CHAPTER#107

Lily looked at where their hands touched, then raised her gaze to look into Dana's eyes. There was a brief flash of light in them, and the scent of sulfur permeated the room.

"No." Lily shook her head. "No. Forget I even said that."

"What? Why?"

"There's still a difference between us. All those bad things I did were because of a stupid choice I made long ago. You didn't get to choose to become a zombie, but you do get to make all your choices from here on."

"But how is that fair?" Dana took her hand away. "You don't get to decide that for me!" Pushing herself off the desk, her feet slapped against the wooden floor. A sharp pain tore through her stomach and she gasped, falling to her knees. Lily was immediately at her side, helping her to stand.

In Dana's pocket, her phone buzzed. Out of habit, she pulled it out to reveal that she had a new text.

Feeling hungry? Results soon, or you starve.

"Fuck." Lily took the phone from her, sticking it in her pocket. "We need to get you to Zel, right away."

"I don't understand. What's happening?" The pain ripped through her again, causing her to gasp. It subsided, allowing her to walk on her own. She pushed away from Lily to go into the bathroom down the hall instead. Wondering if she would be sick, she started to lean over the toilet when she saw her reflection.

Her hair was going gray.

-

Mike woke up from his nap, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Tink was crashed out on the bed next to him, and Abella had folded herself into the corner of the bed, her eyes outward. All three fairies took off from the bedspread, circling up above.

"How do you feel?" Abella asked him.

"Better." He yawned again. "I'm so fucking exhausted." The slow, slippery climb out of the frozen lake had left him tired enough that he had started dozing on the long walk back to Ratu's lair. While the others had opened discussion on the fastest route back, Mike had declared that he was too tired and needed to rest. Beth, Sofia, and Ratu had agreed to work out the details of the journey back, and Mike had gone back into the pagoda to lay down. Tink was asleep before he was, and Abella kept her dark eyes on the door, content just to sit with him.

"Or are you exhausted from fucking?"

"Ha ha." Mike rubbed his face, lightly slapping his cheeks. "I didn't think nearly freezing to death or being eaten by a Russian witch would make me so tired. And you're probably right about the other thing."

Abella smirked. "Just imagine how tired you would be without your magic."

"My magic?" Mike was immediately awake.

"You know, from the soul swap with Naia. Nymphs get their energy from sex. I'm guessing you do too. Naia told me once that it's like dipping a cup into a river to drink some of it. So whenever you have sex, you take some of the other person's energy."

"But that doesn't make sense. You took my energy that time on the cliffs, not the other way around. Ow, fuck." Mike had turned in the bed and tried to stand up. His ankles and knees felt like they were full of gravel..

"Sex is about giving and taking. It should be an even swap, but a nymph can shift the scales dramatically and take extra, weaving it into magic." The gargoyle shrugged, her heavy tail shifting behind her. "You would have to ask her about it."

"I may have to." Give and take, Mike thought. He pictured Cecilia in the cave with him once more, the two of them creating a magical feedback loop. Whatever had happened to him had happened then. Some part of Cecilia had grafted onto him, and he was betting that the same had happened to her.

Giving Tink a shove to wake her up, he started looking for his shoes. He had kicked them off before falling in bed. He found one with some help from Green, who hovered over it. His other shoe had gotten squished by Abella's tail. and he stuck his hand inside to pop it back out.

"Can you guys stop with the circles?" He asked. The fairies had been flying above him, their different colors casting odd shadows around the room that were making him dizzy. They landed on Tink, who grumbled and swatted at them.

"I guess I'll go see what the plan is." Mike left Abella with Tink, yawning again. Walking out of the pagoda, he was greeted by the sight of Ratu, Beth, and Sofia sitting at the long dining table with a beautiful tea set between them. Mike waved casually, sitting down to join them.

"So what's the plan? Go home, boot the witches, go to bed?" He grinned.

"Hardly. It will take some time to get out of the Labyrinth. Apparently so many traps were set off that the Labyrinth has reconfigured itself in defense. This means it will take you some time to get to the front gate."

"Ugh." Mike pulled a teacup toward him, then filled it from the teapot. "This stuff is caffeinated, right?"

Ratu nodded in response. "Asterion will lead you and the others to the front gate. I will remain here. While I believe that the artifact is indeed destroyed, I have to be certain its magic has not affected anything near the lake."

"Like how?" Mike asked.

"As long as the object's magic didn't leak into the surrounding area, we are fine. If it did, then literally anything you can think of could have happened. I would hate to wander into a pocket of insanity. I need to explore the area to make certain the Labyrinth is still safe. Either way, it is more important that I monitor things here for the time being."

"Once we are out of the Labyrinth, we can use the viewing pool outside of the gate to return quickly," Sofia added. "From there, you should be able to use the goggles to activate the home's defenses."