My mind was still on the manticore and the idea that Peter had made friends with the thing as we climbed to the second prison level. The smell was not as bad here, more the dank kind of smell of caged human bodies. It was dimly lit, but I could make out lumps of human shape in each of the cages.
I couldn"t make out much more and Cambious kept us moving up the stairs to the third and final level. My breath caught in my throat from far more than the climb as we reached the top, and my heart began to thump loud enough for the others to hear. My mouth was dry as Cambious handed me the key. The cages here were empty, and the air was filled with expectation as I took each torturous step down the row of them, until at last, I could see her, much as she had looked in my vision.
Her long hair was
