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"Entrez!"

He squeezedout an arant office, fralass The aging dai at the desk reminded me of a ballerina in slow decline Her erect posture, swanlike neck, slender carriage, and studied grace marked her instantly as a past performer, and I relaxed just a bit Soe would be far easier to deal with than so artists as if they were as foolish as ard kittens

Still, the well-powdered and stern lines around her mouth spoke of discipline and snobbery and a wohtly To alht have appeared human, with her dark hair and milk-and-roses coh and through

Vale tilted his head "Bonsoir, Mada return Even though she was seated, she still seelasses

"Bonsoir, Monsieur Hildebrand What have you brought me?"

Her voice was cultured, careful, and sultry Madame Sylvie must have been an unstoppable force of nature when she was younger Even now, she was in total co ould happen if she and Criminy were to meet Would the cabaret explode?

"Madaland She wishes to secure a place in your cabaret"

"We don’t take Bludon her desk, she rattled the coins within and raised an eyebrow at us Vale looked at me expectantly and mouthed, "Your turn"

I took a deep breath to center myself In one s oninto the air with practiced sureness until I held a perfect handstand Balancing on just one hand, legs spread and skirts aflutter, I plucked Madame Sylvie’s quill from its stand, dipped it into her ink, and wrote, "Contortionist extraordinaire, at your service"

"How fascinating" She snatched the quill from my hand and stuck it back in place "But this is a daimon cabaret Try Darkside instead"

"I’m the most tame Bludman you’ll ever h your croithout so ers drummed on the polished wood, the pointed tips of her red-lacquered nails rated onelse"

I kicked over and stood, my toes in the small space recently taken by er at Vale As if we’d done this a thousand times, he stepped forward as I beckoned and stopped when I held out a flat palht up until it was beside race, I fell forward until my ankle landed on Vale’s shoulder To his credit, hethe impact as I used him as the stand for my split, one toe on Madaand’s shoulder I straightened my torso and held my arms up like a ballerina My splits had always been perfect, and even Cherie had trouble keeping her legs so straight, taut, and unshaking

"Really, this ti my center, I exhaled and slowly rolled to the side until I held the split upside down,between Vale and the desk and rasped his leg, just above the knee, and used it to gracefully kick down fro around e "Can you fit into a hatbox?" she snapped

"Easily"

"Are you a front bender or a back bender?"

"Both"

"Are you frightened of heights?"

"Only if there’s a tank of seawater below"

"Marinelli bend?"

"So long as the s"

"Spanish web?"

I sighed and rolledyour dai act?"

"I’ doll"