Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

R age boils up inside me, threatening to unleash and seek out each and every Caligo guard.

Sidus have died . They have mourned their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. And all while the Caligo play games with the dark creatures up in their mountains.

They could have told us about them. Helped us trap them like they have done so easily. We could have learned about them and better defended ourselves.

But they chose to hide this. To keep whatever they have learned to themselves. And for what? For the hate and distrust they have for the Sidus?

It doesn't make sense why they hate us so much and why they go to these extremes. Apart from existing, we have never done anything to make them this way.

There is no rhyme or reason to it. No logic that makes sense.

"What are those things?" Oryn asks.

"Dark creatures," I tell Oryn as I move forward with purpose, needing an outlet for this blazing rage.

"Wait—"

"Aim for the head," I tell him before I jump into the pit and strike, punching the nearest dark creature and spinning around to block and kick the next.

I spot a discarded sword on the ground and pick it up, slashing, slicing, and stabbing into every creature that gets near me.

I'm so lost to the rage and fury inside me that I let the need for violence seek out each and every dark creature as I imagine them all as the guards who put them here.

The guards who hide the creatures' existence before capturing them and bringing them here to toy with.

With that thought, my attack grows more vicious and ruthless, and I decapitate and eviscerate each and every last one of them until there is nothing but dissipating black smoke around me.

Breathing heavily, I turn, ready to attack movement from behind, but freeze when Oryn jumps a step back and raises his hands in surrender.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what this is about. But from the look on your face, I can tell it is personal. Tell me what it is you need help with, and I will."

The kindness and offer to help me without question after seeing what I just did slowly quiets the rage inside me, bringing it to a soft hum in the back of my mind.

I throw the sword onto the ground, not wanting the Caligo to see me with it and find an excuse to kick me out of the trial, and glance around the pit.

It's empty; not a drop of blood or shard of evidence is left from my attack or that the dark creatures were ever here. No other competitor behind us will ever know they existed either.

"Let's just continue on ahead." I move to the other side of the pit and up and out of it as I try to gather myself and my thoughts.

I'm so lost in my mind that I jolt and whip around to Oryn when he speaks.

"I think we're starting to loop back around." Oryn is scanning our surroundings, and I follow his lead, glancing back and around us.

He's right. It looks like the landscape and layout is turning to move in the opposite direction we've been going in.

The mountain area opens up, leading to a brick archway and path. There is no ceiling covering us overhead as we move through what is left of a large crumbling building.

The sound of water hits my ears as we continue to stay silent and follow the only path available to us. Every other way seems to be blocked by huge brick walls that encase the side of us.

" I told him not to touch it ," a voice hisses out from somewhere ahead of us.

I pause and Oryn freezes beside me.

"Other competitors?" Oryn whispers, and I nod a reply, staying silent.

"What will we do?" he asks. "We can't go around them."

No, that's not an option. Not with how this building is constructed. It also sounds like there is more than one. Which means there are a few that could potentially finish this before us. But we need to come in the top three in order to meet with the royals.

"We continue on and try to pass them if we can. But if they want a fight, they'll get one." I quicken my pace and move toward the area the sound is coming from, walking into another large open room with no ceiling.

Each side has small waterfalls of gushing water filling into the larger area of water that covers most the room, and the only way to cross it is the small circular crumbling brick paths on each side. But they're too spread out from the entrance to get access to, and there are hundreds of small crystal balls with blazing flames sitting directly on top of them while some float across the water.

I doubt their purpose is to light our path. It is another type of trap; it has to be.

The path would be an easy option if not for the water itself. It is completely black. And if it is the same water that comes from the black sea, then even the smallest of touches will bring about death.

I glance around the rest of the area to find half a dozen competitors at the edge of the open room. Two are injured, while the rest look exhausted.

None of them greet us with glares or hostility, just a weary sigh full of regret.

The male nearest to us looks to be the oldest of the group, with light graying hair and eyes full of knowing only years of experience bring. He must also be the chosen leader, as the others seem to refer to him for direction and advice.

He steps closer to us, raising his hands in surrender. "My name is Enver. I am not here to fight you. None of us here wants or would accept the deal the guards offered. We hate to admit it, but we have been stuck here for a while and just want to figure a way past this."

"What deal?" Oryn asks. But I ignore him to take a step closer to our newest obstacle.

