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Chapter Seven

After we had all climbed out, with me staying away from King and the other two trying to burn the other with glares, the building winked out of existence.

"That could not have happened any sooner," King muttered, clenching his staff.

"I think it only disappears after we have finished whatever it wants us to finish," Chosen said. "I was the last stick out of the maze and it vanished just as quickly as this had."

I tensed, waiting for King's comeback, but he stayed silent.

"Well, I guess that was fun," I said, licking my lips. I could feel the coiled vibe in the air, ready to strike at the first mention of kindling, and it was shaking me down. I swallowed, wondering if I should sprint like madly now or if that would be a good idea.

The orange stick figure sighed. "I just wonder how tall this place is."

"Why would that matter?" The Lord asked, tossing a ball of fire from hand to hand.

"I can wonder, all right?" he snapped.

"Well," I intervened, wondering if I was signing my death sentence, "if this thing is a square, we might be able to find its weak points and, I don't know, fire at it?"

The gaze of six dead-set eyes on you while the tension in the air is balanced on a string is never a good one. I took a step back, my mind brewing a storm as I tried to figure out what I had said wrong.

"Oh my gosh!" King said, blinking away with wide eyes. "This is the first time you have ever said something that is actually brilliant!"

"But would that work?" Ever the Dark Lord, he had to shoot the idea into pieces.

"You can break anything by hitting its weak points," Chosen said, elbowing The Lord away with a frown.

King's face suddenly became pinched, like he just swallowed a lemon. It quickly disappeared, but even so, my heartbeat quickened its pace a little bit.

"Okay, but how are we going to be able to figure that out?" the red stick figure demanded.

"Does anyone have a laser?" I asked, trying to watch King without him knowing.

"I have laser eyes," The Lord answered instantly. His red irises began to glow brighter.

"Do you know how long the lasers are?"

"Um, no, not really—"

"This staff has a laser," King uninterrupted. "It is three hundred Minecraft blocks long."

"Okay. Fly up there till you see the laser on the ceiling and then we can work our way down from there," I said. It felt odd to tell Mango Tango what to do, but also a little good. "Also, see if we are in a square or not." He nodded and flew up.

I watched him go. He really was listening to me. Right? He had helped me back when we were inside the obstacle. He did not have to.

Actually, yes he did. He hated that pink room, and after giving it a glance, I knew that it would have driven anybody insane within an hour. The cats kept meowing nonstop, and their fur alone would have made everybody sneeze, even if they were not allergic to cats.

But, he was the one with the staff. I just hoped that he would actually listen to my plan and do his part.

"Nice ruse," Chosen told me. "It got him out of the way."

"I wasn't trying to, but thanks," I said.

"Technically, all we really need is to know the shape of this place—"