The Hidden Pathway
We hurried back to my home to gather a few things before entering the Labyrinth.
Giselle came with us, unfortunately. I didn't want her anywhere near me, but we needed her, and that annoyed me even more.
When we reached my shack and got prepared, Doya opened the portal with a single sweep of his hand. The air split open in a swirl of blue light, and we stepped through, Bali included. I wasn't leaving my horse behind for anything.
We landed on an open field under a bright, warm sun. I felt that familiar peace that my dreams in this world always carried, but the storm raging inside me refused to let me embrace it.
"Where do we go from here?" I asked.
"Let's go to my temple," Doya said softly. "We can get help there."
"No. I don't need help. I can handle Jephas myself, I just need direction."
Giselle cringed at the sound of his name. I shot her a glare before pulling Jephas' talisman from my bag.
"We can use this for the locator spell. Since he's here in the Labyrinth, it should work."
"Dana," Doya muttered, reaching for me. "You don't want to go after him alone. If he's with Balshak—"
"Good thing I didn't ask for your permission."
I walked away before he could hold me. Maybe it was rude. Maybe I didn't care. The anger inside me was louder than everything else and I was not willing to let go.
Doya and Giselle followed behind me. I had no idea where I was going but I moved anyway, letting rage pull me forward. Finally, Doya spoke again.
"Dana... please think about this. I don't want you making a mistake."
I stopped and looked straight at him.
"I can take care of myself."
I took Bali from him and climbed onto her back. I was not about to listen to whatever advice he believed he had for me. I hadn't come here for that. So I rode off. If he wouldn't help me, I would find Jephas myself.
Their faces flashed through my mind again, and there was this sharp sting in my heart. I wasn't healing.
I held onto Bali's reins tighter and pushed forward into the forest paths. After riding for some minutes, I found a small stream. I was thirsty and my thoughts were burning, so I got down and drank. My horse also drank.
The cold water really helped, until a rustle in the bushes came from behind me.
I froze.
My hand found the hilt of my sword as my heart pounded faster.
"Gods… why did I leave without Doya?" I whispered to myself.
Then a huge brown bear stepped out of the bushes.
"Oh fuck me," I muttered under my breath.
The bear growled, stepping closer. I stood up immediately, walking back from it and slowly drawing out my sword, but before it reached me, an arrow struck its back.
I jumped at the sound, holding my sword in front of me. Someone else was here.
The bear roared in pain, still coming toward me. A second arrow hit it, deeper this time. The bear collapsed with a thud that shook the ground.
A guy who appeared to be in his mid-twenties stepped out of the trees, smiling as though this was perfectly normal.
"Oh! You found my bear."
He walked to the dying creature and knelt beside it. When its breath grew shallow, he whispered something, before ending its suffering with a single stroke of his knife to its throat.
I looked away, disgust twisting in my stomach.
"You lost out here?" he asked.
I didn't answer. I was not about to talk to a stranger, especially one who killed bears like it was nothing.
I just got on Bali and rode off.
---
Night fell and the forest had darkened. I rode for hours and still had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. I started to regret why I had left Doya. I had missed him.
I stopped to set up camp. My hands shook as I gathered fallen branches so that I could make a fire. When it was set, I dug through my bag for Jephas' talisman. I didn't even know how to do a locator spell.
So I thought of Doya. I called on him the way I usually did. After a few moments, he appeared with Giselle by his side.
He ran straight to me.
"Oh gods, Dana… I was so worried."
My shoulders dropped with relief. "I know I messed up," I murmured. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I'm glad you're okay." He pulled me into a hug. "We were at the temple when you called me," he said, pulling away. "They want to see you. Come with me." He held my hands, gazing right into my eyes.
"No." I pulled my hands from his. "I don't want anything to do with being Koliasis." My voice cracked. "I don't want destiny. I just want revenge."
"Dana please... you're our only hope."
"I want to find Jephas."
I pulled out the talisman.
"Do the locator spell."
"Dana, your mind is clouded by—"
"Just do it." My voice broke. "Please."
He fell quiet, hurt flashing across his face.
"Fine. We'll do it in the morning."
Giselle didn't say a word. She just stayed a small distance away, watching us.
---
It was finally morning. Doya had set up the locator spell. The process took a while, and it seemed to have drawn a lot of power from him but he did it.
The talisman glowed faintly as his magic flowed through it, revealing the path we would take to find Jephas.
We walked for hours, following the rhythmic pulse that the talisman carried due to the spell. When we were on the right path, it pulsed, and when we were on the wrong path, it stopped. We stayed on the road till night came, so we rested and continued the next day.
At last, we came to a stop before a sheer cliff. A jagged dead-end, but the talisman still pulsed.
"He's here," Doya whispered with his face looking puzzled. "Legends spoke of this place, a hidden realm, invisible to the untrained eye and sealed by ancient magic."
No wonder Balshak was never found. He wasn't hiding in plain sight… he was hiding behind something only magic could reveal.
Doya stepped closer, studying the cliff.
"I remember a spell from the old stories."
He closed his eyes, then whispered:
"Helka galia halium sekaras."
Suddenly, the air rippled like water. A shimmering doorway slowly appeared, floating in front of the cliff.
My eyes went wide.
Jephas was on the other side.
Finally.
I found him.