Page 21 of Minding the Minotaur
“No worries, Blondie,” he responds gruffly, then I hear him cough, even though he covers the mouthpiece. It doesn’t sound good—I can understand why Clem nags him about his health. When the hacking subsides, he croaks, “You’re Clem’s mate, and any friend of hers is a friend of mine.”
And then he hangs up.
CHAPTER 7
SAMMY
I barely slept last night.
And when I did, my dreams were filled with handsome minotaurs wearing capes, rescuing me from hideous beasts chasing me through dark tunnels. Every beast had the face of my ex-boss, Marsha Winters.
I hadn’t even got to the good bit—what happenedafterthe minotaur rescued me—when I woke to find myself completely tangled in my sheets. I gave up trying to chase sleep well before it was light, got up, made myself a cup of tea and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and wrote a letter to my parents.
Dear Mom and Dad,
If you read anything about me losing my job at DeVines in the paper, don’t panic, it’s all sorted. I have a better job for the next few weeks, very good pay, but I may not be able to contact you.
Please don’t worry. I am safe.
Love
Sammy
The pink and mauve of dawn streaks the heavens as I walk down the stairs and place the letter in the postbox outside. Today the air smells of honeysuckle, which indicates that it’s a Friday, in June (it’s a different scent depending on which day of the week it is, and which month).
At this time of year, “the sun” is adjusted to rise five minutes earlier each day. Already the birds are flying around, chirping happily. All the birds here nowadays are bred with very short wingspans, which means they can’t fly too high. When I was a little girl, too many birds hit the roof of the dome, and they were falling on folks’ heads, which didn’t go well with the Sparkle vibe. I remember the shock of one landing right in front of me as a kid. I picked the poor little thing up, and tears filled my eyes as it lay, soft and lifeless, in my palm. I couldn’t understand why a bad thing like that could possibly happen in a place dedicated to happiness.
But now I can.
I’m fast learning that there are shadows lurking behind the glitter and glitz of Sparkle City. There’s an awful punishment called vaporization that clearly isn’t okay to even mention out loud. There are twilight places where people live and work. And there’s a huge underwork network of tunnels where monsters are kept in captivity, slaving away to produce everything we Sparklians take for granted.
And somehow, the dome authorities are covering it all up.
The Labyrinth may be a dark place full of monsters, but right now it feels like a safer option than staying in the city where I grew up.
When I’m finally dressed and packed (including a lacy bra and panties, and my prettiest summer frock, for some unfathomable reason…), I go down the six flights of stairs and call a cab.
“Where to?” the driver asks as I get in.
“The Periphery, please.” His head swivels and he stares at me like I’m bonkers.
“Meter stops working at the Crossroads,” he finally grunts.
“Then take me to the Crossroads,” I reply, hoping I can find my way from there with the map Clem has drawn me.
When he drops me off on the edge of the swirling mist, I take out the little map. It’s not easy, because none of the streets here have names.
My resolve stutters a little as the cab does a U-turn and drives off. But I start walking through the dense air, and soon I see the shapes of the apartments we visited yesterday, overshadowed by the looming dome wall. As I get closer, a few people scurry out of the apartment blocks and walk, huddled into their anoraks, toward what looks like an army barracks in the distance.
I remember Clem’s story of collecting a badly injured Jax from near some place full of armed guards, and wonder if that’s where it was. My heart raps against my ribs, but I tighten my grip on my holdall and take a deep breath.
I’m not going to be deterred from my quest to find the minotaur. My chance meeting with him has lodged in my heart, and I can’t let it go. I know he wasn’t the kind of monster who would harm me. I just know it.
With that thought, I lift my chin and march toward Jax’s apartment block.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m dressed in the uniform of dark blue slacks, a white shirt and a button-up jacket that Jax thrust at me as soon as he opened the door.
When I walk back into the kitchen, he hands me an envelope.
