Lise didn't look back and dashed for the elevator.

Well, he wasn't going to let her go until she told him.



Ahead of them, the elevator dinged. A second later, the doors slid open, and a squadron of Thornguards stepped into the hall.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Puck exclaimed as he skidded to a halt. As one, the knights drew their swords and marched forward in unison, filling the corridor with the ring of their boots.

Ash was advancing steadily as well, his eyes glassy and terrifying.

A click echoed through the hall and miraculously, one of the side doors swung open.

"How predictable," Grimalkin sighed, appearing in the doorway. He regarded them with amusement. "I thought you might need a second way out. Why is it always up to me to think of these things?"

"I would kiss you, cat," Puck said as he crowded through the doorway, "if we werent in such a hurry. Also, the hairballs could be unpleasant."

She rolls her eyes. "Some [butt]hole stole the scepter and I got framed for it. Lise and I were trying to find it."

" can we talk less and run? " she said, following Puck through the doorway.

"Where is the scepter now?"




Once everyone was through, he slammed the door and leaned against it, gasping as he took in their newest surroundings. A vast white room stretched before them, filled with hundreds upon hundreds of cubicles, creating a labyrinth of aisles. A low hum vibrated in the air, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of tapping keys. Humans sat at desks within each cubicle, dressed in identical white shirts and gray pants, staring glassy-eyed at the monitors as they typed away.

Simultaneously, the tapping stopped. Chairs shifted and groaned as every single human in the room stood up and, as one, turned in their direction. And, as one, they opened their mouths and spoke. "We see you, Lise Chase. You will not escape."

Puck cursed and pulled out his dagger just as a boom shook the door behind them.

"Looks like we're going straight through," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Grimalkin, get moving! Rusty, clear us a path!"

Grimalkin bounded into the maze, dodging feet and weaving through legs as the hordes of zombie-drones shuffled toward them. Ironhorse pawed the tile, put his head down and charged with a roar. Drones flung themselves at him, punching and clawing, but they bounced off or were thrown aside as the angry Iron fey stampeded through the hall. Puck followed in his wake, leaping over downed bodies, dodging the hands that grabbed for them.

"I don't know." She sighs. "But I know who's behind this and where he is."

she ran after Puck, just barely avoiding tripping or getting grabbed.

He fell silent, waiting for her to continue.



The maze of aisles and cubicles seemed to go on forever. The mob of zombie heads bobbing above the cubicle walls, following them.

"They're coming fast. How much farther, cat?"

"Here," Grimalkin said, darting around a cubicle. The room finally ended with a stark white wall and a door in the corner, marked with an Exit sign. "The emergency stairs," he explained as he rushed forward in relief. "This will take us to the street level. Hurry!"

Ash stepped out of an aisle next to them, appearing from nowhere.

She doesn't say anything else.

she avoided Ash and headed towards the emergency stairs.