City of Dust

Chapter Eighteen

There's an elevator behind the staircase and the guard pulls me inside. I hug up against the wall while the guard watches me, taser at the ready. Does Ehtab truly mean for me to watch this so-called ceremony or did he just say that to lure me into a false sense of security?

I've faced hundreds of monsters and slain every single one. But I'm at a loss at how to fight a demon.

The elevator rises six floors to the top of the building. Doctor Parrish-Abbott is waiting for us when the doors open with four red guards. She looks me up and down blandly. "Search her," she commands as the taser-wielding guard shoves me forward.

Rough hands dig into every fold, every pocket in my clothes and pull out all of my hidden knives, flash-bangs, and paperwork. They strip the boots off my feet while I have to lean on the wall to keep my balance. They even dump the contents of my pouch on the floor.

"A stuffed owl and a Little Critters book?" the doctor asks, genuinely befuddled as she reaches down to pick them up. "Why the hell are you carrying these?"

One of the guards throws a boot carelessly down in front of me. Scowling, I snag it with a dirty, sock-covered foot and stuff it back on. "Because I want to."

"Whatever," the doctor sighs. "You can have them back." She tosses them onto the floor with as much disdain as the guard did with my boot.

I bend down and scoop them into the pouch, clipping it onto my belt. The tightness in my chest eases somewhat now that I have them close by.

"This way," the doctor says, gesturing for me to follow. "Don't even try to rubberneck."

She doesn't know me very well, does she? I have very little curiosity. Being curious, as I told her daughter, only serves to get you killed.

We walk down a sterile hallway peppered here and there with light brown doors. I don't even attempt to read the plaques attached to the wall.

The doctor reaches a door near the end of the hall and pulls a key from her lab coat pocket. "In you go," she says, making a sweeping motion with one hand.

I step around her, slowly pulling off my gloves as enter the room. The doctor reaches around me to flick on the light switch. The room is suddenly lit up and I look around, just a little curious as to what will be my prison for the next few days (or coffin).

It's just an empty office with blacked-out windows overlooking the stable yard. A white desk rests against the right wall with an old desk top computer sitting unplugged atop it. Empty shelves line the wall closest to me and a short couch is positioned beneath the windows.

I turn around in a slow circle and come to a stop in front of the doctor.

She regards me mildly. "We'll have some blankets and pillows brought up for you, as well as some food." She pauses, then gestures to my pouch. "I'd offer you some books to read, but I'm sure they would be well above your reading level."

The skin between my eyes wrinkles, the only reaction I'll give the woman.

"Well, then." The doctor sighs dramatically and looks around the room. "I'll leave you to your thoughts. Just don't try to escape. Creatures like to roam the halls at night and you're without your toys."

Am I? But I say nothing as she closes the door behind her. I hear a click as a lock is turned, securing me in the room.

Standing away from the door, press my ear to the wall and listen to the sound of booted feet fade down the hall. For a brief moment, I consider building a ward around the room, but I have nothing to replenish my electrolytes. And there's always the chance that I'll need all of my strength. So I grab the only thing I can safely move without drawing any attention to myself—the desk chair.