Chapter Six

Unlike the brightly lit corridors at the entrance and what Nygohl called the pilgrimage rooms, the corridor behind the door is lit by nothing more than neatly interspaced lamps, providing enough light to see by but not entirely comfortably. And not if one needs to see something in fine detail in the low light. Despite that, there is no missing the fact that the walls here are streaked nearly solid red to the point that I cannot tell if it is something left over from a grisly massacre or if the blood is seeping through the walls themselves.

Given how fresh it looks, I'm starting to suspect the latter. If that is the case something happened here that has trapped the dead within these walls—or beneath them. I immediately shiver at the thought. This place makes my skin crawl. The Lamentari Forest is bad enough for just generally possessing a creepy atmosphere due to the nature of dead that gathers there—but this temple is an entirely different matter. It feels unnatural—wrong.

"I do not like this place," Jugong observes, giving voice to my thoughts.

"I agree," I murmur as I give the walls an uneasy look. "I long ago dismissed ideas of there being anything as simple as good and evil but this place is having me rethink that conclusion. It feels like it wants to consume us."

Nygohl glances back at us over his shoulder, his lips curving as if privately amused at our expense. "That is because it does." His eyes trail up to the ceiling and my gaze follows it only for me to stumble in horror at the shifting screaming faces staring down at us futilely. "There are very few places like it. The Labryinth that exists between worlds is one. Another is a carnival roaming across your world—though it is the least of them and its nature far more chaotic and curious like that of a child. Thankfully only the builders of the labyrinth were idiotic enough to help the energies reshape into a spirit entity or else we would probably all long be dead by now," he says with a casual cheerfulness that sends another shiver up my back.

"But that is humans for you," he continues as he throws me another devilish smile, "you do so enjoy your own torment and horrors."

"That is a matter of opinion," I grumble to myself. "I'm not enjoying this at all."

"That may be," he agrees, and I am a little surprised that he heard me as low as I was speaking. "But some part of your species enjoys having something to dread and be afraid of—to foster paranoia. You enjoy the concept of evil as a species and because of that you nurture its existence in what you do and create where it exists nowhere else. Nature and the cosmos may be cruel, but it is neutral in that point. Evil, as you conceive of it, exists only among the people of the numerous races who are capable of imagining it. And humans in particular excel at far beyond any other race of beings," he adds with cold chuckle.

Okay, he has a point there. It is not the least bit flattering.

"Of course, there is incredible beauty and wonders that you create too," he muses as he continues walking ahead. "Such complexities in humans are what makes you so treasured and beloved of the gods."

I puzzle over his words as I follow. I am not familiar with the carnival of which he spoke, but the labyrinth… could he possibly be speaking of the labyrinth of Minos? Although labyrinths are a pretty common phenomenon among humans, that is the one that has a particularly bloody mythical history behind it. Was it a real place? And if so, the thought of its energies spawning a malevolent spirit makes me glad that I'm not trapped there.

Not that I am enjoying the ambiance here but at least the temple is not actively trying to kill me as Nygohl suggests that the labyrinth is capable of doing. It is bad enough that small trickles of blood are now starting to appear on the walls and in some places the raised impression of face frozen in expressions of various emotions from horror and terror to lust, laughter, suspicion—a range of human emotions with blood running from their eyes and pouring from their mouths.

"And here I thought the pit was considered fearsome," Jugong rumbles thoughtfully. "I never thought I would see a more impressively gruesome sight than the bones and discarded carcasses knitted into the structure of the pit."

"Of course this wouldn't bother you," I reply with a nervous laugh. "It is reassuring to know at least one of us isn't afraid. Not counting the wraith of course."

Although Nygohl is leading us through the temple, Jugong and I are bound tightly as a team. There is no one else included in our "us."

His head tips toward me, his long ears flicking. "It bothers me," he corrects after a long moment. "The pit would bother me as well so long as you are with me. Anything that might frighten or harm you is not a place I can feel comfortable residing within."

I glance at him in surprise, my heart melting a bit. I know our bonding has made him more protective of me, but I didn't realize it had that much influence over his preferences. I had never heard of familiar companions becoming so close to those they bonded with. I am tempted to prod this new bit of information, but the hall suddenly terminates in a large room and my attention is diverted by the sudden change in our surroundings as the wraith steps inside and every torch ignites in response to his presence.

Had that happened before within the temple? Nygohl had always been a little ahead of us so I can't even say for sure how much of the temple he awakened before Jugong and I took our first step inside.

"What is this place?" I ask as I step into the chamber and glance around.

The red hue has darkened and grown thicker as if the blood has gathered here thickly but everywhere is lush with the growth of plants springing from various pots, carefully maintained beds, and even from places on the walls themselves. On the dark walls, interspersed between the plant growth, images are drawn in some sort of white material depicting simple scenes of life. As simple as they are, they draw the eye in from where they peek out from the heavy greenery like little footprints from the past easily lost in the growth.

There is certainly a dense lushness here. The scent of growth and decay fills the room with a musky fragrance that is appealing and reminiscent of a fall day despite the fact that everything within view is vivid in hues of green and red in the full bloom of its growth. It look picturesque, like a perfect place to lounge and while away the day except that somehow carries an even stronger malevolence than the growth of the forest outside the temple walls. I peer at a large flower and recoil when I see drops of blood welling up and trickling from its center.

