CHAPTER#127

Neither of them moved. Mike pulled himself along the porch until he was face to face with the succubus, her eyes staring into the distance.

"That... was something I..." Lily was at a loss for words. Her tail and wings disappeared, but her horns remained, the tiny halo of fire above them shrinking away. "I haven't come like that in centuries. Definitely not in my real body."

"Yeah." He didn't know what to say. In that moment, the sass and anger always just an inch below the surface seemed to be gone. For a split second, she seemed at peace, and he was afraid to break the spell. They quietly laid next to each other for several minutes, Lily's eyes slowly returning to normal and the fiery halo over her head vanished. The frost that had formed over the wooden planks melted into nothingness as the sun climbed higher into the sky.

"Listen." Lily faced him, but her eyes looked away, focused on the sky behind him. "I'm not going to be around much, but I am going to stop in every now and then. Not because I have to or anything."

"That would be good. That way we know you're doing okay." MIke gave a small grin. "Just try not to make too much trouble."

Lily stuck out her tongue. It was still blue from the frosting. She stood up and readjusted her clothes with a puff of smoke. Mike groaned, his body protesting the fall from the swing. He shook his head at the swing. Cecilia was going to be pissed when she reappeared.

"Do you think you can help me fix this?" Mike looked at Lily, but she was gone. He fought the urge to roll his eyes, convinced she was watching him from somewhere.

He went looking for Tink and brought her to the porch to inspect the swing. They quickly fixed the split planking and readjusted the chain. When they finished, Tink stood back to appraise their handiwork. Mike examined the swing to make sure it looked okay, then sat on it to make certain it wouldn't dump Cecilia on her ass.

A small shadow formed in the front yard near the sundial, a dark circle that got progressively bigger. MIke stepped off the porch and looked to the sky. A dark figure with large wings was descending in a tight circle, a figure clutched in its talons. Mike watched in amazement as Abella gently deposited Beth on the grass. She had a backpack on, and carried a silver briefcase in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

"How was the party?" he asked.

"Dreadful." Beth replied. "It was one last stop I didn't want to make, but I don't need suspicious coworkers trying to find me after I quit."

"Were you able to get everything you needed from your house?"

"Yep! Just the irreplaceable things, and a couple of my favorite outfits." She held up the silver briefcase and then the luggage.

"And you didn't run into any problems?"

"The Society had somebody watching the lobby, but they never expected me to come in the window. Someone is going to have a bad day when they figure out I'm gone for good. I sent the documents out to sublet my apartment and left them all my furniture." Beth's face twisted and she shifted forward violently. "Sorry, hold on."

She pulled off the backpack and opened it up. Jenny popped out of the top and looked up at Mike.

"Guess she doesn't want to be stuffed away any more." He knelt and gave Jenny a pat on the head. "I guess that's it then. Are you still going to take the blue room?"

"Oh yes." Beth's eyes sparkled. "I think that's the room for me." She put her backpack on and walked up the steps. Tink grabbed the briefcase and Mike picked up the suitcase. "Never thought I would get to live here."

"You can still use my tub," he told her. "Just gotta let me know first so I don't walk in on you."

"Don't worry. We can draft up a roommate agreement." They stood in front of the door. Mike handed her one of his spare keys and pushed the door open.

"Welcome home." He held the door for her and she crossed the threshold. The instant they were all inside, the ground beneath them rumbled, and a sound like distant chimes filled the air. They looked at each other, setting down all the luggage.

"What was that?" Beth asked. "Are you under attack again?"

"Can't be. I turned the dial." He opened the front door, but nobody was on the lawn. He ran down the steps, his eyes on the clouds above. He half expected a crack in the sky, or Amir on his flying carpet with a handful of lightning bolts to throw. The ground shook again, then settled. Abella circled overhead, and Cecilia had appeared on the porch, worry on her face.

"See anything?" Beth stood beside him, her eyes on the road.

"Nothing." He knew he had felt the ground shake.

"Mike." Beth's hand tugged at his. "Turn around."

He cast one last look at the street, then turned. His jaw dropped.

"No fucking way," he muttered. "There's just no fucking way."

"I wonder what it means." Beth said. The roof of the house was now easily twenty feet higher. The front porch was slightly wider as well, and a whole new bay of windows was now visible to him. Tink stumbled through the door, then caught herself before falling off the steps. She ran out to stand next to Mike, her eyes wide through the goggles.

"House bigger on inside now!" she said, pulling at his hand. "Whole new floor with different rooms!"

"That's... but that's..." It wasn't just that the house had grown, but his memory of it had too. He thought back to that first day with Beth, the day she had shown him the place. They had walked up the stairs, ignoring the second floor entirely, then walked the rest of the way up to the third floor where Naia was. Even this morning, he had walked past without paying it any mind. "How is this possible?"