Under the Altswood Sky (The Altswood Saga #2)

Chapter 23 - Revenant

Chapter 23 - Revenant

The Hall of Mirrors was already creepy enough when it was full, but now that it was empty, it was downright horrifying.

The attraction stood at the very edge of the carnival, ending where the forest line began. They had built it large, and while the foyer was the mundane funhouse mirror exhibit, a door along the side opened to the rest of the attraction: the Mirror Maze.

"There's nothing out here," I said, peering at a funhouse reflection that shrunk me as small as an ant. I nodded my chin towards the maze. "I suppose that's where we need to go."

We had poked our heads in during our previous carnival visit with Annabelle and Jules, but thought the Hall of Mirrors too boring to wander through. Now, I was regretting that thought, since we had no idea exactly how large the maze was and how many corridors we would have to wind through until we returned to the exit.

"Won't we get caught lurking about?"

I peered around, on the lookout for security cameras, but saw nothing.

"This is one of the less popular attractions," I replied. "I think it'll be fine."

We stepped into the maze. There were no windows, no overhead light fixtures. There were only glowing beams that ran along the floor, making the maze appear psychedelic. The colours were bright enough to show us a clear picture of where we were going, but if I stared at one spot for too long, my mind became severely confused.

I shivered violently. It was cold in here: strong drafts snuck in from underneath the tent flaps and ricocheted from passageway to passageway as if they, too, were trying to work the maze.

"See anything yet?" Gabriel asked quietly.

"I'm not completely sure what we're looking for," I replied.

All the reflective surfaces gave the illusion of the space being larger than it really was. From the outside, the tent's roof was triangular in shape, bearing a fluttering flag at its pinnacle. Inside, it was too dark to see where that centre point was. With only the floor illuminated, we looked up and saw nothing but a looming, dark abyss hanging over us.

Gabriel squeezed my hand. "Should we—"

"Gabriel Kingston," I interrupted. "If you suggest that we split up, I might actually deck you right in the face."

He made a half-strangled noise, sounding like he was trying not to laugh. "Got you."

We remained paused at the entrance. The moment we moved, it would feel too real. If I didn't take a step forward, perhaps I could indefinitely stay suspended in this moment—where things weren't great, but we were okay.

A loud thud echoed within the maze: a lure, a taunt.

There was no running now.

"Okay," I whispered. I wasn't sure why my volume had dropped. "Let's find our way to the centre."

My shoes clicked noisily on the hard-tiled floor. We took small, controlled steps, letting our arms stretch ahead of our bodies so we wouldn't collide face-first with any mirrors.

"Does this feel weird to you as well?" Gabriel whispered when a full minute of silent had passed. The loudspeaker outside blared its message for the last time, announcing tonight's closure of the carnival.

It must have turned to midnight.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm feeling pretty weird."

The truth was, weird wasn't even the most adequate way to describe it. It felt like a boiling cauldron of emotion—anticipation, terror, and mostly, relief at the thought that this could finally be over.