Jistan

“Go! Up the stairs!” Jistan cried, running in that direction as his heartbeat thudded in his chest. He hoped Shai could stop any other waves from crashing down on them.

They all scrambled forward as the edge of the floor kept moving. Shai went up the stairs first, her hands held out to eliminate any magical wards or runes.

Luckily, they made it to the top of the staircase. And then the wall started shifting toward them.

“Keep going!” Leiam said.

They kept running as the hallway grew narrower and narrower. Jistan came last and was forced to step sideways to fit, stumbling out as the walls behind him met each other. He’d just barely avoided being crushed again.

This labyrinth really seeks to end me, he thought. He panted, but kept running after the others.

They turned another corner, where they found two hallways. When Leiam started to lead them one way, the floor began floating away, and he screeched to a halt before falling through it. He turned and went back the other way.

As they ran, the wall on their left started to sink, revealing an opening. At the same time, a dead-end was appearing ahead as another metal wall rose from the floor.

“This way!” Leiam shouted, climbing up into the new opening on their left. He turned and grabbed Shai’s hands, helping her up. When Raz and Tivon had pulled themselves up, they helped Qiara and Aladia. Jistan heaved himself up too, rolling onto the new platform. The hallway where they’d just been closed up.

Now there was a bizarre stairway in front of them, with some stairs small enough to step up, but some so tall they had to climb. They kept going, and the walls, floor, and ceiling continued shifting all around them, creaking and groaning. Jistan felt disoriented, like he didn’t know which way was up or down or left or right.

He had just climbed up onto another moving platform when he heard Shai scream as the floor started sliding away beneath her, leaving her on a thin strip of metal. She leaped up and grabbed onto the end of his platform.

He dropped and grabbed her arms. “Come on, I’ve got you!” He held her tight because now all that lay beneath her feet was darkness and a seemingly endless plummet below.

Holy hell, he cursed. No wonder the floor had seemed hollow. There was nothing underneath most of the labyrinth.

He tugged with all his strength, and to his surprise, Aladia came to help him pull Shai to safety. She clambered up and clutched him tight, her whole body trembling against him.

“You’re okay, I’ve got you,” he murmured. Goddess, if he lost her today in this damned maze of death—

He didn’t have time to finish that thought because now the ceiling was coming down, turning from horizontal to vertical as if wanting to become a wall now. They were forced to scramble to their feet and keep running.

They dodged a few more spinning walls, and finally, there was another resounding clang, as if a large metal object was settling into place. The labyrinth stopped moving.

Jistan collapsed with Shai in exhaustion. Aladia had her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Nearby, Tivon sagged against the wall as he also panted. The others were nowhere to be seen.

Jistan’s chest tightened in panic. “Where’s Leiam, Q, and Raz?”

“Over here!” came Raz’s faint voice through the wall on their right.

“Is everyone alright?” Tivon asked them, worry in his voice. Jistan could guess who his friend was most concerned for.

“We’re all fine, just a little shaken,” Qiara called, and Tivon’s shoulders slumped.

“I think you can all meet us after the next few turns ahead,” Leiam shouted. “There’s an open area there. It might be where the vaults are.”

“Alright,” Jistan yelled back. “We’re heading there now.”

They continued down the hallway. There was one point where Shai noticed runes lining the floor, and she erased the symbols before they had a chance to find out what horror would have befallen them. She had to drink a potion afterwards to regenerate her mana.

“You’re handling this like an expert,” Jistan told her as they walked side-by-side, Tivon and Aladia in front of them.

“I’ve gone through a few lethal labyrinths for fun,” Shai quipped. “This one is paltry compared to those.”

He laughed, and she joined him. Ahead, Aladia glared back at them. There was no doubt in his mind she was still livid over his rejection of her two nights ago. Maybe she’d even figured out Shai was the one he had feelings for. He thought of the deal his father made to marry him off to Aladia, and his stomach plummeted. He still wasn’t looking forward to telling Shai about it.

When they came to a wide corridor that sloped slightly downward, they paused when Tivon cautioned them to wait.

The biomancer inspected the wall and floor. “This isn’t a magical trap. It’s a mechanical one. See the lines and screws in the wall? Something is behind it.”

“So, what should we do?” Jistan asked.

“You go to the end of the corridor first, and we’ll wait here. Freeze anything that tries to kill you.”

Jistan frowned. “I take it back. Your presence here isn’t very helpful after all.”

Tivon grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. “I believe in you. Good luck.”

The prince took a deep breath, then walked forward. After taking four cautious steps, tiny holes opened in the walls on either side of him, and sharp darts shot out of them. He thrust his hands out, and the darts froze in mid-air only a foot away from him on both sides. He released his breath, then glared back at Tivon. His friend only gave him a thumbs-up.

Shai looked like she was trying not to bite her nails as she watched him. Aladia called, “You can do this, Your Highness.”

