An Immortal's Pain by Auburn Tempest & Michael Anderle

Author:Auburn Tempest & Michael Anderle [Tempest, Auburn & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781649716958
Amazon: B08XMZMFQZ
Goodreads: 57389298
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2021-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

I shrug the cloth satchel Yaya prepared for me off my back and untie the ribbon holding things closed. The trial scroll is at the top, so I retrieve it, unroll it, and read aloud.

“Trial of the Labyrinth: While the Minotaur of legend is long dead at the hands of Theseus, in the past centuries, many dangerous creatures have made the labyrinth their home. The first stage of your trial is to navigate the maze within, evading capture and death, to find the garden of the dead at its core.

“There, you will find the rare Titan Arum. While the plant smells like the rot of death, the oil it excretes is the first prize for your quest. Collect the oil of the Corpse Flower without disturbing the plant, and escape the maze.”

I roll up the scroll and hand it to Nikon. “Get to the center, collect the oil of the stinky flower, and get back. Got it.”

Nikon takes the scroll and frowns. “Don’t forget the ‘evading capture and death’ part. That was important too.”

“True story.” I pat my chest and Bruin joins me.

After tying up the satchel's ribbon, I sling it on my back and get ready to leave. “You ready, Freddie?” I ask Calum.

“I was born ready and just got better.”

“Here, take this.” Dionysus slips a silver flask into my bag and winks. “Where would you be without me?”

I chuckle. “I doubt I’ll be taking the time to get my buzz on, but thanks.”

Dionysus winks again. “I was thinking more about what you’re going to collect the oil in to bring it back.”

“Oh, good catch, dude.”

He gestures at himself. “More than a pretty face and godly endowment, right?”

I roll my eyes. “Am I ever going to live that down?”

He grins. “Likely not.”

“On that note.” I lean in and hug Nikon and Kevin.

“Go, team,” Kevin says. “Love you both.”

“Love you too.”

“Take care of them, Bear,” Nikon says. “I’m counting on you, big guy.”

I pat my chest where my bear is fluttering around. “We’ll all take care of each other. Don’t panic, Greek. S’all good.”

Nikon nods. “Hells yeah, it is. Knock ’em dead, kids.”

With that as our send-off, we step into the labyrinth’s entry and wait a moment for my fae night vision to kick in. “Tough as Bark .”

With my body armor activated, I step deeper into the first hall. “Many dangerous creatures, eh?”

Calum chuckles. “Let’s get in and out as quickly as we can and meet up with as few of those as possible.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“How do you think we should navigate in here?”

“When I thought it was a shrub maze, I figured we’d send Bruin to scout ahead. Now I’m not so sure.”

No. I don’t like the idea of leavin’ ye.

“Agreed. Until we get a sense of what’s down here, I say we stay together.”

Before I step out of the pool of light cast inside the entrance, I reach out with my gifts to see if I can get a sense of the creatures within. If

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