Fate of the Blessed

Chapter 19

Aeron

I sat up in bed breathless; I had connected with Amara. Only it had awakened in me something that I thought I had long suppressed. No, that was impossible, that wasn't something I was going to do anymore. I was done being trapped in my duties.

However, a little voice in the back of my head told me it was in my blood, it was my job, that I couldn't escape or fight it, no matter how much I ran away from it. I shook my head again, trying to shake the thoughts out of my head, as I had to stay on track. I can't let old habits impede the bigger picture.

I got out of bed, wandering over the countless orbs that adorned my back wall. Each held the soul of the person who was transported here. Some were fading, unable to decide so they would be trapped in the Acheron instead for all eternity. This made my heart ache, but I quelled the feeling. It wasn't my problem anymore.

"It'll be worth it." I said aloud, but who was I trying to convince?

Tae-Seong

We had finally made it off the midnight trail, which had led us straight to the entrance of the abandoned fairground. I went to step forward but stopped when I realised that Amara and Shanti hadn't moved; they were staring at the dilapidated sign. I felt them stiffen as they grabbed each other's hand. 

"Come on, it must be through here." I said, unsure why they had paused. 

"I don't want to go back in there, Conner died in there." Shanti said, pulling back. 

Amara got down to her level "Conner wanted us to get home, we have to do this for him." 

Shanti nodded, eyes full. So I got down to her level as well.

"I know you're scared. I am too, but we'll do this together, okay?"

We all took each other's hand and walked through the entrance together. It felt even more desolate than the last time; the eeriness stalking through the old machines like twisted metal predators. We stuck close together, navigating our way through the fairground. After wandering around aimlessly, we stopped at an old Bagatelle. I ran my fingers through my hair; I looked left and right. 

"This is hopeless, we have been walking around in circles for ages." I said.

The others stopped just behind me; we had been walking around for a long time but were no further forward. We stayed silent, all weighing up our options, which admitted were slim.

"You know, I never asked what happened to the Mágissa?" Amara said, turning towards me.

It was Shanti who answered before I could open my mouth.

"We don't know when we got to the cottage everything was gone, even the cottage!" 

"That makes little sense." Her face scrunched in confusion.

I turned around "None of this makes sense, we don't know where she went, I never even met her." 

We talked some more in hushed tones, arguing about which way we needed to go. As we were talking, we heard slow claps behind them. 

Oh great, what now?

"Well, well, well, fancy seeing you guys here." Phobos said.

I swung around, pushing the girls behind me before pulling the sword from its scabbard. Phobos just laughed in response, his eyes wild.

"I thought Charon would point you in this direction, fortunate for me I met up with you first." His eyes held a maniacal glow. It made his red irises even more menacing.

"I just want Amara; the little girl can leave after I've gutted you." He pointed towards me, but nobody responded. We were all desperately thinking of how to get out of this. It seemed like the end of the road and we hadn't even made it to the palace! 

"Where is Aeron?" Amara said, looking about. Phobos chuckled in response.

"He doesn't need to know about this little jaunt of ours." 

"You're betraying him." I said, taken aback.

"He is weak, he won't be able to lead this pl--" he didn't get to finish his sentence as an arrow pierced through his heart. We all jumped back in surprise, not even having time to scream at the suddenness of it. Nemesis strolled from behind him. She slung her bow Medea onto her shoulder. I still held my blade out in front of me.

"Relax, I will not put an arrow through your heart," she said as she crouched down next to Phobos.

"W...w... why.?" Amara said Nemesis looked up.

"He was an idiot; we have bigger plans for you."

"Aeron?" Nemesis shook her head.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now, you need to enter the mirror maze, that will take you where you need to go." With that, she turned around and disappeared. It is now clear she wasn't working for Aeron, but who is she working for? 

"Could this be a trap?" I offered.

"What choice do we have?" she said as she walked in that direction. Shanti and I followed, but I was reluctant to find out what was through those doors. Who was this other party Nemesis had hinted at? I would be glad if this was all over. 

If I could just wake up now, that would be great.

Finally, we found the entranceway to the Mirror Maze. We all took each other's hands and walked into the gloom together. Nemesis was right once we'd entered. It led straight to the bottom of the palace steps.

Amara took a moment to marvel at the huge white pillars that seemed to stretch on forever. The marble steps were shiny and clean. It seemed as if it was set into the roots of a gigantic tree, but apart from the gleaming pearl of the building everything around it was so pitch black it was hard to tell if anything was there at all. 

"Are we ready to do this, guys?" Amara said. My brow furrowed, and Shanti had a look of horror on her face, but we nodded anyway. One by one we ascended the steps in the palace of the unknown, with Amara leading the way.

Anything can happen when we go through those doors