For the people of my country, Jistan reminded himself as he shook away the slight nausea from the loss of mana. He continued onward.

The next trap he sprang was two massive axes that came out of the walls, swinging sideways at him, one at his head and one at his legs. He froze these too, before he became minced human meat. Now his head started pounding with a headache, but he needed to get through all the traps before drinking a potion, so he wouldn’t lose his concentration.

The last trap sprang near the end of the slope, a multitude of spears stabbing down from above. Jistan raised his hands over his head, and the spears stopped just inches from his hair.

He reached the next bend in the corridor and sighed in relief.

“Jistan, behind you!” Shai screamed.

He turned and lifted his hands just in time to stop a giant disc with razor-sharp edges from chopping him in half vertically. It had risen out of the floor behind him and shot forward. If it wasn’t for Shai’s warning, he would be lying in two pieces on the floor.

That was much too close.

And now the full effect of using so much mana hit him at once. Dizziness made him stumble backward, falling against the wall. He could feel his grip on his time magic slipping.

He squinted back up the slope at his friends. “I can’t hold it for long. Hurry before it all unfreezes.”

His friends rushed forward, past the darts, the axes, and the spears. They were just walking past the razor disc when everything sprang back into motion in a burst of speed and sound.

Aladia screamed, dodging past the disc as it continued forward and into a hole in the wall. One of the spears came down and nicked Tivon’s shoulder as he hopped away, barely avoiding being impaled through the head. The biomancer cringed, grasping his shoulder as blood dripped down his arm.

Jistan wanted to go to his friend, but his legs buckled out from under him, and he slid to the floor.

“Jistan!” Shai cried, squatting by his side. She quickly uncapped one of her own vials and held it up to his mouth. He tried to hold his head steady to drink, but the room was spinning and his muscles felt weak. His head started drooping.

Shai’s hand grabbed his chin to hold his head up, then he felt the cool liquid hit his tongue, its bitter taste flooding his mouth before he swallowed. Because this was his second potion, it took a little longer to kick in. His vision cleared first, but he still couldn’t stand yet.

He looked over at Tivon, where Aladia was helping him tie a torn strip of his shirt around his injured shoulder. “I’m so sorry, my friend. I couldn’t hold it any longer.”

“It could’ve been worse,” Tivon said. “Just pay my medimancer fee later and we’ll be even.”

A corner of Jistan’s mouth lifted. “Sure.”

After five minutes, he could feel his legs again, so Shai and Aladia helped him to his feet.

Shai glanced back at the traps. “I’m not looking forward to coming back this way once we have the chest.”

Tivon peered ahead, pointing with his good arm. “And speaking of the chest…”

They all turned to look. This hallway led into a large area about the size of the dining hall back at Jistan’s home. There was a line of vaults across the way. And standing in front of the vault doors were the others.

Shai immediately dashed to Qiara and hugged her. Jistan patted Leiam’s shoulder, then clasped Raz’s forearm.

Qiara frowned at Tivon’s injury. “What happened?”

“A spear from a trap,” he explained. “But I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, alright,” Leiam said impatiently. “Can we get the chest and get out of here please?”

“Fine,” Jistan said. He patted his clothes. “Now I need the key…you do have it, right, Leiam?”

The metamancer gaped as if the world had crashed in on him, and Jistan laughed, pulling the key out of his pocket. “Just kidding.”

Leiam’s eyes looked like they wanted to spring their own death trap on the prince. Jistan grinned at him and approached the first vault, peering inside the barred window. “Now we just need to find the right one.” This vault was filled with gold coins stacked high to the ceiling.

Everyone spread out, and a couple of them went around the next corner. This place housed several vaults, which made a square around the center of the labyrinth.

“Over here!” Aladia called from the right. Jistan and the others hurried over to her.

She stood in the center of the vaults on this side, near one larger than the others, with a heavy steel door and glass window. Jistan looked inside. Shelves lined the walls, containing ancient artifacts of all kinds, from scepters and baubles to books and mirrors.

On a center pedestal was a chest; a black chest inlaid with diamonds and platinum. It was beautiful. But it was what lay inside that Jistan cared about.

He inserted the key into the center hole in the vault and turned it. There was a loud click.

“Oh, Goddess,” Qiara cursed behind him. “We have a problem.”

He turned. All around them, doorways had opened and dozens of guards streamed out of them. His stomach dropped.

“Thought you said there weren’t many guards in the labyrinth,” Raz hissed at Tivon.

“That was before Emperor Varo ordered more security measures,” Tivon said, stepping behind his more battle-experienced companions.

Aladia smirked, raising her hands and making shadows dance around her palms. “Finally, some real excitement.”

They fanned out in a semi-circle around the vault as the guards closed in, holding scimitars and their hands up for spells. Jistan figured he better save his mana to get them out of the maze. If he used his magic to immobilize all of these guards, he’d have to take another potion, and his magic would be much weaker after a third dose. Plus, the guards wouldn’t stay frozen for long, since there were so many.

