43. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Astaroth
S earing pain burned through my abdomen where the bloodsuckles focused their attack this round. I hacked through them, but they healed just as quickly from drinking my blood, striking again and again to prevent my exit. My already low energy drained at an excessive rate from constant healing. The archway came into view. I needed to make it to the other side, and then I could find Calista and bring her back to safety.
My struggle and fears overwhelmed me and made it hard to sense her through our connection. Where did she go? How did she get out of the garden? Did a beast climb over the garden wall and abscond with her? Was she so angry she’d rather face certain death than face me?
I pushed harder, sliced faster, and fought relentlessly to gain ground. The vines were stronger than me at this point. For every foot I gained toward the entrance, they pulled me back one. This wasn’t working. I was stalling out.
I stopped fighting and let them wrap around me. Surprisingly, when I held still, so did they. They refrained from biting, rested against me, and their hold loosened enough for me to shuffle forward. The little bastards. I should burn them to their roots for all they’ve done. Instead, I used this reprieve to draw on the trickle of the realm’s magic I could sense to heal and recharge some of my energy. It took longer inside the garden, but I was capable. Calista wouldn’t make it far. With aggravatingly slow steps, I made my way to the entrance.
Then I felt her. The gallop of her strong, steady heartbeat. The uncertainty in each step as she ran farther away… and humming. At the threshold of the vining arch, I blipped across the corridor. The bloodsuckles whipped about, confused and looking for me, but I was already rounding the corner out of their reach. Calista’s energy radiated from inside the labyrinth corridors east of the castle. If she wasn’t careful, she’d run into the Bluebell field. I wasn’t strong enough to save her from that calamity. I barely saved her from a single one. I portaled to her whereabouts and searched for her signature, relieved when she had missed the field and headed North.
“Where are you?” I shouted as I wove in and out of the corridors. Although I couldn’t see it, I could feel the thin layer of sand beneath my boots. The grit made the bricks a touch slippery as I slid in and out of doorways.
Her heart thundered when I spoke, and she tried her best to block me, but her focus was elsewhere. She continued to hum along, bouncing through random doorways without rhyme or reason.
“This is dangerous,” I continued to yell to coax any beasts in the area my way. “You’re being reckless.”
“Leave me alone!”
I skidded to a stop. Her voice came from everywhere all at once. I focused but couldn’t pinpoint her exact location. One second, she was in front of me, the next, in the opposite direction. That pushed me to run faster. I had to find her before the unspeakable happened.
The sand became deeper the farther I went. Calista’s human body wasn’t as strong and would wear down quickly with each laborious step. I needed to be at the right place when that happened so I could scoop her up and whisk her back to the castle. However, she made it exceedingly difficult. I blipped around trying to catch her but was always too late. Finally, I portaled ahead and tracked her as she bounced around. She was headed my direction.
I put all my energy into guiding her straight into my arms. Come to me.
Then suddenly, she disappeared.
Calista
Every breath burned my lungs, but I refused to stop. The pixie said I had to keep moving no matter what. Now that Astaroth was hot on my heels, I had the motivation I needed to spur me on. This was my only chance to escape. Being held hostage in the labyrinth forever was bad enough. He would trap me inside the castle for all eternity if he caught me. I wondered if that was his plan when we were young. New memories assaulted me, and my heart ached, making it harder to breathe. I loved him. I made promises I didn’t understand. What was worse, I still loved him and had trouble separating—or conjoining—the two versions of him. It left me confused on how I felt about him now with his emotions drowning out my own. That conflation added another facet to my fear—never seeing him again.
I slowed to a stop and gasped for air. The song was getting ahead of me. I had been in this corridor without exiting for too long. I needed to focus or I’d lose it, and Astaroth would find me. I listened intently, and it tickled my senses off to the right. I shoved Astaroth from my thoughts and meditated on the tune. It became stronger and louder as I trudged through the thickening sand, and so did the magic guiding me, almost as if it were a voice in my head.
Right.
My eyes widened and a smile spread over my face. “It’s been guiding me from the very beginning.”
