20. You’re still a baby?
20
You’re still a baby?
Talon
W e walked further into the tunnel, and the walls slowly became less jagged and more carved. Even with our good eyesight, it soon became so dark, I had to illuminate some spheres for us to see.
Nidori shivered. “Looks like I won’t be much help here,” she said, landing on my shoulder. “I need a few things to help me out—sunlight, plants, and soft dirt. None of those are nearby.”
“Don’t worry, little bean,” I said. “You’ve gotten us this far. It’s our turn to do the heavy lifting.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Kaine. “If something heavy needs to be lifted, I’ll leave you to it. Now, if you need something stabbed, bitten, dismembered, or charmed, I’ll step up.”
He was different this evening. Either the sex or knowing I wasn’t going to kill him had made him more relaxed, and he was making more jokes.
“You know, I can do more than just lift things, right? I’m actually pretty good at stabbing too,” I replied dryly .
“Oh! That reminds me.” Kaine stopped, bending down and fiddling with something at his ankle. When he straightened, he held a small, delicate blade in his hand, sheathed in an obsidian case. “Here. For stabbing strangers,” he said, offering it to Nidori.
“Really?!” she said, eyes wide.
“I wouldn’t leave my wife completely defenceless down here,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at him, which he ignored. “Besides, it’s my opinion that everyone should have at least one dagger.”
Nidori giggled and took the blade, strapping it around her waist like a sword.
“Thank you! It's so pretty!” she said, drawing it out to admire it, the handle glittering in my orb light. “But…I don’t know if I could use it.”
“Of course. I’ll teach you how,” he said, and Nidori flew over, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“But teach me how to use it to make people sleep,” she said, nodding. “I don’t want to kill anyone with it.”
I glanced at Kaine, confused, but he just shrugged. “Shouldn’t be hard for you, darling. You can grow all kinds of poisonous plants. Just crush them, dip the blade in, and there you go.”
We continued on, and the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. It was naturally formed, with craggy walls leading up to the ceiling far above our heads. I reached up, sending my orb high into the cavern, illuminating the area. The floor was mostly uneven, with faint light coming from glowing moss and mushrooms. There was a path ahead that led steeply down towards the hulking mass of a dark stone fortress that stood in the centre of the cave. Our footsteps echoed in the large space as we continued down, joining the melodic drops of water around us and the occasional unsettling wet, slithering noises .
When we reached the path, we took the fork leading onwards to the castle ahead of us, instead of the other, which led further down into the dark.
I wondered who had lived here, long ago. People who had made an entire castle inside a mountain, hidden away from the world, lit only by the dim glow surrounding us. Beyond that, what had ended their settlement, leaving only a dark ruin behind?
We walked along a bridge and a series of archways that took us to a grand staircase, leading to a massive set of rotting wooden doors. It smelled of must and the tang of rusted iron.
“So, there’s a path through to the other side of the mountain if we go inside?” I asked Nidori.
“Lei Lei said we’re looking for a crescent door. Then we’ll find a tunnel.”
“How come Leihandra gave you more instructions than we got?” Kaine asked.
“Don’t you check in with your patron?” she asked, surprised.
I snorted, and Kaine raised an eyebrow, muttering something about a creepy fuck.
We entered through the massive doorway. It opened into a hall with high vaulted ceilings and more stairs at the back. We started searching, making our way into rooms, looking for anything moon-like.
“Found it!” called Nidori’s small voice triumphantly. It was a set of double doors, actually, with a crescent moon carved into the wood. It was drier in here, and the wood was still solid.
I tried the handle, but the door didn’t move.
Kaine peered at it, frowning. “There’s no lock,” he said. “Maybe it’s just a bit jammed. Try again? Do me a favour, though, darling, and roll your sleeves up this time.” He winked .
I raised an eyebrow but complied, earning me an approving look. I was starting to believe him when he said he enjoyed looking at me. He had been so utterly unfazed by my body last night. The memory of his cool skin touching mine made my cock lurch, and I quickly turned my attention back to the door. I couldn’t stop my tail from twitching, though.
I heaved on the door, and it shifted a bit, releasing a terrible groan.
“Ohh! Do it again!” said Nidori. “Maybe more sleeve rolling will help?”
Gritting my teeth, I widened my stance. I shifted, hooking the talons of my wings in the crack and giving the door another pull. It opened a bit further, and one more tug gave us enough room that we could enter. Nidori landed on my shoulder and planted a light kiss on my cheek. I found myself blushing.
I peered inside. The room was massive and divided into strangely angular sections. Nidori flew in, and I flinched as movement appeared everywhere. My hand flew to my sword, but I stopped. It was just her reflection. The room was full of mirrors. I stepped inside, watching carefully, but the only movement was my many reflections cautiously watching me.
“Oh, hells,” groaned Kaine as he slipped in beside me. “A mirror maze . This will be fun.”
“There are so many of us!” said Nidori, darting down.
Kaine came up behind me and reached up to my face. His finger moved my lip as he spoke in a low voice. “ I’m Talon, and my biggest fear is a muddy puddle. ”
I pushed him off as Nidori let out a peel of laughter. I managed a brief smile, glancing at my reflection quickly before looking away .
“Hang on. Oh. ” Kaine clicked his tongue, sympathy edging into his gaze. He looked at my reflection and then back at me. “Oh, darling . ” He patted my cheek, studying me. “Really?”
“Hey,” I muttered, pushing him off again. I didn’t like how he was looking at me or that I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“What?” Nidori said, buzzing over.
“He doesn’t know how attractive he is,” he said, cocking his head to the side.
“Talon? Is that true?” Nidori asked sharply.
