The Labyrinth of Negrastir

Set at Odds

When I conjured my way out of the deep hollow, flying with invisible wings, I found Vanir crouched at the edge still.

It was as if time itself had stopped while I was down there. He stood up with a look of surprise on his face.

"That was quick," he said, beaming wide as if he hadn't tried to off me moments ago. "The rumours must be true..."

"Looks like you know a lot about the Abyss of Death."

He cocked his head. A lopsided grin appeared on his face.

"Why, of course. I'm the rightful ruler of this Kingdom. Shouldn't I know everything about it?"

"Labyrinth of Negrastir. Do you know that place too? I heard it's in Menargel."

"Labyrinth of—what did you say?"

"Never mind." I looked away, mumbling to myself. "Looks like you know nothing."

"What do you mean—Hera?"

I turned around in a heartbeat and moved away from the suffocating abyss.

The sound of my footsteps and shallow breath echoed through the thick fog to the cadence of the whistling wind.

What was I supposed to do now? It wasn't the prisoner, the one I was looking for. The Goddess said it was someone I had already met...

I didn't realise Vanir caught up to me until his arm brushed against mine. I glanced over as he disrupted my thoughts.

"Hera! What's going on? Why are you—"

I stopped dead. "This is where our journey ends. You're a free man from this point on."

"What about the wound?" he asked as I was about to leave.

"The wound?"

"What'd she say about it?"

Oh, right. That was what I told him, wasn't it? That I was looking for the Goddess to break the curse he gave me.

"You don't need to know. Just leave me alone."

He drew nearer. I followed his gaze as his grey eyes drifted to the piece of fabric I wrapped around my chest.

"Did you bleed again?"

I dropped my head with a loud grunt. The sheer absurdity of the situation was enough to make me lose my temper.

Wasn't he the reason I was losing blood in the first place?

"All right, I won't ask. But don't you have something to tell me?"

I couldn't believe my ears. There it was again, that same talk we had on the mountain pass. What was the matter with him?

"I don't. I already told you that."

"Hera..."

I took a deep breath and briefly shut my eyes. My chest expanded as I tried to hold in the growing anger – fed up to the back teeth and beside myself.

"What exactly do you want me to say! Just what do you want from me—"

"All I want is a simple thank you."

I paused for a second. "What?"

"You can't even do that?"

I couldn't help but break into a smirk.

"No, I can't. Now beat it."

With a lopsided smile, he dropped his head and turned his back to me before walking away.

As I stood there and observed him, I strained my eyes to see through the penetrating fog that threatened to obscure his whereabouts.

Where was he even headed? The demonic inn was back in the capital of Hargelad, and there was no way he could return to Menargel.

I frowned.

He went in the opposite direction of the mountain pass and towards the sparkling lake, where a pathway flanked by mighty trees came into view before the haze shrouded everything.

Where did it lead to?

I retraced my steps back to the mountain pass and had a lot of time to think about the person the Goddess mentioned during this time.

The only mortals I encountered from the moment I opened my eyes in this place were my servants, the members of the Royal Court, and the assassins.

I doubted that the people back at home knew about the mystical labyrinth.

If not even someone like Vanir knew about it, how could the people in Hargelad know of a place far away by the Western Sea? My ruminations led me to one conclusion.

The assassins.

They were hired to take out people, whether it be humans or demons. They needed information from all over the country to quickly reach their targets.

If anyone knew about the labyrinth and where it was, it had to be those people. I was beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Where could I find them, though? Back at the capital or in those woods infested by demons?

I knew for sure they had a secret hideout hidden somewhere between those two locations, considering how often I bumped into them.

I bit my lips. But where in the world could it be?

Going back to the haunted woods seemed like a bad idea. I wasn't out of danger from the demons without Vanir.

But my experience at the demonic inn wasn't exactly a good one either. Besides, there was no guarantee that I would come across the assassins by nightfall. And then what?

Sure, the capital was safer than the woods in terms of danger. But as soon as the sky darkened, I was as vulnerable in the capital as I was in the woods.

I couldn't just wander around and take my chances. I had to track down the assassins. Someone from the capital had to be more in the know than me.

In the best-case scenario, I would locate their hideout and take it from there.

But this was the past.

Being new to the whole human thing, I had no clue if this plan would work or totally backfire. Humans were unpredictable beings, after all.

Anyone, no matter how harmless they seemed at first sight, could pose a threat if I wasn't on my toes and careful enough.