Page 49 of Of Monsters and Mazes

Alessi grabbed one of the syringes and twirled it between his fingers like it was a toy. “No, but I can tell you that it’s not poison and it’s not a tranquilizer.” He extended his hand to offer me the needle. I didn’t want to accept it, but I did anyway. “If we’re lucky, they’re both placebos. If we’re not, at least we’ll have each other going forward. But if you don’t commit to either the pills or the injection, you’re going to get us both returned to the start of the maze, so I suggest you decide quickly.”

The time kept ticking, and I knew I had to choose, and I had to do it now.

“Maybe we should just go with the pills. The maze might go easier on us separately than it will with us together. It would be a lot less uncomfortable to just—”

“Take the shot.” Alessi demanded, no longer entertaining my hesitation. “I didn’t think I’d need to explain this, but I can’t protect you if you take the pills, and Theron will never forgive me if anything happens to you. So please, Bijou, take the shot.”

“Fine, okay, you’re right.” I grabbed the syringe from the box and tossed the pills away. It was funny how it went from “you pick” to “this is the only correct answer” so quickly, but who was I to argue with a veteran of the maze. He was right anyway. I was better off with him than without him.

Knowing that, however, didn’t make willingly shoving a needle in my arm any easier.

I closed my fingers over the vial, trying to block out what had to come next. I didn’t want to look, but I knew I was going to have to if I wanted to assure I didn’t miss the vein.

“Where do I put it?” My voice shook as the clock hit two minutes.

“In me.” He snatched the remaining syringe with one hand, then he grabbed my shaking fist with his other. I stared at him, eyes round as saucers, as he lifted my hand to his neck and punctured his own artery with my syringe. I tried to jerk my arm back, but he held it there firmly. “Depress the plunger, Sela.” There was an urgency to his movements that only left me more paralyzed and on edge.

“D-don’t we both have to take it?”

“Yes.” He said a fraction of a second before his needle pierced my shoulder. I flinched, but he wouldn’t let me retreat. He held us in a deadlock, my syringe in his neck, and his in my arm. “Do it with me. I’ll count to three, and then I need you to commit, because I promise you, I will.”

“Okay.” I said, more for myself than for him. “Okay, okay, I can do it.” I continued my pep talk, entirely for me and not at all for him, while I wrestled with a mental breakdown just staring at the needle in my hand.

I hated needles. I was terrified of everything they stood for. Why did this have to be the first challenge?

“One.” He said sternly, as the clock hit ten seconds.

“Two.” I said next, as I sunk the sharp point just a little deeper into him, and he sunk his a little deeper into me.

“Three.” We both said in unison, and I closed my eyes, bit my lip, and slammed the plunger down with my thumb.

The clock stopped and the partitions dropped. Instantly a haze filled my vision, and my knees gave out. I didn’t even notice Alessi had caught me until I saw he was carrying me. My consciousness faded and sharpened and faded again. I might have blacked out, but it was impossible to say for sure.

“Y-you said it wasn’t a tranquilizer.” I heard myself say through the soup of my brain.

“It wasn’t.” He spoke steadily, while the yellow glow of the walls made my head hurt and my heart thump with irregular pulses.

“Then what was it?”

“A devil relaxant.” Was all he said as he continued forward. I wanted to say his tone was bleak, but it was hard to discern much in my current state. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to dispel the dizziness from my spinning vision, and I focused on my breathing. In through my nose, out through my lips. In, out. In, out.

I blinked until my vision started to clear. Slowly but surely, my mind started to clear too.

Maybe my body was rejecting the poison. Whatever helped me heal so quickly may have also been helping me get my head back on straight. That sounded reasonable. I wanted to believe that. If it was a relaxant made for devils, it probably couldn’t live inside a human. My foreign blood would surely reject it eventually.

“I think it’s wearing off.” I whispered against his chest. He continued walking, steady and secure, like he was being careful not to rattle me too much. “I really like the way you carry me.” I said next, and I had no idea what possessed me to say that out loud. At least, I think I said it out loud.

The soft vibration of his laugh confirmed the fact, much to my own mortification. “I’m happy to assist, Bijou.”

“I’m grateful.” I couldn’t seem to stop myself from being overly candid. “I can tell how gentle you’re being. You’re kind of a considerate guy, huh?”

I got out the last word, then buried my flushed cheeks into the crux of his shoulder in an effort to shut myself up. Even in my haze, I knew it was dangerous to show too many of my cards—to admit I was relying on someone.

After a few more moments that could have been minutes or could have been hours, the gentle rocking of Alessi’s steps ceased.

“Can you stand on your own?” Alessi asked, his voice sounding clearer now.

“I think so.” The grogginess and confusion faded next, fortunately in time to stop me from nuzzling any more affectionately into his warm and comfortable shoulder. Alessi set me gently on my feet, and he let me hold on to him until I could fully find my strength, balance, and footing. He waited several seconds to assure I was capable of supporting myself before he stepped away.