The knock came a little after three in the morning, three soft raps and a pause, then one more, so small that Kai almost took it for the building settling.
He had the watch. He sat on an overturned crate inside the stairwell gate on 21, a battery lantern turned to its lowest glow beside him and Hrimnir, in his small gray form, stretched across the floor at his feet. The welded bars and plate closed off the stairs completely, so that nobody could climb past this landing. The wolf's head came up before the second knock. Kai set down the cold tea he'd been pretending to drink.
"Who's there?"
"It's Jason." The voice was thin and breathless. "Please. I need to talk to Erik."
