Alexia Purdy - The Cursed Labyrinth (Accursed Archangels #2)

The CursedLabyrinth

Accursed Archangels Book2

By

Alexia Purdy

The CursedLabyrinth

Accursed Archangels#2

A Dark Urban Fantasy ofMagic and Realms

Copyright March 2018Alexia Purdy

All rightsreserved

Chapter One

The ground dug into hercheek, cold and damp with rain. It smelled of earth and tasted likeburnt toffee on her tongue. Sweet, yet thick and sticky. Had sheblacked out somewhere in the middle of Central Park? Or maybe evena graveyard, perhaps? In her line of work, anything waspossible.

Blinking, Thalia Brennanpeered about, assessing the world around her with unabashedinterest. Immediately, her heart fluttered at the sight of a darkcrimson sky streaked with heavy, water-laden clouds. Streams oflight emanated from the land, marring the sky. The hollow screechesof creatures filled her mind with terror as her vision cleared.They flew far above, eyeing her like a snack, their swooping bodiestoo large to fit between the walls of the labyrinth. This was nothome. It wasnt anything near Central Park or even the sameuniverse, for that matter. Shed fallen down a rabbit hole so deepthat there was a sun shining the wrong color, and the earthen mudsquishing between her fingers wasnt quite made of the same stuffas it was back home.

Tall, overbearing,hedge-like walls rose up on either side of her, and wild vegetationwas strewn across the path. Undulating vines dangled down liketentacles, waiting for her to wander just a bit too close so theycould snag her. The land breathed in and out as though it werealive, but it remained hollow and desolate, longunattended.

This place a lostwonderland twisted up in its own insanity.

Isao! Thalia called out,her confusion not letting her think. She rubbed down her face andbody, caked dirt flaking off as she dusted her clothes. She stillwore her leather jacket but was missing her sword. A quick scanrevealed it gleaming in the odd red light, half buried in blackdirt where it had landed. She reached out, her muscles screamingfrom a deep ache shed known only when she drained her energy andrequired a recharge. Stuffing it into its sheath, she felt aroundfor her backpack. It was also missing. She flicked her eyes around,but it was nowhere in sight.

Where am I?

The moment the words lefther lips, she knew where she was. The Skein Realm was nothing likeshed imagined. The blood-red sky and oily black earth were a farcry from Earths appearance. The iron-laden dirt reeked of a sweet,metallic scent, staining her palms and jeans a deep orange-red sodark it looked like dried blood. She pushed off the ground andgrimaced, pain shooting up her right leg. She immediately crumbled,a throbbing ache distracting her as she pressed on the swollenflesh of her ankle, breathing sharp, quick breaths through hermouth as the pain washed over her.

This wasnt happening.Injured in a foreign place like this? Just great.

No, no. Worst timing ever,she muttered, groaning in disappointment as she yanked up the legof her jeans and tugged her sock down to assess the damage. Itwasnt broken; she could still walk on it. The bruising told hershed sprained it badly and would have to take care to not injureit further.

Perfect , she thought. She needed the damn backpack for a medicalbandage to wrap it and keep it reinforced. She scanned thesurrounding ground once more until she spotted her bag shoved intoa hole beneath the hedge wall surrounding the pathway. There, twoprairie dog-like creatures hovered over it. They looked mutatedlarger than one would be back home. Their dark fur gleamed slickwith oil edged with the dark red dirt. Their marbled brown eyeslooked rabid, and their front teeth hung jagged andchipped.

Hey! Get away from that!She tugged at her sword, swung it through the air then repeatedlyslammed the flat side against the ground. The noise startled thebeasts, causing them to edge back, hissing, but they held fast tothe crackers they had in their tiny but sharp talons.

Get away! She threw hersword at them, and they scattered, flying into the hedges as theysquealed in fear. At least they were afraid of larger creatures.They could do damage to her if they knew the state she was in. Shescrambled over to the pack, limping and cursing beneath her breathfor having to move her ankle. It shot hot liquid agony up her calfand thigh, but she ignored it as best she could. Tugging the bagout, she found it open and the contents strewn across the ground inthe indentation.

A few protein bars weremissing, and one had a large bite from it, wrapper and all.Flipping the bar over in her fingers, she noted the teeth marks.They looked larger than the mutant prairie dogs teeth. Perhapsanother visitor? She hoped it didnt return for more. Inhalingsharply, she gave her surroundings another thorough survey beforestuffing her things back into the pack and pulling out an Acebandage.

After securing her anklewith the bandage, she strapped on the backpack once more, this timetightening the chest strap in case she was again catapulted intoanother dimension. She held out her sword, afraid of running intoanything out of the ordinary in this treacherous place. The animalcalls echoed all around, ominous at best.

This wasnt New York Cityanymore. Hell, it wasnt even Kansas.

Hello? she called outthinly, not wanting to attract anything large or possessingsharpened teeth. Ereziel? Isao? Are you here?

She swept the ground in caseanything popped out to catch her unawares. The hedges stood talland were anchored to even larger masonry walls. The pathway betweenthe walls was wide enough that someone could build a decently sizedsingle-family home in it. Her entire studio apartment could fit init. A longing to return home hit her like a sledgehammer, but shebreathed in deeply, shoving it away before her fear got the best ofher.

She was supposed to havearrived here with Isao. This wasnt starting out as theyd planned.Somehow, Ereziel had grabbed onto them both but had let go toosoon, flinging all three of them in different directions. Theycould be miles from here or nearby. She might never find where theyhad landed, a thought that dug its talons in with a deep-seatedfear and refused to let go.

Finding nothing of interest,she peered down both sides of the path, wondering which way sheshould take. On her right, the path appeared to go on forever,disappearing into the horizon. On her left, it took a sharp rightturn and wound deeper into the unknown of the labyrinth.

Which way? she mumbled,her voice soft and uncertain. She doubted anything was near enoughto hear her, but she couldnt be too careful. She sighed and turnedtoward the left, hoping it was the right direction. Glancing up,she noted the bright spotlight of a beacon burning into the crimsonof the sky. It was one of many, most so far away that the light wasbut a streak in the sky. Beacons were lights given off by wraiths.That meant there had to be some sort of settlement near them. Isaohad told her as much. Maybe she should head toward the nearest one?She hoped it would be safer than remaining in the labyrinth. Atleast she could check it out and see if anyone had seen Isao orEreziel.

Off to see the wizard wego, she mumbled to herself, limping forward, sword in hand andheart in her throat. If only this was the Land of Oz and she couldtap her shoes three times to return home. If only.

Chapter Two

The sound of cackling echoednearby, but it was hard to pinpoint from which direction it hadcome. Thalia turned in a circle, trying to find the exact location.Sounds inexplicably bounced off the hedge walls, echoing andresonating enough to confuse her. Why did that happen? The hedgesshould have absorbed sound. She was already lost and in no way anycloser to the nearest beacon.

Laughing. A murmur ofspeech. More spine-tingling giggles. Thalia cocked her head to theside, listening, but she could not make out anything coherent. Shesighed, rubbing her eyes and wondering if she should just give up,sit, and have a snack. Who knew when the next meal would be comingaround? All she had were some water bottles and what was left ofthe protein bars shed stuffed into her pack along with an extraset of clothes and some scant medical supplies. Isao had beencarrying most of the food. So far, the lack of forage in the hedgemaze was very apparent.