So, I ran.
A maze of metal corridors veined out ahead of me. I took turns without thought; just barely keeping ahead of my pursuer. Narcissus kept shouting at me as if I might actually stop. I slapped the walls as I ran; were they closing in on me? I felt so damn claustrophobic in that place. My breath started coming in stilted gulps.
And then, finally, the maze ended. I stumbled into a room. My relief faded as soon as it came; it was a dead end. Literally for one of us. The room had only one point of access; the door I'd just come through. It had no windows, no other doors, not even an air vent. But there just so happened to be a long table covered in weapons. How convenient. Blades of all shapes and sizes glinted at me wickedly beside the more muted finish of guns, whips, hooks, clubs, maces, and even a garrote. The only thing missing was a pair of bladed gloves.
Oh well, you can't have everything.
I snatched up a sword and settled into a battle stance as I faced the door. It had been a long time since I'd fought with a sword, but my hand gripped it with confident ease. I suppose a gun would have been a better choice... if my opponent had been human. Bullets tended to bounce off Gods. Hell, the sword might not even work. To slice through god necks, I had to enchant my kodachi with extra strength and sharpness.
“Vervain,” Narcissus huffed as he appeared. He leaned against the door frame and blinked in shock. “What are you doing?”
“Defending myself,” I growled. “What do you think I'm doing?”
“Against what?” He glanced over his shoulder apprehensively.
“You, you asshole!” I shouted and launched forward, blade extended.
Narcissus screamed—like a girl—and jumped back. “What the fuck?!”
He backpedaled as I chased him and then a transparent wall shimmered into existence between us. I pulled up short and scowled at him through the wall.
“I don't want to fight you, Vervain,” Narcissus said breathlessly. “Why are you attacking me?”
“Because you just sexually assaulted me!” I shouted at him and slammed the hilt of the sword against the wall. It trembled but held firm.
Narcissus' eyes went wide. “I did not!”
“Yes, Narcissus, you did!” I snapped. “That's what it's called when you force yourself on a woman who doesn't want you. I was sleeping; I responded because I thought you were one of my husbands, you slimy bastard!”
“What are you talking about?” Narcissus blinked at me in shock. “I did not force myself on you. I haven't even been near you in hours. I woke up to see you running out of the room.”
“What?” I whispered as my sword lowered.
“I was sleeping, and I heard you scream,” Narcissus said more calmly. “I sat up, and you flailed about a bit. Then a door appeared, and you ran out of it. I chased after you. I thought you might have lost your senses, and now I see that I was right.”
“I woke up to someone touching me.” I shook my head as I processed it.
The clear barrier disappeared, and Narcissus cocked his head at me. “And you thought it was me?”
“Itwasyou,” I said firmly. “I turned around and you were there. I tried to push you off, and you slapped me. I punched you, that door opened, and I ran.”
“Fuck,” Narcissus whispered. “It's the fucking Mirror.”
“You're telling me that I was just assaulted by a mirror?” I growled.
“Yeah; I think you were.” He looked back toward the room I'd emerged from and then strode past me and into it.
When I followed him inside, I found him standing over the table of weapons. It did seem like a setup. But those locks of hair... I frowned. Narcissus and I had looked through that room together when we were trying to find a way out. The boxes had been there; I just hadn't thought to open one in his presence. But if they had been there before, that meant they weren't an illusion created by the Mirror. Which meant that I still couldn't trust Narcissus.
But at least I didn't have to kill him... immediately.
“I can't believe it did this to me,” Narcissus whispered as he ran a hand over the weapons. “I thought we were friends.”
“Friends generally don't vow to kill each other,” I said dryly.
“He was mad because I said I was leaving.” Narcissus shook his head. “I didn't take it personally. But this... he wanted me to kill you, and he didn't care about risking me in the process.”
“It's not a he,” I said softly. “It's a curse, Narcissus. It's your jailer and your punisher, not your friend.”
