Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

Nathaniel

There was a trick of the labyrinth that I omitted when explaining it to Roxanne.

The second I stepped foot in it, most of my powers were stripped away. I was, for the most part, mortal.

The exact thing I was fighting becoming by seeking out the labyrinth. And the cure at the end of it.

I would be of no assistance to Roxy as we went along. If anything, I imagined I might be more of a hindrance.

Not much was known about what the labyrinth itself might look like, nor what sorts of challenges would be found within.

That was why I'd been as surprised as Roxy herself when an actual hedge maze opened up before us. Thick green foliage stretched high into the sky, immediately becoming disorienting the second you took a turn away from the entrance, knowing nothing but that you had to keep moving.

"This reminds me of that one time someone dragged me into a maze made of hay blocks," Roxy admitted, wanting to talk through her nervousness. "You know, the kind where other people dress up as horror movie characters to scare the hell out of you? Someone came around the corner with a chainsaw. I freaked out and burst through the hay wall. Which started a domino effect that had the whole thing collapsing. People were, ah, kind of, you know, buried for a while. No one died or anything, but not the fondest memory. Ow," she said, yanking her arm back, ramming me with her elbow in the process.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, rubbing her wrist. "Oh, what the hell?" she asked, jerking hard again.

"What is going on?" I asked, turning to look fully at her.

Just in time to see a vine slide out from the hedges and start to twist around her wrist, little thorns pricking her skin, making blood bead up on the surface.

I braced for the hunger, for my fangs to elongate.

But the urge never came.

Reaching over, I grabbed the vine, yanking it off of her skin, and ripping it down.

"There," I said, nodding, then placing a hand at the small of her back to keep her moving as she used the edge of her shirt to dab at the blood.

We walked for what felt like an hour, the turns seemingly endless but leading nowhere.

Meant, I was sure, to discourage.

Little by little, it was working on Roxanne. She was sweating and irritable, her breathing going faster and more shallow as her body, so accustomed to doing the bare minimum for survival, was forced to move.

"I need a minute," she said, stopping to suck in a deep breath and swipe some sweat off of her forehead.

"Okay," I agreed, tamping down my impatience, my frustration. I would get nowhere if she got so annoyed that she quit. This was a situation where I had to think of her first if I wanted my cure.

"We should have brought water," she grumbled, flexing her feet. The new shoes must have been better because she hadn't been complaining about them yet. But I imagined if this maze just kept going, she was going to. No matter how good shoes were, eventually, the wear and tear would make the skin blister and break.

"I'm sure the maze will have everything you need for survival," I said, though I had no idea if what I was saying was true or not. All I did know was that this labyrinth was created by witches; I didn't imagine they would want a fellow witch to dehydrate to death to get through it.

"Ugh," she grumbled, leaning down to rip another swirling vine off of her ankle.

Then I stood there, too shocked to react at first, as half a dozen other vines flew out of the hedge, wrapping around her arms, legs, torso, chest.

Rushing forward, I tore at some as she worked at others. But it felt almost useless, as more and more vines flew out and snaked around her, trying to hold her in place.

Hold her in place.

That was it.

When she'd been moving, they'd left her alone.

The second she paused, they tried to grab her.

"You have to move," I said, yanking at the vines on her ankles, the thorns biting into my flesh.

"I can't."

"You have to," I snapped, grabbing another before it twined around her. "They are only grabbing you when you are still," I added.

Her eyes widened, likely realizing I was right, so she took a step forward, then another until she was running.

All of the vines drew back into the hedge as I rushed to catch up with her, feeling a burn in my chest, a feeling I only remembered from my youth. When I would run to the town to meet my father after his long day at the factory, bringing him a slice of crusty bread with cheese that I had to fight the urge to eat myself as my hungry stomach cramped.

This, this was what it felt like to be human.

Exhilarating.

And terrifying.

I grabbed Roxy's arm, pulling her to a walk. "I don't think you need to run," I told her as she gasped for breath. "I think you just need to keep moving. No breaks. I don't know what will happen if those vines completely wrap around you."

"You never said this would be dangerous for me," she said, still panting for breath.

"I don't think it is," I said. "I doubt the witches would want to kill one of their own. They're just trying to discourage you from completing the labyrinth."

She nodded at that, looking forward with hopeless eyes, seeing no end in sight.

It would end.

Eventually.

And she would be faced with another task entirely. Then another. And another.

I had no idea how many lay ahead, nor how long we would be inside of this maze.

All I knew was that we were here now.

And we'd figured out the first challenge.

As we continued to walk, Roxy's pace getting slower and slower with each passing hour, though, I had a sneaking suspicion that this labyrinth was not only magical, but that the magic was catered to each witch who stepped inside of it.

Which meant that each challenge that Roxanne was about to face was going to challenge her personally .

"Look!" she said, arm shooting out, the little cuts all down her skin from the thorns mingling with the darkened bruises from the young vampires. "A door," she said, practically running toward it.

She was right.

Wedged right into the hedge was an old, rounded wooden door.

I had no idea what was on the other side of it.

But as Roxanne reached for the knob, I had a feeling that it was going to be something else that would make her need to fight against her every desire, against her very nature.

As the door swung open, and a perfect replica of her apartment came into view, I knew I was right.