Page 22 of The Labyrinth
He gestured with the gun, and reluctantly, they followed his direction.Deacon still held her hand, and he pulled her close, forcing her up against his back.The protective gesture warmed her inside, but she feared it was a little too late.Now that they were being led to wherever, her heart raced, and nausea threatened to rise up.
They were joined by another person.“Who the fuck are these assholes?”
Scar shrugged.“No fucking idea.Go call Shiel and inform her we have guests.”
The second man grunted in agreement and pulled out his cell phone, marching away.Scar led them to another floor that seemed very barren, despite there being little cubicles.He stopped at the only office that had a door, and nodded his head, indicating they needed to get in there.Deacon didn’t move, except for his gaze that flittered back and forth from the office to the gun.Scar pointed the weapon right at her head, freezing Marion in place.
Deacon immediately went into the office and pulled her with him, pushing her behind his body to shield her.Scar sneered as he closed the door, and a moment later, they heard the lock engage.Immediately, Deacon let go of her hand to try the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Can you get us out of here?”she asked.
He threw a dirty look her way.“Nowyou want to leave?If you’d have just followed my instructions—”
“Don’t blame me for this!”
“Why not?Youinsisted we come here.Youinsisted we investigate.Youtalked when you should’ve stayed quiet.”
“Yes.Yes.Yes.Me.Me.Me,” she snapped.“That’s not important right now so yell at me when we get free.Okay?”
“I will!”
“Good.”
“Good.”He ran a hand through his hair.“Fuck.”
One wall had blinds and he marched over, prying open one slat to look out.His body stiffened.When she followed to see what he was looking at, he held his arm out to stop her.He shook his head, indicating she shouldn’t, but her stubbornness rose up.She lowered his arm but came to a halt as her brain tried to comprehend what she was seeing.
The processing floor.
Meat hung from hooks.People worked at various stations chopping, stripping meat from the bones, draining blood.Each thing she saw horrified her more.Panic sluiced through her, only amplifying the terror.Deacon grabbed her arm and yanked her away, allowing the blinds to fall back into place.She opened her mouth, but words wouldn’t come.Her tongue felt swollen, and her limbs moved like they had their own mind.Everything was distorted.Disjointed.Was she having a panic attack?
“I ...I ...those are human bodies.”Her voice warbled with fright.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised.“Once we’re back in the city.”
“O-okay.”
He took hold of her hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart.“I’ll protect you, Marion.Please trust me.”
She searched his eyes, looking for subterfuge, but could only see honesty.They hadn’t known each other for long, but instinct told her to trust.So, she gave a small nod.He relaxed.
“We need to figure out how to get out of here.”
Yes.That made sense.She looked at the door.“Can you break it down?”
“Not in this form.Stand back.”
She took a step away and watched as he shed his clothes.When he got to his boxer-briefs, she slapped a hand over her eyes.
“What are you doing?”she said, not looking.
“When I shift, I’ll destroy my clothes, and I think it’s prudent to conserve them,” he replied calmly.
The air around them rippled.She moved one finger off her eyes so she could peek as the change happened.Like before, she was mesmerized.He grew taller.Hair and skin turned into course, short fur.On his neck and head a mane of curlier, wooly hair emerged.What surprised her was that his horns didn’t form.
