What had happened in the other room, a surgery room in the abandoned hospital, she'd surmised, was mostly a blur. That was a good thing judging from what she could recall.

They'd finally given up trying to untangle the elium from her seat. They'd been close to killing her and they'd probably been afraid they'd lose the weapon if she died. Eventually, the venom had worn off and with it the chemical that prevented her from becoming unconscious. She'd slipped into comforting darkness immediately, and apparently, the demons had moved her to this room.

Claire had a sneaking suspicion that the method they'd used to try and take the elium had been gentle by their standards. She was not looking forward to the next try, which was probably coming soon.

Now she lay on an old hospital bed which had been covered with new sheets. A new blanket that looked like it had been taken straight from the package was folded at the end of the bed. A plate of steaming food lay on a small plastic, paint-smattered table by the side of the bed. Other than that, the room was bare save for a small lamp on the floor in the corner, which emitted a weak glow. Rapidly fading daylight came through the uncurtained window.

She rose and went to that diminishing daylight, her muscles protesting every move she made and the center of her chest aching so much it hurt to draw a breath. On her way to the window she passed a small bathroom and wondered about running water and working plumbing. Probably too much to hope for.

They'd put her on the top floor of the hospital. A parking lot many stories down surrounded the building like a concrete moat. Beyond the lot was a stretch of woods, no other buildings or roads that she could see. In the distance she could just make out a few billboards. Maybe they were near a highway?

Judging from the current time of day, she'd been on their table for about twelve hours. No wonder she felt the way she did.

Breathing heavily from just that much exertion, she turned and stared at the food and blankets. It was chilly in the room. There was electricity in the building, it appeared, but no heat. Or perhaps it was demon magick that lit the light bulbs.

Pulsing all around her in sickening waves, the demon wards dampened her magick and made her power impossible to use. The wards wrapped her seat like a wad of wet cotton. It wrapped the elium, too, but not as securely. She didn't think she could work any of it free, it was so tight. She'd try, though.

It seemed odd that the demons would care enough about her comfort and well-being to bring her hot food and blankets, but she supposed they needed to keep her healthy. If she got sick and died, they might not be able to extract the elium.