I shrugged. “Look at me,” I said, glancing at my reflection again.
The figure of a monster stared back. My dark horns crowned my limp white hair. My skin was a dusky blue, and my piercing blue eyes had black where they should have white. From here, you couldn’t see the pattern of bony ridges that lined my body. I could hide my fangs and forked tongue. But I couldn’t conceal my shredded wings and long, hooked tail. I was the villain in children’s stories, the one used to frighten them to stay in their beds.
It was even more obvious seeing the others next to me. Nidori was the picture of cuteness. Large, sparkling green eyes and soft, floppy ears. Her thick, pouty lips and smooth nose rounded off her face. Her short, puffy dress on her tiny, curvy frame. She was enchanting.
And beside me, Kaine’s perfection contrasted my every flaw. Tall, but not towering like me. Slender wrists and a lithe, sculpted figure. Beautiful blue eyes glowed under his silver curls. How on earth could he think I was attractive?
He turned to me, rolling his eyes. “We see you, idiot. Gods, living among all these humanoids has really scrambled your brain. Worse than I initially thought.”
I raised an eyebrow at him .
“Talon, pet, you’re gorgeous,” he said, folding his arms. “You really think I’d let you touch me if you weren’t?”
I opened my mouth, and then closed it, face burning. Yes…?
“Of course you’re gorgeous, silly,” said Nidori, setting down on my shoulder. “You and Kaine would make nice babies.”
“We should press on,” I said flatly, walking towards the entrance to the maze. I glanced at my reflection again, wondering if I could see what they did. I looked away, disappointed.
Nidori flew up, looking over the top. “It’s not really a maze,” she said. “There are lots of exits and ways through.”
“Good,” said Kaine, and walked right into a mirror. He swore.
“Here.” I caught his hand with my tail. “Need a guide?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” he murmured, sliding his hand up until his arms were wrapped around my waist. He peered up at me, his sly smile making my heart flutter. Well, shit. Not what I was going for, but I’d take it.
We walked in further. Nidori was right; the mirrors were arranged in paths and patterns, but not typical of a maze. Kaine loosened his grip a bit but let my tail curl around his arm as he stayed close.
“What are these for?” I asked as we had to duck through a small archway, peering up at my reflection above me.
Kaine shrugged. “Looks like a shrine to Droue. She loves mirrors and mazes and shit.”
“Droue?” I wasn’t familiar with the name.
“Goddess of movement, I think.”
“Kaine, Droue died in the last turnover,” Nidori said, fluttering back down to our level with a concerned look on her face.
“Oh. Seems like I missed that part.”
“What do you mean, turnover?” I asked .
“The last time the Gods fought. It was a big war. Pretty much all of the old Gods died. The new ones came in,” Nidori explained.
“I've never heard of it,” I said, frowning.
“You have heard of it.” Kaine sniffed. “Just not the complete story. This was when Lydes sealed off Hell. Some of the other Gods didn’t agree. So, they fought.”
“I didn’t realise Gods could die,” I said, tracing my hand along one of the mirrors.
“Wait, how old are you, exactly?” asked Kaine, turning and giving me a suspicious look.
“That’s not really relevant,” I said airily. I didn’t want them finding out I was less than a tenth of their ages. Enferni averaged about two hundred and fifty, so I could feasibly be older than twenty-seven.
Kaine perked up. “Oh, it’s very relevant.” He stopped, his hold on my tail forcing me to stop too.
“Now we have to know, Talon,” said Nidori, giving me a cheeky smile that matched Kaine’s.
I contemplated lying. It was tempting. But I’d acted too suspicious now and waited too long.
“…Twenty-seven,” I said finally. How on earth could I blush so much in the span of a few days?
Kaine’s grip on my tail loosened as he stared at me. Nidori flew into his head. His shock turned into a delighted grin.
“You’re still a baby?” Nidori said, and Kaine’s grin widened.
“I’m a fully grown adult.” I folded my arms, hoping I didn’t look too much like I was sulking.
Kaine came over and wrapped his arm around my neck, pulling me down before I could stop him and knuckling my hair. I shoved him off with a huff.
“Aww,” he said. “Our little Talon. Of course you’re all grown up. ”
“Hey, if I’m a baby, that makes you an old man,” I replied, fending him off again as he tried to pinch my cheek. Nidori giggled.
“Oof. Low blow, darling,” he said, clutching his chest in mock pain. Then he straightened. “I’ll have you know, I stopped emotionally maturing at twenty-one.”
“I can tell,” I said dryly. Sadly, no one seemed to notice my magnificent jab.
“But seriously? Twenty-seven is a fully grown adult?” Nidori asked.
“Absolutely.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Nothing is forever, no matter how old we are,” I said. “We have to make the most of what we have while we have it.”
“Well said, Talon.” Nidori beamed, while Kaine mimed throwing up.
I cleared my throat, and we continued walking forward until we came out the other side. Kaine hadn’t taken my tail again after he had let go, and I found myself wishing he’d take it again.
There was a small door ahead of us, which led us up a long, winding staircase. It was dark and damp and narrow. I could feel my shoulders brushing against the sides. It kept going, up and up, and I couldn’t stop picturing the thick, solid rock of the mountain all around us. I had a sudden, intense urge to get out of this staircase as quickly as possible. My breathing hitched as I forced my huge frame forward. Was the passage narrowing? What if it got smaller and smaller and I could no longer fit?
To my relief, a small door appeared around the next corner, and I barreled through it, taking a deep breath of the marginally clearer air. We were in a wide, square room. Opposite to us was a large, round archway that rose over a tunnel. The floor that way started to slope upwards, which was a hint that we were finally starting to head out .