My Merlin Awakening (37 page)

My body went hot and then cold. I knew what he was asking. We’d been dancing around it for months. Everything inside me yearned to say yes… to anything… to everything, but I also wanted more. Much more. I put two hands on either side of his face. Warm palms flat against icy cheeks. “That’s not a choice.”

“It was.” With an unreadable expression, he let his hand fall from the clasp. “I have my answer.”

He took off his tunic.

Firelight danced across his naked chest. My eyes went immediately to the puckered scar just above his heart. It no longer looked faded. Green veins crisscrossed over it. The veins radiated out from the scar and extended over most of Vane’s chest.

My stomach twisted. Matt had been right. I should have confronted Vane long before now. I touched the scar with the tips of my fingers. “What’s happened to you?”

“I don’t know. Ever since Lelex tried to convert me, it’s as if something woke up inside.”

“Lelex?” I glanced at the metal still tucked under him. Without thinking about it, I picked up Excalibur. “Or the trident?”

Vane took my hand and put it flat against his chest. Excalibur warmed. I saw an endless darkness. Worse than the limbo I’d been in once before, this abyss held not even a vestige of light. A sound drew my attention and jerked me toward the darkness of the maze. In its depth, I heard the Minotaur laugh. I blinked, bringing myself back to reality. Vane teetered on the edge and I knew it.

“We have to tell Matt.”

“No.” Vane’s eyes burned with green fire. “Whatever this is, it does not belong to Merlin.”

“Vane, whatever this is, it’s not good,” I said. “Matt can help.”

“No, this has chosen
me
.”

I frowned. “You can’t actually want this.”

“It’s making me stronger. I can feel my powers getting stronger.” Vane caught my shoulders. “Soon I can pry you from his grasp.”

I rested both hands against his chest. “You don’t need to pry me. You don’t need to be stronger. You’re strong enough.”

“Then tell me you want me. Make me believe it.”

I was sitting in his lap. Did he really think I didn’t want him? My brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

Vulnerability flashed in hungry hazel irises. “Promise me you won’t tell Merlin about the scar and I will believe you. Choose me.”

My breath caught in my throat. It was the second time he’d asked. Choose him. It wasn’t just a question. It was a request for a commitment. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t.

The scar, the green veins, a web of darkness across his chest strangled his heart as it spread down to the navel digging deep into him. No matter what he said, I couldn’t ignore the truth in front of me. Ironically, just as he’d healed the bruises on my neck, I now truly felt their sting. I knew what they meant. Despite what he thought, the mermaids had a hold of him, not the other way around. I couldn’t choose him.

Vane read the response in my face. His head bowed.

I slid out of his lap. I sat on the ground facing him, our knees touching. My fingers tangled in dark soft hair. “Vane, don’t do this. Let me help—”

“Don’t.” His head jerked up. Eyes flashing green again. The tiger snarled. “The pathetic part of this is—I always knew your answer. I just hoped I was wrong.”

He moved into a crouching position and reached for the trident. I moved quickly too. I picked up Excalibur and pinned the trident in place on the ground.

“No,” I said.

He laughed. “When you make a choice, you really make it.”

“Let the trident go, Vane. It’s poisoning you,” I said evenly.

His hand tightened onto the metal stick. “Do you think you can win against me?”

“You know I can. You’ve spent the past month making sure I was well trained.”

Vane released the trident.

I grabbed it with my free hand and he blasted me with magic.

I didn’t have time to raise Excalibur to block it and without the amulet for protection, the spell worked instantly. I froze at an awkward angle. My eyes remained open. I couldn’t move. He’d shot me with a paralyzing spell. Vane adjusted me so I lay on my back, albeit still in pretzel shape.

Fingers pushed back the hair that fell over my face. “Hunt the wizard if you dare, Dorothy. It’s time look behind the curtain.”

He pried the trident from my fingers and stood. Then, my boyfriend walked into the darkness of the maze.

***

Blake found me. Unable to break Vane’s spell, he ran to get Matt. Matt’s magic remained fairly weak so it took a combination of him and the other wizards to finally release me. All the commotion had woken Grey and the gargoyles.

“What were you thinking?” Matt paced back and forth in front of a long hedge and yelled at me. “Why didn’t you tell me about your suspicions? Why did you take off the amulet?”

“I didn’t know!” I rubbed the stiff muscles on my arms. They tingled painfully from a lack of proper blood flow. And I was cold. Vane had left me wearing only the bikini. I’d gotten several speculative looks at the state of my undress. Matt’s expression reminded me of someone who’d eaten a sour lemon.

He stomped up to peer down at me. “Didn’t you know about the scar? The trident? What exactly didn’t you know?”

“I didn’t know he was going to run off. I didn’t know he was going to ask me… never mind.” I wasn’t about to tell Matt that I’d turned down sex… and more… something infinitely more fragile. My insides churned with unexpected guilt. I’d been right, but it didn’t feel right. So I sprang up and shouted at Matt instead. “Why didn’t you know? You’re his brother. You’re the all powerful wizard.”

His nostrils flared. “I can’t know everything and I’m hardly all powerful at the moment.”

“That much is obvious,” I retorted.

Matt’s eyes flickered momentarily with hurt. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. I was on a roll. Who did I want to kick in the teeth next?

“What do you think he’s doing?” Blake asked.

He and the others sat gathered around the fire. They’d been watching us go at it without a word until now.

“He’s going to the center of the maze,” I said. “There’s something here. It’s calling us both.”

“The Minotaur?” Matt said.

“I think I see it because of Excalibur, while the trident is leading Vane.” I stared off into the opening of the maze. “It’s at the center. It must be.”

“Then, that’s where we go too. Gather up. We’ll head out in a few minutes. With any luck, we’ll make it to the center before Vane.” Matt glanced at Grey. “He doesn’t have a map.”

