me with more hope than I had been filled with in a long time. “So is it reasonable to assume that I’m to blame for the lack of exits in this place.”
“It is. You’ve been so complacent and contented with your gradual decline into immorality that you haven’t wanted a way out. The exit has always been there if you wanted it badly enough.’
“I want it,” I said. “I do.”
“Then prove it. The only way to do that is to make the exit appear. If it‘s there, all you have to do is walk out, never to set foot in this place again. If it‘s not there, then you aren’t truly ready for it. Remember you can stumble around in darkness as long as you‘d like. It‘s up to you to find your way out of here.”
“I’ve got to truly want to give up my old life and start anew.”
“You will die in this place one way or another.”
“Yes, he will.”
Asterion’s voice was more imposing than it had ever been before. This wasn’t the helpful, stoic creature that had watched me defeat Cerberus. Asterion was bloodthirsty now, and I was the source of his discontent.
“I thought you were just overseeing the festivities here. I didn’t realize you were one of the tests.”
“I’m the ultimate test.”
“I don’t understand.”
Connie spoke up. “You should run now.”
“I’ll give you five seconds head start,” the minotaur said. “Then I will come to kill you. For what it’s worth, Darrell Gene Rankin is with Amy and Judith in your house even as we speak. If you win, your family will live and Darrell Gene will be burdened to consider his misdeeds. If you lose, there’s no telling what he might do. Darrell Gene’s a very strong man, you know, and he‘s hated your family from the moment he saw you. The results, I expect, won‘t be pleasant.”
The thought of Darrell Gene in my house made me physically ill, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it aside from playing the game that the minotaur had laid out for me. Confused and frightened, I did the only thing I could do.
I ran toward the light at the end of what still seemed to be an impossibly long tunnel.
Chapter 26
I had a very familiar sensation of déjà vu as I tried to escape the minotaur’s wrath. I heard him chasing me, snorting and bellowing like a wild animal caught in a trap. As I rounded a corner, I realized those sounds were actually coming from me.
“Can’t you help me, Connie?” I gasped for air
“I really shouldn’t.” Her voice came at me from a hundred different directions. “This is your test.”
“Yes, you should! I think I’ve made it abundantly clear that I want to change my ways. I’ve endured test after test and lived to tell about them. I’ve wept. I’ve ached. I’ve fallen to my knees and prayed a prayer that was sincere enough to make a dog named Midnight manifest to help me. Cut me some slack here.”
Connie didn’t answer right away. The maze, it seemed, was pondering my request.
“When the passageway forks up ahead, go left. Asterion knows the true purpose of this place, but sometimes he forgets and lapses back into old behaviors. No doubt he’s remembering the days when humans were fed to him as offerings.”
“He wants to eat me?”
“Just your sins.”
“So why wouldn’t I let him? That’s the whole point of this exercise.”
“He would have to eat his way through your ribcage to get to your soul. You probably wouldn’t live more than ten seconds after that.”
“That’s a good enough reason for me.” I took the left hand path as I’d been directed.
At this point, I was running just as hard and as fast as my legs would carry me. I almost didn’t stop in time to avoid falling into the pool.
“Whoa!” I stopped to catch my breath. “You didn’t warn me about this.”
This was actually an underground cavern of some sort that had its own private lake.
“Immerse yourself. You can hide in there. It‘s the only way.”
It was only as I jumped in that I realized something was wrong. The water wasn’t cold like it should have been. It was tepid, and thicker than any water had a right to be. It was like I was swimming in a reservoir of motor oil, but that wasn’t exactly right either. The smell was wrong. This place had the stench of open cuts and emergency rooms.
“Blood!” I dog-paddled to stay afloat.