Labyrinthum

Fear.

It consumed her. Her head was foggy with it, she could taste it on her tongue, feel it course through her veins like a poison. It was a living, breathing, wild thing clawing away inside her chest. And she knew with certainty this was her real test - to conquer her fear. To wrestle it - somehow - into submission and survive.

The sickly sweet scent that accompanied the labyrinth guardians wafted around her making her heart stop again. Surina slowly peeled herself away from the wall she had plastered herself against to look down the maze hallways. They were empty for now but she had to move, the wraiths were gaining on her. Taking a steadying breath, she tried to focus on the tiny pleasant pull in her belly and not the beehive of fear in her mind, before following that pull further into the maze.

Her task was simple: retrieve the book enchanted to call to her from the archives. Simple, except the archives were a cursed labyrinth that also served as a grave for failures. Oh, and its guardians were terrifying wraith creatures whose sole mission was to eliminate any and all intruders. She, as well as the other graduating students in her class, were equipped with a charmed satchel that was to protect her tome once she retrieved it and a blessed knife and set loose into the maze with their objectives. She had already heard one blood curdling scream from a fellow student she didn’t think made it.

Surina allowed her hand to loosely trail along the wall as she moved swiftly, her fingers grazing over leather, wood, and stone. The tall walls of the archives were lined with sporadic alcoves of bookshelves. Had she been here under any other circumstances she would have paused to admire their beautiful weathered spines, maybe plucked one or two off the shelf to glean their ancient knowledge. It was almost cruel she barely spared them a glance now.

At a crossroads, she bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes scanning each path. The tug in her abdomen pulled her to the right, but the hairs on the back of her neck had started to rise. Eyes on the swivel, Surina took small sniffs of the air looking for the syrupy smell of the monsters but could detect nothing. Feeling a bit more at ease, she turned to head down the path to the right and came face to face with a wraith.

Letting out a yelp she stumbled back just in time to avoid a swipe from its clawed hand. The creature let out a whispered shriek that had her flinching and fumble to remove her sheathed knife quickly. It was a horrendous monster that was almost mist-like in form, with sunken skin stretched tight over jagged bones, draped in tattered red robes. It was a thing of nightmares and seeing it turn its hollow sockets for eyes on her made all that fear sink heavily in her gut. As it started to advance on her, her instincts screamed at her to move but she was frozen. Locked in its horrible gaze, Surina felt dread like she had never known as she slowly backed away. The cloying odor that was absent before was so pungent now she choked on it. This was it, this was how she was going to die. After everything she had been through, it was all going to end by being gutted and devoured in the archives she had worked her whole life to get to.

On her next retreating step, her foot gave out beneath her - something slick and sharp sent her crashing to the ground. Pain bloomed. She blinked, dazed, and saw them: bones, brittle and broken, scattered at her feet.

No. No! She would not let this be her end. Not like the poor soul who had fallen before her. Launching herself up she swung her knife and lashed out at the wraith in one motion. Surprising herself, her knife sliced through the robes and she felt the resistance as her blade went deeper and cut through its papery skin. A scream like rusted chains being dragged over glass ripped from the creature as it shrank away from her attack before disappearing into the walls.

Panting, she allowed herself a single breath to steady her nerves. The next time she faced a guardian, she knew, luck alone wouldn’t save her—blessed knife or not.

Surina moved at a clipped pace, rounding turn after turn as she followed the invisible thread pulling her deeper into the maze. Gods, how much further was it? As if manifested by her thoughts, the next corner she rounded opened into a vast rotunda with the largest collection of books she had seen yet. There were ladders built into the walls that went all the way to the high ceiling and the glow-lights fluttered around the space like fairies. It was magical.

Sighing, she pulled herself out of her awe-struck trance and restarted her search. The flutter in her belly was dancing a happy jig so she knew her tome was among these shelves. Quickly she began a visual sweep of each row, flitting around the base of the shelves as she searched. She could hear the shrieks of the wraiths echoing in the distance, and her heart stuttered.

Suddenly, like a beacon, she saw a golden shimmer about half way up the shelf she was in front of. With a grin, she sheathed her knife and began climbing the nearest ladder. The rich aroma of paper, leather, and wood filled her nose as she inhaled deeply, trying to replace the memory of the scent of the wraiths, reminding herself why she was on this crusade. Knowledge, in its magnificent beauty, was the most dangerous weapon and most sacred treasure - and if she passed this test she would join those given the title Labyrinthus Custos and the high honor of overseeing the archives and everything they held within.

