Octavius nodded. “Pretty much.”
Taking the lead, he walked forward, doing his best to hold back his worries. Min-ji, Scarlett, and Turney followed directly behind him, with Henry, Cormac, and Theo behind them. They took the hallway to the right. There was a banquet hall this way, but it should eventually bring them back around. At least, it would if he was remembering the map right. He’d have checked it, but the map had been in his leather backpack, which was lost back in the forest.
* * *
Min-ji feltunsettled by the current situation. She didn’t like so much unknown. They were trapped. Throughout the hotel, there were obviously dangers waiting for them that they couldn’t hear or pin down. An insane Knight was somewhere, plotting and wanting them all dead—except Octavius. It was pretty infuriating how little could be done at the moment about any of it.
Eyeing the hall they were walking into, it was surprising how well maintained the place was, despite the age. The carpet wasn’t faded or dirty…it looked…
She frowned. No…surprising wasn’t the word. It was unreal how maintained it was. The décor looked original, yet the longer she stared, the more she was sure it was not. Something was off… Which described the whole situation since arriving here.
Bells of warnings started to ring loudly in her head, moments before the rune on her left wrist began to heat and buzz. “Watch out!” she cried upon realizing the location of the danger.
Without thought, she shoved Octavius as hard as she could. At the same time, she activated a rune on her upper right arm that sent out a blast of strong wind. The wind propelled Octavius forward, further than her physical strength could ever send him.
The vampire flew through the open doorway they’d been heading towards, right as spikes shot up from the floor, piercing through what must have been new carpet, and into the ceiling.
* * *
Octavius squealedin shock as he was shoved, and then swept up in a strong wind that sent him careening forward, through the open doorway. He landed face first with a groan. Shaking his head, he jumped up from the floor.
“Octavius, are you okay?!” Turney shouted, voice shaky.
He spun around, eyes widening at the thick spikes slowly lowering back into the floor behind him. “Yes—” he started to say, but then screamed, “No!” when a metal wall slammed down in front of him, blocking him off from the others. “No! NO!” He started slamming his fists against it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“TURNEY! SCARLETT!!” He pounded more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Henry! Min-ji!” he rasped as his hits became weaker, tears beginning to form in his eye.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Cormac…Theo.” He sobbed, hands stilling as he braced himself on the door, before slowly sliding to the floor. His hands brushed over smooth unblemished metal… There wasn’t even a single dent from his actions.
“Octavius!” Turney screamed, his heart dropping as the metal wall slammed down between them. All he could do was watch it happen, helpless to do anything about it.
“Fuck!” He grabbed at the edges of the spikes. They were slowly lowering back into the floor, but still remained in the way. “Will the trap work a second time?” Turney asked, heart racing as he heard Octavius panicking and calling out for him. Turney released the spikes and spun around. “Will it?!”
Min-ji grimaced, eyes shining with regret. “It shouldn’t reset.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Turney. I should…I should have pulled him back instead. I didn’t think… I just knew I had to get him out of the way. The warnings I get are not always clear. But usually, they guide me towards the best action.”
Turney took a deep breath. “Don’t apologize… He would have died if you hadn’t done anything.”
Scarlett sighed. “He would have survived…but he would have been in very bad shape.”
“Why would Dayan set such a trap?” Theo asked, sounding confused. “Doesn’t he want Octavius to confront him?”
Turney didn’t have the answers to those questions. He didn’t think any of them did, but he somehow felt, deep in his soul, that everything was still going according to that bastard’s plan.
Cormac gripped his shoulder and gave him a hesitant smile. “He’ll be okay, Turney. The vampire’s crazy… No Knight is going to take him down.”
Henry nodded. “Master is stronger than he looks and acts. I have seen him fight many times. He will be fine.”
Turney wanted to believe their words. Part of him did, as he just couldn’t handle the thought that Dayan could possibly win. But...this…all of this was what Dayan wanted. Octavius, alone…
He spun back around, just catching the tail end of the spikes disappearing back into the floor. Without hesitation, he ran to the now blocked opening and pounded his fists against the barrier as hard as he could, but it didn’t budge, not even a dent. “Octavius! Octavius!” The others followed but they remained silent.
