Before I could finish speaking, we vanished. The same disorientation overwhelmed me, and in an instant, we were standing in a bright white hallway. Fluorescent lights above gave the passage a cold, sterile feeling. I gasped and swallowed back the bile that tried to rise in my throat. I was never going to get used to that.
Sinthy, unfazed, tugged me to the side. “Over here,” she hissed into my ear.
Blinking, I pressed myself against the wall. Through the haze of my discomfort, I became aware of the clomp of boots. Someone was walking down the hall toward us. Fuck. Already?
Sinthy pressed her hand to a door and murmured a spell, and the door clicked open. She dragged me inside and closed it right as the footsteps turned the corner into the hallway. My heart was thrumming inside my chest. I hadn’t anticipated something like this happening the moment we appeared. Christ, if we’d left even five seconds later, whoever this was would have probably actually seen us appear out of thin air.
The footsteps receded down the hall, and Sinthy opened the door a crack to peer out. Whispering, almost low enough that I couldn’t hear her, she said, “A guard. Armed. He didn’t see us. Come on. I can feel her. We’re close.”
I followed her out the door and walked behind her as she led the way. The map seemed pointless at this point. Sinthy took turn after turn with perfect confidence. I was already lost, but she seemed to know exactly where we were going. At one intersection of hallways, I heard the murmur of conversation. We stood at the corner, hidden from sight, praying that no one would come this way. Whether it was God or fate, our prayers were answered, and the voices and footsteps disappeared down an adjacent passage.
“This is it,” Sinthy whispered as we rounded a final corner.
There was a long hallway, longer than any we’d seen thus far. It was lined with doors. Each one was numbered and had a small panel at eye level. It was the exact same setup as I’d seen in the video feed. Sinthy walked toward the door labeled #1.
I crept up beside her and watched as the confident look on her face evaporated when she placed a hand on the door. Itwas replaced with a look of confusion and slight fear. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I… this is strange,” Sinthy said, running a hand across the metal of the door.
“What’s strange? What are you talking about?” Was something wrong? What was happening?
“Step back. I need to check something.”
I did as she asked, taking two full steps away. My head swiveled back and forth, looking and listening for anyone who might stumble upon us. Sinthy pressed both hands to the door and whispered something to herself. A second later, a weird crackle filled the air, and my ears tried to pop. “What the hell is that?” I asked.
“The door is enchanted?” Her words came out almost like a question instead of a statement.
“What? I thought you said the royals didn’t have witches.” This was bad. If there was a witch inside this facility helping the royals, our one trump card had been rendered useless. My God, what if they’d already cast some spell that would prevent us from teleporting out? Things had rapidly gotten worse if that was the case.
Sinthy shook her head. “This isn’t the work of a witch. This spell is too weak. This is…” She frowned as if she was trying to work out some riddle in her head. “It’s almost like someone is pretending to be a witch. Casting a spell they didn’t really understand. Stolen magic, maybe? I don’t like this. We need to move fast. Hang on.”
Sinthy swept her hand across the door a second time, this time muttering a different set of incomprehensible words. The electronic latch inside the door clicked open with an audibleclack. The door swung open a single inch, and a massive blaring alarm began to sound.
“Shit,” Sinthy hissed. “Hurry. I was too worried about the enchantment, and I forgot to disable the alarm when I unlocked it. They’ll be here any second.”
I yanked the door open and sprinted inside. Maddy’s mother sat on the floor—her knees hugged to her chest like I’d seen in the video. She was still staring blankly into space. She hadn’t even moved or reacted at all when the alarm sounded. I looked into her vacant eyes and gently patted her cheek. “Gabriella? Hey? Are you there?” Nothing. It was like she was comatose, except her eyes were open.
“Anything?” Sinthy asked.
I shook my head. “Gabriella. We’re going to get you out of here, okay?”
“Nico? I hear footsteps. They’re coming. We have to go!”
I took Gabriella’s hand. “I’m gonna take you back to Maddy. You’ll see her soon.”
Finally, a small flicker of acknowledgment came into her eyes at the mention of Maddy’s name. Gabriella’s eyes flitted to my face for the barest instant before going lifeless again. I reached up and grabbed Sinthy’s hand. An instant later, the door of the cell burst open. The two guards froze, shocked to see Sinthy and me inside the cell.
From down the hall behind the guards, the sound of a familiar female voice screeched at them. “If she gets away, you’re all fucking dead. You hear me?”
Sinthy winked at the guards. “Screw you. Have fun with that, bitch.” A blink of an eye later, the three of us vanished.
I collapsed onto the floor of my living room, Maddy’s mother in my arms. Sinthy stood above us, brushing her clothes off as if she’d only come in from the garden rather than five thousand miles away.
Sinthy turned toward the stairs. “We’re back,” she called.
Shouts of surprise and the sound of stampeding feet met her words. Within seconds, the others were rushing down the stairs toward us. Maddy grabbed me and kissed me before turning to her mother. She gathered her mother in her arms. Gabriella didn’t lift her arms to hug her back. All she did was sit there like a zombie.
Maddy cupped Gabriella’s face in her hands and stared deep into her eyes. “It’s like she’s not there. What’s wrong with her?” Maddy sounded like she was on the verge of a full freak-out.
