Chapter 30 #3
“Aha, found it,” whispering to myself, I followed the trail, my lighter shining the path that went on until it hit the edge of the room. “I bow to no man.”
Getting to my knees, I stood, slowly walking to the stone I had seen, the one that was just slightly out of place, right where the smell of alcohol was coming from.
Taking the gag that still dangled from my neck, I dampened it, knowing that the liquor would act as accelerant as I lit, stuffing it into the crease until the flames took hold, eating the space up as they began to surge.
“You have passed test one, even faster than we assumed you would…shame on you for taking away our fun…”
Across the room, a door swung open…casting eerie shadows into the hall lit across the room from me. Spinning around, I sprinted, flicking the lighter off in the process, still counting the seconds that had turned to minutes.
Reminding myself of the clock that was endlessly counting down.
I had to make it…he needed me. Smoke gathered, the air turning hot as the fire climbed the walls.
My heart pounded and breaths came fast as sweat beaded my brow.
That haunting voice echoed into the burning chamber, holding an underlying anger and sadness at me not giving in to them.
“Take heed, little Ellsworth heir…the rest won’t play as nice as me.”
Ignoring the warning, I ran the final few metres. My foot caught on a loose stone, tripping me. I am so close…
Stubbornness prevailed, propelling me to stumble and crawl and I got to my feet again, until I felt the edge of wood, grasping the edge of the door, I pulled myself from the room, leaning into the door as I pushed it close, trapping my nightmares and those awful recollections in time inside. Ashes…ashes…The Guilda falls down…
I followed the stone hallway, my lighter flickering as it caught a slight breeze.
I wondered how much time had passed since I entered The Labyrinth and the first game began.
It had felt like ages, my time in there.
I knew I had lingered much longer than I should have, but having to live through those moments again had just made me so mad.
Their desire to break the Ellsworth heir…
fruitful since I had encountered much worse things than them.
“Two hours remain, initiates. Let’s have some fun, shall we?”
The howls of the hounds sounded again, but this time, it was followed by the rapid click of claws, the sounds of predators hunting their prey. A whip cracked the air, followed by whimpered moans of pain.
“The hounds are out hunting…I wouldn’t let them catch you if you hope to stay in this game…
” Glee lined the robotic voice, another fucking coward deciding to join in their damn fun.
I knew that not all of us would be walking out of this maze of horrors.
The hungry sounds of wolves chasing a scent sent chills down my spine, the reality of my situation sucker punching me in the gut as the scrape of claws grew louder.
I picked up my pace, making even more of an attempt at keeping my feet quiet.
The grinding of metal doors on stones ahead caught my ears as a new path opened.
The braying of hounds became even more prominent, the smell of blood in the air causing a frenzy.
Catching the sight of the blood on my knees, dread slithered into my mind as I realised that I would be next if I stood here vulnerable.
Hurt. Making a last-minute decision, I decided to change direction, following this new path, hoping I wasn’t being led astray.
“Oh goodie…you made it. Join me, girl, we’re in for a treat!” A childlike voice came from the shadows as a small, lithe figure stepped out from the dark. “These are my friends…princess…”
They waved to the cages I now saw lining the walls. Growling sounded from within them as disgust curled my lips, overpowering everything until there was no more dread lingering.
“Meet the Cerberus three…only one has ever had them submit as he passed through this area almost unseen…”
My mind rebelled as I realised they intended to let the beasts out, and all I had to help me survive was my body and anything I was carrying. Don’t forget you’re bleeding…
“These’re feral little beasties, my dear. There are many ways to pass this test. One of these beasts carries a key around their neck. A key that you need to advance from this room…just remember, not all hounds heel to violence and blood doesn’t always need to be spilt.”
The doors sprang open as three silvery-grey wolves stalked forward from their prisons.
Fierce. Wild. Feral. Saliva dripped from their jaws as they began to howl.
I stepped forward, dropping to a crouch and freezing in place.
The drip of my blood was the only sound I heard.
