Page 19 of The Labyrinth
“You don’t?I would’ve thought the gene pool would be small.”
“Ourancientancestor unites us on a very obscure family tree, but like everyone else, the branches move farther apart every generation.I honestly don’t know how many of us are out there.”
She thought about that, realizing it was probably impossible to trace minotaur genealogy.It wasn’t like they could spit into a vial and send it off to 21 and Me.
A little over two hours, they arrived in a very quaint town, with rolling hills, clapboard-sided houses with flower baskets hanging from windows, and old-fashioned-looking streetlights.
“Wasn’t Sleepy Hollow set in New York?”
He stopped at a red light and glanced over.“What?”
“You know.Headless horseman.Icabod Crane.Johnny Depp.”
“Yes, I know the story,” he said.“And yes,The Legend of Sleepy Hollowis set in New York.Did you know Washington Irving is buried in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery?”
“Shut the front door,” she gasped.“There’s a real Sleepy Hollow?”
“You didn’t know that?”
She shook her head.“That’s pretty cool.I bet it’s awesome around Halloween.”
The light turned green, and he accelerated, going very slowly through the town.
“Pull up the map on this property,” he said.“Guide me where to go.”
Marion had already plugged the address into her phone.“Okay, at the next light, take a left.About a mile down that road will be a fork, and take the right side.”
He followed the directions driving out of town and into the natural beauty of the area.The farther they drove the more rural it became.Soon, there weren’t even ranches or houses present.
“Are you sure this is the way?”he asked, sounding skeptical.
“Yes.It’s right here on this property deed.”
“Maybe you read ...what the hell is that?”
The tree line abruptly ended, and in the clearing sat a large warehouse-type building.Deacon stopped the truck, and they stared at it for a long moment.
“This isn’t what I pictured,” she finally said.
“What did you picture?”
“A house.A bordello.A sexual dungeon.Something along those lines.”
“It could be all of those inside,” he noted.
“True.I guess we should investigate.”
He blew out a breath.“I knew you were going to say that.Okay, let me park somewhere where a drive-by won’t see us.”
Driving a little farther, he found a shallow entrance in the tree line where he could hide the car.Once the engine died, Marion jumped out of the cab, intent on making her way back to the clearing and the warehouse.
“Marion,” Deacon said, grabbing her arm to halt her.“Shiel Sinaga isn’t stupid.She’s going to know you might have seen the address of this place.It could be dangerous.”
She lifted her chin.“You don’t get anywhere in life by being scared.”
“True, but you don’t have to be reckless,” he cautioned.“How about if I go check it out and make sure it’s safe?”
“Absolutely not.”
