The Grace Curse

Chapter Sixteen

WHEN THE BRIGHT LIGHT FADED FROM MY EYES, I REALIZED WE WERE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Somewhere totally else. Aaron and Zoe had landed on top of each other. As I recovered from the fall I realized we were in a restaurant. "What the hell?" I said aloud.

Aaron let out a groan. "Come on. We were supposed to go into the Labyrinth, not some restur—!"

"Where's Blake?" I shouted. "BLAKE!"

A finger tapped on my back alerting me of his presence. "I'm right here," I could hear him stand up. "How the heck did we get here?"

I looked around and frowned, by the looks of it we seemed to all be in Las Vegas. I could see the bright neon lights of several hotels and casinos by the large glass windows surrounding the room. The walls themselves were painted a dark crimson as if they were made from fresh blood. There had to be a dozen tables covered with long silky cloths to match the sheen of the walls. I could make out a few figures buzzing about, mostly likely waiter taking orders...but where were the customers? "What do we do now?" I asked. "Shouldn't we be in the Labyrinth?"

Aaron helped Zoe up and turned to me. "Don't you feel it? There's something mysterious about this place, I suggest we get something to eat before doing anything else, oh and Chase, I think you may want to put your hood up. You'll probably scare people,"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "As if that will help,"

I flashed them both a death stare, but Aaron spoke up before I did. "Shut up Zoe," He growled. "Since you're feeling so eager why don't you lead us further inside," I had to laugh to myself, it was hilarious watching Aaron reprimand her. Zoe had respect for no one, so clearly, she deserved none...and better yet, she wasn't about to get any from me. I watched as Zoe led Blake, Aaron, and I deeper into the restaurant. As we headed into one room we were stopped in our tracks by someone. With Zoe standing in front of me I couldn't quite get the full details of the figure. Suddenly, she pushed past Zoe and walked straight up to me. She took a momentary glance at Aaron before glaring back at me. I felt a shiver go down my spine.

Ferrum buzzed into my mind. "This lady has a powerful aura, be careful Chase,"

The woman's eyes seemed to glow nocturnally in the dim light. "Come. All of you, especially you disfigured one,"

Blake turned to me. "Uh...we don't know this lady,"

The woman turned back to us with a lethal stare, something in her appearance radiated an aura of mystery. Maybe it was her seemingly narrow eyes or her overall drained appearance. I felt as if I was staring at a near skeletal woman. She finally rose a bony arm at us. "Stay here then. I don't care,"

I stopped her. "Wait, you saw my face...so that means you can see through the Mist,"

Aaron turned to her. "Who are you?"

Her eyes glistened as she motioned for us to all sit at a table. The woman turned back to me completely disregarding Aaron. "I will only address you,"

I stood in awe. "What?"

The bony woman sat down across from me and looked into my eyes with a kind of vacant expression. It was devoid of any emotion, any kind of reason or remorse. "I want to tell you a story..." Her eyes drifted off into the distance. "A story for you all to learn from,"

Blake jumped in his seat. "Well come on! Tell us!"

She ignored him and began to reminisce about something. "It was a very long time ago...so long I almost forget it," The woman stopped and looked at me. "Tell me, do you think it's an appropriate punishment to murder someone's children for simply bragging?"

I frowned. "Uh, no?"

She took a deep breath and sucked in air, her bony chest inflating like a balloon. "That is what I thought. Fourteen children I lost...all at the hands of two vengeful Gods...and to think that it was because of my own actions..."

Blake's eyes widened. "Did you just say fourteen children?"

For the first time the woman addressed Blake directly and turned to him. "Seven sons, and seven daughters...taken from me by those twin Gods...Artemis and Apollo," I could see Aaron shift uncomfortably, he appeared to be visibly disturbed by what she was saying, as if he knew who she was.

It was Blake however, the one to figure it out. "You must be Niobe then, the ex-Queen of Thebes,"

Her eyes seemed to momentarily soften, once hearing her name she relaxed. "I haven't heard someone call me that name in very long time..."

Now that Blake mentioned her name, I was vaguely remembering her story. I admit I wasn't the best when it came to mythology, but remembered hearing about the woman from my English class. "So Apollo murdered your sons, and his sister Artemis killed your daughters...but why?"

Niobe looked down. "I bragged that I was better than Leto, their Titan mother. Thebes had always honored her once a year in a ceremony...and all I wanted to know was why we had to pay homage to her when I had fourteen beautiful children of my own,"

Aaron stood up. "Because you should never let your pride get the best of you, especially when it comes to the Gods,"

Niobe's eyes turned lethal, the gray swirls of her irises seemed to glow when enraged. "There is no excuse son of Apollo! For centuries I have watched time pass as a cold inert statue, I was immune to all of nature's wrath. I've watched the Romans fall, then the Byzantines, then those barbarians they call the Ottomans! Do you think I deserved that? To watch my children rot before me as I lay helpless? You think that's not torturous enough? Your father punished me even more by killing my husband! All for what? Trying to defend our family!"

My jaw had dropped, it was clear this lady suffered enough. The fact that Apollo could murder seven of her children was sickening. "I understand how you feel," I whispered. "He did this to my face, all because I embarrassed him and made a fool for rejecting him. He's obsessed with me, and yet he chose to disfigure me,"

Niobe reached out to me with her bony arm and gently caressed my scarred skin, I could see a small tear form in the corner of her eye. It was subtle, but it was there; as if she knew how I felt. "I am sorry this happened to you,"

Zoe rolled her eyes interjecting. "Oh aren't we all?"

I flashed her glare before turning back to the former Queen. "We need to get into the Labyrinth, we tried using an entrance and ended up here,"

Niobe stood up. "There is a sealed entrance here that I have for an emergency, it will take you into the tunnels, but I cannot guarantee it will take you where you want to go,"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Her eyes narrowed gently. "The Labyrinth has a mind of its own, it feeds on the negative emotions of anything that enters it. It can distort passageways and bring you where you least want to be...or it can be a powerful tool to bring you where you want to be,"

I stood up and the others took the hint. "I don't know how to say this right...but thank you Niobe,"

I could see Niobe give me a faint nod. "Never forget the pain I have suffered...all of you, learn from my mistake, and go on," She snapped her fingers and suddenly the room shook. A giant hole appeared on the wall, I could see a dark like tunnel inside of it.

"That's it!" Aaron shouted. "The Labyrinth entrance we are looking for!"

I turned to Niobe one final time. "I will always remember your story,"