Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
And then, suddenly, it was like walking into a brick wall, knocking me back into Nathaniel, whose hands were quick to grab my hips to steady me.
“You found it,” he said, the relief plain in his voice.
“I wouldn’t get too excited,” I said. “Now is the hard part.”
Finding the hole for the key, though, was relatively easy. But Nathaniel needed to hand it to me to push into place.
Then, just like magic—since that’s exactly what this was—the veil that had been hiding the labyrinth fell away.
Leaving… a hedge.
“You said it wasn’t a hedge!” I said, turning back to Nathaniel, eyes wide.
“I… didn’t think it would be,” he admitted, looking as unsure as I was feeling.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, if you didn’t know this was an actual hedge, maybe you are wrong about me being able to do this.”
To that, his gaze was far away for a moment.
Then, “I’m sure.”
His hand went to my lower back.
And as he started to push me into the labyrinth, as odd as it sounds, he didn’t seem quite as strong as he had just moments before.
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.