As she reached the row she needed, she reached over to carefully pluck the large brown book off of the shelf and was immediately filled with the warmth of the enchantment. Her fingers tingled with her success and she began to carefully tuck her prize into the satchel across her chest. Fastening the buttons, she was startled as another student burst frantically into the alcove from another path. Looking down at the boy she didn’t know she realized quickly a wraith was hot on his heels and he didn’t appear to have his weapon out. Shit. Making sure her bag was secure she gripped the sides of the ladder and allowed herself to slide down quickly, pivoting to face the unfolding chaos in the chamber.

With the wraith’s back to her, she was able to catch the eye of the student, pale with horror, and wave her knife in a silent question to him. Arms out to his side uselessly he only shook his head in answer - he didn’t have his weapon. Double shit. Upon further study she also noticed his pant leg was stained red and his weight was shifted onto his other leg. Injured, too, then. He was a goner, a lost cause, and they both knew it, if the look on his face was any indicator. If she knew what was best for her, she would use the wraith’s distraction to her advantage to flee, escape the archives with her tome and leave the boy to his fate.

Alas, Surina had never done what was best for her.

Quickly and quietly, she inched toward the stalking beast. It was so focused on the retreating boy it didn’t sense her approach. Just as it drew its gnarled hand back to strike, she plunged her knife into its back and held on with gritted teeth. Its smell turned acrid immediately as it wailed, thrashing under her blade. A searing pain began to spread over her palm as it heated in her grip but she held on. Right before the pain was too much for her to bear, the wraith burst into a plume of dark smoke. Surina had to catch herself from falling from her momentum, but she righted herself and turned to the boy who was staring slack-jawed.

“Let’s go,” she barked, snapping him out of it.

He looked up at the shelves, turning until he pointed. “My book!”

More shrieks pierced the air at that moment, far closer than she felt comfortable with. They both startled and froze, eyes darting towards every path that led into the chamber. After a breath, she looked back at him and shouted in a whisper, “Get it, now!”

There weren’t many rules in their test for them to follow, but the cardinal one was that they and they alone could retrieve their item. Surina followed the student to his section and took a defensive position at the base of the ladder as he hobbled his way up slowly. Too slowly. The panic that had ebbed was back in full force as she waited, knife gripped tightly in her singed hand. Having nothing else to do as she waited, she worked to compartmentalize her pain. Blessedly, he returned shortly and without incident. He patted his satchel and flashed her a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes - but the edge of her mouth betrayed a twitch. Together they turned toward the path they knew led out of the maze, the enchantments on their books now pulling them toward the exit. His injury must have been bad as his limp was pretty severe - she shuddered as she imagined the damage that must have been dealt.

As they reached the turn out of the rotunda, chills raced down her spine as she was slammed with the smell of burning sugar. Wraiths, a half dozen at least, flooded into the room from every other entrance, their red robes trailing like blood behind them. Their hollow faces twisted in unison, drawn toward the stolen knowledge they now possessed. “Oh my gods…,” he whispered.

“Run!” She wrapped her arm around his waist to help pull him along as they began sprinting. The invisible enchantment tugged at her chest like a lifeline, guiding them through the winding halls as the screams closed in behind them. Her legs pumped, her lungs burned, and her hand throbbed.Her classmate weighed heavy against her, but she knew he was just as terrified of falling behind as she was.

Rounding another turn, the large arched entrance to the labyrinth loomed in front of them - it was a straight shot now. They both let out small cries of relief as they pushed themselves harder, seeing a dozen of their classmates who had already completed their trial on the other side of the warded archway cheering them on. Go. Go. Go, she chanted to herself. Wisps of cold tickled the back of her neck and she spared a brief glance over her shoulder to see one of the ghouls mere feet behind her. Without a second thought she flung her blessed knife behind her, flinching when she struck true and it cried out. It bought them just enough time for the final push and they flung themselves over the threshold and into the main library.

Celebratory praises and applause rang out around her as she lay on the ground breathing heavily, staring up at the ceiling. A few classmates rushed to her wounded companion, who gave her a genuine smile and a grateful nod before they helped him away. Surina registered that someone was speaking to her, but she couldn’t process the words. Through the archway, she watched the wraiths dissolve into shadow - no longer hunters, no longer a threat. Something new began to bloom inside her, heavy in her bones yet light in her chest, like warmth and static fused together. It was more than pride. More than relief. She let herself marinate in this new feeling as a beaming smile broke across her face.

Elation