We walk down the path; away from the eerie sound of carnival music and into the darkness.

The air is cold and silent, and as we progress a thin layer of fog begins to conceal the landscape. I squint my eyes to see through it and pick out the distorted shapes of derelict buildings. Looming up beside us is a large, domed Cathedral, and somewhere in the distance I hear the hollow chimes of a clock tower.

There is an industrial scent mixed in with the icy breeze; like smoke and blood and iron.

Something about the place seems both familiar and wrong, but I can't figure out what it is. I shiver and rub my arms to fight against the cold.

"How do you know the centre of the maze is this way?" I ask Cupid.

"The blood" he replies darkly.

I follow his gaze to the floor, and notice drops of dark crimson running through the cobbled stones.

He gives a grim smile.

"Where the blood runs, the Minotaur will be"

I shudder again as we follow a stain of red, wiped against the side of an old, abandoned pub.

Somewhere above us I hear a weird, mechanical sound - jarring against the silence. I jolt my gaze upwards but see nothing through the layer of thick mist.

"What is this place?" I ask.

Cupid looks at me; the mist clings to his face and gives him an almost ethereal look.

"I'd say we're in the Minotaur's version of a labyrinthed Victorian London." He says "Things are in the wrong place, and he's not quite remembered it right – but it fits. Look, the domed Cathedral over there..."

He points through the smog at the desolate building we just passed. The fog hanging over it shifts momentarily revealing a streak of blood splattered across its white domed roof.

"I think that's St. Pauls." He says "He spent some time in London before he was captured."

I nod as I recall Crystal's account in the Records of the Finis.

He'd been in London when she retrieved the Finis from him.

"I thought she let him go." I say quietly "Crystal I mean. Why did the Matchmaking Service capture him? That would have been after Venus' time."

A darkness crosses Cupid's face, and he seems to involuntarily stroke one of the arrows hung over his bare shoulder.

"Did I mention the Minotaur might not be too pleased to see us...?" he says.

I shake my head – a pang of alarm jolting through my body.

"No. You must have forgotten to mention that..." I reply.

He gives a half smile then shrugs.

"It was after my time at the Matchmaking Service" he says "We need him on our side to take down Venus, but he's a killer Lila. I'd wager that's why they took him in."

We follow the trail of blood down a dark alleyway and somewhere ahead I hear that mechanical sound again.

Cupid apparently hears it too and stops still in his tracks.

"That and he had a surveillance system to rival ours..."

He suddenly pushes me against the wall, his tensed body pressed against mine. I yelp in surprise but he places a large hand over my mouth to silence me. He gestures with his head that I look upwards.

Slowly I do so.

Above us, jutting out from the wall is a small camera. I hear the mechanical sound again as it moves; its lens surveying the surroundings.

"He's watching?" I whisper. "Does he know we're here?"

Cupid looks up at the camera again, and then down into my eyes. There is an intensity in his gaze.

"Yes" he says. "Come on."

He steps away from me, his eyes lingering on mine for a tense moment, then he turns and continues to walk onwards. I fall into step beside him as we navigate through the labyrinth of narrow, blood stained streets.

As we progress the mechanical sounds follow us.

He knows we're here.

He's watching us.

Soon we reach a vast iron bridge and stop still in our tracks.

On the other side is a crumbling, derelict palace. It is vast and murky white, with rows of blackened windows looking out like hollowed eyes. On the roof, rippling in the icy breeze, is a red flag. The letter M is imprinted in its centre.

M for Minotaur.

"We're here." says Cupid. "He's taken Buckingham Palace."

The air around us smells metallic and sweet and I warily approach the railings of the bridge. As I do nausea washes over me; below, in place of the Thames is a rushing river of blood.

Cupid pulls me away and steadies me.

"I thought the Myths were in here to be tormented" I say weakly "Pandora was stuck fighting the Sins, Medusa trapped in a house of mirrors – this is different."

I stare at the Palace ahead.

"It's like he can control the Simulation. Like he's made it how he wants it to be."

