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The Maze | Tia Fielding 2
HE
RAN. Faster than he’d run ever before in his life. Part of
his mind still couldn’t believe he was made to do this. But then, as he rounded a corner and took off to what he thought was west, he heard the cackle of the predator behind him. It didn’t leave much room for doubt. He had always known his grandmother, who had been a young girl when vampires and other supernaturals revealed themselves to the human world, had been right. Never, ever trust a supernatural. They toy with you, they use you, they’ll do anything to convince you, and then, then they take whatever they want. Micah ran, the cobblestones cold, wet and slippery under his bare feet. The coppery taste in his mouth, the pounding of his heartbeat filling his head, and the way his lungs seemed to operate at only half capacity told him he didn’t have much time left. The spectators—and he knew there were plenty—were either on top of the walls or in the air above the moonlit maze he was running. Once again he considered stopping; it might be easier to just let himself be caught by the predator, to be taken into pieces above the maze like others who had failed. But he was still his father’s son. His father who had figured it was much nicer that Micah was gay, not halfsupernatural like the neighbors’ son. Yeah, the supes didn’t always ask when they took human women. So the purple-
The Maze | Tia Fielding 3 eyed toddler, with claws for hands and a scaled ridge on top of his spine that formed into a lizard’s tail…. Yeah, liking cock wasn’t a big deal at that point. Micah snorted even now, when he had barely strength to move. He was tall, over six feet, and very, very skinny now that his former master—who had disguised himself as the boyfriend of Micah’s dreams—was done with him. He had lost more blood and more muscle tone because of the poor nutrition, so much that he was surprised his long, black hair was still intact. He looked malnourished, but he was still running because there was a way out of this. Actually, there were three. Hidden in the maze. If you found one, you were safe. At least for the next half an hour, because that was the time the supes would barter. Who would get the human, or sometimes the weaker supernatural being, who had outwitted the maze made by angels. Yes, literally. Suddenly he was skidding to a halt in the middle of a crossroads. The walls were maybe fifteen feet high, and the streets were ten feet wide. Cobblestone street, black brick walls. Very ominous. “Are you giving up, Micah?” the predator’s voice asked, spreading through the maze like there was a sound system installed. Micah knew better. “No,” he panted, and did quick math. He was coming into the crossroads from… let’s say west; he wasn’t sure, but say it was west. He felt like continuing east, and his next choice would’ve been south. So he took off again, north. What good had his instincts done him? He was sure they wouldn’t save him now.
The Maze | Tia Fielding 4 And so he ran, and he was sure there was an approving murmur somewhere above him, but he couldn’t care about that. Okay, what had he heard about the exits? Always on the inner walls, never on the outer. Never trust ladders, never trust doors. His eyes scaled what he thought was the inner wall on his right, and he kept running, his eyes peeled for it, even when his instinct told him otherwise. Suddenly his brain registered that there had been something on the wall, maybe ten steps in the direction he had come from. Again he slid and struggled for purchase, but turned around nonetheless, and went to look for what had made his brain twitch. At first there wasn’t anything, but then he noticed the little black ring of steel, way above his head. Fuck! Was this an exit? If it was, it was meant for someone seven feet tall! He knew this might be his only choice, the only possibility he could find for an exit before his strength ran out completely. He spotted a crate in the next crossroads and ran to get it. He couldn’t jump high enough, and if the predator who was making those lovely scratching sounds and cackling as it came closer caught him, then so be it. Getting the crate took too long, he knew, and when he placed it against the wall under the ring, he could hear the steps and the nails scraping the wall, already entering the same patch of street he was on. Carefully, in case the crate was rotten, he climbed up and reached his fingers toward the ring. The muscles in his legs were screaming at him to stop this nonsense. There was no reason to reach, to put them through this! His knees were
The Maze | Tia Fielding 5 shaking too, and when the wet metal evaded his fingertips, he growled angrily and jumped. The sound of the crate falling into pieces under his feet accompanied the sound of the predator stopping a few feet away. He waited for the pain that he knew was coming, but at the same time his falling weight was held by something, and he didn’t know what it was until his tired body and mind told him his fingers were clutched around metal. As the escape route’s steps, which were folded into the wall like one of those funky beds that opened from the wall, fell down, so did Micah. He passed out from exhaustion, never knowing if getting to the exit was enough, or if he should’ve gotten up the stairs as well.
