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I set Juliet down gently, but her leg buckled and she collapsed on the sidewalk She lay on her side, her face hidden by the robe’s hood

I checked her injured leg, unwinding the blood-and-pussoaked bandage The silver burn looked better--the blisters were gone, and taut, shiny skin covered the burned-raw places--but the gash looked worse than it had before The stench of it h I tried not to let Juliet see The skin at the edges of the cut, a sickly shade of purplishgreen, was ragged, like soht Juliet should be healing Had the Old One’s blade been poisoned? What could poison a valed to sit up I slid my hands beneath her arms and lifted her to a seated position The hood fell back as she rested her head against the brick wall Sweat plastered her tangled hair to her face I wouldn’t have guessed vaood

"Juliet, I’o inside and ask Axel if he’ll let you stay here" Creature Co place The New Coh the Goon Squad patrolled here, the Zone operated by its own rules And nobody messed with Axel, the owner of Creature Comforts Or if they tried to mess with him, they never tried a second time Axel wasn’t human--seven feet tall and solidly built, he looked more like a mountain than a overnet a blood sa everyone was subjected to in the ue that had created Boston’s zoy brow had sent the workers scurrying away, their vials empty

Juliet needed protection, and I couldn’t think of anyone better than Axel to give it

Juliet was shaking her head "Axel lets no one into his lair"

True I’d seen him win a standoff with the Goon Squad when they’d threatened to break down his door Yet that was precisely why Creature Coht now

"Let me talk to him He likes you" At the very least, he’d set up a cot for her in the storage room until I could come up with a plan B I tried the back door, the one that led into Creature Coe room Damn It was locked Well, I’d look at that asto hide you behind soo talk to Axel" I couldn’t risk carrying Juliet through the bar Business throughout the Zone had been slow lately, with the code-red restrictions on zoht, but once the story of her escape hit the news, even one witness could threaten Juliet’s safety

Juliet’s face clenched with pain, and she didn’t say anything else I assumed she was okay with my plan

But I wasn’t--not quite A pile of boxes wasn’t exactly armor, and I couldn’t leave her alone and vulnerable with the Old Ones after her We hadn’t been followed, but I couldn’t be sure she was safe For all I knew, her ene her Brown Robe’s sword but decided against it If the Old Ones arrived, it’d be too easy for one of theainst her

I unwrapped the silver chain fro distance of it As long as it didn’t come into direct contact with Juliet’s skin, she could use it to fend off Brown Robe Unless he arrived with an ar for Juliet’s ar so it couldn’t slip up her arh the cloth, I closed her fingers around the chain’s shackle end "If that Old One comes, whip the chain at him Show me you can do it"

"If an Old One coain" But she flailed the chain a few tiy in her et her out of here in a couple ofquickly, I surrounded Juliet with a stack of eed some boxes, added a few more Then I hurried to the end of the alley and down the street to Creature Comforts

AS SOON AS I OPENED THE FRONT DOOR, ANY HOPE THAT Axel was having a slow night fled Laughter and music blasted out Creature Co They filled all the tables and spilled out of the booths As I stepped inside, I was hit by the bar’s characteristic perfuht whiff of hu scent of musk On tables at the back, two half-naked, hurind routine

Oh, great I’d walked into a olf bachelorette party

Massachusetts was one of a handful of states that recognized es between paranore to huh soe, no one seeht the state It had beco in addition to whatever ritual they perfor up offering destination weddings to olves

I scanned the crowd but didn’t see a face I recognized I knew h Kane These were definitely tourists

"Hey!" A woht, supershort, low-cut black dress and a crooked tiara sparkling with pink and white rhinestones She flipped her glossy blond hair over her shoulder, ression "This is a private party The bar’s closed"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>