Rogue Fae, A Starseed Universe Novella

Answers in Psych

The drive to the hospital was a tense one. Casey nearly turned around twenty times claiming he needed to drop them off at the coven house so he could go somewhere public and have an alibi if the woman from the greenhouse came forward.

"You'll have as good a chance being recognized at the hospital as you would anywhere else in town right? Why don't you stop by the emergency room and sign in on the waiting sheet? Claim you broke your finger and then leave. Emergency rooms are always so busy they won't care and you'll have documentation." Emily's suggestion won the day and Casey remained on course.

He parked in the main lot and after a brief detour into the emergency room came running back out to show Gwenn, Emily, and Rena to the psych wing of the hospital.

"It's the oldest wing. Lucky for us that means they haven't updated their security in eons."

"How can you be sure?" Rena asked, brows furrowed together.

"My sister-in-law is a nurse in pediatrics. She said the hospital only had enough money budgeted to update about half the hospital. They focused on pediatrics, the emergency room, and the medical-surgical wing. Not sure why she thought I'd care, but the info came in handy. Like I said, I have insider knowledge," Casey shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

"You sure do," Emily agreed. "The plan is to ask where the girl is and then you convince the front desk to allow us in the back with your ceremens power then? What's the girl's name again?"

"Amanda Tompkins. Her daddy is the head surgeon at the hospital which is why she's here. He wanted Amanda watched by the top doctors."

Rena whistled. "A head surgeon's daughter? It's looking more and more like money is a motivating factor here."

Casey nodded. "Except Daniel sure as hell didn't have money. He ain't no beauty queen either like the rest of the girls. Maybe he was just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The sliding doors parted before them and they entered a stark white room furnished with black, metal chairs. A bird-like receptionist glanced up from her magazine behind the front counter.

"Can I help you? Visiting hours aren't until after supper." Her brown eyes locked with Gwenn's seconds before they glazed over.

Damn, Casey works fast.

"We're here to see Amanda Tompkins. Would you mind giving us her room number and we'll be on our way?" Casey asked leaning on the desk.

"Room fourteen, down that hall to your right. She's confined to her bed so you can walk right on in," the receptionist smiled dreamily up at him and returned to her magazine.

The witches rushed down the hallway. Despite the receptionist being an easy mark Casey had made it clear that his ceremens capabilities were limited and ran out quickly. The more people they ran into the faster his powers would drain.

As luck would have it, no doctors or nurses patrolled the white corridor. Conversations seeped under the cracks of doors. Gwenn wondered if they'd timed their arrival perfectly and the doctors and nurses were making their rounds or if the conversations were one-sided.

"Here we are," Casey said, stopping before room number fourteen. Slowly, hesitantly, he turned the knob and pushed. The door inched opened without so much as a squeak.

Casey wasn't joking about the lax security.

Gwenn's gut twisted into knots as she entered the most depressing room she'd ever seen.