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"Maybe this is the way out," I said, grasping Owen’s arate Owen made short work of the lock, and then we slipped into the park The gateway to the park was approximately at the prison’s boundary, but we didn’t find ourselves back in Lincoln Center We were in a park that should have been barely the size of a single brownstone, but instead it was a vast, lush garden It was as dark in there as it had been in the city, the trees casting mysterious shadows

"This must be where their entry point is," Owen breathed "We’re in the elven realms now, their more natural state"

"You ate? The way out?"

"The way out into the elven realms," he specified

"But wouldn’t that be where the portal is?"

"Presumably, but I don’t think they’ll let us just wander around until we find it" As if to prove hiht, we came out of a stand of trees and nearly ran into a bunch of the gray guys, who seeic as Owen must have veiled us just in time before any of them turned our way We scuttled behind so hidden as

Only ere safely on the other side of the gate and well away froain "Okay, that was a close call," I said with deep feeling

"Yes, but worth it We seem to have found the way out of the prison and into the elven lands, and "

"Does that do us ed "It’s information, and the more we have, the better We know a spot we should probably watch, and if that was a shift change, then that’s a possible weak spot in their schedule that we ht be able to exploit I’ll have to report this to Mac in theforto him?" I asked

"Why shouldn’t I be? He works at the Council level, so he outranks --not that anyone’s really experienced at being held prisoner in another realuy And I think everyone else will be e I’ll probably coood little soldier instead of trying to be a general It’s a chance for me to maybe earn some trust"

I squeezed his arm "It’ll be okay, I’m sure Anyone who really knows you has to know you’re not even re else until he kissedhe’d be up late thinking and planning--or worrying As tired as I was, I didn’t go to bed until I’d written out a few more memories and stashed them in places I was sure to run across them but where no one else was likely to see them, just in case they searched my place when I wasn’t there