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I willedlike its norency exit staircase, beyond the light Kane continued in the lead, and I stayed close behind hi pressed ht of the darkness, and each breath required conscious effort In, out In, out Don’t forget to breathe

It was slow going Like the lights, the tidily swept floor ended at the exit, and I had to watch carefully so I didn’t trip on the tracks or the debris that covered them in this part of the tunnel Every few feet, Kane would pause and look up, his ears straining forward, his nostrils working to sift through the scents ahead Then he’d put his nose back to the ground and keep going

I couldn’t s besides mold and the old dust that covered every surface But that was the scent of the Old Ones, that deep, underground scent of ancient decay I stayed on edge, unable to tell whether I was seddid attack We reached the end of the tunnel without finding any sign of the Old Ones At the far end, a huge pile of cans, ranging in size froainst the wall al It looked like debris froht on a label Pear halves Judging fro condition of the label and the rust that marked the seams of the can, it was decades old There were cans of other fruits and vegetables, crackers and biscuits, and drums marked POTABLE WATER I didn’t think it would be all that potable now

Homeless settlement? Fallout shelter? Whatever this tunnel had beco outlasted whoever had carried them in I sheathed my knife The Old Ones weren’t here

As we backtracked to the eency exit, the pressure lessened We were on our way out

By the exit, I turned off the flashlight, happy to stand again in the lights of the eency exit I set my foot on the first step, but Kane leapt up in front of me and blockeder to say hello

He jumped down the stairs in a bound and pulled at the back of my sweater

Reluctantly, I stepped back into the tunnel and turned around "Why can’t we go? Did you spot so for a secret switch or soht open a hidden door, like the door to Axel’s guest roo like that, but after ato tell me There was only one set of tracks

"This tunnel has room for just one train There must be an old track on the outbound side, too" Kane yipped and ran along the lighted tunnel After a longing glance up the stairs, I followed him

Since Boylston Street Station was closed, we could hunt for the other tunnel without anyone bothering us I was glad the station attendant hadn’t turned out the lights when he went ho the tracks a little way, then crossed to the outbound side At the end of the platforate and into another disused tunnel No lights here I pulled ht down to the floor at my feet A little ways into the tunnel was a door marked PUMP ROOM Cautiously, I tried the handle It was locked Kane spent a long ties of the door, but eventually he continued down the tunnel Although we followed the tracks to the end, we found nothing else besides dust and scattered debris

No Old Ones here, either

We crossed back to the inbound platforency exit This time, we took the stairs to the street-level door When I pushed it open, an alarht air hit s--ere on Tre Theatre--andexit toward Deadtown

"Just to make sure," I said to Kane as alked "You didn’t scent Juliet in there, did you?"

He shook his head

"Myrddin?"

Another shake

"What about the Old Ones?"

He stopped and sat on the pavement He reared up and lifted his shoulders in a canine approxi

"Not sure, huh?" I could understand that The entire subway systee-old toress toward Deadtown

Although the night was chilly, the breeze blowing fro, of da the sweetness that cut through the usual city sed s

The tunnel had been the perfect location for the Old Ones’ base--near the final point on the rune, deep underground, old and dusty enough to feel like home to a bunch of creatures that should’ve been corpses centuries ago But there’d been nothing It was hard not to feel discouraged Juliet was stillback to life, and Mab’s life-giving bloodstone was still in Myrddin’s clutches

We did have one advantage, though Myrddin wanted my life force to revive Pryce If I showed up at Boylston Street at the appointed tiuaranteed date with a crazy wizard anted e But it was my best chance to defeat Myrddin and save my aunt

27

BACK AT MY APARTMENT, TINA WASN’T IN THE LIVING ROOM The TV was off, and the empty ice cream container sat on the coffee table A trail of candy wrappers led down the hallway toward h, never what you’d call subtle, boomed from that direction