"The crystal balls explode when you get too close to one. Using our shadows near them sets them off too," Enver says to me before tilting his head toward the water. "Lucius already tried it. He…" Enver glances over to a corner of the room, where a long dark cloak covers the shape of a body. "One touch and he was gone to a madness I have never seen. Then moments later he was gone completely."

"I'm sorry for your friend," I tell him.

He nods, glancing away to clear his throat. I've heard many stories of Sidus accidently touching the black sea and a death that swiftly follows. It is not something I would ever wish upon anyone.

"We've tried to come up with everything, but anything we have risks touching the water or setting off the crystal balls."

I glance back at the crystal balls and around the room, realizing the mistake the Caligo guards have made.

"Your powers set them off, but what about mine?" I turn back to look at Enver and Oryn. "This course is meant to test Caligo abilities, not Sidus."

Stepping back, the others follow my lead and stand behind me as I reach down into the warmth inside me. I barely have to reach far, with it still brimming near the surface like a wildfire ready to attack. A luminescent string of light floats out around me before moving toward the nearest crystal ball.

Only the sound of the waterfalls echoes around us while we wait and watch as it curls around a ball before moving to the next and next.

When no balls explode after a couple minutes of testing, I pull back my light and turn to the others as a plan forms.

"I think I have a way to pass," I tell them with certainty in my voice.

"We're all ears," Enver says, a look of relief on his face.

I glance back at the path and balls of flames. "I can weave a net of my Sidus light on top of the black water, and we can use it as a bridge to cross."

I turn back to find the group of Caligo growing hesitant and doubtful.

"I can vouch for its sturdiness," Oryn says with an embarrassed smile and wince.

"That's good enough for me," Enver says before looking to me with a worried frown. "But can you hold it long enough for all of us to pass?" He glances around at the wary faces. "It will not drain you?"

I give him a small smile, grateful for his thoughtfulness. "I'll manage just fine."

"How can we trust her?" a male with suspicious brown eyes says. "She's a Sidus."

"I don't care if she's a bloody mythical creature," a female with short white hair says. "She's the only one of us able to get out of here." She turns to me. "How can we help?"

"Try to move as quickly as possible." I turn back to the water and push out my warmth once more. Luminescent strings float a foot above the black water and slowly weave together to form a long path straight across to the other side.

"Go," I tell them, but they're still hesitant and move slowly toward it. And the slower they are, the more I feel the exhaustion catch up to me.

I try to focus on keeping the weaved light in a solid state, but any adrenaline I had previously starts to fall away the longer I hold my powers like this, draining me faster.

"If you are not quicker, I will not be able to make sure you all pass," I warn them.

The white-haired female moves onto the net and walks across it quickly.

Once she passes without injury, the others are quick to follow.

I wince as the strain to hold my powers in this state starts to grow painful. The warmth of flames inside me grows sharp, wanting to unleash and destroy instead. Having to pull it back and contain it only drains me further.

"Seren?" Oryn moves closer to me with a frown marring his brow. "Can you hold it?"

Enver is the last of the group to cross, with just Oryn and me. I should be able to make it a little longer.

"Go. I can hold it," I tell him—with hope instead of certainty this time.

He nods, taking my word for it before moving twice as quickly as the others to cross the weaved path.

"Come on. Now you," Oryn shouts. The others wait behind him, not moving on, and the small gesture has my hope growing, making me push harder.

Grasping hold of the wavering light, I drag it to me and rush forward onto the weaved path. But the minute I touch it, it starts to shake and become unstable. I run forward as the path behind me slowly starts to disappear, becoming patches of path that dissipate.

Not ready to give up, I jump from one broken weaved path to another while trying to hold them as steady and formed as I can.

The sharp slash of pain grips me just as I near the end, growing into a blaze of flames that burn me from the inside out.

I know that if it releases, it will kill us all.

I shove it down and use the pain to push me forward when I spot the entire path disappearing completely.

Rushing forward, I push my body and mind and focus on the group in front of me before making one last run and jump toward them.

I misjudge the distance and realize it only too late, when my foot heads straight for the black water.

But just before I fall, a hand snaps out and reaches for me. I grasp on to it like a lifeline as it pulls me over the edge and away from the black waters.

Kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily as I shove down the raging wildfire inside me, I glance up to thank Oryn when my gaze meets a pair of soft deep green eyes.

"Thank you for helping us across," Enver says before gently releasing my hand.

I nod to him with my own thanks, and together we move out of the end of the crumbling brick building and into the edge of the maze.