Grey looked up from the fire. “I’m not sure he needs one. I noticed when we walked here, he seemed to know that path before you picked it out on the map.”

Matt threw up his hands. “And you didn’t think to mention this before?”

“I didn’t know he was going to do a crazy Tarzan on us,” Grey retorted.

“Coming from the one who’s turning into a gargoyle,” Blake said.

Grey growled. “Shut up, Emerson.”

Colin said, “Should we take a different path than you’ve plotted since he’s seen it? I noticed you marked out the shortest route, but there are multiple ways to get to it.”

Matt said, “No, let’s not lose focus. Whatever is at the center is most important.”

I bent down and picked up my amulet. I put it back around my neck. The albatross hung on me again. “Do you hear yourself? And you wonder why I didn’t tell you about Vane.”

Matt ground his teeth. “I’m doing what is best for everyone. Not just for one person.”

I looked at him.
Maybe that’s the problem.

A rustle sounded from beyond the hedge. All our heads jerked to look at the spot. Gia rounded the corner and came into the concealed area. She frowned at us. “What is going on? Why do you all look so depressed?” Her gaze zeroed in on me. Whatever she read in my expression caused her to put a hand to her mouth. “Did someone die?”

Blake let out a laugh that bordered on hysterical. “It’s much worse than that.”

I flinched.

***

My legs were going to fall off. My head hurt worse, hungover from lack of sleep. We’d left the clearing without delay. I yawned for the umpteenth time. I forced myself to climb another rocky path inside the black walls of the maze. Nothing stretched out before us. Nothing fell behind us. We saw only inside the bubbles of light that a few small floating fireballs afforded us.

We moved along, what was left of the group—Matt, Blake, Gia, Grey, Colin, two gargoyles, and two wizards. The last vestiges of the band that originally left the boat. After a little more than two weeks on mermaid island, our numbers were thin.

Matt led us, but Vane remained a tangible presence among the group. At one point, I got so tired, I caught myself standing in a spot, but still felt as if I were moving. I wasn’t the only one it happened to. Matt made us hold hands after that.

Gia held mine tightly. Blake hung onto hers. Grey and the gargoyles, however, refused as did the two guardian wizards.

As soon as we neared the center, adrenaline started pumping inside me. The others perked up too. The passageway ended at a large opening. Another set of columns topped by a triangular slab of stone framed the exit. A sheen of green light shone beyond it.

Before we made it to the exit, Blake came to a sudden halt in front of me. “Wait. Shouldn’t we have a plan? Vane can kill us with his bare hands.”

“He won’t do that.” I paused. “I think.”

“We don’t have a choice.” Matt stalked past us and through the columns.

I was the next to follow. The center of the maze could have been part of the Parthenon. On top of a small hill sat a Grecian temple with perfectly symmetrical Doric columns. A triangular lintel adorned the top of the building. Unlike the Parthenon, this temple was in perfect condition.

“Look.” Matt pointed to the top. Intricate carvings in the marble showed different Olympians. “They seem to be in order. Zeus takes the center with Poseidon and Hades beside him.”

“I don’t understand. Why would the Olympians be here?” I said. “I thought we were looking for the Guides. The Lady.”

“The Lady
was
one of the Greeks. They are called gods for a reason.”

“Look at the top of the triangle,” Blake said. “Poseidon’s trident goes up to the center point. Inside the trident prongs—an eye and the crescent moon.”

“Why are we standing around?” Gia said. “Didn’t we come into this nightmare to see what’s inside?”

Swords in our hands, we went up the hill. A short set of marble steps led onto a veranda with the columns. A smaller door was inside. Matt instructed two of the gargoyles and the two wizards to stand guard at the columns. Meanwhile, Grey, Blake, Colin, and I went through the door. Blake floated a fireball to light the way. Matt came in last.

Torches hung on another rectangular set of columns that held up the roof inside.

“
Agni
,” Matt commanded.

A burst of wind blew around us and the torches flared to life. Four statues made a square in the middle.  I recognized Poseidon with the trident and the conch; and I knew Zeus from his lightning bolt. Hades was the third statue. The last statue on the front corner was a woman with a crown on her head. I didn’t recognize her.

“The red doors,” Blake pointed behind the statues. Another set of red doors like the one in the cavern and Lelex’s room stood framed against the far wall behind the statues. The door stood out. The rest of temple had classical Greek architecture, except it. It seemed Old English.

“There is no golden bull on the door,” I said.

“Meaning we don’t know how to open it,” Blake said.

“Then, there’s only one way in or out.” Colin inclined his head at the door we came in. The walls all around us were solid. No other windows or openings existed.

I walked up to the statues. Inside the square, the floor revealed another pit. Unlike the Aegae pit, this one extended only one level deep and couldn’t have been more than twenty feet across.

“I see the bull.” I pointed the others to the bottom of the pit. A Minotaur had been painted in red into the marble. A mask of gold had been laid over its face. Two emeralds gleamed from its eye sockets. “It’s the Minotaur.”

“Just like Lelex’s crown,” I said.

“Wait, I see something.” Blake jumped down into the pit.

“Blake,” Gia cried.

He squinted up at her through a pair of dented glasses.

“Don’t die,” she finished lamely.

A pleased smile lit up his thin face. “I don’t plan to.”

Gia smiled back.

I smiled, my heart easing a bit at the sight of their happiness.

“Please,”
Matt muttered inside my head.

“Scrooge,”
I told him.

“There’s a ring of columns embedded into the walls,” Blake called out. “What do you think that means?”

“Nothing good,” I said.

“A ceremonial stage,” Matt answered.

Beside me, Gia nodded. Grey and Colin jumped down into the pit. Matt followed. Gia and I looked at each other.