Cupid nods.

"Everywhere the Minotaur went, humans would begin to build his labyrinth" he says "He has more than just physical power – his mind is strong too. The Sim wouldn't have been able to fool him – which is why we are faced with a difficult task. And why he concerns me the most."

He looks at me darkly through the fog.

"If he could have escaped at any time...why didn't he?" he says "What is he waiting for?"

He stares straight ahead; his physique statuesque. His eyes are glazed over, as though his thoughts are elsewhere. I feel a knot in my stomach.

If something worries Cupid, then it worries me even more.

Suddenly he seems to snap out of it and he grins.

"Well...Shall we find out...?" he says, raising his eyebrows.

I nod, and together we walk over the bridge.

I pause when we as we step onto the hard ground at the other side.

Slumped by the tall, iron gates to the palace, are two soldiers in red uniform and tall, black bearskin hats.

Arrows jut out from their chests.

"Crystal's been here" says Cupid, examining one of the bodies.

He pushes against the gates, the rusty metal screeching against the cobbled ground of the courtyard, then he turns to look at me.

"You ready?"

I nod, and we walk purposefully towards the grand entrance. Cupid pushes open the heavy door.

We step into a musty entrance hall. A rich, stone staircase leads to a mezzanine area and around us the walls are covered with monitors. They each depict areas of the labyrinth we have just battled through.

Some show the distorted London streets, but some show other areas. My eyes wander towards one, and I see Pandora and a blindfolded, dark haired European girl making their way through the carnival.

Medusa.

Suddenly all the monitors flicker off, and then the moving image on each one becomes identical; it's Cupid kissing me on the floor of the Lust room in Pandora's Sim.

Heat rushes to my face as I see myself passionately kissing him, his hands running through my hair.

"Yes, you've made your point" Cupid calls out to the grand room "You've been watching us..."

The moving image loops around once more, and I feel momentarily grateful that Cupid remains silent throughout. 

I would have expected some kind of commentary on the filmed activities.

Then the screens flicker off and a crackling sounds from above.

I look upwards – filled with discomfort that someone had been watching us all along.

"Please...come through to the great hall." sounds a deep, British voice from a speaker in the corner of the space "Head down the corridor on the right. We'd be delighted for you to join us."

I share a look with Cupid.

Join us? Is Crystal with him now?

Side by side, we make our way onwards, down a musty, decaying corridor.

"Am I a good kisser?" he says "It looks like I'm a good kisser...from the film I mean..."

I glare at him, noting the smirk on his face.

Now is not the time...

The end of the corridor opens out into a grandly decorated hall. It has been set out like a ball room, with circular tables set out around the middle to leave space for dancing in the centre. A number of stone steps lead to an arched door at the front of the room.

On it, in unnerving contrast to the gold plaited candelabras, and rich, old fashioned tapestries, is a modern, luminescent Exit sign.

The way out.

Cal must have put it there.

In the centre of the hall Crystal is stood facing a tall, dark male – an arrow gripped in her hand. Her face is set with resolve, and her eyes gleam furiously.

The male is smirking. His bare, muscular arms are tattooed, and he has a viscous scar over his left eye.

The Minotaur.

"Cupid, Lila" he says "Welcome"

His voice is silky smooth and as he speaks he slides his gaze over to us.

Cupid walks forwards.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything" he says.

The Minotaur shakes his head.

"Not at all, not at all." he says "The others have just left. Crystal and I are just resolving a bit of unfinished business."

He looks at us, a charming smile on his face.

"You asked out there what I was waiting for. It's true I can leave whenever I wish." He shrugs "But you see, I've grown to quite like it in here. And you're right, I have been waiting...I've been waiting for Crystal."

He grins, flashing perfectly white teeth.

"I've longed for some female company for such a long time."

Crystal looks at Cupid and me, her face stormy.

"He thinks I sold him out to the Matchmaking Service" she says through gritted teeth "He won't let me leave. He wants me to stay here with him, in the Sim, forever."