Chapter 13 #2
He whirled and sprinted for Circe, yelling, “Retreat.”
She stopped bashing the very dead spider and, without a word, spun and ran.
An arachnid went scuttling past him overhead, and when it launched itself at her back, Taurus threw a knife, spearing it in the bulbous belly.
It hit the floor with a splat just as Circe went past the slight bend, putting her out of sight.
With her safe—he hoped—he turned to face the arachnid wave with their clacking mandibles.
Only one thing to do with that kind of infestation.
He pulled out his Zippo, struck it, and lit the nearest dangling cobweb.
It ignited immediately, and even better, the fire he started hungrily began spreading.
The flames raced up the walls and ceiling, and as the heat began to build, along with smoke, the spiders hissed and squealed, trying to escape the inferno.
They might have succeeded had they come to where he stood in the hallway, a section free of flammable webs, but instead, they retreated into their sticky and flammable burrow.
Taurus was whistling—to give warning of his approach—as he rounded the bend to find Circe crouched with the knife he’d given her held out in front. Wide-eyed, but unharmed.
“Problem taken care of,” he stated.
“I smell smoke.”
He jerked his thumb. “Because I lit the arachnid nest on fire.”
Of all the things to make her smile… She beamed. “Excellent idea.” Followed by a more worried, “Do we need to worry about getting cooked alive?”
“Pure stone.” He tapped the wall.
“Exactly, which means no ventilation. We’ll choke from lack of oxygen.”
His lips pursed because while he could handle tainted air, she couldn’t. “Get close.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to dazzle you with my awesome presence.”
Her brow arched. “What’s the real reason?”
“I’m going to encase us in a protective bubble until the air clears.”
“Clears how?” asked even as she moved close and coughed.
Before answering, he tugged at the link with his Astraeus and shaped his need. While he couldn’t see it, he smelt the difference as a cocoon surrounded them with fresh, breathable air. Good to know he hadn’t lost contact with his stars.
“The door to the maze is wide open, and will act as a chimney, expelling the smoke. Once the flames run out of fuel, it should only be a few minutes before we’re on our way again. Time for us to have a drink of water and relax.”
He dropped to the floor and took the bottle she handed over, swishing the first mouthful before swallowing a few times.
“Do you think those were the monsters that scared off the guy who wrote the diary?” she asked joining him on the floor.
“Maybe. Although spiders are pretty common in these kinds of places.”
“Old caves?”
“Ancient, cursed sites.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to you so casually dropping remarks like that,” she replied with a shake of her head.
“Before you know it, you won’t even blink an eye.”
“You speak as if I’ll be sticking around.”
“Is it too soon to say I hope you will?”
Her lips curved. “Guess that depends on if the world doesn’t end in a few weeks.”
“In that case, I better make sure it doesn’t.” Noticing the smoke no longer appeared to be thickly streaming past their protective shell, he stood. “I’m gonna take a peek and see how the tunnel is doing.”
A glance around the bend showed a few red embers here and there, and a strong charred smell, but the path appeared to be clear.
“We’re good to go,” he announced.
Circe appeared, pale but determined. “Let’s do this.”
The burned spider section went a good sixty or so paces and while he didn’t count the smoldering carcasses, Circe did.
“Twenty-nine. Wow. How did they thrive? They can’t have had a steady food source in here.”
A claim that turned out untrue, as their next monstrous encounter ended up being rats. Big ones, but not as many as he’d have expected, most likely culled by the spiders.
They also came across random bones. Some of them rat. Some of them unidentifiable, but no denying the many human skulls littering the halls.
“Looks like our diary writer wasn’t the only one to find this place,” Circe murmured. She nudged a rusted metal helm. “Although these all look old.”
“There was likely a time when warriors, and the foolish, sought to conquer the Labyrinth either for clout or in search of treasure.”
“Losing their lives in the process,” she murmured.
“Don’t worry. We won’t end up like them.”
“How can you be sure? You said Sage and Olivia saw you in the maze, but as far as I know, they never mentioned you making it out alive.”
“No, but I don’t need a vision to know we survive.”
“Because the world is depending on us.”
“Bah. More like I refuse to die until I’ve had at least one more chance to peel your clothes and worship that honey-sweet body of yours.”
“Taurus!” she exclaimed. “This isn’t really the place for that.”
“No, hence why you’re still dressed, but the moment we’re back in Tower…” He winked, and she blushed.
“You’re incorrigible.” Said with a pleased smile.
No, he was a man possibly falling in love.