I knew there was a medical room on the far side of the hallway and I made for that, pausing to peer around the corner when we reached what seemed to be a small lunchroom. A dozen or so Fae were scattered around the space with trays of food. Hopeful that no one would spot me, I darted past, slinking down the hallway.
The infirmary door wasn’t locked or guarded, surprisingly. The room was simple enough. Clean. A sanitary station, filled with cabinets of medical supplies and lined with exam tables. Medicine was stored in a glass cabinet on the far wall. A drawer unit of clean, dry clothing sat next to a lonely shower head, marked with instructions for emergency use.
Odd. The Fae were mining crystals, right? Could the crystals harm them? Was that why they wore hazmat suits? My attention snagged on a counter tucked in the back corner, lined with microscopes, burners, and equipment I didn’t recognize. The technology was state of the art. Mordecai’s lab. I had never been allowed anywhere near his crystal experiments; I supposed that was why I hadn’t considered that the lab would be down here. It wasn’t marked on any of the maps, but clearly that had been done with intent. What better way to hide an expensive lab than under the guise of an infirmary that no one used?
Another glass cabinet caught my eye and I stepped closer. Test tubes sat in racks on the shelves; most were empty, some filled with liquids ranging from various shades of green to perfectly clear. What was Mordecai up to?
Regardless, I wasn’t going to find answers here, not unless I learned how to break into the wall safe where I guessed the real trial results were hidden. Or maybe only the crystal he was testing with. Nothing else in the room stood out to me, except the computer perched on a corner desk. Maybe answers were there?
The screen flashed a “password required” warning.
Of course.
Nevaeh jumped from my shoulder and scoured the room, slipping into unlocked cabinets. I rummaged through the papers on the desk, mostly blood work results. Why had Mordecai run this much testing? Each employee had a small pile of paperwork to their name, an unnatural amount for a simple mining job.
Wait.
All the hired Fae were male, but at least half the applicants had been female. Did Mordecai make the selections intentionally, or did he think females were simply incapable of such jobs?
No one’s blood work seemed abnormal, though. Regular readings on general health. They had run every test imaginable. All the applicants seemed to be Fae in their prime, with little to no nutrient deficiencies. That made sense—wouldn’t want ill workers—but they were all in the same age range. Early to late twenties. Odd.
Nevaeh squeaked softly from the other side of the room before shifting into human form. The room was dark—even a passerby was unlikely to see her because I barely could. I crept to her side.
“Look at this.”
She held out a floor plan that marked the medical room, the work rooms, the storage spaces. Mordecai’s half office had been marked, and a room labeled “for emergencies only” that we had passed on our way in. My head spun in new waves of confusion. What kind of emergency were they anticipating that they needed an entire room set aside?
“What does that mean? For emergencies only?”
Nevaeh pursed her lips. “I don’t know, but that’s probably where we need to be looking.”
I relayed the information I had found about the male applicants, and her forehead puckered. “This all feels off, right?” I asked quietly.
Nevaeh nodded. “I don’t know what he’s up to. But follow your instincts. You know him better than I do.”
She dropped into her shifter form, climbing the counter and jumping to her perch on my shoulder. I slipped from the lab and peeked around the corner, listening. Safe. We headed for the room marked “for emergencies only.”
The room was long, but I didn’t dare turn on the main lights—the glow from the hall would have to do. I couldn’t find anything that struck me as particularly special about the bathroom facilities toward the back, or the generic safety posters around the walls. The two dozen cots that were shoved into the small space caught my eye. What was Mordecai up to? I couldn’t see an emergency situation where they would need so many beds. Nothing else raised any alarms in my mind, though—until I turned to leave.
The door to the room was thick, massive steel.
And hidden on the back was a line of deadbolts—that only activated from the outside.
I glanced at Nevaeh before I hurried out. Mining crystals didn’t require security methods quite that stringent. Mordecai was definitely up to mischief—and I was starting to think I really didn’t want to know what.
“You shouldn’t be in here.”
The voice at my ear startled me so badly that I almost swung a fist. Twisting around, I silently released a breath, relieved that I hadn’t acted on my instincts. Jocelyn peered up at me, looking equally annoyed and fake friendly. She crossed her arms—which pushed up her disproportionately large chest—and arched a brow. Waiting.
Oh. This far into the work day, my mind was almost too foggy to form coherent sentences let alone excuses. I tried on a sheepish smile that probably made me look constipated. “Uh, I was looking for the bathroom but forgot where it was. Can you help me out here?”
Her lips pinched and I could tell she was trying really hard not to chew me out. Which made me wonder what her shifter form was again. My coworkers had a running tally: they thought she was a seal because of all the clapping. I could see that, her sleek black hair flowing into a slippery dark hide. But every time I imagined red lipstick on the creature, I busted out laughing.
I was imagining it right now.
“Something funny?” Her brown eyes narrowed.
I coughed and
