It’s like he’s speaking in another language.
Tilting my head from one side to the other, my neck cracks. No more pointless talking, we need to begin this task.
Stretching my arm, I realize my limb is no longer human.
In place of skin is thick, pale hide, and my hands are now vast. Each digit ends with a curved flint-gray claw.
I’ve half-shifted—without even being aware.
Dig.
Yes. Thank you, minotaur. This will make this task much easier.
“Whoa!” Maximus shakes his hands in front of my face. “How’d you do that?”
I turn my back on him and lay my claws against the surface.
They easily tear through the rock .
I carve out a huge mass of detritus, and without looking, fling it over my shoulder and up the tunnel. I repeat this action many, many times.
As I work, the pull of my claws against the basalt becomes a heartbeat. It’s ancient labor, which our kind has performed since the first labyrinth was carved into the bones of the earth.
But as the smell of wet clay and old minerals fills my nostrils, something else fills my mind.
Pink water.
The phrase given to the Bloomhowers by the girl.
Pink water.
The words ripple the depths of my consciousness.
The Minotaur inside me stirs, low and uneasy.
What is it?
I freeze, a massive slab still gripped in my claws.
A flat endless stretch of water, as pink as the candy I’m only rarely allowed. Why is that image in my brain?
I see it through dirty glass. A small blurred snapshot as a vehicle moves at speed.
With me inside. I’m cold and afraid.
Someone is crying. “I want my mommy.”
I too want my mother. Where is she?
It’s so cold.
The pink water is still there. It seems to stretch into the horizon.
“Quiet!” An angry voice silences the murmurs of all the children in the van. “Whiny brats. Don’t get paid enough for this shit.”
My mother says she doesn’t get paid enough. That’s why candy is such a seldom treat. I’d forgo all the sweets in the world to be back with her. I don’t like these rough, angry men. Where are they taking us?
"You okay, Bully?" Maximus’s voice interrupts the memory. "You’ve been on pause for like ten minutes now.”
