Spell Bound - Kelley Armstrong [116]
“Huh?” I said.
“It’s a false back,” Jeremy explained. “Come in the front door, where the workman is, and I suspect you can’t get any farther. Come in the back, and you’ll get a small area of access, plus these stairs.”
“And the hospital rooms are hidden between the two.”
“The central part also seems to be heavily soundproofed,” Jeremy said. “I can hear better from the upper level than I can down there.”
“Someone’s gone to a lot of work to hide something,” I said.
“Fortunately, it’s in a relatively small area, if my calculations of the house are correct. I’m going to take another listen at the grates and see if I can’t figure out the layout.”
Jeremy determined that the warded area was one narrow section across the center of the house. My father checked the exterior, and reported that there were two main-floor windows on each end of that section, both covered with plywood. Under those panels the windows had been bricked up. A fortified and soundproofed section within an otherwise normal-looking building. For someone accustomed to finding the bad guys in remote warehouses and subterranean lairs, I had to admit this was clever.
Voices came from an eastern room—maybe an office or lab. To the west, Jeremy caught the sound of coughing and the occasional moan. More than one patient? He couldn’t tell. He hoped so, though, because he was catching at least eight distinct human scents, and we really didn’t want to be dealing with seven people guarding Bryce.
The main stairs opened into the upper hall. From there, we could see into the lower hall, meaning it wasn’t the easiest place to sneak down. Or the easiest place for me to lurk while Jeremy and Adam snuck down. I followed them at a distance, then crouched behind the massive banister and listened.
I could see a closed door to the west, leading into the hospital area. Adam checked the door, then gave me a thumbs-up, letting me know it was unlocked.
To the east, I could make out a desk through the open doorway. Then, with a squeak, a chair wheeled back from the desk and I caught sight of a man in a lab coat . . . at the same time he caught sight of Adam.
A shout. Then a thump. A woman yelled, “The door. Get the door!” Another thump, this one from the direction of the hospital. Then a metallic clang. I leaned out to see a mechanical steel door sliding closed over the door into the west wing. Sealing off the hospital.
I raced down the stairs. I grabbed the steel door and wrenched, but it was like a solid elevator door, and it wasn’t stopping. I managed to squeeze through.
I swung around, my back slapping against the now closed steel door. A knockback spell flew to my lips. And just as fast, I flipped open the switchblade I’d grabbed at headquarters.
I was in a small area cut off from the rest of the room by a hospital curtain. To my right was a sink and medical supplies. A handwritten sign hanging off the curtain warned FULL PROTECTION REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT. Disposable gloves and masks were piled on a trolley, with a bin for discards.
I tugged back the curtain and found three hospital beds, a sleeping form in each of them. The lights were dimmed. Monitors bleeped and blipped beside each patient.
Across the way was a closed door. There was no sign of anyone except the patients. I was about to step out when my phone vibrated. I quickly texted Adam to say I was searching and couldn’t talk yet.
I slid from the curtained area and crept over to the sleeping forms. The first was a woman, lying on her back, rasping as she breathed, deep in sleep. The last in the row was dark-haired—male or female, I couldn’t tell, especially since there was something draped over the patient’s face. The dark hair told me it wasn’t Bryce, though.
The middle patient was a young, light-haired man. The dim lights meant I couldn’t see more than that, so I tiptoed over to the beds. I started slipping between the two and knocked into a bucket on the floor. The stink of vomit wafted up. I covered my nose, retreated, and circled to