Kensei limped up to a brick wall in a blind alley and leaned against it, catching her breath. Her body felt like she'd gone a few rounds with a meat tenderizer.

"Karl? Am I clear?" she asked. Normally the spirit of the neighborhood played lookout for her, but since the ambush he'd been missing. Out of the alley, the deadened spiritual energy had diminished, but it still lingered in the air half a mile away.

When Karl didn't answer, she cursed and turned to make a token effort to spot anyone watching her. Then she whispered to the wall, "The devil, you say." The wall in front of her rotated with a portion of the pavement in front of it as it turned to face the interior of the building. A light came on automatically and she walked over to enter in a code onto an...

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