My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #1)

United we stand, deluded we fall (Part 2)

The blue glow provided some light, but Theo pulled out his chain, which immediately began to glow brightly enough to light our way properly.

A corridor stretched before us, running about ten feet before it angled sharply left. We set off. Our unholy alliance was on its way.

Every few feet, Theo would snap the chain forward in case any other traps were set. Since none of us were up for small talk, I took the opportunity to examine my surroundings.

Everything was rough. The floor was broken and uneven, like damaged cobblestones.

The walls were stone, although they were damp. Rivulets of water streamed down the sides and I was hit with the occasional drip on my forehead from the low ceiling.

From the way Hannah was manically swiveling her head around, I could tell she was committing every detail to memory for future examination.

"Happy you came?" I asked. She made a "shush" gesture at me and moved up ahead with Theo.

Kai laughed softly.

The corridor made a couple more sharp turns, then hit a dead end.

Theo turned to Kai. "Remind you of anything? Twisting paths, dead ends?"

Kai swore. "The labyrinth."

I twigged a past class lecture. "You mean like the Minotaur? We're going to run into a bull man?"

"I think the dragon is enough," Kai responded dryly.

There was too much hesitation and not enough saving going on. I pivoted and strode three whole steps back before I was restrained by Kai's hand on my shoulder. He spun me around.

"We're in a labyrinth. You do understand that word, right? Big maze designed to trap people. Usually with something very bad at the center."

"Don't talk down to me. I'm not an idiot. Nor am I helpless. I'll proceed with extreme caution, but lives are at stake here. So hurry up."

Kai sent a small blast into the stone walls. Just enough to scorch them, with minimal smoking. When I shot him a questioning glance, he replied, "We need to know which way we've been. To get out again." He continued to do this all the way through, differentiating between passageways which led nowhere and the useful ones.

We tried a different direction. Another dead end.

"Is this a common element of labyrinth design?"

"Yeah. It's a standard aspect of the 'you're screwed' school of architecture," Kai deadpanned.

I blinked in surprise, taken aback by Kai's sense of humor.

The corners of his mouth twitched up at my expression. "You're thinking there's hope for me, after all?"

"Let's not get crazy."

Theo snapped his chain down another path. It seemed safe. "Left?"

The rest of us shrugged in agreement. We'd find out soon enough if the path was useless.

We came to a large fissure in the wall and stopped to examine it. The air behind it was stale and stagnant.

"Structural damage?" Hannah asked, casting a worried glance up at the ceiling.

The thought of all this rock tumbling down on me was enough to give me a claustrophobia attack.

"Of sorts," Theo replied, darting a questioning glance at Kai, who nodded.

"You boys want to fill me in?" Anything to distract myself from the thought of being buried alive.

Kai traced the edge of the fissure. "I think Delphyne designed this labyrinth."

"Guardian of the Oracle and Maze Designer. She's a real Renaissance dragon." I would have preferred a double threat of singer/dancer, but apparently it wasn't my choice to make.

"You don't get it," Theo said. "'Designed' is the wrong word. More like created. The maze's existence is tied to her will."

"So?"

Kai pointed to the fissure. "It's coming undone."

Hannah frowned, puzzled. "Which means she's losing strength?" This could work in our favor.

"Which means she's losing her mind. My bet is she's come unhinged."

"Why now?" I asked.

"Who knows? Maybe the stress of the final push to her goal? Maybe just having kept a human form for too long?" Kai squared his shoulders and tried a new path. Theo, Hannah, and I followed grimly.

"Seems promising," Hannah commented, glancing about the path. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the floor dropped out beneath us.

"Ahh!" We were falling at impossible speeds into an inky nothingness. There was no way I wanted to find out what was at the bottom.

I shot a ribbon of light out with my left palm and wove it carefully around the others' wrists. With my right, I shot the light back up at the ceiling. It held like a giant Spidey web.

"Whatever you do," Kai warned, "don't look—"

Down. Too late. There we were, swinging in mid-air. Far far below us was what must have been an enormous fire, since I was able to see the bubbling flames so clearly.

I got woozy contemplating it. We began to sway. What was it with the Greeks and their unnatural love of all things fiery? Why couldn't they have an obsession with, say, death by chocolate?

"You ever going to learn not to look?" Theo chastised.

"Theo!" Hannah snapped. "That's not helping." She glanced at the ribbons nervously. "That's not gonna dustify us, is it?"

"Great, put that in her head," Theo muttered.

"N-no," I stammered, making sure to think only binding thoughts not killing thoughts.

My light ribbon dropped us down a few more feet.

"Easy, Goddess," Kai murmured.

"Soph, look at me," Hannah ordered.

I forced myself to make eye contact. We were swaying dangerously.

"I never told you this before, but I kissed Jason Fried in grade two."

"I liked him! I even put glue in his hair so he'd notice me."

Hannah shrugged. "Yeah. Sorry. He was cute."

"Some defense," I replied, aghast at the elementary school betrayal.

"Keep going, Hannah," Theo muttered.

I realized that I'd started pulling us up. Ah. "Nice distraction technique." I paused. "It was a technique, right?"

"You'll never know unless you get us back up top," she replied, smugly.

"Hurry it up, already," Kai said. "Hanging over an enormous open flame is not my idea of a good time."

"Then jump us up," I snapped.

"From dangling in mid-air? Not gonna happen."

The cauldron began to rumble. It was a familiar sound. Kind of like a geyser.