I thought the creature was about to wake her at first, but as its fingers made contact with her scalp, they became transparent and disappeared into her head.

It’s continuing to poison her mind even now.

My gaze was momentarily distracted as the maid in the corner finally stood up and left the room.

I could only assume she’d been waiting for the ghoul to appear all this time.

“What’s happening?” Erik’s chest brushed against my back as he lowered to my level and gripped my waist.

I moved my head aside so he could see for himself.

When he pulled away from the keyhole, his eyes were wide with horror.

“Where did that thing just come from?” he asked.

“The jewelry box on Mona’s dressing table.” He took another look through the hole before turning his eyes back to me.

His face was ashen, his expression dark as he whispered, “We need to kill it.”

Chapter 32: Kiev

Patricia and I barely had time to react before Brisalia vanished and several guards appeared in her place.

They opened up our cell door and dragged Patricia and me out.

I fought back with all my strength, but they’d placed some kind of restraining spell on me.

It was futile.

My limbs were held in place as I levitated off the ground along with Patricia, ready to be taken to whomever Hagatha was.

The prison surrounding us disappeared as we vanished and reappeared in a small, dark chamber.

My body was thrown against one of the rough walls.

My limbs seemed to be released as I hit the ground, scrambled to my feet and launched myself at the nearest guard, but I barely managed to get three feet before I was yanked back by a chain that had closed around my left arm, fastened to the wall.

I struggled against the restraint, but just as those bars in the prison had seemed to be magically reinforced, so was this.

It wouldn’t slide off no matter how hard I pulled.

To my left was Patricia, huddled on the ground, her arm also fastened to the wall.

“Hagatha,” one of the guards began to repeat over and over in a deep voice.

He spoke the name like a taunt.

I had no idea to whom he was calling.

The room was empty but for me, Patricia and the warlocks.

After the seventh calling of the name, there was a violent banging to my far left.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I saw, in a shadowy corner of the room, there was a narrow oak door.

“She’s woken up.” The warlock grinned as he looked at his companions.

“Do you think she’ll do the job with this vampire?” one of them muttered.

“Of course,” another replied.

“She hasn’t been fed for weeks.” “Now let’s go.

Jason, remain outside.

Check down here again in about half an hour.

As for the rest of us, Brisalia wants us to report back.” They retreated up a flight of stairs a dozen feet away and exited through a hatch in the roof.

The sound of a heavy bolt being drawn echoed around the chamber.

Patricia was now shaking as the banging against the door to our left grew more and more furious.

Just as I was sure the wood was about to give way, there was a sharp click.

The door swung open to reveal a pair of glowing red eyes set in an almost bald, shrunken skull.

Deep blue and purple veins were visible beneath the creature’s papery skin, and its long bony body levitated a few feet in the air.

Hagatha.

A ghoul.

I barely had time to shout before the ghoul lurched forward.

Patricia, being nearest to her, bore the brunt of the attack.

I watched in horror as the ghoul’s dark knifelike nails tore into the witch’s gut.

Patricia’s blood soaked the floor as Hagatha ripped through the rest of her stomach with razor-sharp teeth.

I didn’t need to be a physician to realize that Patricia was already beyond saving.

As the ghoul began sucking out the witch’s intestines, I strained even harder against my chains, although I knew it was hopeless.

I stared down at the metal clamp seemingly bolted into my skin.

And I thought of Mona.

I’d come close to death too many times in my past to keep count of.

I’d been through too much to be afraid of death, or of the physical pain that would come with it.

But dying like this, while the girl who owned every part of me would think ill of me forevermore if I couldn’t reach her… it was a kind of agony even I couldn’t bear.

Anything would be less painful than this.

Anything.

Still staring at the chain fixed to my left arm, I knew I had only one option if I wanted to have even the faintest chance of seeing her again.

Extending the claws in my right hand, I dug them into my own flesh, just above the metal clamp.

Biting my lip hard against the pain, I twisted, snapped and clawed until my left arm separated from my shoulder.

The chain clinked as the limb dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

My head began to spin as blood gushed.

Backing up against the wall, I feared for a moment that I might pass out.

But I couldn’t.

I forced my mind to once again focus on Mona.

The ghoul was still busy eating the witch and it seemed that she hadn’t noticed what I’d just done.

But by the looks of it, it wouldn’t be long until she’d finished her meal and would be ready for more.

I had perhaps less than a minute.

I lurched toward the stairs and, climbing up to the roof, ripped at the hatch with as much strength as my one arm could muster.