Page 14 of The Labyrinth
At dusk, dressed inblack and watching from across the street, Marion waited until the guard patrolling the parking garage disappeared, then quickly ran to the entrance.It was easy enough to hide behind the massive concrete columns that held the entire building up.The garage was empty, so she quietly made her way to the stairwell.The only light was the red EXIT sign above the door, and she made sure to close it so it didn’t bang shut.Then she waited in the dark, making sure no one spotted the breaking-and-entering.Carefully, she started up the darkened steps, one floor after another until she reached the top.Marion paused, gulping in deep breaths to control her rapid heartbeat, knowing she would feel the burn in the morning.
Once her nerves had settled, she opened the door and made her way stealthily past all the empty offices.Skirting around the perimeter, she came to the door with the nameplate of her target: Shiel Sinaga, CEO.The door was locked, but it looked easy enough to pop.Luckily, living in a very small town taught a person some interesting tricks.With nothing to do on the weekends, teenagers invented many ways to keep themselves entertained.She knelt in front of the simple doorknob and pulled out a metal nail file.Inserting it into the space between the door and the frame, she twisted it until the lock disengaged.
Rising, she slipped the file back into her pocket and entered the room.City lights helped illuminate the atmosphere.A tidy dark mahogany desk, bookshelves filled with encyclopedia-type tomes.Plush carpet cushioned her steps as she made her way to the desk and sat down behind it.She opened the first drawer, carefully going through the files.In the second drawer, she found something that excited her—a tax bill for a property upstate, with Shiel’s name on it.Marion had a gut feeling this was exactly what she was looking for.She took a quick picture of it and had just closed the drawer when a noise made her tense.
Easing out of the leather chair, she repositioned it and then slunk to the door, pressing her ear against it.Nothing.Everything was quiet and still.Gathering her nerves, she opened the door and looked around, but didn’t spot anyone.Time to get the hell out of Dodge.
Hurrying toward the stairs, she halted when she heard a slow hissing sound.Turning, she saw a huge Komodo dragon staring her down.Its tongue flickered out, scenting the air, and Marion knew her fear was broadcasted through the entire tenth floor.She slowly backed up, wondering if she’d be able to make it to the stairwell before the giant lizard caught her.One step back.Then another.Confidence grew until the damn beast ran forward, heading right at her.She screamed and backtracked, turning to run as quickly as possible to the stairway door.Shiel, however, was very fast.Too fast.Talons swiped, slashing her calf.Pain exploded through her body, and she screamed as she fell.She curled up, reaching for the back of her leg, unable to stop tears trickling down her face.
A hiss had her looking behind her.Shiel studied her, head cocked, waiting for what she didn’t know.Of all the ways she thought she’d die, it wasn’t by Komodo dragon venom.The only thing she regretted was not finding Peter for his grandmother.
Suddenly a loud snort filled the room, and Marion’s eyes widened because she recognized that snort.Deacon burst from the stairway, shifted in all his hairy glory.Charging forward, one of his horns managed to catch the lizard by surprise, hooking under its massive feet and flipping it over.He attacked again, managing to sink his horn into the scaly back.It hissed again and swiped with its claws, but Deacon managed to avoid being hurt.
Instead, he turned and scooped Marion up in his massive arms and carried her back to the stairs.The staccato strike of his hooves against the metal stairs hurt her ears, so she buried her face into his neck.Trying to ignore the agony radiating through her body.
Chapter Eight
Once on the street, he transformed back to his skin.It was weird feeling the fur under her touch disappear, but thank goodness he wore the spandex shorts again.He carried her down the street and into an alley where a car waited.Carefully, he set her down next to it so he could grab clothes from the back seat.
“I told you I would talk to her,” he grumbled as he dressed.
“I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
He blinked.“Why not?”
“Gee, I wonder,” she grumbled.“Maybe because I don’t know you.Maybe because you’re a species I never knew about.Maybe because you don’t care about Peter.”
Deacon stopped and leaned against the car door.“Are you sure he’s just your friend?”
“Yeah.Why?”
“Because you seem awfully persistent,” he replied.“Let me remind you, he’s a grown ass man, if he wants to disappear, he has that right.”
“And I would fully support that decision if he had told me or his grandmother of his intention, but he didn’t.There’s no way he’d do that to her or me.”
She shifted and winced as pain stole her breath.With a sigh, he scooped her up once again and deposited her into the passenger side.Then he climbed behind the wheel and started up the engine.A moment later, they left the area.
