Page 66 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

At that, Herrick frowned. “I am coming to save you, Zorina, and to free you from this monster once and for all.”

A low growl emanated from Caliban’s throat. “We’ll see about that. Choose your next door carefully, Huntsman. It may just be your end!”

Ignoring Caliban’s threat, Herrick entered yet another mirrored chamber, where he fought off a monstrous sized hornet. After that, he battled a giant boar with sharp fangs, a strange sort of shadow creature, and a troll.

The next room he entered, however, was completely pitch black.

Caliban laughed. “Ah, yes, this one is quite clever, if I do say so myself.”

Zorina heard the sound of chattering teeth along with Anala’s unhappy cries. “What did you do to him?” she demanded.

“Darkness and extreme cold. Will he survive it, I wonder?”

A chill spread over Zorina as if she were the one trapped in that horrible room.

Moments later, however, Herrick emerged through yet another door. Here, he faced a stone creature, its entire body made up of various sized rocks.

Once he dismantled it, he stepped through a mirror where a lizard monster waited. It leapt at him, jumping at an alarmingly fast speed while jabbing at him with a sharp spear. A few strategic slashes of his sword later, it lay dead on the floor.

Oddly enough, the next room seemed empty. Herrick carefully crept forward—until arrows shot at him from above. He quickly moved his shield to cover his head and dashed across the room with Anala still clinging to him.

And then he was back in the room with the hydra, which was very much not dead.

He swore under his breath, visibly steeling himself for the fight ahead. Running quickly, Herrick swung his sword to remove all the heads on his way to the next door of his choosing.

With any luck, he would not have to go through that room for a third time.

Several giant rats filled the next room, and a shiver ran down Zorina’s spine at the sight. Based on the frantic cries from Anala, she felt the same way. Herrick, however, maintained his stoicism and dispatched them easily.

No foes appeared in the next room, but the loud sound of stone rubbing against itself was disconcerting in its own way. Then Zorina noticed that the room was shrinking from above, its ceiling slowly pushing down on the room below.

“Herrick! Run! The ceiling will crush you!” she yelled.

Caliban roughly threw his hand over her mouth. “Quiet, you. Let him discover it all on his own.”

She bit him, and he quickly pulled his hand away in surprise. He ranted at her, but she ignored it as she watched Herrick dash for the door straight across from the one he’d entered.

When Herrick barged into the next room, Caliban frowned and whispered, “He’s getting far too close. Only one room away…but this one should be enough to stop him. Here, he will face his greatest foe—besides me, that is.”

Dread washed over her at his words. Despite all of Herrick’s achievements up to this point, would he be able to survive this next threat?

Chapter twenty

Bring Down the Chandelier

Herrick

Exhaustion fairly dripped from Herrick like the sweat had down his body in the first room of this accursed place. The cold room later had practically frozen that sweat to his frame. All of the battles of this labyrinth had challenged him to some degree or another, but the accumulation of fight after fight after fight had worn on him.

How close was he to the end? He’d chosen each door carefully, basing his navigation on what Zorina had told him previously. In the end, he’d only circled through one room twice—and of course it was the one with the blasted hydra. If his mental map of the place was accurate, they would have to pass through that same room yet again on their way out.

That realization sent a chill through his veins. What other horrors awaited them in this place?

He had to be close now. Right? Close to where the fiend Caliban held Zorina prisoner.

His first cursory glance around the current mirrored room revealed nothing. No foe, no trap. At further perusal, however, a tall shadow lurked across the expanse. Naturally, it stood guard against the very door he wished to go through. It was the same height as him, and appeared to be built the same as well.

When it stepped out of the shadows with glowing violet eyes, Herrick’s eyes bulged in shock and dismay. It was him, but a darker, more sinister version of himself. Instead of his true complexion, it had grayish skin, and its hair and beard were a stark black compared to his brown hue. It wore the same style of armor, but instead of silver and red, it was in black and purple.