Sentria: The Knight Prince (Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Buried Alive

I couldn't believe my eyes. The once cloud land had transformed into a dark maze of black stone brick. It was disorienting. It all felt so real, but I couldn't let my eyes deceive me. The Oblivion Witch's illusion wouldn't distract me from the mission. I'd fight through it just as I had every monster and hurdle that came in our way.

"Which way do we go, Eldwyn?" I said, looking all around. There were two paths we could take, one path behind us and one path in front. "I've lost my sense of direction with the erection of the labyrinth."

"This way," said Eldwyn assuredly. "The wind is speaking to me louder than ever, even in this closed place."

"This way it is then," I said, and we walked down the haunting path. We moved with great caution in case danger appeared around any of the sharp corners. The one thing that we could be sure of was that the Oblivion Witch was capable of anything.

Turn after turn we made and it seemed like we weren't getting any closer to the end. The paths kept repeating over again and yet I didn't give up hope. That wasn't an option for us. We had traveled so far that I felt prepared for whatever manifested monstrosity this evil creature could throw at us. We were going to find our way out of this.

"Wait," Eldwyn said, pressing his hand to my chest. "Something evil this way comes."

I looked down our path, a straightaway, and at the end was cast in shadow. From the darkness, two glowing yellow eyes appeared followed by a low growl. A black wolf then emerged from the shadow, appearing like a shadow itself. It crept toward us, baring its teeth and drooling. I stepped in front of Eldwyn and swiped at the wolf a few times as a warning, but it didn't back off. It kept coming for me and I stood my ground. At about five feet away, it bent down, then lunged at me with frightening speed, and I reacted in kind, slashing with a fury that cut the underside of the beast. It yelped and hit the ground, and I wasted no time severing its head from its body with another clean swipe.

"Poor beast..." said Eldwyn, kneeling down next to the dead black wolf. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer over him.

"Eldwyn, it wasn't real. It was an illusion made of ill magicks."

Eldwyn turned to me and said, "I can feel him, therefore he is real." He went back to praying over the beast and I waited for him to finish.

We continued to walk down the seemingly endless path. I began to worry that we'd never leave this forsaken place. That we'd be walking until the end of our days before we saw light again. It was hard to tell the time within this dark place without the sun or moon to guide us, and after a series of turns, we arrived at a circular space with eight different paths all around us.

"What does the wind tell you now?" I asked Eldwyn.

"It says to stay," said Eldwyn.

"Stay?" I asked, turning to him. "I trust you, but we must choose."

"This labyrinth...it's trying to tell us something."

"What could it possibly be?" I asked.

"It is I," said a strangely familiar voice from the shadowy path behind us. We turned around saw the form of a young man step out of its clutches. It was Prince Lucas, only...slightly off. He had on long black robes with golden details running vertically on the sides.

"Prince Lucas?" asked Eldwyn?

"No," I said, "he is a phantom, like the black wolf."

"Are you sure, High Prince?" asked the imposter. "I know all about you and our time as children. I know that we are betrothed and that we are destined to marry."

"You are but a reflection of my mind," I said, standing up straight.

"Is that so?" He took slow steps toward us. "That I'm but a mere reflection of your mind? That my feelings aren't as real as yours? That I don't remember us playing in the Stargonian gardens and knowing that we were meant for one another."

I gripped the hilt of my sword even tighter. "Stay away, monster!"

"Monster?" he asked. "That's harsh of you. Tell me, betrothed, do you not love me? You would choose this savage relic over me?"

"I said, get away!" I stomped my foot at him and he stopped.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it." The imposter lowered his head and backed away into the shadowed path. There was a silence and then there was an eery growl that didn't sound human. It sounded much bigger and beastly. From out of the path, a huge tortoise head emerged from the shadows, black as sin, and crushed the labyrinth walls and ceiling in its effort to get at us, snapping with its mouth.

I didn't speak, I only grabbed Eldwyn by his shirt and pulled him along down one of the paths. I didn't care which one, we just needed to escape. The brick started to crumble around us as we scrambled to get out. We heard the giant tortoise gaining on us and felt the unforgiving bricks fall upon us. I used my shield to protect us as best as I could, but they became too much and we succumbed to the beating, falling down and covered by the brick. I tried to fight through it, but it was too heavy to break out. I didn't have much choice but to succumb to the darkness and the weight that was building upon my body.