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Graves.”
    He was hovering the fly inside one of the cages. I didn’t want to look. It made my stomach hurt to think of that person’s life, or lack thereof. Jones made a disgusted sound, then repeated, tensely, “Look at the screen. Really look. No sores, no fleas, no dirt on this guy’s skin. He’s had a shower or bath sometime today. His underwear and shirt are snow-white. They look better than the ones in my dresser.”
    Okay. Now I was forcing myself to look and Jones was right. There was no urine or feces, and if the guy had been caged for very long, there would be. “Oh. But…”
    “Now look at the electrodes on his forehead,” Jones continued. “They’re inducing dreams. See the smile? Part of the treatment here is to provide normalcy, to keep the person remembering interactions that aren’t tainted with violence. Yes, he’s in a cage. Get over it. These are superhuman creatures who are very likely insane. If they had enough room to move, they could bend the bars or they’d dislocate something trying.”
    Oh. Now I felt like a fool. I was probably blushing, given how hot my face felt, but at least in the dark nobody could see. Except for the vampire, of course. Oh, and the mage with the fire in his eyes. Damn.
    “I’ve been inside, Graves. Many times. Don’t get me wrong; there are parts of the facility you don’t ever want to see. There are places that would make you lose your lunch. But this batch has a good set of keepers.”
    “Why can’t the whole facility be like this?” Yes, now I was championing what I’d just complained about. Some people are never happy.
    Jones shook his head. “You are a piece of work, Graves.”
    I was getting itchy from sand seeping into my clothes. “We need to find Kevin. This is taking too long. When are we going in?”
    It was Edgar who responded. “When we’re ready. When we’re sure where we’re going. There is no hiding once we’re inside, Celia. The barrier will start to scream the minute we penetrate it, and then it’s only a matter of time before they find us. This isn’t a sneak in and sneak out mission. Only brute force will get us in and out again safely. People are probably going to die, and we’ll be the ones killing them.”
    Whoa. That wasn’t what I’d signed up for. “I’m already on a short leash, guys. One more trip to court and I’m this place’s newest inmate. You guys might be able to crawl back under your respective rocks once he’s out, but I need to work in this town again. Why can’t we sneak in and out?”
    That set them both back on their heels. “Look,” I continued. “We have our fly. We can use it to figure out a way in. Can’t Edgar bespell a guard so we can take his uniform?”
    Jones now looked amused. “So with twenty-first-century technology and supernatural abilities, you want to stage a World War Two movie breakout?”
    I shrugged as best I could; my shoulders were cramping inside the pipe. “If it works, why not?”
    “Are you willing to use your siren abilities as well? Kevin told me you were horrified by what you did to Eirene’s followers.”
    That stopped me cold, because Kevin was right. In the struggle to keep myself and Emma alive and keep the greater demon from being loosed, I’d mentally fought a siren queen for mental control of her men. Eventually, there was nothing left of their minds to follow either of us. It had eliminated them from the battle, but I’d sworn I’d never again manipulate a person. I swallowed hard and tried to think what others would do in my place. Bile rose into my throat and I forced it back down. “Can you manage it without me?”
    “Sneak in, without using violence, and remove someone without alerting trained magical guards?” He let out a snort that might have been loud enough to hear if there was anyone close. “Not bloody likely.”
    So I could have a violent, bloody confrontation where I would probably have to kill someone or a quiet, sneaky rescue where