Ramiel looked at his old friend Amosis, or Amos, as he was known now, two millennia after the two of them had first met. The vampire hadn’t aged a day, obviously, but neither had Ramiel. “But the rules say, the hunter kills him inside the maze and that’s it!” Amos insisted. “Yes, but the game and the rules were made by angels, as were the maze. It is up to me to decide whether he won or not. And someone had moved the crate. We do not tolerate foul play, Amosis.” Ramiel glared at the pale figure in dark red and black clothing. “You just want him for yourself, as you’ve always wanted what is mine!” the vampire snarled, taking a step toward the angel, who was standing near the windows of the
The Maze | Tia Fielding 6 only building that stood anywhere within ten miles of the maze. “I never wanted anything that is yours, my friend. Not before now. It’s all in your head, and I suggest you get over it right now.” The angel’s eyes were suddenly so piercing blue that the vampire could almost feel them boring into his own. “Right….” Amos snorted. Ramiel leaned out the window and let his voice carry to the hunter, who the humans called the predator. “He won. Bring him to me.” There was a sound of both cheers and disgruntled murmurs from below. Some had bet against the boy, but Ramiel never would’ve done that, were he a betting angel. Micah had always held more than most ever did: more promise, more hope, and certainly more wit. “In case someone is not happy with my decision, they are free to contact Gabriel.” Ramiel leaned back in, and the smile on his lips could’ve only been described as selfsatisfied. Gabriel would chew them a new one, or a few. The pompous ass of an angel thought he had better things to do, and the complainers would soon learn that. The chamber door opened, and the hunter crouched to get in from the seven foot tall door. She was a magnificent beast, what humans would call a humanoid of some sort, but nothing like even the angels had seen. One of a kind. In her arms was the body of the most beautiful human Ramiel had ever seen. One he wanted to own and to cherish.
The Maze | Tia Fielding 7 “Thank you, hunter,” he said, as the last female of her kind placed the human on the stone platform in the middle of the tower chamber. “You may go and hunt for yourself now.” The hunter let out a chilling little giggle, nodded to Ramiel, ignored Amos, and went away. “Was it worth it? Putting him through this just to get your hands on him?” Amos spat, looking at Micah’s nearly lifeless body on the stone slab. “Yes.” Ramiel nodded. “This was the only way. No one can contest this, and not even you can take your words, or him, back. Now go away.” The angel aimed his glacial gaze at the vampire. “Go away, you ungrateful, abusing scum.” Ramiel’s voice hadn’t gotten any louder, but suddenly it filled the chamber so that the little pieces of rubble fallen from the ceiling danced on the floor, and Micah whimpered into consciousness. Amos huffed, but he knew better. In a flash, the vampire had changed into his pompous white-tailed eagle form and flew out of the window. Ramiel took a step closer to the blinking green eyes of the human. “I… I won?” Micah croaked. He looked at the slender form of the familiar angel, one of Amos’s friends, in front of him. “Yes, yes you did, little one.” Ramiel’s voice was soothing, like balm to Micah’s tired body and soul.
The Maze | Tia Fielding 8 “What now?” The human struggled to sit up. “Now, you can choose. Either go on your own, or you can belong to me,” Ramiel said gently, not approaching Micah’s hunched form. “To you? Why?” The suspicion was evident in the question. “Because I can keep you safe, you can belong to me for as long as you want, and because I want you. I’ve wanted you since Amos took you. I am sorry I wasn’t here for the last years; had I known he was abusing you, I would’ve stepped in. Sadly, I didn’t see it before he brought you here tonight.” The angel’s eyes were full of such sorrow it took Micah’s breath away. Angels couldn’t lie. That much he knew of these creatures. That, and whomever they chose as their mate would live forever too. Angels were on the top of the supernatural pecking order, and they weren’t capable of cruelty to the ones they loved. So when the question bubbled into Micah’s green eyes, Ramiel barely nodded. “Yes, since the first moment I saw you, Micah,” the six and a half foot tall, slender yet lightly muscled angel said, looking strangely vulnerable for a change. Angels were perfect in appearance and in everything else. They had characteristics humans did, like envy and hedonism, but only those who were called dark angels were evil.
The Maze | Tia Fielding 9 “When you came into Amos’s house that one evening five years ago,” Micah said quietly, “I knew something about my future lay in you, Ramiel. I’ve thought about you ever since.” The angel looked hopeful, “Yes?” he asked. “Please, can you take me somewhere more comfortable, and maybe kiss me?” Micah grinned crookedly, raised a brow, and struggled to get to his feet. Ramiel looked amused, held out a hand, and pulled Micah close before stepping to the window. “Always,” the angel smirked. The strange lurch at the bottom of Micah’s stomach was either because of the step they took out of the window that was at least ten stories high, or because of the best kiss he’d ever had, one that would tie him forever to this wonderful, gorgeous being. Micah lost himself into the kiss, and let Ramiel’s wings carry them to wherever the angel wanted them to be. He was finally safe again.
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TIA FIELDING lives in a peaceful little town in a small country in northern Europe. She loves nature, her horses, cats, and even the yappy little thing that occasionally gets called a dog. Tia learned to read before she went to school at the age six and began writing as soon as she figured she had stories to tell around the mature age of seven. Stories about horses, adventures, and ghosts might have turned into hot GLBTQ romance, but she still has a wicked imagination and, hopefully, more stories to tell. Visit her at http://www.tiafielding.com and by Twitter @tiafielding.
The Maze ©Copyright Tia Fielding, 2011 Published by Dreamspinner Press 382 NE 191st Street #88329 Miami, FL 33179-3899 USA http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Cover Art by Anne Cain
[email protected] Cover Design by Mara McKennen This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. This eBook cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this eBook can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 382 NE 191st Street #88329 Miami, FL 33179-3899 USA http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/ Released in the United States of America October 2011 eBook Edition
