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"Mr Slade, I do hope you’ll forgive this soh bleary eyes to find the source of the polite voice My head felt as heavy as a bowling ball,open I tried to lickthe obvious presence of drool at the corners of my mouth, I was also so thirsty my mouth felt like a desert "Wa-wa," I said, unable to properly form the word

"Of course, Mr Slade," said the voice of soree

I felt a straw pressed into ed to suck sweet delicious water down ht I’d barf

"Please don’t overdo it, Mr Slade," said the nasal voice

I blinked a few ti in front of me A face resolved from the blob, and I tried to ju in a chair apparently attached to the floor

A grayof spiders crawling up enuine

"Who are you?" I asked, and tried to stand, even though I fully expected restraints of some kind to hold me down Much to my surprise, I rose to my feet, albeit with a bit of wobble in ize for the shoddy way you were treated, but it was i you here to talk to ht in the roohtened perceptibly

I felt another shock of confusion as I saw hih he looked exactly like a gray man, his skin boasted a natural peach tone

Lornicus seemed to sense my confusion, and held out a hand "My skin is also warm, Mr Slade, if you wish to see for yourself"

I backed away "Are you real?"

His lips pursed in thought "I am real in the sense that I a is, ’Aht solem" Lornicus folded his hands behind his back "However, I know you did not e in philosophy, and it is rather imperative you speak with my master while he’s still here Given that, would you please accompany h guy and refused or deot the best of h a long hallhite tile flooring and equally bland walls and ceiling The light fixtures looked like ordinary fluorescents, and I noticed electrical outlets with a North A the wall Evidently, I wasn’t in Queens Gate anymore We passed several closed doors and reached an elevator

Lornicus pressed the call button A ed, and the doors opened The easy-listening version of a song I recognized drifted out We stepped inside, and the golem pressed the topray dudes," I said as the doors slid shut

He shook his head "No I a upon the way one ht look at it My creator didn’t intend h I take co ray norant of how to act like a real person, unlike Lornicus The idea seeolem served someone who’d tried to kill ht side, I could ask all the burning questions I wanted once I came face-to-face with this special someone Not that I anticipated solid answers

"He is not expecting you," Lornicus said, clearing his throat nervously "Please allow me to speak with him first in case he decides to kill you"

"Wait amy bowels "Why--what--"

I didn’t have a chance to finish the question before the elevator opened into a spacious office overlooking a skyline croith skyscrapers Apensively at the elevator

He looked exactly like Lornicus and the gray men More correctly, they looked exactly like hier clouded his face This el He could kill me where I stood

This man was Mr Gray

Chapter 2

Mr Gray’s eyes switched to Lornicus "I told you no," he said, his baritone voice deadly quiet "I see er hold sway over you, servant"