Excerpt from Chapter 8 – “IF I LOSE, I SHALL DIE”

Fourteen.
I quickly counted the number of creaky wooden steps to
the third floor as we started the climb, Mr. Arbella, practically
running, leading the way, as always, filled with boundless determination
and energy, as if anxious to get to an urgent appointment.
Maybe he was, but the appointment was mine.
“’Bout half as many steps to the third flawr as the second,”
said Dowie. “That be a good thing.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Mr. Arbella, approaching the top,
barked over his shoulder. “The challenge is what’s at the top of
these stairs.”
Driven by a desire to match his determination and energy,
and to show him how anxious I was to meet the challenge, I
bounded up the steps two at a time, arriving at the top just
before he did. Immediately the ring appeared before me, like
some mystical shrine, as did the cloth banner stretched across
the cracked, egg shell-colored wall just beyond it, the letters big,
bold, black against a crimson background: IF I LOSE, I SHALL
DIE.