I’m listening, I thought to myself. The stone gave a reassuring pulse. Rested, I picked up my pace and jogged toward the music before it dwindled again.
Left.
Without hesitation, I turned and ran through the wall. Sand dunes stretched out across the hilly terrain. The tune was louder and humming again. I had caught up. I fumbled up the hill and slid down the other side, only to do it again and again in my pursuit of the song. Each slope was a little taller than the last and took more effort. Sand leaked into my shoes and blew into my eyes and mouth. The grit against my teeth made me spit. Up ahead, a distinct column stood tall above the dunes. I had reached one of the corners, and if I were correct, the frigid air and icy landscape lay at the opposite end.
I struggled to climb the final hill, shoving my toes into the sand to make footholds, and used the spear to help pull me up. They gave as fast as I made them. I had to move fast, or I’d slide to the bottom. I pulled my t-shirt over my nose to keep from inhaling the dusty particles pluming the air as I fought. On shaky, tired limbs, I pushed myself to stand when I reached the top.
Come to me.
I jerked at the sound of Astaroth’s voice and lost my footing, tumbling down the other side and losing my weapon. Sand embedded under my nails as I clawed the ground to stop, but I kept rolling. I wrapped my arms around my head and braced myself to collide with the wall. Instead, I rolled to a soft stop.
I opened my eyes and scrambled onto all fours. The spear laid behind me. I snatched it and lurched to my feet, spinning around ready to defend myself. Astaroth wasn’t there. Neither was the corner. Or the walls. Where did they go?
Confused, I lowered my weapon. There was nothing but sand as far as I could see in every direction.
“What in the hell?” I mumbled and squinted into the bright light of a sun. How could this be? The song continued to lull me farther into the desert landscape, so I knew I hadn’t made it home yet. I followed with cautious steps, glancing over my shoulder, and felt for my connection with Astaroth. Nothing. Eerie silence. Inside me and all around me. They didn’t go anywhere. I did. But where?
The landscape screamed home with the searing sun, scuttling lizards, and occasional scorpions crossing my path. I even heard what sounded like a rattlesnake, but I was too scared to stick around and find out. Cacti appeared along the way as green and alive with bright, sprouted blooms as they would have on Earth.
“Ow!” I jerked my hand back and shook it after poking a spine. Blood pooled to the surface of my fingertip proving it was as sharp as I thought it was. “Stupid.”
I wiped it on my pants and continued following the tune. With no walls blocking my path, it was pretty much a straight shot. Sweat beaded to cool my warming skin. If I wasn’t careful, my pale ass would burn to a crisp out here. I pulled my arms into my shirt and prayed I didn’t suffocate.
The heat waves danced for miles. I was their lone audience, and their performance hypnotized me. Everything lost focus in my heat-stroke induced stupor. My mind drifted off as I chased the dwindling song, bouncing from one thing to the next as I tracked the sun across the sky. No matter how much I fought it, my brain continuously circled back to Astaroth and attempted to force the jumbled mess of memories back into their proper places. He may have returned our past to me, but without explanation, none of it made any sense. My subconscious was a dumpster fire, much like my current situation. Was the realm guiding me to my freedom or was it leading me to my doom?
Feet heavy, the toes of my shoes caught in tiny sand mounds and made me stumble about. My tongue felt like sandpaper. Each swallow became drier until it felt like I’d choke on my tongue. I kept my head down to protect my burning face, only to cause my neck to burn and ache. Glancing back, I wondered how far I’d come and if I could make it back where I started before I died out here.
The music stopped.
I whipped around and pushed on. “I’m coming!” But I couldn’t hear the music. It was gone. Panicked, I ran forward with what little energy I had. “You can’t leave me out here. I’ll die!”
Still nothing.
“Ugh!” I screamed and kicked a weird green plant in my path.
The ground shifted around me, forming what looked like tunnels beneath the sand. Then the green plant swayed as it rose up from the ground, connected to a sand-colored body.
“Oh fuck.”
