Into The Labyrinth: Fox Spirit, Slaughter Stone (with The Rolling Stones & Giorgio de Chirico)

FICTION | PART V

This is a continuation of Into The Labyrinth, a modern haibun inspired by Basho's Narrow Road To The Interior but it can be read as a stand alone piece. Click for parts 1 2 3 & 4

A great sadness had come over me in the days after the incident of the seaside mansion at the end of time. The last sight of my teacher, the labyrinth master Hringen, waiting for great waves to claim him. And I had fled. Abandoned him. I was alone again. Lost. And the mountain, just as far away as it'd ever been. Would I ever climb it and see a way out? Or would my fate be the same as my teacher's? Dragging out the process of dying with labyrinth tricks until, finally, nothing could be done but to give in. 
Days slipped by until I came to a crossroads. At the center of the intersection was a small plinth and upon it was a slaughter stone. The smell coming from it was vile. Dead insects lay on the sand scattered around its base to absorb the blood of slaughtered animals.
"You have come to visit me."
A beautiful woman. Gold-green eyes, blonde hair. A form hugging red dress, a real knockout, but it was late in the day and the sun was right behind her. The shadow she cast told a different story. Human legs but paws in place of hands and the profile revealed a maw and pricked up ears. A fox spirit.