When Joseph touched my shoulder and said that our time was up, it killed me to step back.
Leaving Lalia in that cell was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.
As Joseph and I exited the chamber her cell was in, my legs felt weak. And as we reached the bottom of the staircase that would lead up to the exit of the prison, I broke down. I sank to the floor, pulling my legs up to my chest and burying my head against my knees.
I was thankful that Joseph gave me space even though we were late leaving the prison. He just waited for me until I composed myself. When I looked up, he reached down a hand to me and helped me up. I wiped my eyes, doing my best to avoid looking like I’d just been crying, and we continued up the stairs.
Lucretia was waiting for us, still working on her nails in one corner of the room. She looked up as we entered. Then she got to her feet and dusted herself off.
“You’re almost ten minutes late,” she said, looking at us pointedly.
“Apologies,” Joseph replied. “We got lost. It’s a really huge place down there. How many cells are there altogether?”
She shrugged. “No idea… So how did it go?”
“It went well,” Joseph said. “River’s blood is a real help to me.”
“Good,” she muttered, locking the entrance to the prison again and sliding the key into her pocket.
We left the room and stepped out into the brightly lit atrium.
We parted ways with Lucretia and headed back toward Joseph’s apartment. I was unable to speak a word. My mind kept replaying those few moments I’d spent with my sister, how forlorn she’d looked, and how utterly helpless I’d felt to do anything to help her.
As we entered Joseph’s apartment, he broke the silence.
“It’s late. I suggest you get some sleep.”
I almost scoffed. Sleep. That was the last thing on my mind. Even though my body was exhausted, I doubted I would even be able to get a wink of sleep tonight.
Still, since Joseph was turning in, I did too. He showed me to one of the spare bedrooms in his apartment, then left me alone and returned to his own room.
I looked around the spacious bedroom and flopped down on the bed. It was one of the most comfortable beds I’d ever lain on. Here in The Oasis, everything exuded luxury. The floors, the bed linen, the lighting… and yet I couldn’t enjoy any of it.
I was beginning to feel uncomfortably cold again, my bones starting to ache. I slid beneath the blanket and curled up into a fetal position, closing my eyes tight and praying for my sister.
I tossed and turned, trying to find some relief in sleep, but I might as well have prayed for a miracle.
I was still trying to fall asleep well into the early hours of the morning.
It must’ve been about 2am when a strange noise broke through my thoughts. I sat up in bed, holding my breath as I strained to listen.
It sounded like a machine giving off an odd grinding noise. And it was coming from one of the levels below. I wondered what on earth it was. I got out of bed and padded over to the door. Opening it, I walked down the corridor and approached the front door, then placed my ear against the wood.
Yes. It sounded like someone was grinding something. And it was loud, at least to my sensitive ears.
Since I wasn’t able to sleep anyway, I was curious to go and see what it was, but I didn’t dare leave the apartment by myself. I didn’t want to wake Joseph either, so I didn’t see any other choice but to head back to my bedroom.
I jumped as Joseph’s bedroom door creaked open. His dark hair was tousled, and his nightshirt hung loosely, revealing his muscular torso.
“You couldn’t sleep either?” I whispered.
He shook his head. “I rarely sleep in this place… Do you hear that?” he asked.
“Yes. That’s why I’m out of bed,” I replied. “Do you have any idea what it is?”
“I’m going to check it out.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said. Anything was better than going back to bed and lying there in silence with nothing to distract myself with.
Joseph opened the front door softly and we began following the noise. It led us down several levels until we realized that it was coming from the ground floor. We descended quietly and soon realized that the sound was emanating from one of the chambers directly opposite the lily pond.
I exchanged glances with Joseph. He held a finger to his lips.
My mouth sealed, I controlled my breathing to make as little noise as possible as the two of us made our way over to the door. Joseph bent down as soon as we reached it and peered through the narrow keyhole. I waited patiently until he had finished looking and gave me a turn.
The room was dimly lit and running the full length of the furthermost wall was a huge piece of machinery. Hovering next to it was a tall man. I couldn’t see his face because his back was turned toward me, but I recognized who it was based on his hair and physique. Jeramiah. His hands were obscured by a wide metal funnel, but it looked like he was lowering something into the machine, and each time his hands descended, that loud grinding noise penetrated my eardrums.