Jistan unsheathed the sword at his belt, the steely scrape echoing in the underground space. Raz also pulled out a sword, while Leiam removed two hatchets from his belt. Qiara and Shai pulled out their knives, and Aladia created thin blades of darkness in her hands.

The guards started firing various spells at them. Jistan charged forward with a yell, ducking under light orbs and disks of darkness. He thrust out his hand, using his power to freeze one guard, then conked him on the head with the hilt of his sword. When he unfroze time, the guard’s eyes rolled upward, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Jistan spun away as another guard tried to stab a spear at him. The prince grabbed the shaft of the weapon to pull the guard closer, punched him in the face a couple of times, and used his sword to knock the guard’s feet out from under him.

He dodged more magical attacks, including fireballs and needle-point icicles, then lashed out with his sword to take down two more guards. One he had to attack in a slicing arc across the guard’s plate armor, nicking the man’s throat. The enemy collapsed, holding his neck wound as blood gushed through his fingers.

Jistan grimaced. He had been trying to avoid killing blows, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped.

Around him, the others fought back using their magic and weapons. Aladia was almost graceful with her routine as she twirled to evade attacks and jammed her blades of darkness into her opponents’ abdomens. Raz was casting fireballs and brandishing his sword, emitting a rippling wave of flames when three guards tried to ambush him at once. The guards were knocked on their butts, their hair and uniforms aflame.

Leiam swung his hatchets left and right, engaging in duels with a couple of the guards. He used his magic to weaken their weapons and was able to slice clean through one guard’s scimitar, leaving him defenseless. Qiara unleashed lightning bolts without restraint, firing them left and right. She even spun and stabbed her knives into the chest of a guard who almost attacked her from behind.

The magical attacks would’ve been a lot worse, but Shai was going around unmancing as much as she could. She ducked under and twisted away from spells that came at her, then flung her hands out, taking away some guards’ ability to access their mana. She also undid spells if she saw them about to hit one of her companions. Jistan caught her using her dirks to deflect one sword slashing at her head, and he swelled with pride for a heartbeat, until he had to bend backwards to avoid a blast of dark magic. Shai noticed and closed her hand into a fist, causing the spell to dissipate. Jistan nodded a thanks at her.

The sounds of battle lessened as they took down guard after guard, and finally the soldiers stopped spilling out of the doorways. Jistan knocked out one last guard, then spun to search for the next, but there were no more. Every member of his team who’d fought stood panting too, glancing around them. It looked like they all sported only minor injuries, and most of them had to drink a regeneration potion. Tivon had his back to the vault, staring around in amazement.

Jistan’s chest heaved as he lowered his sword, his rush of adrenaline fading. All of the guards were down, either motionless or moaning. Most were probably unconscious, but he thought at least eight might be dead.

He swallowed. Father, all of this better be worth it.

He sheathed his sword, said a short prayer to the Goddess for the dead guards, then turned back to the vault. Tivon stepped aside as Jistan grabbed the silver handle and tugged.

The heavy door swung open, and a barrier of blue light zapped into view, blocking his way in.

He glanced to his right. “Shai.”

She tucked away her dirks, then walked up to the barrier, raising her hand and swiping it. The barrier shimmered and winked out of existence.

She looked at him, but he gestured for her to go first, saying, “There could be more magical wards in there.”

She cautiously stepped inside the vault, peering around at all the relics inside. One by one, the others stepped in after her. Panels of enchanted helio light shone from the ceiling.

Jistan only gave the other treasures in the vault a cursory glance. Leiam and Tivon took more interest in them. Qiara even pocketed a jeweled sapphire egg.

“What?” she said when she caught Jistan staring. “I’m a thief, remember? Might as well keep some memento of our time here.”

The prince smirked and joined Shai as she approached the Obsidian Chest of Zanteos. He held his breath, waiting to see if any last ward or trap would spring to stop them. Maybe even a guard could drop from the ceiling.

But nothing happened as Shai reached the chest. Jistan almost couldn’t believe it. Finally, after all that planning and traveling and questionable morals and defying death. They’d reached their prize.

Shai rested her hands on the pedestal on either side of the chest, with Qiara hovering on her right, and Jistan on her left. The Obsidian Chest almost seemed like a work of art, its black wood shining in the helio light. The diamonds sparkled and the platinum edges glittered. It was smaller than Jistan thought it would be, a little bigger than his head, but maybe the object inside was small.

And then he frowned, realizing something he hadn’t considered. “Wait, do we need a special key to—”

The lid of the chest popped open at Shai’s touch.

“It had a magical lock,” she explained.

Thank the Goddess, Jistan thought.

“Well,” Qiara said, nearly vibrating with anticipation. “Open it!”

Shai gradually lifted the lid, and the three of them peered inside the chest to see what treasure lay within…

…but it was empty.