Casteel’s boots echo off the hallway. I leave Morgan’s door and follow him. I don’t trust him not to turn around and make Morgan pay further for the wounds she inflicted. He’s petty. Brutal, but weak.
He travels down the hall, turning at the corridor that leads back to my studio and the stairway to the dungeons. He passes the soldier at the landing, who calls out, “What happened to your neck?”
Casteel spins, quick and agile. His hand is around the soldier’s throat. He squeaks, unable to breathe. This time it’s not by magic but by sheer power.
“Mind your own fucking business, soldier.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies, gasping for air. I slink further into the wall.
“Get the prisoners ready,” Casteel barks to unknown soldiers below. He vanishes around the corner but his voice echoes back up the stairwell. “I need to blow off a little steam.”
Chapter 25
Dylan
It’s not until I reach the observation room that I realize there’s a problem. The monitors have been shut off. The room is empty. Keys hang from the lock.
My heart kicks into gear along with instincts and adrenaline. The instant I get the door open, I hear a voice.
“Dylan. Down here!”
My racing heart plunges into my gut and I run down the cells. Anita is gone and Marcus has taken her place in the filthy cell. “Where is she? Where’s Morgan?”
“She left, man. Locked me up in here and took off with the crazy chick.”
I look at my friend and try to process what he’s saying. “She’s gone? She did this to you?”
He nods. “Said the girl needed a shower and that you were up there waiting. I didn’t think it was a good idea.” He shakes his head. “I knew something was off.”
Why the hell would Morgan do that? What was she thinking?
“Can you let me out?” Marcus asks. He rattles the bars. I slip the key in the lock and release him. “Thanks.”
“Any idea where she was going?” I ask.
“No, but she took the prisoner with her. I don’t think she lied about the shower, though.” He waves his hand under his nose. “Start there.”
I pat him on the back. “Go upstairs. Get Sue to give you some food. I’ll be back.”
“You need any help?”
“I hope not, but stick around just in case I do.”
*
There’s no sign of Morgan in her room, but her bathroom looks like a bomb went off. I step over a pile of towels, nudging the clothes Anita wore in the cell. It couldn’t have been that long ago; the room still feels humid and the towels are damp. I exit the room, wondering where she could have gone.
Her bed looks in order but that doesn’t quell the unease in my chest. I sit on the edge of the bed and close my eyes, hoping to catch her final scent, but the room is filled with too much her and a lot of someone else. Apples and fruit dominate the air—shampoo—Anita most likely. There’s zero proof that they left the house. They aren’t in the dungeons, kitchen, or first floor.
I decide to start at the top, in the last place I saw Bunny slip from one world to the next. His studio.
Chapter 26
Morgan
Under the watchful eye of my silent servant--who I suspect is no more than a slave in the eyes of the Morrigan--I check the room for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. Casteel did his job thoroughly and there is nothing useful I can pry, break, or twist for my own purposes. The room is a sham. Staged decorations to make me feel like a guest. It’s just a different kind of cell.
I sit on the blood-red velvet chair and try