“An old set of service stairs?” Sierra suggested.

“Probably. We’ll try for those.”

Sierra studied the rear of the mansion through the bars of the gate. “There’s a door beside the loading dock,” she said.

“Ralph’s key fob will probably work on the gate and the door. Ready?”

“Sure. We’re about to break into an insane asylum. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Keep that positive attitude,” North said.

He left the cover of the trees. Sierra followed, moving in the light, nearly silent way that fascinated him.

The second fob on Ralph’s ring opened the gate. North eased inside, waited for Sierra and then closed the gate.

They made their way past a couple of industrial-sized trash bins and what looked like a gardening shed.

One of Ralph’s other fobs opened the service entrance door. North moved into a large, unlit room. Sierra followed. He closed the door behind her and waited a beat.

There were no warning pings from the security box on the wall. No red lights flashed. They were in.

It would have been convenient to call on his talent to help navigate the pitch-black space. There was a time when he had prowled the dark as effortlessly as any night predator. But those days were, if not quite gone, fading fast. Using his talent would just hasten the blindness that was setting in. And then there was the risk of getting trapped in the ghost world.

He switched on the penlight instead and did a quick scan of the room. It was cluttered with a jumble of large cardboard boxes containing supplies and canned goods. Various items of cleaning equipment were stored in a corner.

The storage room was unlit, but a bulb glowed dimly over the entrance to a narrow staircase.

They climbed the steps, trying to make as little noise as possible. The muffled chatter of late-night television could be heard from the first floor. North hoped that meant the night staff was occupied and would not notice any small unusual sounds that emanated from inside the stairwell.

The door at the top of the stairs on the third floor was locked. North looked through the narrow, wired window. He saw twin rows of closed doors on either side of the hall. Each door was set with a small window. Midway down the corridor there was a nurses’ station, but no one was around.

If Marge’s description of the layout was accurate, the door to Loring’s laboratory was at the far end of the hallway.

North looked at Sierra. “The patients could be a problem. If we disturb them there will probably be a lot of noise. It might attract the attention of the night staff.”

Sierra opened her locket. “If one of them becomes agitated I might be able to keep him calm.”

“All right, but be careful. I know you’re good at doing whatever it is you do with that mirror, but we don’t know anything about these patients. Some of the auras up here might be pretty badly damaged.”