B. The Games We Play

B.11. Rubber Man

Cacophony and Euphoria entered the mirror maze. The door shut behind them then transfigured into a mirror.

Cacophony pushed against it. "Locked in." They took a bite from their fatcake.

"Have some bread crumbs?" Euphoria gestured to their fatcake.

"I think things like that only work in faery tales."

"Guess you're right." She said, untying one of her ribbons.

Roulette's apparation appeared before them. Cacophony reflectively clapped their hands, creating a small shockwave.

The mirrors around them shattered. The apparation didn't flinch.

"I see you brought a friend," he said. "Cacophony I presume? Isn't Lostcliff missing you?"

"Staying in one place too long isn't really my style," they said. "And after all, my friend needed help."

"Spare me the sappyness. Both your souls will be mine in a bit."

"Wait a minute. You only wanted my soul!" Euphoria said. "You never said anything about my companions' souls."

"I said either your or one of your friends' souls. A soul for a soul, which I admittedly stole. Once she got involved her soul got part of the pot."

"You should have written that in the fine print," Euphoria mumbled.

"It was verbal contact. No fine print, just a vaguely worded agreement."

"Damnit, I should've asked for a physical contract."

"Didn't you say we need to do this by tomorrow morning?" Cacophony asked.

"Oh yeah." She smiled, then yelled. "What is your game!"

"It's a maze! Find your friend, find the exit then you're done." He said. "Just don't eat the walls."

The apparation disappeared.

"You can't stop me!" Euphoria proceeded to grab one of the glass shards and took a bite out of it.

Cacophony laughed at this. "That's one way to stick it to the man." The laughter ringed through the maze. The sounds echoing all around. Cacophony touched their headphones.

"There's someone else in here."

"Must be Neil." Euphoria tied the end of the ribbon around a broken mirror frame.

"It's a harpy.... but missing a wing-"

"That's him!"

"-but there's someone else here. Seems to be a human."

"We'll punch that shark when the reptile escapes." Euphoria walked forward. The other end of the ribbon tied around her wrist. It extended behind her as she walked, acting as a trail marker.

Cacophony walked next to her, humming to keep the echoes from fading.

"Why does House Edge want your soul anyway?" They asked between hums.

"He wants revenge on my dad or something." Euphoria said. "He wants to use my soul to blackmail him. I don't know why he doesn't just use my friends."

"Maybe he wants to be sure it's someone he wouldn't refuse no matter what." Cacophony mused. "As the heir to his powers, you are much more valuable than a civilian."

"Maybe..." She said.

Something flew in front of them and punched the mirror next to them. It was an enlonged arm that reached through from another mirror. It retreated back and disappeared.