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his precious dreams. Sadly, the colder, more rational part of
my mind knew better.
The doors opened into a basement, and I took a moment
to look for entities who might preside over it in some
official capacity. Yet, as much as the city partook in dreams,
it seemed not to include the pleasant company of Cellar
Kings and their subterranean sovereignties. This was not to
say that some echo of the Kingdom of Cellars was entirely
absent—a wonderfully wide hole occupied a wall, opening
into a labyrinth of earthen tunnels. I quickly moved beyond
the opening into the meandering maze of widely hewn stone.
Behind me, I heard the singular tone of an elevator
reaching its destination. I chuckled a bit too loudly at the
image of such brilliantly vile creatures as the Wakeless
loading into an elevator like so many office workers, tapping
their clawed feet to “The Girl From Ipanema” as they awaited
the proper floor. Despite the amusement the chase provided,
I grew tired of being rushed. I summoned my father to my
grip, and with deafening force he brought down the stone
ceiling—I believed he was still upset about his previous
failure to finalize matters between himself and a certain
tongueless nightmare. Massive chunks of earth crashed to
the floor in thick clouds of dust and debris, blocking the way
behind. My father was not pleased at having been awoken
for so pedestrian a task, but the freedom he afforded me
made the weight of his silent reproach bearable.
Wandering the cave system, I imagined myself as Black
Molly Patience—listening intently, gliding the hollows of
the earth, waiting to strike. With victim in hand, I send my
venom coursing through its bloodstream and steal it into the
subterranean rooms of my home. The bones of prior meals
worry at my naked feet as I devour my paralyzed prey. I
was so absorbed in daydream, I’d failed entirely to notice
the gathering light. Before I knew it, I was exiting a densely
overgrown cave in the middle of the woods. Not long after,
I drew to the top of a nearby hill and observed the distant
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