Page 20 of Minding the Minotaur
That’s all I need. I’m going to be locked up with a scrawny peripheral for company. How fucking humiliating—a huge guy like me and some weasel of a human. Not that I would dare harm a hair on their pathetic head. It’s happened a few times, peripherals getting mauled.
We dislike peripherals, and yet we rely on them to find us the better paid work, too. That’s how I got my very lucrative contract. So how can I complain? Still, no-one really trusts the small handful of twilight humans who move between two worlds, with no true allegiance to either.
The idea of living with one of them, having them lording it over me, has me furious.
As I slurp another spoonful of the thick, meaty stew, I know one thing is certain: my life for the foreseeable future is monumentally fucked.
SAMMY
I’m about to get into my PJs, when I hear the phone ring.
I dash into the hallway and pick up. It’s Jax.
“Found you a job,” he says.
My heart stutters. “Already?”
“Yep. Sheer luck that I heard about it. Planets aligning and all that—not that I believe in any of that shit, but…”
“So…” I try to sound casual. “What is it?”
“Exactly what you’re qualified for.” He pauses, and I can hear him taking a drag on his cigarette. “Security work. Labyrinth, level one. You’ll need to put on your big girl pants though, ’cos it’s nothing like what you’re used to at DeVines.”
Inwardly, I’m high fiving, but I try to sound nonchalant. “No problem.” I’m already imagining meeting the minotaur on my day off. Wondering if they have cozy, candle-lit restaurants down there serving romantic dinners. Hotels with big, big beds…
Woah, back up the truck, Sammy Buggins.
Jax continues, “The offer came right from the sheriff himself. I told him about your years of experience.”
I laugh. “Not that many years—I’m only twenty-five. So, what’s it involve?”
“Dunno, exactly. Sherrif wouldn’t share the details over the phone.”
“Why not?”
Jax pauses. “You’ve got a lot to learn, Blondie.”
I refrain from saying that’s bloody obvious, considering as of yesterday I didn’t even know this Labyrinth of monsters existed. But I hold my tongue. I don’t want to put Jax offside.
“You’ll have to take it on trust. It pays well, though. Black market money, which is easy to shift into Sparkle coin, if you know how. I can organize all that. I’ve arranged for us to go down tomorrow morning first thing, meet the sheriff. If you don’t put a foot wrong, you’ll start straight away.”
“Suits me.” And it does. My rent is due in a week, and on top of that I’ll have to pay my monthly entertainment subscription, a fee that goes toward maintaining the clubs and venues we party at endlessly. Right now, I couldn’t care less about any of that, but since having fun is obligatory inSparkle, the money gets taken out of your bank account regardless.
“So, erm, how do we get there?” I ask.
“Through one of the cargo portals,” Jax replies. “Got any problems with your sinuses?”
“No, not right now.”
“Then you’ll be fine. Come to my place at 9 am sharp and we’ll go down together.”
“Wow, that’s er—amazing.” I peer down the hallway into my tiny bedroom, eyeing the clothes spilling out of my closet and wondering what the hell you wear in a world full of monsters. “What should I bring?”
“Just a small bag of personal stuff. I’ll sort out your uniform and ID.”
I try to ask more questions, but he cuts me off. “You’re gonna have to take the rest on trust. Sometimes, the less you know the better.”
I swallow the questions wanting to tumble out of my mouth. He’s probably right. “Thanks, Jax, for everything,” is all I say.
