Labyrinth: Into the Malignant Book 2

The Boy in the Shadows

My body was flying through the air as I leapt from the side of the nest. The black birds swirled around me. Everything was shaking. My arms smashed into the side of the nest and I exploded outwards. I crashed into branches from other trees while gravity shoved me down. The impact of the ground felt like nothing. I was completely numb. I knew I was bad off when the only thing I could see was a mesh of darkness. The air seemed to ripple in the heat and the sky was so dark, that any light would be swallowed up. My mind wasn't working properly. I had no fear of creatures finding me, or that I was so far from home. All my mind and body desired was sleep.

***

When I awoke, I was jerking violently. I didn't have a feeling in my body. I wanted to cry out to make it stop, to gain control of myself. My head twitched and all I could do was look. There was a small pool beside me and my hand was dangling in the water. Small drips of the water rolled up my arms and absorbed into my skin. It took all the force and concentration to take my hand away from the water. As soon as I did, the jerking stopped.

My breathing evened out and my body was my own. How long had I been in that water? I sat up slowly and looked around. I was sprawled out on soft ground. I put my hand on my forehead and looked into the pool. Dried blood was stuck to my cheek and my hair held little twigs. If I were back in the High Kingdom I would be laughing at myself by now. Instead, I was in a dark kingdom that I could easily die at any moment. My head throbbed and my body ached from the fall.

The forest surrounded me and I rose to my feet hesitantly. It was still very dark. The sun was in the sky, but dark clouds covered it. Trees with thick branches extended over the pathway and I looked around. Everything here looked so uncertain. My feet began to carry me forwards and a noise stopped me. My heart raced and I pulled out a knife. "Run" It was as if the wind had whispered the word to me. Immediately, I ran.

The forest zipped by and I pushed through the branches. The sound of pursuit echoed behind me and I pushed my feet harder. A roar sounded behind me. I climbed up the massive branches and crawled under others. The only thing I could hear was my breathing. I threw my hands up to swing over a low branch. As I swung I saw my mistake. The path stopped after the branch. Vines hung beside me. Even though I couldn't stop myself from going over the edge, I could lessen the impact with the vine. My hands tore at the friction. I was plummeting from the edge and I tightened my grip on the vine.

I swung myself off the vine and rolled. The ground was hard, but the roll helped me balance enough to not hurt myself seriously. I sat of the ground frozen, partially to calm myself down, but also to make sure nothing was following me. I stood and dusted myself off. I looked at my bloody hands and winced. They burned from the sudden friction of the vines. I breathed through my teeth as if it would stop the pain.

I looked around and noticed I was someplace very different from the last. It was darker. The cliff I fell from seemed to be a border. I felt like I was in a huge dark dome. The only fraction of light was on the path. Thorns and tree trunks snaked around and I pulled my jacket around my shoulders tighter. If I was going to get out, this was going to hurt.

A sudden presence around me made me still, and I slowly turned around, drawing my sword. Another branch breaking caught my attention from the other side and I turned. The noises echoed all around me then and I began to panic. Finally it stopped and I held my sword up in the direction it was at. "Come out and face me you coward" I seethed. The darkness covered a tree branch and I waited for the monster to reveal itself. "Keep your words to yourself. They mean nothing here" A low voice spat. I watched as a guy stepped onto the branch. "Come out" I said curiously.

"Anxious to die are we?" He said angrily. He was high above me. "What is your name?" He asked smoothly. I bit my lip trying to hold back but gave in. "Elliana" I whispered. I didn't want to tell him, it was almost like he drew it out. "Elliana" He murmured. The danger of his voice shocked me. The guy swung down to a lower branch causing it to shake. "What is your name?" I asked slowly. The guy scoffed and dropped to the ground. The ground actually shook as he landed firmly in front of me. My sword was on the ground in seconds and I stared at him in worry.