CHAPTER 118: COMPROMISED

Three days. Three long, nerve-shredding days since Fin’s unsettling visit. Mara’s fingers hovered over the encrypted datachip on her desk.

The information was there – names, affiliations, suspected abilities of key Association Hunters. A list that felt heavier than lead. Each byte of data was a potential death sentence, for them or for Fin. Or for her, if this went wrong.

’He said he’d be in touch,’ she thought, chewing on her thumbnail. ’When? How?’ Every unexpected noise in the Guildhall made her jump. Every sideways glance from a colleague felt like an accusation.

Her desk comm chimed, the sound sharp and sudden. She flinched.

"Mara, report to my office. Immediately." Jolly’s voice, clipped and cold. No room for argument.

Mara’s blood ran cold. ’Oh no.’ She knew that tone. It wasn’t about budget reports or overdue paperwork. It was the tone Jolly used when something big, something bad, had hit the fan.

’She knows. Or she suspects.’

"On my way, guildmaster," she managed, her voice surprisingly steady.

She didn’t go to Jolly’s office.

She grabbed the datachip, shoving it deep into her pocket. She snatched her coat from the back of her chair. Her mind raced. ’If Jolly has me, she’ll get the chip. she’ll connect it to Fin.’ She couldn’t let that happen.

She walked out of her office, not towards Jolly’s, but towards the emergency exit at the end of the corridor. Fast, but not running. Trying to look casual.

"Mara? Where are you going? The guildmaster is waiting." It was one of the Guild’s senior Hunters, his brow furrowed.

"Urgent personal matter," she lied, forcing a tight smile. "Be right back."

She didn’t look back. She pushed through the emergency exit, the alarm blaring behind her.

’So much for casual.’

The alleyway stairs were slick with rain and grime. She scrambled down them, her heart hammering against her ribs. Shouts echoed from the Guildhall entrance behind her.

"Stop her! Guild security!"

She hit the street running, coat flapping, weaving through the lunchtime crowds of Arclight. Two Hunters, Guild issue grey uniforms, burst from the alleyway behind her, already pointing, shouting.

’Can’t outrun them,’ she realized, ducking into a narrow, refuse-choked side alley between a noodle bar and a derelict electronics shop.

The stench of stale garbage and damp concrete filled her lungs. She pressed herself flat against a grimy brick wall, trying to control her ragged breathing, listening for the sound of pursuit.

Footsteps pounded past the alley entrance. They hadn’t seen her. For now.

She squeezed her eyes shut, praying. ’Just stay hidden. Just until Fin...’ But how would Fin even find her here? This was a disaster.

A shadow fell over her.

Mara’s eyes snapped open. Her breath hitched.

Fin stood at the mouth of the alley, silhouetted against the grey daylight, looking down at her. His expression was unreadable.

"What a mess you’ve made, boss," he said, his voice calm, almost bored.

’She really panics easily.’

Mara stared up at him, still pressed against the grimy brick wall. Her breath came in ragged gasps. The shouts of the Guild Hunters echoed faintly from the street.

"They... Jolly... she summoned me," she stammered, pushing a stray strand of hair from her sweat-slicked forehead. "I thought... the chip... she’d know..."

Fin’s expression didn’t change. ’Panicked. Predictable.’ He glanced towards the mouth of the alley. The shouts were closer now. No time for explanations. "Did you bring it?"

She fumbled in her coat pocket, pulling out the small datachip. She held it out, her hand trembling. "Here. Just... take it. I can’t—"

He took the chip. He didn’t look at it. He looked back at the alley entrance. "They’ll find you here. Or they’ll find you later." He paused. "You’re a loose end now, boss."

Her eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"I’m saying," he said, his voice flat, "you’re coming with me."

"Coming with you where?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Fin, I can’t just disappear! My job, my life—"

"Your life is about to get very short if you stay here," he cut her off. He reached out, grabbing her arm. His grip was firm, not rough, but leaving no room for argument. "We need to go. Now."

"Go where?" she repeated, trying to pull her arm free, but his grip was like steel. "You can’t just drag me—"

He didn’t answer with words. He focused inward. The air in the narrow alley shimmered, distorting around them. A swirling vortex of light, smelling faintly of ozone and old stone, opened silently on the brick wall opposite them, where moments before there had only been graffiti and grime.

Mara stared at the impossible gateway, her mouth falling open. "What... what is that?"

