The Beast

This month, we feature another chapter from my upcoming third novel, Journey of Souls: available to pre-order here.

Selene stepped through the narrow entrance into the cold, damp interior, blinking as she tried to adjust to the darkness. She shivered as she heard noises coming from deep beneath the ground ahead of her, echoing around the antechamber. A rough hand pushed her in the back and she staggered forward, almost losing her footing on the rocky ground, slippery with the moisture dripping from the ceiling above.

“Get moving, Athenian slut,” the guard snarled behind her; “he’s hungry, don’t keep him waiting.”

“Please, I don’t want to go in there, I...”

The guard laughed, “No-one wants to go in there, you stupid whore. He’s gonna eat you alive. But you got chosen, so you’re going in. Now, move,” he prodded her with his spear, not a deep wound, but he drew blood.

Sobbing, she held up her hands, bound with rope, “Will you untie me at least?”

“No, you stupid Athenian, you’re here to feed the beast, I’m not untying you. Gods, you Athenians are all the same, so bloody arrogant. Now, do I have to open you up for him?” he raised his spear threateningly towards her stomach.

Faced with no alternative, she turned and staggered across the cavern, into the dark opening at the far end. In the faint light coming from the cave’s entrance behind her, she could see three passageways ahead. She looked back at the guard, “Which way do I go?”

“Any way you like, they all lead to the beast. Hurry up… he’s waiting for you,” the guard laughed, brandishing his spear to remind her she had no choice but to go on.

She walked into the middle passage, stumbling awkwardly, finding it hard to keep her balance with her hands bound. After a few steps, she tripped, grazing her hands and knees as she fell on the hard, rocky ground. It was so dark, she could hardly see anything. She heard a sound in the distance, like the bellow of a bull. Urine trickled down her thigh, soaking into her thin tunic. Shaking from both cold and fright, she pulled herself to her feet and moved on. She could see virtually nothing ahead, she had to feel her way along the rough, man-made wall of the passage, hewn out of the solid rock, deep beneath the cliffs above. She reached a junction and stood listening, trying to figure out where the noises were coming from. Left or right, which gave her the best chance? Did she even have a chance? No-one ever came out of the labyrinth, the beast consumed them all. Why should she be any different?

She tried to stifle her tears, control her trembling. There had to be a way out, even if nobody had ever reached it before. She just had to evade the beast long enough to find it.

Two months ago, she’d been leading a privileged life, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, living in a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Athens. Her father had been a friend of the old king, his position had brought prosperity to their family, her childhood had been happy and carefree. Then, in her seventeenth summer, everything changed. The old king died. He was succeeded by his brother, a cruel tyrant, despised by many, but powerful and vengeful. The new king rounded up many of his predecessor’s favourites, including her father, and had them executed. He seized their property, threw their wives and children into dark cells, deep beneath his palace. She was among the many captives imprisoned there, until one day the guards came and marched her to the docks. When they reached the harbour, the guards told her to stand in a line with six other girls dragged from the palace cells. Later, they were joined by seven boys. The guards tied their hands together and made them wait all night, standing at the dockside, shivering in the cold.

In the morning, a ship came into the harbour, the guards ordered them to get on board. The sea crossing was rough. She felt sick, but she hadn’t eaten for days, her painful retching produced nothing but a few drops of phlegm.

When the ship reached Knossos, the captain stood in front of the prisoners, “Here, we hand you over to the bastard Cretans, servants of cruel King Minos. Every nine years he demands Athens gives him seven unwed boys and seven maidens to feed the beast he keeps in the labyrinth beneath his palace. Normally, the victims are chosen by lottery but, this time, our king decided to offer up the children of his enemies. As you go to your deaths, perhaps you can take heart from the knowledge your sacrifice means other innocent youths and maidens will live.”

After this rather uninspiring speech, the Athenian guards took them ashore and delivered them to the Cretans. Their new captors carried whips, which they quickly began using on them. They were marched up the hill from the harbour, along a rocky path that climbed steeply upwards, until they came in sight of the magnificent Palace of Knossos. They were afforded just a brief glimpse of this grandeur, however, as they were swiftly led off the path, down into the dungeon that was to be their home for the next few days.

The dungeon was cold and dark. Not given any food or water, they were forced to lick the moisture running down the walls of their prison to stave off their thirst. At dawn each day, the guards would take one of the boys. At sunset, they took a girl. By the evening of the sixth day, Selene was one of only three captives remaining. She was weak, delirious with hunger. She’d tried chewing on her sandals, the only food she’d had since leaving Athens, but they were too tough. The guards arrived at dusk as usual. This time, it was her turn to be dragged, crying, pleading, and begging, to the labyrinth’s entrance.

