I nodded, understanding now, and honestly, I didn’t know if I needed to say a prayer or speak to the walls and tell them thatI was sorry. Let’s just say it wasn’t a predicament I ever thought I would be in.
“And the herd? How many are left?” Aster asked eagerly.
Stava exhaled slowly, her shoulders rising and falling.
“Enough,” she said, but the word carried a heaviness that I knew all too well. “Not as many as before. The darkness first took the weak, then the ones who went out in search of help. Others left with plans to get through the Rift, who knows if they made it… As for the rest of us, we soon learned to stop waiting for rescue.”
They fell silent, and her words lingered in my mind. Minotaurs had tried to cross the Rift. They would have only been successful if they had crossed it when I opened it, and it hadn’t been opened for a long time since that day. But then, if they didn’t make it through the Rift, where did they go?
We continued past the training grounds, into narrow paths once again. I followed, confident that Stava knew her way, as the journey through the Labyrinth seemed to continue forever. Eventually, the path widened again, opening into a long, sloping passage. The air grew cooler, and a faint breeze carried the scent of grass, water, and smoke. If there was a breeze, then there was an opening somewhere. There was a way out.
When we emerged from the path again, it opened up into a cavernous space that took my breath away. One so big it could have easily fit a large village inside. The ceiling arched high above, cracked in places where thin beams of pale light filtered through. A shallow river wound through the center.
Greenery climbed the walls. Vines threaded through natural fissures, and shelves of stone had been shaped into hanging gardens where moss, ferns, and broad-leafed plants flourished. In places, soil-filled basins were carved directly into the rock, supporting small trees whose canopies brushed the lower arches of the ceiling. Narrow paths wound between planted terraces,more training grounds, and communal spaces, all softened by grass and low flowering plants.
The walls were covered in carvings, ancient symbols, spirals, and horns. But these looked like stories etched into the rock, tales of strength, unity, and protection, no doubt.
A cluster of figures moved along the riverbank. Minotaurs, tall and broad-shouldered, their horns gleaming in the faint light. Some were in human form, others in a hybrid form between human and minotaur.
When they saw Stava, they all nodded in greeting. One of them stepped forward, bowing his head.
“You returned.”
Stava nodded.
“As I always do. The Labyrinth stirred again. I thought it wise to see why.” She glanced at Aster with a wide grin. “Now I know.”
The other Minotaur’s gaze shifted to him, and recognition twinkled in his bright yellow eyes.
“Aster of the House of Voudouris,” he said. “We thought you were long gone.”
“I was,” Aster replied quietly. “And I intend to make that absence mean something.”
As if satisfied with the answer, the minotaur’s attention turned to me, curiosity flickering in his eyes before he looked back at Stava.
“And the human?”
Stava let out a hearty chuckle that boomed through the cavern to the point I worried it would begin to fall around us.
“The human is with him. That’s all you need to know.”
That seemed to be enough for him to incline his head in understanding. The minotaur stepped aside, allowing us through, and I was thankful for Stava’s answer. I was tired and not in the mood to answer many more questions. Who wasI kidding? I was dead on my feet and completely drained of energy.
We followed Stava toward a ring of fire pits where the herd had made what looked to be a permanent camp. The light from the flames cast long shadows that stretched along the walls, flickering across faces made weary by what Theïkós was enduring.
Despite their size and strength, there was a quietness to them, a weight that hung in the air like mourning. I understood how they felt. The darkness had uprooted so many lives on Earth as well, and we had all lost loved ones.
Stava lowered her axe beside one of the fires and sat on one of the carved stone benches dotted around the fire.
“Sit. You both look like you need a rest.”
I didn’t argue. My legs ached from hours of walking, my heart still pounding from the fight… and the zombies…let’s not mention the zombies.
A chill ran through my body as I sat, and I shivered, prompting Aster to give me a look that asked, without words, if I was okay. He also jerked his head to another Minotaur standing close by, who must have seen my shiver and therefore knew what he wanted. Only a moment passed before Aster was handed a fur blanket, and he was draping it over my shoulders before taking his place next to me.
“I will confess, Stava, that I am impressed by all you have achieved here, but it does not look like a sustainable solution.”
“And I confess that it is not. We can’t stay here in the Labyrinth much longer. It has been a nice, temporary home given the circumstances, but its walls have been shifting faster lately. The darkness is spreading, and it seems the Labyrinth is its next victim. No matter how much we help it, we just aren’t strong enough, and runes can only do so much.”
