World of Mazes

The woman gazed up at Inyx, then smiled. Inyx shivered at the insanity she saw in that look.

" Easy. Just followed my nose. But I couldn' t: couldn' t leave. Couldn' t."

" Why not? What kept you in the Twistings?"

" Don' t know. Couldn' t walk out the door. Tried." She began laughing, high- pitched and hysterical. This brought unwanted attention from the two cannibals at the far side of the room. Inyx backed off, wanting to run. She managed to find herself a quiet spot along one wall where no one seemed willing to stay. Hunkering down, she tried to think her dilemma through. Somehow, the more she worked on the immediate problems of getting out of this crazy maze, the more difficult it became for her.

She cried herself to sleep, visions of blue gulping beasts that turned into humans haunting her dreams.

The clatter of steel on steel awoke her. She' d heard enough fighting in her day to know the sounds of battle. One raged very close by. Inyx craned her neck, searching for the source of the noise. Off to one side down a dimly lit corridor seemed the most likely spot. The residents of the room had begun slipping quietly away from that point, not wanting to fight.

Inyx flexed her muscles, winced at the way she' d stiffened during her sleep, then moved forward. Dying in battle was preferable to rotting away physically and mentally.

Even being devoured by a wraith or globuloid had to be a more fitting death for one used to freedom.

" Back," came a warning. " Get back. Knoton' s coming. He' s going to clean out the entire nest."

" Nest?" she asked. The man stumbling along had been bloodied by a dozen cuts, none deep. He had risked much bringing the warning- and he didn' t seem as demented as the others she' d met.

" The room. This place." He staggered forward another few steps, then stared into her deep azure eyes. " You' ve just arrived. Too bad. Knoton' s coming. He' s going to kill all us humans this time. And the hybrids, too."

" What are you talking about?" she demanded.

" Knoton' s a mechanical. He hates all flesh and blood for exiling him to the Twistings."

" But we' re here, too!" she protested. " That' s not fair."

" He' s not quite sane, either. But in this place, who is?" He grabbed Inyx by the shoulders and spun her around. " Now get moving. Knoton' ll be here in another few seconds."

" We should fight."

" With bare hands?"

Inyx peered into the gloom of the corridor the man had just vacated. Shining spots began growing in size. Mechanicals made their way forward, brandishing knives and swords. If any of them had been the shining perfection she' d seen in Dicca, Inyx would never have risked battle. But these mechanicals were rusty, slow- moving, clanking. Their banishment to the Twistings hadn' t been good for them, either. She waited for the first pair to enter the room- the nest, the man had called it. Then she acted.

She dived forward, dropped to support her weight on one arm, then scissored her legs around the lead mechanical' s. A gyroscope whined, the mechanical struggled for balance, then fell heavily. Inyx quickly recovered the fallen sword. She noted it had been made from another mechanical' s arm.

Even the metal men were cannibals in the Twistings.

" Watch out!"

She heeded the man' s warning by ducking. Just a fraction of an inch over her head slashed the other mech' s long knife. Inyx recovered balance, measured distance, lunged. Her blunted sword point found a spot between spinning cogwheel and shoulder joint. The mechanical whirred in rage, turned, and succeeded in forcing the sword even more deeply into its shoulder workings.

Inyx tried to continue her attack, but the mech held her at bay with its knife. Her human companion aided her now. A swift blow to the mechanical' s back threw it off balance. It sagged, allowing Inyx to wrench free her now bent and dulled sword.

Together the two humans decapitated the mech. It twisted fitfully, struggling to recover its cranium. Inyx let it pick up its head, then scuttle off for repair. The sight of the headless body brought back unpleasant memories.

Claybore. His skull floated without benefit of body.

" Good fighting," complimented the man. " You' re the best warrior I' ve found since the Lord threw me into the Twistings a couple months ago. I' m Fredek Fynn."

" Fredek, the pleasure' s all mine. I' m Inyx."

A metal- on- metal screech deafened Inyx. She threw her hands over her ears to dampen the noise. She succeeded only in part.

" What was that?" she said, louder than she' d intended.

" Knoton' s battle cry. A challenge. Let' s get into the maze, where we have a chance."

Inyx' s reluctance to leave this room and enter the maze almost overwhelmed her. Then the dark- haired woman saw a battle in progress. Down the corridor two shadowy forms locked in mortal combat. One was mechanical- Knoton. The other appeared human until a random flash of light reflected off silvered arms.

" The arms," she muttered, unsure of what she saw.

" A hybrid. Knoton hates them worse than he hates flesh- andbloods like us," said Fredek.

" We should help," Inyx said weakly. A strong hand rested on her upper arm. Fredek Fynn pulled her away.

" There' s nothing we can do. Look at it this way. Whoever that is just gave us a few more minutes of life. Knoton' s on a war- binge. Nothing short of disassembly is going to stop him now."

Inyx curtly nodded. She and Fredek trotted for the far side of the nest. The sword resting firmly in her hand gave the woman a feeling of safety now, even if it was a false one. No sooner had they entered the corridors than they ran afoul of a blue gobbling beast. It waddled forward, snapping, and gnashing its teeth.

" Don' t try to kill it," warned Fredek. " Even with a sword, it' s hard to injure. Make it mad and it' s well- nigh invincible. They don' t ever seem to feel much pain."

" I killed one of the wraiths with my bare hands," said Inyx. " With a sword, I can kill this thing."

" You killed a capper? Great Twistings, I' ve found me a real shedemon!"

Inyx pushed the man out of the way to clear the way for a lunge. She executed the attack perfectly. The blunt tip of the weapon, however, inflicted minimal damage. At the last possible instant, she changed the next lunge into a devastating slash. Ichor flew in all directions as the blue monster chattered in rage and pain. It launched a frontal assault that Inyx simply couldn' t stop.

She and Fredek retreated back into the nest.

From the other side of the room, Knoton shrieked his metallic cry of rage and vengeance. He lumbered forward, swinging a steel rod easily seven feet long.

Inyx and Fredek Fynn were trapped between the injured blue globuloid and an equally blood- crazed mechanical.

" Now!" shouted Inyx. She shoved Fredek one way and dived the other herself. Blue maze monster and mech faced one another. Knoton' s towering hatred drove him forward, metal bar whistling as he swung it in long, angry arcs. The creature had been blinded by its own blood.

It attacked.

Inyx watched in silence as the awesome battle raged. Knoton refused to give ground. His rod battered the tough blue skin repeatedly until Inyx was positive nothing solid could remain inside. But still the blue maze creature fought on, its teeth clattering off the metal rod every time it managed to get a chance to snap. Such stark ferocity couldn' t be maintained long. By the time Inyx circled and met Fredek, the metallic had triumphed over flesh and blood and voracious appetite.

Knoton stood, left arm bitten off, one eye blinking wildly, his right leg bent at an unnatural angle.

" I shall destroy you. I shall destroy all human life in the Twistings for what that madman has done to me!" the mechanical raged.