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Ursula is gone Taken prisoner I don’t knohere, and not wanting me to come after her--or so she told Grace when she appeared to her a few days ago

Nick is a confusion A liar He’s soht, soined But can I trust him? How do I knohether I should or not? If I can’t answer that question, then I have to keep him at a distance until I can And answers aren’t available at theto Sthenno toht, there’s not much else I can do Hopefully Sthenno will have some answers for us Or, if she doesn’t, then the oracle will Either way, tonight’s a bust

My ar and I realize I’ theout into the icy bay as the loft exploded, hunting down the two beasts that went afterafter Nick, I feel like I’ve been awake for a ear, I head toward the safe house Ursula and I set up It’s in the Tenderloin, iest part of tohicheyes and even an all-out o practically unnoticed The police won’t even patrol there

In these early- hours, there isn’t another soul on the street I turn into the dark, debris-strewn alley behind the safe house After retrieving the extra gear fro froe up the narrow staircase to the second-floor apartment My boots barely clear each step

I could sleep for a year If only I didn’t have school in theand an appearance of normalcy to maintain

Kneeling next to the aparter to unscrew the cover froht Ursula and I installed the false outlet We picked up the yellowed parts at a tiny hardware store in Chinatown and put a couple of cracks in the cover to give it that old, neglected look to go with the rest of the building If any of the other tenants noticed the oddly placed outlet, they probably thought it dated to the days when the building was a cheap hotel, when soht have actually vacuus a little, and I pull myself back into the present I reach inside, retrieve the hidden key, and replace the cover

The door swings open on surprisingly silent hinges, and I findet Ursula back, we’ll find a new place, a better place We’ll have to rebuild the arsenal and I don’t knoe can restock the library, but whatever we have to do, we’ll do

I’ve only been to the safe house the one time before, e installed the hidden key safe in the hall and Ursula gave me the ten-cent tour She pointed out the backup weapons vault behind the refrigerator The antivenom and first aid supplies are under a loose tile in the bathroom There are clothes for both of us in the bedrooency cell phones under the couch cushions, and prepaid credit cards in a ziplock bag taped inside the toilet tank

Ursula thought of everything Everything I ht need if she disappeared Maybe she knew this was a possibility Maybe she knew that one day I lad she was so prepared, but I’d rather have her here

The entire place looks like a pay-by-the-hour motel room Dirty walls, ratty linens, rust and dust everywhere Not the nicest decor, but the carefully orchestrated kind that wouldn’t raise red flags if the low-rent landlord decided to pop in On the surface it looks just like any other apart

I can’t believe this is my home now It’s such a world away from the sleek and shiny surfaces in the loft The loft, where everything was clean and glea I needed

The safe house reminds me too much of Phil and Barb’s It’s a little too reminiscent of the place--not a hoo There are no broken floorboards and all the furniture seeot the sa on the couch, watching the ancient TV and drinking themselves stupid

There are two important differences between this place and whatever rathole they’re living in right now One, I don’t have to tiptoe around, terrified that I’ll wake one of the out their fury Here, I can throw ear pack onto the counter, and sla into ht behind the h the apartrab the dusty white statue of Pan with one hand Yanking the statue forward, I leap out of the way as the bookshelf swings down It drops to the floor, landing with a soft thud on the orn carpet

Yes, exactly as I re around, I don’t bother to kick off ray co smells a little stale, it’s clean It’s comfortable And it’s just what I need

Less than a minute later, I’m dead to the world

CHAPTER 4

GREER

As I stand on es in our white-and-gold front door, I think it’s reasonable to expect a little near-death-experience reaction Inoff body parts I’d rather keep My heart races and I feel survivor’s adrenaline coursing through my body Is this my life now?