“How old is it?”

“Burbank didn’t know.”

“Okay, one more question then I’ll shut up: all these flames burning in the wall…who refills the sconces?”

“No one,” Hill said. “They never seem to run out.”

Twenty-four hours ago Hari would have called bullshit. But after spending the night on another planet, she accepted that he was telling the truth.

She started down, using his method of watching the next step, and it worked to block out all the empty air around her. She’d almost caught up to Hill by the time he reached the bottom where an obviously impatient Ellie waited before a big, pointed-arch door of riveted steel set in the wall.

Hill flipped through his crowded keyring and selected the largest one.

“You have a key for every room in the place?”

He shook his head. “No idea what all these are for. Luckily they’re labeled.” He stuck the big key in the lock but didn’t turn it. “Don’t get your hopes up, anybody. Every time I’ve opened this door I’ve run into a wall.”

When he turned the key, a latch went thunk deep within. He grasped the iron ring that served as a handle and swung it out to reveal…a stone wall.

“You weren’t kidding, were you,” Hari said.

“Close it again,” Ellie said, “then let me open it.”

Hill gave her a look. “You really think…?”

Hari looked at the solid wall of stone, the very bedrock of Manhattan, impenetrable. And yet…this weird kid had this air about her and, what the hell, anything and everything seemed possible today.

How had that mantra ended? It will begin in the heavens and end in the Earth, but before that, the rules will be broken.”

Well, the sun had been late climbing into the heavens, and here they were, deep in the Earth…and all sorts of rules had been broken back on Norum Hill…

“Give her a shot,” Hari said. “What’ve we got to lose?”

Hill pushed the door shut and stood back. As Ellie reached for the ring, Barbara cried out behind them.

“Wait for me!”

The three of them turned to find her crawling backward down the steps on her hands and toes.

BARBARA

I don’t know how I did it, but I couldn’t let my baby go off with strangers to see the infernal machine that destroyed her life. I found a way to bottle my terror and crawl down those awful stairs.

As I reached the bottom I stood and brushed myself off. I found Ellie and the other two staring at me.

“What?” I said, unable to think of anything else.

The Indian woman smiled and applauded softly while Ellie and Tier Hill showed little reaction.

“Ready?” Ellie said.

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the ring in the door and pulled.

And with that the spider legs sprang from her back, poking through Blanky without disturbing it or the myriad black crawly things that hid beneath it. Hill recoiled and Hari sprang back, nearly tripping as she cried out.