Katie walked through the shadow place and through the portal, wondering how she'd explain to her sister how she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and expecting a lecture about disappearing three weeks ago.
Hannah's fiancé, an Immortal, owned a swarthy mansion in Maryland. Katie cringed at his over the top décor of gilded everything and oriented herself. She'd emerged from the shadow world into a sitting room. She walked into the hall and up a wide stairwell to the second floor.
Hannah's bedroom was quiet, the bed neatly made and her closet door open to reveal a large empty space. For once, she wished she'd paid attention when her sister told her about travel plans. Still disturbed by the nightmare, she rifled through Hannah's vanity to see if her sister left her appointment book in a drawer.
"They were in a hurry."
She whirled to see a woman in a servant's uniform Hannah insisted her household employees wear. The woman was small and pale with eyes so dull, she seemed almost lifeless.
"I think they were going to visit you in France," the woman added. "A man named Kris invited them."
Kris! What was his plan? "When did they leave?" Katie managed.
"They had a flight out yesterday afternoon. Ms. Hannah hates to travel in the morning." "Do you know when they were coming back?"
The woman shrugged. Katie looked around, unable to tell if her sister's empty closet was indicative of a weekend trip or something more permanent. Hannah never traveled light, and there was no way of knowing what Kris was doing.
"Would you like a cup of tea?" the servant asked. "I was just preparing one for myself in the kitchen."
"I should probably get going."
"Very well, miss. If you want to wait for a few minutes, I can pull up their itinerary." "Sure, thanks."
"Come. Have some tea while you wait."
A sense of foreboding passed through her as she reluctantly followed the servant from the bedroom into a wide hall with gaudy gilded furniture and picture frames. She paused at the top of the sweeping stairwell to look around her. The house was too quiet for her comfort, and she felt the familiar sense of being watched.
There was no one but the maid, who was halfway down the stairs. She trailed with a shiver, wanting to make sure her sister was truly safe before leaving. If the maid gave her the airline info, she could call to confirm her sister was on board.