Only one has ever made them submit. The stranger’s voice repeated in my head as I decided that I would become the second.
It would be a shame to put down wild beauties such as these.
I vaguely remembered the training I had done.
The way my father’s men had beaten it into me.
Never cower, never show fear. Never. Run.
Straightening my spine, I readied myself.
One wrong move, and I was good as dead. If only my father and his men could see me now, dirty, bleeding, and crouched on the stone of a trial I was pretty sure was meant to kill me since the last one hadn’t.
“Feral beasties, come to me…” Dropping to my haunches, I pushed forward a calm that I hoped they could sense, refusing to allow any fear to show as the mantra I had strived to live by flitted across my mind.
You bow to no man. You bend no knee.
But these were beasts…and maybe I must bow first before they would bend to me.
Time went by as the wolves edged closer.
That ever-present clock was apparent in my mind.
Tick. Tock. The wolf who appeared to be the leader stalked closer, appearing almost like he was curious about me…
like he expected me to attack him…draw first blood.
I waited, calm and steady, sensing the need to let all three of them make the first approach.
My lack of action seemed to confuse them, their excited howls tapering off, as if my absence of fear had them unsure how to approach.
“Interesting…I have only seen one other do this…attempt to wait for the beasts…”
Growls erupted as the wolves swung their heads, the stranger standing on the edge of the darkness encasing the room.
The two wolves stalked closer to me, and that was when I saw it.
The vintage skeleton key was swinging from the neck of the smallest one.
The one I had noticed, the other two seemed to protect instinctively.
“Come here, feral beasties. Come sit.” I tapped on the ground next to me, stopping after three and returning to my relaxed pose as their leader once again came closer to me.
A wet nose pressed against my neck as another nudged my shoulder.
It took everything in me to remain calm, controlling my racing pulse. “Feral beasties, sit with me.”
The little one crawled closer, and that was when I saw them—the scars that lined its ribs and the milkiness of its right eye.
Along the back hip, a backwards sigma brand was burned into its flesh, a sign that this line descended from the ones my family used to train.
Ellsworth hounds…are what make up this Cerberus three.
“Good beasties, protecting the Little One,” I praised them, encouraging them to relax further and calm around me.
It would be quick now; I could feel the tension snapping like a live wire from the masked stranger in the room.
Angry, upset. Befuddled that I had tricked him into surrounding me with weapons I could now use.
“Amazing…”
The wolves growled at the voice, forming a barricade as if they were now protecting me.
The little one continued to scoot closer as if wanting to seek comfort from me.
Its wet nose pressed into my arms as it finally made its way to me, my hand grasping the key and pulling it free while allowing the wolf to smell me.
I bowed my head at the three of them, slowly getting to my feet and running my hand through their fur as they each walked next to me. I made my way to the door, unlocking it with the key as the stranger in the room inquired once more.
“I heard rumours of the Ellsworths being able to tame any beast…but never did I think I would see what you just managed to appear so easily…”
Grinning, my eyes glinted dangerously as I left with my parting shot. “Your first mistake was not realising my true identity.” Giving the wolves one last pet, I gave the stranger one last thought. “And your last was assuming I’d be meek.”
A piercing whistle left my lips, one I learned years ago, in the pattern of sharp sounds that the Ellsworth line used to incite their hounds to hunt. I pointed my finger at the stranger still edged in shadow.
“Enjoy, little beasties…remember…” One final command. One last task before I would set them free. “Make it hurt.”
I stepped from the second test as a scream filled the air, followed by the sounds of flesh tearing as the wolves finally caught their prey. My test of heart was the only one that remained, and I feared what this new Canis Infernum had invented for me to play.
Darkness enveloped me once more as I hit a stairway leading down.
My lighter barely touched the complete blackness I was descending into.
An eerie melody reverberated from below as I continued down.
Out of nowhere, a hand gripped my shoulder and pushed, causing me to trip, and sending me tumbling down a flight of stairs into the yawning dark below.