CHAPTER#104

The sparks on her body grew smaller, creeping in through the pores of her skin. The fireball above them tripled in size, the warm fire casting eerie shadows across the cave. Ratu hissed again, her long tongue tasting the air. She looked down at Mike, her eyes more snake than human and her body aglow in blue light. Letting out a gasp, the scale pattern vanished, and her eyes went back to normal. She collapsed on him, holding him closely. They lay that way for several minutes, Mike's heart beating fast in his chest. What had just happened?

"I totally would have gone with you to your sock hop," she said, breaking the silence. "Whatever that is."

"This was way more fun than a middle school dance," he replied. He had gone to most of the dances, affairs where the boys and girls just looked at each other and drank all the soda that was provided, just to get out of the house.

More time passed in silence, and he felt her body shape shift above him. Rolling to his side, she nestled against him, the ball of fire keeping them both warm.

"That was an interesting trick you had up your sleeve," she said. "I have no idea what that was. I've never heard of it."

"Yeah, well. That was my first time doing it. On my own, anyway."

"When the sparks stopped, I felt my magic recharge." She chuckled. "This greatly improves our odds for survival. I wish you had done it earlier."

"If I knew I could do that, I would have suggested it." He saw something shining in the light of the fire off to his side. Mike picked up Ratu's crown and set it on her head.

"Feeling a bit more regal now?" He asked.

"You have no idea." She pointed at the ball of fire, and it grew even larger. "I thought you were interesting before, but apparently you have other secrets worth exploring."

"This isn't the first time someone has used my sperm to regain their energy," Mike said. "I wasn't even thinking about it, to be honest."

"If you were an ordinary human, you may have prolonged my life, but this..." she summoned another ball of fire, setting it casually in the air to warm them farther. "This is something entirely different."

"Yes, well, I don't quite understand it either." He thought of the shock of white hair inside Baba's trap. When this was all over, he was going to have to speak with Cecilia. "Do you suppose it's the soul swap with Naia?"

"Perhaps." She summoned another ball of fire. "I don't think I can get us out, but I can definitely keep us comfortable. There's still plenty of air, which means the tunnels aren't completely collapsed. This at least gives the others time."

"If they're coming." Mike added.

"Yes." She put her hands against her stomach, wincing. "Starting to get hungry."

"No food in those robes of yours?" Mike asked hopefully.

"No. Leaves crumbs." She laid her head on his shoulder. "Nothing to do but wait."

They stayed that way, enjoying the open flames up above. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was surprised when a tiny blue light squeezed through a crack in the ice. Spiraling around the chamber first, Blue landed on Mike's knee.

"We're here!" She shouted. Behind the ice, they heard the sound of metal on ice. Mike hurried to get his own clothes back on, and Ratu snapped her fingers, her kimono shrinking to the appropriate size and covering her body. When Mike pulled up his pants, he heard something hit the ground. Kneeling down, he picked up the key that had fallen out of his pocket.

"Listen!" Ratu fiddled with her sleeves, watching the caved in tunnel entrance. Voices could be heard on the other side, and the tunnel blew itself apart. Large chunks of ice floated through the air, landing on the edges of the cavern. Through the gap skipped Beth, her eyes black with Jenny's soul inside.

"All the king's horses, and all the king's men, dug through the ice to find you two again." Grinning, she did a pirouette for Mike as the others stepped through the entrance. He walked to greet them, but stumbled when Tink slammed into his midsection, knocking him back down.

"Husband scare Tink," she whispered. "Husband must never scare Tink again."

…

Kali's fists clenched and unclenched in the back of the town car. Daryl was kneeling on the floor in front of her, contemplating the large patch of skin that had been blasted off the side of her ribs. He gave it a gentle tug, making Kali wince.

"You always impress me," Daryl said, pulling a scalpel from the small kit on the floor. "Anyone else would have passed out from the pain."

"I don't feel pain." Her eyes bulged from her head, many of the veins burst from the lightning blast. Daryl used the scalpel to make a large cut across her torso, removing the ruined flesh. "Just anger."

"If anger keeps you from throwing up in my car, then so be it." He tossed the scrap of skin in a bag. "I'm going to have to regrow it. I'm afraid you're gonna be mismatched for a while."

"The new skin will fade eventually," she said. Daryl touched the edge of her wound with his wand, muttering under his tongue. Her tattered flesh scarred over, then grew. Daryl directed the growth with his wand, careful not to let any of the edges get away from him. The skin there would be extra sensitive for some time, and would be a lighter color than the rest of her for at least a couple of months. "For one who specializes in death, you are very good at fixing that which lives."

"My mentor told me once that to truly understand how a thing works, you must take it apart first." A slight grin crossed his lips. "Did you know she created the Black Plague? Did it on a whim. Took a healing spell from the old world and reversed some of its components. Figured you could speed up decay rather than defeat it."