Page 4 of The Labyrinth
“You will leave here and never return.Understand?”
She nodded, knowing in the back of her mind she had her fingers crossed.She’d go, but this wasn’t over.Not by a long shot.If she’d been hesitant before, she now firmly believed that Deacon knew about Peter—either his whereabouts or what happened to him—and she wasn’t going to rest until she learned all the secrets.
When he let her go, she ran from him.Back to civilization.Back to her hotel.Not stopping until she slammed closed the door to her room.Her lungs burned.She’d wait till daylight, and then she would find out what Deacon was hiding.
Chapter Three
By the morning, shehad a semi-solid plan.
Dressing quickly and grabbing her backpack, she returned to Central Park to retrace her steps.In the light of day, everything looked different and the hunting ground was humongous.The first thing she did was go back to the vertical sign, then slowly followed the path to the best of her ability.Several times, whenever she came to a fork or where the trail spilt, she had to choose a way that turned out to be the wrong one and she’d double back.
As evening approached, she finally saw the right bridge.Satisfaction gripped her when she explored around it and found the stairs.Truth be known, if she hadn’t been actively searching, she’d have been hard-pressed to find the damn thing.Which blew her mind since they were in the largest city in the US, with eight million people running around.How did anything stay hidden?
Treading carefully, she walked through the tunnel and found the second set of stairs.This was the point where Deacon had ambushed her, so she glanced around to see if he was lying in wait, which of course he wasn’t.She faced a very large, sealed-off drainage pipe, which confused her the most.Her hunt seemed to have come to an end, but she was certain she was in the right place.Had he deliberately led her off course?
Huffing out a breath, anger burned through her veins.Instead of giving up, however, she was even more determined to learn Deacon’s secret.She didn’t know why—call it a gut instinct—but she was convinced he knew where Peter was, or at least knew what happened to him.
Suddenly, a noise came from behind the drainage pipe grate.Looking around, she saw a dense thicket off to the side and hurried to conceal herself.The grate opened, like a hinge door, and two big men dressed in black exited.Elation gripped her because she knew this was Deacon’s secret.There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Peter was wherever that pipe led, and she was determined to get in there.
The two men had paused, one taking out a pack of cigarettes.Guess a smoke break outside was a necessity in whatever situation.However, once he crushed the cigarette out, they didn’t go back inside.Instead, they stayed at the entrance, like they were guarding something.Marion knew she had to get past them, but she couldn’t figure out how.Would the clichéd rock-throw divert their attention?
A laugh reverberated down the tunnel and the two men straightened.From her hiding spot, she watched as a short man and two women approached.The women were dressed very scantily, hanging off the man’s arm, and they all stepped up and flashed them a red card.One of the guards scanned it with a phone then gave them a nod and allowed them into the pipe.
What the fuck?
After that, a steady stream of people came through, and Marion knew she had to make her move soon.Her chance arrived as a large group appeared.She hoped the darkness would help hide what she was about to do.As the group entered the pipe, the guards’ attention turned to another visitor, so she took the opportunity to leave her hiding place and blend into the group.A woman glanced at her in confusion, her nose scrunching up like a bunny, as if she scented something foul.Marion lifted her chin and gave her a smile, as if she deserved to be there.Her grandmother always said, if you’re not in a place you’re supposed to be, just act like you should be and no one would question it.Seemed like Grammy Julia was absolutely right.
Marion couldn’t help but think all kinds of crazy thoughts.A cult?A nightclub?An auction house?Her heart pounded with a mixture of fear and excitement.She could be steps away from finding Peter.
As she emerged from the pipe, she found herself in a type of industrial ...warehouse?Distillery?What the hell?Metal and concrete seemed to be the decorating theme.The air hummed with anticipation as the low murmur slowly rose in pitch and held a hint of excitement.Keeping to the perimeter of the large room, it wasn’t until she saw the large digital board announcing battles and betting odds that she realized where she was.Of all the scenarios that had rolled through her mind, she hadn’t guessed an underground fight club that wasliterallyunderground.
One name on the board was Deacon.That son of a bitch.
Marion looked up and saw a second level and headed that way.A bird’s-eye view would be the best way to find Peter.She weaved through people until she got to the railing and that’s when her confusion kicked back in, because she wasn’t looking down into a caged fighting ring.
She stared at a labyrinth.
