Last Shadow || Deception Book III

Chapter 7 Pt. II

Ten minutes later, I spotted a pinprick of light ahead of us. Ri quickened her pace, both of us squinting in the harsh fluorescent lighting as the walls changed to stainless steel, metal-grate floors replacing the stone.

"Strange," Rianna mused, a worried look flitting over her face. "Shouldn't the worship be in the older parts of the maze? This looks like the tunnel to a futuristic space station or something."

"We're here already, might as well continue," I said, stifling a laugh.

"Glad to see you're taking this so seriously." she retorted, but a small smile appeared on her face.

"I'm happy because it's just the two of us," I teased, following her steps. "What's not to like about running through a deadly maze with your girlfriend?"

"Castellan," Rianna warned mockingly. "Say that again and I might throw you into a lava pit."

"Warning received," I replied. "Also-" the words died on my lips as we turned a corner to emerge in front of a set of large, metal double doors with a glowing blue delta sign inscribed in it. "See!" I said, turning to Ri as amusement and pride coursed through me. "I told you."

Ri smiled slightly and pressed her hand to the delta sign. The doors hissed open. "After you."

"Wow," I breathed as I stepped into the room. Room was an understatement, however. Bright daylight shone through giant windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling some twenty metres above us, and the room was more like an artist's studio. Scattered throughout the room were half-a-dozen easels with hand-drawn diagrams of buildings and machines, workbenches, and tables with running laptop computers. The far end of the room, behind the spiral staircase that led to a second-floor loft, held shelves of Greek fire and several metal inventions.

"The wings," Rianna whispered. I turned to see her staring at several sets of bronze and silver wings hanging on the wall next to a glass grandfather clock. "And holy gods, look at this," she muttered, walking over to the closest easel in a daze. "This is incredible. The curves and slopes on this building would very likely almost negate aerostatic flutter!"

"They would," a man's voice said. "Very good."

The two of us whirled around to see a figure standing on the second floor, his hands braced on the rim of the glass railing.

"I'm impressed."

The sound of my blade hissed through the air as I drew it, Rianna's whip unfurling to the ground like a sinister, silver snake beside me. "Are you Daedalus?" I asked warily.

"Daedalus," the man mused as he started down the stairs. "And what business do you two have, looking for him?"

"We're here to negotiate," Rianna said, her voice unthreatening and completely calm. She flicked her wrist and her whip curled back into a silver snake ring. "We don't mean any harm."

"No, of course not," he said, stepping into the light. I took in his short grey hair and clipped beard, then raised my eyes from the scabbard at his waist to meet his grey eyes. "You're here for negotiations, after all."

I stared at him for a moment longer before sheathing my sword. No way this was Daedalus, I thought. He looks way too chipper for a guy who's lived for three millennia.

"We're here on behalf of the titan lord," Rianna said. "And He-"

"Wait," I whispered, grabbing her wrist. "We don't even know if he's Daedalus."

The man smiled knowingly at Ri, who squeezed my hand in reassurance. "It's him."

"How do you know?"