How can I trust them now?
And I am hidden down here. Away.
Too far.
There are only twenty-seven days until once again innocents, including my nymph, will be used as battery storage for the dark poisonous energy.
So I plan.
They willnevertake her.
I will spirit her away through my labyrinth first, but to do so, I must dig.
Yes.
My minotaur agrees.
I’d go as far to say he’s frustrated that I’ve only just come to this realization.
Dig.
The tunnels beneath the academy spread widely, but there is no connection between their sprawling network and Electus Tower.
The tower which is now my nymph’s home.
So I will construct a tunnel.
We will construct a tunnel.
Remembering that I am supposed to be part of a team, I allow the other men to know my plan.
The hellhound wants to help.
He awaits me in the basement under the laundry facility.
“Lu! My man!” He grips my shoulders as I appear, pulling me into a hug.
I’ve learned not to fight this. I stand rigid until he releases me again then pierce him with a stare. His eyes meet mine and he winks. For a moment, I wonder how it would feel to have his eyeball speared by one of my horns, but then I shrug and move back in to the tunnels
He follows, still talking. “Kinda like Animal Crackers, but more brutal, you know?”
No. I don’t.
An ancient magic fills my bones as I walk through the stagnant air.
I have not been able to shift in the Earth realm, but I feel the Minotaur is just below the surface. Maybe today.
I can’t tell if the dog-boy behind is experiencing the same thing as I, but if he cannot shift, at least he has human strength.
After several more turns I raise my hand and signal a stop. The foundation of Electus tower is in front of us.
Through seventy feet of basalt mixed with clay.
“Whatcha thinking, Bully?”
I study the rocks.
“We going to Andy Dufresne our way in?” the hound asks. “Because we’ll need something more pokey than a rock hammer, though if a sexy poster of Sparkle Princess was on the other side, that would be a great motivator.”
