Page 50 of Minding the Minotaur
Silas shrugs. “Possibly. It doesn’t make sense that the dome authorities can keep us confined without evil at their disposal.”
“We signed the Covenant, we agreed to being confined below ground,” Arlo says glumly. I hate to see my guy looking so dejected, his big shoulders sagging.
“Yes, we did,” Silas replies. “But I’d hazard there’s more than the Covenant holding us here. How do you explain the hundreds of portals that operate between our worlds? Portals that work in their favor. A one-way street. While all we have is the cape, and none of us even know how it really works. Maybe if we could decipher the runes…”
“Werewolves reckon they can,” Kazmo scoffs.
Silas thins his lips. “They’re bluffing. Any excuse to come up to level one and start a fight.”
The guys all nod. I hope I don’t ever come face to face with a werewolf.
“I guess it’s easy for us to blame woo-woo stuff,” Kazmo sighs. “But maybe we’re all just too pathetic to fight back these days.”
“Maybe,” Silas says.
Arlo lets out an expletive. “Guys, c’mon, go easy on the heavy shit. This is Sammy’s first time out and about, I don’t want her to get Labyrinth overwhelm.”
Brody and Kazmo mutter apologies. Silas just blinks, but before I can open my mouth to say I want to hear more, theychange the subject to who’s the best poker player, and they all get very animated, even Silas.
Meanwhile, I fall silent. All this talk of dark magic and malefics has got my mind churning. Sparkle City seems so far away, but the distance makes everything clearer somehow. The constant consuming and partying that keeps us all from looking deeper and asking questions about the past. The grim streets of the Periphery, and all those workers who toil away behind the swirling mists of the Crossroads. The masked soldiers with guns trained at hundreds of portals.
And the faceless, nameless dome authorities who oversee it all.
An icy shiver runs down my spine.
I’m beginning to realize that Sparkle’s secrets are far worse than I had ever imagined.
I don’t want to dwell on it, I really don’t… not when for the first time in my life, I’m truly happy.
Luckily, I don’t have to, because a cry of indignation blasts across the room.
“Arlo Ungula, what the hell are you eating?”
Tippy strides toward us, ears flicking angrily, tawny eyes blazing.
“Fuck. Here come the food police,” Arlo mutters as he drops a piece of crispy chicken back onto his plate.
CHAPTER 16
ARLO
On the way home, Sammy is quiet. Staring out the window, she avoids my gaze. I wonder if she’s mad at me or upset after the discussion at Digger’s.
I shouldn’t have let the guys talk about all that heavy shit. It was supposed to be a fun introduction to my buddies, and now I worry it’s been too much for her. Trust Silas to always talk shop. The guy needs to lighten up.
In the front of the jeep, I can see Tippy’s ears twitching. She’s pissed too, that I ate so much food that’s not good for me. But hey, I’m a big guy with big needs, and I lost a shit ton of valuable fluids today.
I touch Sammy’s hand, and she doesn’t exactly draw away, but she certainly doesn’t curl her fingers around mine like she usually does. A cold sweat breaks out around my scruff. What if meeting my friends was too much, as well as hearing about all that dark magic. When I told her about the Labyrinth’s past, I avoided talking about magic because Iknew it might scare her. But now… shit. What if it all gets too much for Sammy and she leaves, goes back to Sparkle?
I try to dismiss the thought. I have to trust in the bond that’s forming between us. Gods, only a couple of hours ago, she blew me with so much love in her eyes. We’ve had a week of pushing boundaries, sexually and emotionally, so much fun and laughter. It can’t be that she wants out.
No, something else is going on.
When we get home, Tippy says pointedly, “Salad for you tonight, Arlo. With lean fish. Small serve.” She huffs off to the kitchen, leaving me and Sammy alone. I take her hand and lead her into the snug, and we sit down on the sofa.
I watch as my human wilts.
“What’s the matter, pet?” I ask gently.