"The first chamber," Nygohl answers, coming to a stop at a large plant heavy with large berries that are roughly the size of fat strawberries but do not resemble them at all for their perfectly spherical shape and dark purple hue. He picks one and rolls it between his fingers as he inspects it. "The inner temple is comprised of a series of chambers called the Breaths of Life. This chamber is that of flourishing growth." Turning he tosses the berry to me with his usual faint smile curving his lips. "These berries are safe to eat but do not touch anything else and do not leave the center path no matter what tempts you—these plants have been cultivated toward certain appetites."

I snatch the berry out of the air and give it a curious look before narrowing my eyes suspiciously on the wraith.

"It is safe. Eat," Jugong assures me with a soothing purr. "I recognize this fruit. Giwung feast regularly upon it in the pit."

I am not exactly comforted by the thought of consuming something that grows freely in the pit and what that says about its growing needs, but I pop it in my mouth without giving myself the opportunity to overthink it. To my surprise, a rich sweetness bursts over my tongue. My eyebrows fly up in surprise, my eyes lifting to Jugong.

"It's good. What--?"

"Do not inquire too closely," the male advises as he leads me over to the bush that the wraith has already abandoned. Jugong immediately hands me several more berries. "Eat and refresh yourself quickly. I do not wish to linger long here."

I nod in silent agreement and pop another fruit into my mouth as he too quickly proceeds to eat, his tail twitching in a rhythmic expression of unease. As I eat, I can feel Nygohl's burning gaze from where he is waiting at the other end of the room. I peer in his direction from beneath my eyelashes and it is enough for me to note that he is leaning against the edge of the wall where it opens into another hall. I am sure he knows that I am watching him in turn from the way he is slowly eating the berries in his hand, his lips and teeth teasing each berry in turn and drawing a hot tension within my belly.

Jugong growls low beside me, and I jump a little when I suddenly feel is fuzzy tail snake around my waist. With a small tug, I'm suddenly drawn against his side and tucked firmly beneath his wing as he shoots the wraith a suspicious glower over my head. His growl immediately deepens when Nygohl's laughter drifts over to us.

"Do not worry, Giwung—my interest here is not to steal your mate and take your place. You are a necessary part of my plan as well. Why do you think I chose you when I have successfully evaded other reclamation specialists?"

Mate? I choke briefly on the berry I'm eating, my gaze shooting up to Jugong. He sees me as his mate? My shock subsides a little as the idea sinks into me, triggering a deep warmth of pleasure. Well—I suppose that explains a few things. Male Giwungs are known to instinctively search out females that have the right scent to trigger their instinct to mate with them. It is unusual to be able to lure in adults because they are usually either mated or in pursuit of a mate. Even having a juvenile for a companion is a temporary thing because upon reaching adulthood, males and females will leave with the instinctual drive to mate and breed. I had assumed that Jugong was a sort of anomaly. It turns out he agreed to bond with me because he was using it as a way to secure a mate.

That sounds shady as hell and if it was coming from anyone else I would probably be pissed but I can't be mad about it when it comes to Jugong. I knew and accepted from the beginning that their nature and way of thinking of things was quite different to a human and even many demons. It is also a relief to know that I haven't been perving on my bonded hunting companion with some of the thoughts that have sprung to mind over the years.

The flush of pleasure rolling over me brings a small smile to my lips, but it is quickly doused by Jugong's vicious snarl.

"What are you planning, wraith? You will not be harming my female!"

Oh… that part. I grip Jungong's arm as I glare suspiciously over at Nygohl, drawing another rattling purr instinctively from my mate. Yes… my mate. Mine. It may be a bit of an awkward moment to find out—not the least bit sexy or romantic—but that's okay because it means that I'm free to claim Jugong in a way that I never would have dared before. And if this dumb ass wraith is plotting something with my mate, then I'm not going to hesitate to tear him a new asshole before bringing him in.

Nygohl's laughter erupts with a genuine merriment that I hadn't heard before with all of his sinister chuckles up until this point. I blink at him in surprise, but he shakes his head, his broad smile transforming his face completely, giving him a devastating beauty beyond the gracefulness of his previous cold, sculpted appearance.

Okay, I'm mated but not dead here. I can admit that he is gorgeous even as I hug Jugong's arm to me so that he doesn't feel insecure with anything he may scent from me. All things being equal, Nygohl is still our prey.

"I have chosen well indeed," he croons happily. "You are a well-matched pair, exactly what I want. Do not worry, I will not let anything happen to you." Straightening from the wall, he steps into the hall and extends a hand to it, welcoming us to follow. "Such happy growth shouldn't be delayed further now that we've tasted its fruits. Let's proceed."

I really can't make heads or tails out of what he's saying but I nod warily. "Let's get this over with and see what this lunatic has in store next."

Jugong grumbles unenthused and the pit of my stomach sours in agreement. As pretty as the wraith may be, the knowledge that we are being set up for an unknown purpose makes me increasingly uneasy. He says he doesn't want to harm us—but the question is what does he want then?