Caleb took it from her and pulled me away from the reception desk, up the staircase in the center of the room. We walked up two flights of stairs and found Room 20.
He opened the door and locked it immediately after we’d entered. I found myself standing in a narrow room. It looked much like a basic motel room—a small double bed, a faded chair, an old telephone and an ensuite bathroom. It was basic, but looked clean enough. Most of all, I was thankful to see mosquito nets fixed to the window and also over the bed.
The door clicked as Caleb locked it. He walked about the room, drawing the curtains shut and plunging the room into darkness. He reached for the switch on the wall and flicked on the fluorescent lighting. Then he finally turned to face me. We stood in silence, just staring at each other. It was the first time since our reunion that we’d had time to just look at each other, undistracted by danger. And now it felt awkward. I broke eye contact with him and walked toward the bathroom.
“I need a shower,” I muttered.
I locked myself in the small bathroom and undressed. I placed my torn clothes in the bin in the corner of the room and stepped into the shower.
There was no hot water but it wasn’t needed. I was glad to have the cold water spilling down my back after the heat of the jungle. I half expected to find another leech on me but, thankfully, I didn’t. I stared at the floor of the shower, amazed at how much dirt was flowing off me.
I soaped myself from top to bottom and washed my hair with the cheap shampoo that had been left on a ledge. I stepped out, dried myself and changed back into the night dress. I wrapped my hair in the small towel, forming a turban, and, after procrastinating a minute longer, stepped back out into the room.
Caleb sat in a chair in the corner of the room, staring down at the leaflet he’d taken from reception. I approached slowly, and soon realized that he was looking at a map. He stood up as I approached and left me alone in the room to take a shower himself. I waited in silence for him, listening to the running water, looking at the map while I waited.
When he finally opened the door, wearing his shorts, his chest bare again, his hair dripping wet, he stopped in the center of the room and looked down at me seriously.
There were so many questions bombarding my mind. I wasn’t sure he was ready for them. Hell, I wasn’t sure I was ready.
“What now?” I asked.
“We stay in this room for a few hours. Get some rest. And then we move on again. This is one of the nearest towns to that gate. It’s not safe to stay here.”
“But go where?”
“You need to return to The Shade.”
I bit my lip.
“Caleb, what were you doing there, on that strange island? And why did you save me again?” He walked over to the window, his back turned to me. “I thought you weren’t willing to risk putting anything else on the line for me… for us?”
His back heaved, his muscles rippling beneath his skin.
“I wasn’t.”
“Then?”
He paused. Then cleared his throat. “We don’t have much time here. We should be using it for rest rather than talk.”
“You can’t keep me in the dark any longer. I can’t sleep until I know what’s going on.”
He threw me a glance, eyeing my bare arms.
“Get under the mosquito net first.”
I climbed onto the bed and tucked in the net all around me. I sat cross-legged in the center of the mattress looking at him as he resumed his seat in the chair.
“Firstly, I don’t know what that warlock, Rhys, wanted with you. Secondly, I was there because I was paying a visit to that island with Annora.”
“What is that island? Why did Rhys take me there, of all places?”
He hesitated. His lips parted then closed.
“It’s best you don’t know what lies on that island. Just know that it’s not pretty. I don’t know what they had planned for you or why he stole you away.”
“What will happen now? Will Rhys come after us?”
“Oh, yes. You can count on it. That’s why we can’t stay here for more than a few hours.”
“What will he do to you, if he—if they—find out you’ve betrayed them? And what will you do now?”
Caleb wet his lower lip, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed. “There’s nothing I can do.”
I’d seen enough of the witches to know that Caleb wouldn’t be spared for such a betrayal.
“Why did you do this for me?” I pressed.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It was probably another mistake.”
“Yet you did it still, with barely a moment’s hesitation.”
“I did,” he said, staring blankly at the opposite wall.
I thought back to the night Mona had burst into our apartment, claiming that she had a sense that my parents were under a spell. I’d found it strange at the time. But now suspicion was beginning to enter my mind. “Caleb, did you warn Mona about my parents?”
His silence was all the answer I needed.
I couldn’t restrain myself. I untucked the mosquito next and ran over to him, kneeling down and taking his hands in mine.
“Caleb, you can come back with me. I know Mona will vouch for you. And you returning me a second time… it simply can’t be a coincidence. With both myself and Mona standing up for you, there’s no way my parents can refuse. They’ll just be too relieved to see me again. Why don’t you come with me?”