Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
“Did you know she was here?” Cecil’s voice was hushed.
I stared through the glass panel, horrified by what I saw.
“No. I had no idea. Well…” I frowned, thinking about it.
“Maybe I did. It might be another reason why my instincts were pushing me over here.
I was so damn frustrated not knowing what had happened to Audrina.
Maybe the brethren's magic led me here, too, so it could put me out of my misery.”
God, she looked terrible. She lay above the covers of her bed, hair tangled, mismatched pajamas bunched up in awkward places.
I tapped at the door with a finger. Audrina didn’t turn. I tried the door; it was locked. “Can you open this, Cecil?”
“Do I look like a locksmith, Chosen?”
I glanced down at him, exasperated. “Can you style this door so it is no longer locked?”
“Oh.” He pursed his lips. “Yes, probably.” Quickly checking to make sure no one was around, he waved his paw, brow furrowed in concentration. Golden sparks flew. “There you go.”
I tried the handle, and it opened. We walked in. The air smelled like bleach. Audrina lay on her bed, her eyes half-closed. Her skin was so pale. “Audrina?”
She blinked once and gazed blankly past me.
“She’s high as a kite.” Cecil whistled through his teeth.
I flicked through the chart on her bed. “She’s on enough antipsychotic medication to sink a ship.
These notes… holy shit, this is messed up.
Reported hallucinations, self-harming, suicide attempts, reported homicidal intent.
It says here that she expressed intent to kill her brothers, and her mother checked her in for their safety.
” I hissed through my teeth. “Even on paper, the lies feel like an electric shock on my skin. Her brothers are all six-five linebackers. And Audrina would never hurt a fly. Damn it!”
Cecil leapt up onto the bed, lifted a paw, and tapped Audrina on the forehead. She didn’t even flinch. “Whatever she’s on, it’s some heavy stuff.”
I glanced over the rest of the report, my stomach churning.
“I should never have let her go back. I’ve been so careful to follow all the rules and make all the right moves, trying to do everything properly and by the book.
I should have just done whatever I could to protect her.
” I blinked back tears. “I knew her mother was a monster. Well, I’m done following the rules.
” I looked around. “Cecil, I need a wheelchair. We’re taking her with us. ”
“I’m on it, Chosen!” He bounded out of the room and returned quickly, pushing the chair in front of him.
Carefully channeling a tiny bit of berserker strength, I lifted Audrina out of bed and placed her on the seat, propping her back so she wouldn’t fall forward.
It was barely much of an effort at all. The poor girl was waifish.
Underfed. “Let’s get out of here. And we have to hurry.
I have to find a portal to the Under.” I gritted my teeth. “I have to save Donovan.”
We left the room, wheeled Audrina to the elevators, and got in, narrowly missing a couple of doctors as they turned the corner.
“There’s no portal, Chosen,” Cecil said as soon as the doors closed. “The Under isn’t another realm. it’s just a mirror of the physical world.”
I blew out a breath. “Well, how the hell do we get there?”
He shrugged. “You die. That’s the easy way.”
“So, what’s the hard way?”
“The hard way is to get someone touched by death to open a gateway. Nate can do it. In fact, he’s probably doing it now.”
“What do you mean he’s doing it now?”
“I thought I told you. Things have gone to hell with the Prince gone and you locked up. Everyone has lost their minds. If we don’t get Donovan back before Venus rises—which, in this realm's time, is about six hours away—his mother will accept that he is dead and grant the heirdom to Connor. If she does that, Connor will have her entire army to command. He won’t have to sneak around stealing spark stones; he’ll be able to rampage into whatever realm he likes with an entire army to back him up.
The others are desperate, Chosen, so they’re working on opening a gateway.
It’s suicide, but they’re going to the Under to find Donovan. ”
“Goddamnit.” The elevator stopped on the ground floor. I peeked out, seeing the receptionist hanging up the phone. “Six hours, huh? Go steal a car, Cecil. We need to get home. Now.”