Page 80 of The Claiming

“That doesn’t usually stop students.” Jack laughs softly and I nod.

“It doesn’t. Many use it for making out away from prying eyes. They rarely venture in here though. The wood is old and liable to give way and most prefer the other side of the dock that was restored a few years back.”

I gaze across the dock at the other side. I’ve been down here myself many times but never thought to cross the dock to check this side out. It’s a narrow jetty, apparently leading nowhere, and the wood is old and patchy in places and, to an innocent observer, leads nowhere.

“The cops are shit if they missed this,” Jack grumbles and I agree with him.

“They probably saw nothing when they checked because the door is set back a little and covered with creepers.”

I admit that whoever designed this has my admiration because, to the naked eye, this side is overrun by nature. It’s only now I’m standing here that I recognize how prefabricated the disguise is. It’s a natural curtain to conceal unnatural behavior and I couldn’t be more excited if I had engineered it myself.

“So, what happens now?” Jack says with a low whistle and I smile.

“We set a trap at the next Claiming and this time, we will be one step ahead of the mysterious centurion imposter.”

FORTY

CASSIE

Siri is nervous and whispers, “They’ve been gone ages. First Frankie and now Jack. What shall we do?”

“There is only one thing we can do.”

I stare at her with determination and she shrugs. “What?”

“We follow them.”

I nod toward the tunnel. “Follow me, Siri, it may be a little crowded in there but my educated guess is they’ve found something.”

I shine my flashlight and we begin our journey, and it doesn’t take us long to reach a hole in the floor.

“Fuck!”

I almost fall down it and Siri bumps up behind me.

“What is it?” Her voice wobbles a little and she is obviously scared shitless, but she pushed it aside to do the unthinkable and I love that about her.

“There’s a trapdoor in the floor.”

I shift so my legs are dangling into it and whisper, “I’m going in.”

“Cassie–” Her words follow me as I jump down and discover I can stand and I shine my light around me, noting I’m standing in a dark passageway.

“It’s okay. Give me your hand and I’ll steady you.”

She gasps, “Why the fuck am I here right now instead of chilling in front of a movie? This is a bad idea.”

“Because you would hate to be left out.” I remind her and she groans.

“You got that right. I’m coming in.”

As she jumps down beside me, she gasps, “Wow, this is amazing. I feel like one of those mad explorers about to discover the Holy Grail.”

“Same.”

I can’t help loving the excitement and adrenalin that is fizzing through my entire body as I push aside any fears I may have and let curiosity be in charge now.

We walk slowly, every step a new discovery, and Siri whispers, “Poor Abigail. This must be what happened. The Centurion pulled her through this trapdoor into the tunnel. By all accounts she was dragged. It can’t have been pleasant.”

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