"Safety," he said simply. He pulled her towards it. "Or something like it."

She dug her heels in, resisting. "No! Fin, I can’t! That thing... it’s not natural!" Fear, raw and primal, flashed in her eyes.

"Staying out here is worse," he stated, his voice cold, impatient. The shouts from the street were very close now. Heavy footsteps pounded towards the alley. "Your choice, Mara. Them?" He jerked his head towards the sounds of pursuit. "Or me?"

She looked from the approaching doom to the terrifying, unnatural portal. Her face was pale, her breathing shallow. She looked at Fin’s impassive face.

With a choked sob, she nodded once, sharply.

He didn’t wait for her to change her mind. He pulled her forward, through the shimmering light, into the unknown.

The portal snapped shut behind them instantly, leaving the alley empty, stinking of garbage and desperation, just as the first Guild Hunter rounded the corner, weapon drawn.

The shift was instantaneous. One moment, the stench of the grimy alley; the next, cool, still air and the faint scent of old stone. Mara stumbled, her eyes squeezed shut against the expected disorientation.

When she opened them, she gasped.

They stood in the vast throne room. High, shadowed ceilings, dark stone walls, the faint light from unseen sources casting long shadows. It was imposing, unsettling, and utterly alien.

"What... what is this place?" she whispered, her voice trembling as she took in the sheer scale, the gothic grandeur. She instinctively clutched Fin’s arm tighter, then quickly let go as if burned.

He didn’t answer, already moving towards the center of the hall.

"My Lord." Arachne’s voice came from near the archway leading to the training ground. She stepped into the main hall, her expression carefully neutral as her gaze flicked from Fin to Mara, then back to Fin.

Scarlet lounged on one of the stone benches against the far wall, idly sharpening a dagger she must have retrieved from the armory. She looked up, a smirk playing on her lips as she saw Mara’s bewildered, terrified face.

"New guest, Boss? Expanding the harem?"

Meg emerged from another corridor, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. She wore simple training clothes, a wooden staff still held loosely in one hand. She stopped when she saw Mara, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Mara? What are you doing here?"

Mara just stared, speechless, taking in the three women. The calm, almost subservient one. The dangerous-looking redhead with the smirk. And Meg... Meg, looking stronger, fitter than Mara had ever seen her, holding a staff like she knew how to use it. This wasn’t just a hidden room; it was a hidden world, with... occupants.

"She ran into some trouble," Fin stated flatly, looking at Arachne. "Guild security. They know she was helping me."

Arachne nodded slowly, her gaze returning to Mara, assessing. "She is compromised then."

"Yeah," he agreed. He looked at Mara, who still stood frozen near where the portal had closed, her face pale. "Welcome to the safe house, boss. Try not to break anything."

"Safe house?" Mara finally found her voice, a hysterical edge creeping into it. "Fin, this isn’t a safe house! This is... I don’t even know what this is! A dungeon? Your personal cult headquarters?" She gestured wildly around the vast, empty hall. "And who are they?"

"Acquisitions," Scarlet drawled from her bench, not bothering to look up from her dagger.

"Associates," Fin corrected, shooting Scarlet a brief, annoyed glance. He looked back at Mara. "They live here now. With me."

Meg walked over, stopping a few feet from Mara, her expression a mixture of concern and confusion. "Mara, are you okay? What happened?"

"What happened?" Mara repeated, her voice rising again. "I’ll tell you what happened! I was almost arrested! I’m probably going to be branded a traitor! And now I’m in some kind of... of pocket dimension nightmare with a bunch of... of—" She couldn’t find the words.

"Relax," Fin said, his voice calm, almost bored again. "You’re safe here. For now."

"Safe?" She laughed, a short, sharp, humorless sound. "I don’t feel safe, Fin! I feel like I just stepped into one of your insane dungeon runs without a weapon or a briefing!" She looked around again, at the high stone walls, the shadowed archways. "How do I get out of here?"

"You don’t," he stated simply. "Not until I say so."

Mara stared at him. The earlier fear was returning, colder this time, mixed with a dawning realization of her utter helplessness. She was trapped. Not just in Arclight, hunted by her own Guild, but here. In his world. By his rules.

"This wasn’t the deal, Fin," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.

"The deal changed when they came after you," he replied, his gaze unwavering. "You’re a target now. Out there," he gestured vaguely, "you’re bait. Or dead. In here..." He paused. "You’re just stuck with me."