Now she was inside the monster’s lair, its home, it would only be a matter of time before it found her. She had to keep moving, that was her best chance.

She listened carefully. The noises seemed to be coming from her left. She turned right, feeling her way along the passageway, hoping to get as far from the beast as she could. Arriving at another junction, she turned left this time. She heard a noise behind her, a cross between a roar and a snort. She moved faster, soon reaching the next junction: passages branching off to her left and right, another continuing straight on. Which way this time? Did it matter? The noise came again, louder than before. She whirled around, straining to see behind her: there was nothing but darkness. She turned back, but now she’d lost her bearings. Was she facing forward, the way she’d been going, or to the left of her original route… or to the right? She took a step, hands outstretched, and felt the wall, then fumbled her way along it.

The next junction came. She had no idea which way to turn. What had she done so far? A right, a left and, she thought, probably straight on. Should she try to follow some sort of pattern? She should have thought it through before she started. What if she always went right from now on? Then, to get back to the same place, she only needed to turn around and always go left. That could work, at least to get her back where she was now. She turned right, and did the same at the next three junctions, counting them in her head as she went. She began to feel more confident, she had more of a grip on herself. Then she heard the beast again… and, this time, it was ahead of her.

She froze, pressing herself against the wall. She tried to still her breathing, make as little noise as possible, desperately praying the beast would turn another way. But then she heard it again, an angry roaring, snorting, “Shlaarp... urait.” It was getting closer, much closer.

Turning around, she rushed back the way she’d come, feeling her way with outstretched hands, moving as quickly as she dared. She turned left: once, twice, three times, four. Now she reached the junction where she’d lost her bearings before. She thought she’d gone straight on, but she wasn’t sure. What should she do? The beast snorted behind her, “Shlaarp... urait... arwan uryu.” Its snorts and roars were like its own language: it was said to be half man, after all. But there was no time to think about that, it was nearly upon her, she had to make a choice, choose a passage and keep going, fast as she could. She went straight on, pushing herself forward, into the darkness. The beast roared, “Shlaarp... ur-it, shlaarp.” She glanced behind, fearing the creature’s teeth on her neck, its claws in her flesh, at any moment. Staggering blindly on, she tripped over a rock. As she fell, she hit her head on the wall. Sprawling in the mud and slime covering the base of the passage, she saw stars in front of her eyes. Afraid she might black out, she bit her lip, trying to hold on to consciousness, though a voice in the back of her mind urged her to embrace the darkness: it would be easier if the monster devoured her while she slept, oblivious to her demise.

The beast roared again, closer than ever. She scrambled to her feet and blundered on, reaching another junction. To the left, she could see only darkness but, to the right, she could make out a tiny glimmer of light. Her heart soared with renewed hope. Could it be a way out? “Shlaarp, shlaarp... ur-it,” the beast howled. She lurched towards the light, stumbling over the rocky ground, pushing herself on, ever faster.

She could hear the beast breathing, not far behind, gaining on her with every step. She broke into a run, taking the risk of tripping on the uneven surface. The beast started to run too, its heavy feet pounding on the ground. “Shlaarp... ur-it,” bellowed the monster; she felt its hot breath on the back of her neck. It was still too dark to see clearly, but the light was getting stronger: maybe there was a chance, maybe she could make it out of here. She put her head down, started to sprint, gambling everything on the hope offered by that faint, distant glow.

The beast was snorting loudly, as if it was struggling for breath, but it was matching her pace, steadily overhauling her. “Shlaarp,” it growled in her ear. Abruptly, the sound of its pounding feet stopped as it threw itself forward. She heard it grunt in pain as it hit the ground, felt its outstretched claw grabbing her foot.

Screaming in terror, she began to fall. She expected to hit the ground hard, but she kept falling… falling into nothingness. The beast’s grip tightened around her ankle, it held on to her as she swung past the horizontal, into the yawning hole that opened beneath her. She kept toppling forwards until she banged into the side of the pit. The beast held her there, hanging upside down. “Ur-it,” it mumbled.

Her head was throbbing where she’d hit the wall, she could feel blood trickling from the wound. The light was faint, but she could make out some shapes beneath her. She could see someone’s tunic, about fifteen feet away. No, wait, it wasn’t just a tunic, it was one of the boys who’d been in the dungeon with her. He had his leg bent behind his head. How was he doing that? Then it dawned on her: his body was broken, he was dead.

She heard the beast grunting above her, felt it grab her other ankle. Then it was hauling her up. “Rone ee araay, arwan uryu,” it snorted. She could feel it drooling on her legs as it pulled her towards its gaping jaws. This was it, it had her, it was going to eat her alive. Finally, she blacked out.

Find out what happened to Selene in Journey of Souls, available to pre-order here.