"Nearly there. Thank the gods," the white-haired female says with a sigh of relief.

I nod, agreeing, but keep my eyes watchful. Hopefully, there won't be too many surprises, but with the guards, I would not be shocked to find them leaving the biggest one until last.

We quickly move into the maze, only making it a few feet in before a loud shriek sounds out ahead of us, stopping us in our tracks. A sound that is definitely not another Caligo in pain, but more like a beast that seeks out bloodshed and violence.

Oryn looks to me with fear in his eyes. "Is it those dark creatures?"

I shake my head as a chill runs down my back. "They don't make any sound."

"What dark creatures?" Enver asks, making me frown.

"I'm guessing you didn't have the pleasure of meeting them?" Oryn says to him.

Enver shakes his head, a small furrow forming between his brows.

"Then you were lucky," Oryn replies, sharing a look with me.

They were before us. They had to have met them. Unless… unless someone was following us, following me to ensure I met them alone.

"What are they?" the female asks.

"You don't want to know, trust me," Oryn tells her with complete certainty.

She nods her head. "Then let's get a move on before whatever else the guards have concocted comes to greet us."

With a silent unanimous acknowledgment, we spread out while keeping watch for anything amiss.

"How are you feeling?" Oryn whispers to me.

"Drained but still capable." I glance around as something sets my senses on alert.

"No one would dare question your competence after seeing you fight, let alone what you just did for everyone here."

I find no obvious threat and give Oryn a small smile as we move on through the maze.

A few silent minutes pass before I hear a crackle and roar similar to that of a fire. Only when we move a little farther in do I spot the huge flames blocking one of the larger paths ahead.

"I bet our only way out of this is through that fire," Oryn says. But if that's all it is, a Caligo's shadows would easily be able to snuff it out.

"We just have to move through it?" the white-haired female asks with a frown. "It seems too easy."

An observation I have to agree with. It is too easy. There must be something?—

A pulse of energy blasts out around us, hitting us all at once and pushing us a step back.

I glance around to check the others, but no one is injured, and all are still standing in semi-states of confusion and shock.

"What was that?" Enver asks as he glances down at his hands, frowning as if feeling something amiss even though he doesn't see it.

I reach down inside me, my stomach dropping when I feel it.

The cool, dark tendrils inside me are missing as if consumed and snuffed out. It must have been that blast of energy.

A bolt of panic jolts through me when I realize I'm completely powerless. But the warmth flares to life inside me, a violent slash of flames that reminds me of the strength I hold within.

"I can't feel my shadows," the white-haired female says as she reaches both hands out in front of her and watches in shock and despair as nothing happens.

Just like the bracelets blocked my Sidus abilities, the blast of energy has made this entire area a barrier against using our Caligo abilities.

"The trial is to test our abilities. Why take them from us?" she asks as everyone else attempts to use their abilities with no luck.

"Maybe we have to get them back?" Oryn says as he glances around.

"How? That blast could have gone on for miles," Enver replies, and I glance down at the empty space on my wrists, drawn to them as a thought creeps into my mind.

The guards could have blocked our powers in the entire maze if they wanted to, but they chose only now and here to do it. They like to play games, that much is obvious, to get into our heads and make something seem more challenging than it really is. Just like the maze and the structure of green bridges and pathways. Everything so far has been a puzzle we need to deconstruct or an obstacle that makes us think outside the bounds and restrictions that are the norm.

But there is always a way out. Another way or source…

Source . Just like my bracelets.

"Find the source," I whisper to myself, but they all turn to look at me. "There must be a source somewhere close by. Something that created the blast of energy and the block on your powers. If we find it, we can destroy it."

Enver nods as a determined glint enters his eyes. He turns to the others. "Spread out but stay close. Look for anything out of the ordinary, or anything that doesn't look like it belongs."

"If that's the case, we should all be looking at Calen here," the white-haired female says with a mischievous smile. "His head is unusually large."

The others chuckle around him, breaking some of the building tension in the air.

A male with a thick head of glossy black hair gives her a smug expression. "That is because I have a large brain."

"Full of air." She cackles, and the others join in before breaking apart to start their search.

Oryn shares a smile with me, his own tension eased from the small moment before we head off in separate directions.

Moving to a path on the left side of the flames, I get two steps in before I hear Oryn.

"Dead end," he shouts over, and I take note of his path to avoid before moving ahead, soon finding path after path empty.

I'm about to turn around and head back when something hard hits me from the side, slamming me into the wall.