The petals opened to reveal a scaly, serpent-like face filled with pointy teeth. It hissed, the petals around its head fluttering, and sprayed liquid from its mouth. I barely jumped away before the sand sizzled and bubbled where I stood. The tip of my shoe looked melted at the edge. I scooted back as it rose higher, struggling to slip the spear from my belt loop with my arms trapped inside my shirt.
A low rumble I’d only ever heard in dinosaur documentaries vibrated every cell in my body. Terrified, I did the only thing I knew to do. I ran, trying to shove my arms back into my sleeves and failing. The creature’s head swung around with a screech and struck the ground next to me. I screamed and took off the opposite way, nearly falling when I looked over my shoulder to see where it went. The sand tunneled behind me. If I zigged, it zagged to follow and cut me off. My shirt worked its way up my torso to become a scarf as my arms pumped. I prayed the damned thing didn’t spray my back as I ran.
Suddenly, it exploded out of the sand beside me, all twenty-something feet. Its face petals opened wide like the wings unfolding on its back.
Seriously? A giant fucking sand dragon?
Grains of sand rained down from its massive body. I tried to shield my eyes, but I wasn’t quick enough. Its thick body wrapped around my middle and jerked me into the air. Steamy breath blew in my face, making my eyes water more. All those stories about your life flashing before your eyes before you die are lies. Mine felt like time froze as I came to grips with the inevitable. I was about to be its dinner. Then, it squeezed me like a boa constrictor and rumbled. Time rushed to catch up, along with my survival instinct. The spear tingled in my palm as I swung blindly at the creature. It roared in pain and dropped me. My ankle twisted under my weight and my legs buckled. I sucked air between my teeth, along with sand, as I pushed off the ground, tightly clutching the spear and hobble-ran away while it squirmed on the ground.
Vision clearing, I groaned and nearly dropped to my knees when the hill took shape in front of me. The entire landscape blended into one sandy brown blob of dirt. There was no going around it. How was I going to see that thing in there?
A quick glance behind gave me the motivation I needed to get up the hillside. The dragon dove into the sand and burrowed its way toward me.
“Move your ass,” I ground out.
The loose grains of sand rolled away under every step, making my climb difficult. When I reached the top, my gaze darted around to survey the other side. Hope swelled as I blinked and prayed my eyes weren’t playing tricks. About a half mile away, rock formations towered creating cliffs and arches. I could make it. I needed to make it.
As I started down the hill, the momentum causing me to surf down the better half of it, which was good. I needed that energy to make it to the cliffs and hide from the demon snake chasing me.
The dragon burst through the side of the hill beneath me. I fell forward, landing on its winding body, narrowly missing the wings, and held on for dear life as it sailed toward the cliffs. That’s when I heard it. The peaceful tinkle that I thought had evaded me. Saliva misted my face when I rose up to hear it better. Crocodile-like jaws snapped near my throat. I trembled and wrapped my arms and legs tighter around its strong frame. Unable to reach me, it roared and flew higher, whipping its body in a wave motion to buck me off. My hold loosened, and I slid down toward its tail. That was a terrifyingly tall drop to my death. We were as high as the fast-approaching rocks were tall. I stabbed the spear through its tough, scaly skin to give me a handle of sorts. Horrible idea. It shrieked and writhed in the air before arching into a steep dive.
Wind slapped my face and flapped my cheeks as we plummeted to the ground. The song grew louder, and I frantically yanked on the spear to dislodge it. I couldn’t lose the only thing that would keep me alive. Blood oozed out of the wound, turning its wiggly body into a slippy slide. My heart tittered wildly as the ground came into focus. The song hadn’t moved. It remained right where the dragon was pointed.
Never doubt.
I already did that once. Look where it got me.
I had two choices: trust the realm and slam headfirst into the ground while the dragon burrowed to safety or doubt it once again and jump off, injuring myself and probably becoming this worm on steroid’s meal.
I squeezed my eyes tight and fought the debilitating fear that urged me to jump. Sand sprayed around me before I hit the ground and rolled. When I opened my eyes, I was back in a corridor of the labyrinth.