Chapter 35: | A Rightful Presence

Ava watched as Patience maneuvered her chair around and wheeled herself slowly over to the door.

Ava pulled out the ring. The skull part was hollow and hinged. It clipped down over a tiny, hidden container. There were two crumbling white tablets nestled inside. She tipped them out into her hand for a closer look. They could be painkillers. Or they could be something a lot more potent - for use when being threatened? For dropping in the drink of some poor unsuspecting girl at a bar?

Ava looked up at Patience, a new fierceness inside her as a desperate plan began to form.

'Who's there?' Patience demanded of the door.

'Maski.'

The voice was cold and emotionless. It stabbed at Ava's insides. She concealed the tablets under her thighs, closed up the ring, and slipped it on her finger as Patience entered a four-digit code on a keypad. The door opened a fraction. The old woman skittered back in her chair.

Nothing happened for a moment.