To say Dr Brown was angry was bit of an understatement. The patients were all locked in their rooms, where they had been since it had been determined that the fire had been a false alarm. Everything was still wet from the sprinklers, but the patients would just have to suffer.

She stalked down the hall, and would be unrecognizable to any of her patients. Her anger had lessened her control, which was one of the reasons the patients were locked away, so they wouldn’t see her like this. Instead of the round pleasant figure of comforting Dr Faith Brown, a curvy rather voluptuous figure had taken her place. This was the true form of Faith, her real name Fatima, the demon who ran Wellhaven. This figure of hers, complete with black skin and full wings, looked rather out of place in her professional pencil skirt and cream sleeveless shell. Fatima hadn’t bothered to change clothes.

Max walked over to her, his head bowed as he saw her form.

“Well?” Fatima all but growled.

“They aren’t hiding anywhere. We’ve searched the whole building twice.”

Fatima’s hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her palms.

“How could they escape?” She asked.

“There was a scorched shirt in their room.”

“A shirt? They used a shirt?”

“And their lamp.”

Fatima began to laugh. The whole thing was just absurd. Who would have thought that either Koji or Sam had enough will to pull off an escape? It was her fault, wasn’t it? She should have seen the signs. After all, Sam had used his powers twice. Instead of strengthening the wards, she had let it go, too curious. She had wanted to find out why he was overcoming the spells. By hell, she had given him just enough slack to figure out an escape. And yet, she wasn’t the only one at fault.

Her laughter cut off quickly.

“How could you let this happen?” Fatima’s voice was dangerously calm.

“We didn’t think anyone would try to escape…”

“Excuses!” Fatima needed to release some of her anger, and here was Max, a perfect outlet. She grabbed him by the throat, her nails becoming claws. “And how should I keep Aviel from finding out about this? Any suggestions?”

Max coughed, blood appearing on his throat. “I…I don’t know.”

“Well, you aren’t being very helpful at all, are you? I should kill you where you stand. That would at least make me feel better.”

“Wait!”

“Why? Give me a good reason.”

“I’m as pissed as you are. Bastard escaped under…under my nose. He poisoned my wrist. Give me a chance to find him.”

Fatima considered this. “You bring up a good point. You would be uniquely motivated to find them. Of course, I’ll have to send more than just you, but I think I will allow you to redeem yourself.”

Fatima released Max. He let out a grateful breath as he pressed a hand to his neck. Fatima wiped her nails clean on his shirt.

“The important thing is to find them quickly, do you understand?” Fatima asked.

“Of course.”

“Good. You can choose who goes with you. Remember there’s strength in numbers. I can't exactly go myself, as you know."

"What about the media?"

Fatima sighed. Wellhaven wasn't exactly a place that advertised. However, in this case, perhaps letting the press in on what happened was a good idea. Even if that brought Wellhaven into the public's eyes.

"I'll deal with it," She said. "It won't hurt to have mortals on the outside looking for our little escapees. We'll make it so they have no place to hide."

Max nodded.

"Now go and find them," Fatima ordered.

As Max turned to leave, Fatima took a deep breath, allowing the illusion of Dr Faith Brown to settle over her like a sheet of mist. She decided she’d have the patients let out of their rooms. They could clean this mess up.