House of a Thousand Rooms

Chapter 27

Cora and Cerberus wandered around the hedge maze until the cloud-painted gray skies of early morning cleared to a striking expanse of midday blue. Walled in by vertical rows of shrubbery on either side, they ambled down straight pathways, some stretched to right-turning corners, others extended to left-turning ones, but all of them seemed to lead to dead ends.

"Are you not tall enough to peer over the hedges? I thought you said that you spotted the exit, Cerberus," Cora complained in a winded voice. The air was muggy and warm. Her face glistened from the heat.

"I am more than tall enough! And I did see the exit at one point," Cerberus replied crossly, "but the blasted thing keeps dancing about like a mirage! Every time I think we are getting closer, it shifts to a new location!"

"What about the death you scented?" Cora inquired. "Can you follow the odor and lead us to... the body?"

"That is what I have been trying to do as well, but the stench comes and goes..."

The cumbersome feelings of loneliness and sadness that had arisen in her when they first arrived at the house and labyrinth were growing increasingly stronger. They now weighed upon her almost as heavily as... grief?

She pouted as her brow crinkled in deep introspection. "Cerberus?"

"Yes, Cora dear?"

All of a sudden, Cora's dark brown eyes filled with tears. From a distance, she heard a wail, similar to that of a child's cries. Yet, the noise was so faint that Cora couldn't help but wonder if she had imagined it. The child began to scream. Her chest instantly tightened with a nauseating sense of guilt, twisting her heart like fists wringing a wet rag.

Cerberus' eyebrows shot up with alarm. He rushed over to her side, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders, and glanced down at her with worry.

"Whatever is a matter with you, little gatekeeper? Why in the devil's name are you crying?"

Cora tried to reassure him that everything was quite alright even though tears continually wet her cheeks, and her nose turned red with snot.

"Oh, Cerberus, do not fret! I think it is not actually me who is feeling so wretched... Before, I only possessed the memories of the person who once lived here, but now it would seem that the emotions they once attached to these places are rising to surface as well. They are growing more potent by the minute, and my body cannot seem to contain their... guilt."

"Guilt? Over what?" Cerberus repeated in surprise as he used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. It seemed to be a mindless, almost unintentional, gesture on his part, but his touch on her skin sent an unexpected flutter running through her. The conflicting sensation felt both comforting and exciting at the same time. Cora brushed it aside. This wasn't the time for foolishness. She forced herself to take a step back until they stood at a more respectable distance. His hands slipped from her shoulders.

Another muffled screech cut through the air.

"Do you hear it as well?" Cora inquired with a troubled expression.

"Hear what?" Cerberus asked. His brows were knitted together.

"The child," she whispered. "The crying child."

He seemed genuinely perplexed. "I hear nothing, little gatekeeper. Are you certain that you are feeling quite alright? You seem to be a bit... out of sorts."

Cora felt a familiar tug inside her chest, not unlike the one that drew her to the translucent floating hand. She tumbled forward a few steps. It pulled at her again. She started to move more quickly through the maze.

Cerberus trotted after her with a look of concern. "Where are you going now?"

"I do not know," she answered honestly. "But I think the owner of these memories and emotions is trying to show me something. Come on, Cerberus! I wish to see where this will lead!"

They ran through the twists and turns of the winding labyrinth with only Cora's instincts guiding the way. Eventually, Cora and Cerberus came to a small clearing inside the maze. It was a courtyard of sorts. An ivory-colored cast stone fountain with a shallow wading pool greeted their eyes. Water trickled from three open-mouthed lion statues that sat in the center of the decorative structure.

Nothing seemed to be amiss until, that was, Cora noticed the small body of a young girl floating facedown in the water.