The sky still drips black and blue when Mr. H arrives at The Frayed Spine. The dogs stand by his heel as one loyal shadow in the low dawn. Beyond them, the street seems empty apart from the rippling puddles. Mr. H keeps his eyes on the counter through the bookshop’s glazed door as the rain…

Maz and Eli stand in front of the fridge as they stare at the note. Her hand finds his arm, gripping harder by the second, before… The Viper makes itself at home with a slow syrup of calm. Fear dissolves, and the urgency it was holding on to goes with it. Maz’s hold eases; Eli’s…

A moment passes. The shadows back off towards where they should be only by a sliver. Maz’s eyes close as Eli sits back and sinks into the couch. She leans forward to him. Her fingers find his face by feel alone and crawl up and down the side of his nose until his cheeks begin…

Maz fumbles with the key outside their flat and keeps missing the lock. When the door finally unlocks, it is almost disappointing.Home sweet home. Then why does it feel like you’ve opened the wrong threshold instead? Eli follows her in, and the click of the door shutting sounds quieter than the fridge buzz from the…

Alone, under the dim amber wall lamp, Deon sits on a wooden barrel and faces another topped with a deck of tarot cards. The light glowing over Deon’s hair casts a shadow on the barrel across from them that resembles a vine wreath around their head. Deon takes the deck and begins to shuffle it.…

The pub’s double door swings open and lets Maz and Eli step outside. The rain needles their cheeks as the wind makes the streetlamps shiver in their flickering light. Eli’s footfalls are half a pace ahead of her. His hand reaches back every now and then, only to feel the dense air before getting anywhere…

The jukebox keeps stuttering. It loops on the same last word until the meaning drains and becomes monotonous enough to register as white noise. Maz shifts on her stool. Her knee knocks against Eli’s, and a cold line cracks between them.Stop shivering. Or whatever this is. Maybe someone’s left the door open? No, you’re not…

Ari stands nose to nose with Meg and holds her stare with a smile.“Threats aren’t your thing, Meg. They don’t even count as enforcement, you know.” Meg lowers her arm as her eyes narrow.“Can you imagine that enforcement? When a lost soul thinks you’re torturing them purely for fun? No. You can’t. Why would you…

The streetlamp cuts out. “Are we sure this is just a pub and not an ancient nightclub?” Maz tips her chin up to the pub’s entrance outside. Eli laughs as he steps closer.“That’s definitely a bit much for a pub.” Beneath the pub’s name, its symbol warms up in the low glow of the pub’s…

The pub calls itself The Archive, or at least that seems to be what the bronze letters hammered across the stonework above the double doors claim. They don’t make it to the doors. Meg’s arms shoot out. She catches Maz by the sleeve with one hand while the other lands flat on Eli’s back and shoves them…