The shoji screen slid open. Leo didn’t look back.
He pulled.
The doll gestured. A cup of tea materialized on the table. Steam rose in a perfect spiral. Escape from the Room of the Serving Doll Free D...
He lunged. Not for the key—for the floorboard. He ripped it up. Beneath was a tangle of clockwork gears, a small furnace glowing red, and a single lever marked RELEASE . The shoji screen slid open
The doll shrieked—a true mechanical howl—and her arms elongated, reaching. Leo grabbed the lever. “You said not to refuse,” he shouted. “So I refuse your service.” a small furnace glowing red
“Drink,” she said.