the gloom, but even Elven eyesight was useless in this. I put my hands up to feel for anything that may be around me. I found a rock wall on my right, and slowly started to walk along it, my fingertips never leaving the anchoring stones.
My father’s voice echoed from a different direction, and I spun around, only to realize it was the same illusion as before.
I stood still, gathering myself mentally and trying to regulate my breathing, all to prevent my body from moving toward the mirage it desperately ached for.
The pieces of my pulverized heart slowly released the agonizing pressure on my chest, until—
“Mommy!” A little voice called, “Mommy!”
Fuck. These illusions weren’t some preset image, which at least meant that no one had figured out who I really was, but they had to be using magic to divine our innermost fears and desires.
I couldn’t think of anything else this could be.
Not when it somehow knew the things I kept closest to my heart.
My fear of attack. My desire to fit in. My parents.
They started out small and got worse the more we ignored them, digging the knife deeper each time.
My horrible, stupid, useless desire for family was now manifesting into the impossible. A future once promised to me, its potential torn cruelly away. I blinked, trying to rid myself of the moisture gathering in my eyes; tears were worthless here.
I instead focused on the rock wall under my hands.
Feeling my way along it, I realized the wall bent to the left, except, no illusions were in that direction.
Tilting my head to the side curiously, I followed the wall instead.
The illusions began popping up then, getting stronger the further I went.
So maybe my supposition about them was wrong, and this game was something else entirely.
I forced myself to ignore them and continue along the contours of the wall.
When illusion approached with a flickering candle in hand, I took the opportunity to look around in the light. I gasped to find my arm halfway through a wall, everything past my elbow missing. I wiggled my fingers, feeling them brush the rock, and realized immediately what was going on here.
None of this was real. Not even the tunnel before my eyes. I didn’t have to find the right illusion; I had to find the real exit under the illusion itself.
I saw a slight shimmer ahead, a tiny bit of magic breaking through, and made for it straight away.
As I barreled through the shimmer, light assailed my eyes, making me blink quickly as my vision adjusted to the sunlight.
The crowd was cheering, and the noise was nearly grating after hearing only whispers in the darkness.
I looked up into the crowd, my eyes narrowing on the royal box.
Azurill was smirking at me from where he was sprawled on his throne, but Lord Carnelian was sitting back, a satisfied look on his face.
I set my shoulders back under their watching eyes and continued on, trying to shake off what had just happened.
I had buried that desire for a family for years, and now was definitely not the right time for it to rear its ugly head.
I focused instead on the thin rope connecting the tower across the way from the one I’d found myself on upon escaping the tunnel. This course was seriously messing with my equilibrium, magic thrumming through every installation, explaining the strange topsy-turvy nature of its entrances and exits.
At least this next one seemed pretty straightforward. The rope made it very clear what I needed to do, but the beams hanging in disparate intervals on either side of it the entire way across made my success a little less certain. I swallowed hard; I had zero desire to be crushed to death today.
I centered my balance and stepped a toe onto the rope.
I slowly put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the jeers from the crowd right along with the cheers of encouragement.
When the first beam to my right started to swing toward me, I jumped forward on the rope, heart pounding as it just missed hitting me.
Of course, why wouldn’t they put us physically off balance after doing it emotionally?
I took another step, and a beam on my left began to swing, moving even faster than the first, forcing me to back up a step to avoid taking a hit.
I tried to move more quickly from there, but as I took another step, I heard the almost collective inhale of the crowd.
It didn’t take a genius to realize they were waiting for something to happen.
I almost paused, but I forced myself forward, and as the beams began flying at me, faster and faster, I was thankful for my father’s lessons about not hesitating when it mattered.
I wobbled when I stopped abruptly to avoid a sudden spinning beam, throwing my arms out to stabilize myself.
I let out a low breath as the rope finally stopped jumping under my toes, and lifted my right foot to continue, but my eyes widened as I realized the beam on the other side was already coming at me.
There was no way it wouldn’t hit me, and the crowd clearly knew that too, as their collective gasps rang deafeningly in my ears.
I took a deep breath for all of half a second before I called on every dance lesson I’d ever been through and, with one wobbling, risky-as-Tartarus bounce, I threw myself up into the air. The wind rushed in my eyes as I flipped mid-air, timed to fall when the beam swung back—-perfect.