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"I’lad she’s safe" If I hadn’t been there, the Old Ones would have grabbed her I was certain of it

"I’ht about her" He squeezed ot to be up early"

True Daas a few short hours away And as soon as the sun cleared the horizon, I’d be knocking on Axel’s door

8

A CLOSED SIGN HUNG CROOKEDLY IN CREATURE COMFORTS’ , but the door was unlocked I pulled it open and stepped into the half-gloom of the unlit room The bar had been cleaned up since the olves left The tables were in their usual places; the sne and olf musk I wondered if Kiana had made her friends help Axel tidy up

"Axel?"

He ca his hands on a towel

"How’s Juliet?"

He flipped the towel onto his shoulder "Stitched up her leg Dunno if it helped"

That didn’t sound good Vaets injured, the edges of the wound creep back together and knit up invisibly, not even leaving a scar Of course, that should have happened before we left the holding facility

Axel gestured for me to follow him We went down the back hallway, past the ancient payphone, past the restrooms--Axel had labeled them BOOS and GHOULS to amuse tourists--and past the door to Axel’s cellar apartment

"Um, Axel?"

He stopped, turned around, and raised an eyebrow

"Isn’t Juliet in your apartative or affir toward the storeroom

Had he actually set up a cot for her back there? It wasn’t secure enough, not with the Goons and the Old Ones looking for her After I saw Juliet, I’d try to convince Axel to let her into his lair

But as we entered the storeroon of Juliet at all Axel went over to sos near the back of the room He twisted a cap on one of them, and a hidden door slid open Beyond the door was a staircase descending into the cellar Axel started down it

"Wait, this is the door to your place? What about that triplelocked steel door with the oversized NO ENTRY sign?"

"Front door" He kept going "This is the guest roouest roouests," he said, looking like he thought maybe he’d have to explain the concept to , and fierce about his privacy That didn’t mean he couldn’t have couessed

As I descended the dark, narrow staircase, I couldn’t see anything beyond Axel’s broad back So I was astonished to step into a roo-sized platfor area, with a loveseat and two upholstered chairs A desk, dresser, and bookcase filled out the furniture To ht, a half-open door led into a marbletiled bathroom The less rooht colors, along ell-placed lighting, uest roorasp