CHAPTER#18

"You like cooking?" Mike asked.

"For other people, yes." Sofia sipped at a glass of orange juice. "I remember doing it for Emily, but not much else. This whole house is like deja vu, every memory ready to be rediscovered."

"The Geas." The enchantment on the home that scattered memories when the Caretaker died, a failsafe meant to prevent people from capturing the monsters within.

"Yes. I refer to them as Resets. Let's see, I think this is only my second Reset."

"So you haven't been here as long as the others?" Mike asked.

"Yes and no. The LIbrary went undiscovered by one of the previous Caretakers, which meant I slept for nearly a hundred years."

"You sleep between Caretakers?" Mike asked.

"Sort of. We all wake up just prior to being discovered. It's as if the Geas knows that you are ready to find us." Sofia smiled, watching Tink shove her second plate of food on the counter. "We don't even exist in a physical state, as far as I can tell. It's like we become dreams."

"Interesting." Mike finished the rest of his meal in silence, mulling over the idea that he had missed finding a new monster simply because the Geas hadn't deemed him ready. Was the Geas itself alive? Could a spell have a conscience of its own?

Once finished, he and Tink cleared the table, and they all did the dishes together. Sofia hand washed the plates and Tink dried them. Mike put each one away, hoping he was at least getting them in the right area. After, he went up to his room to change, getting himself ready for his trip into the greenhouse. Jeans, a lightweight shirt, and a belt. He didn't think he'd need a jacket. Walking back toward the stairs, his eyes caught on the tall, ebony wardrobe at the end of the hall. It had ornate silver handles that opened both of the doors on the front. Walking past the stairs, his hands were nearly on the handles when he heard Sofia shout.

"What's taking you so long?" She called, and Mike spun on one foot, jogging casually down the steps and back into the dining room.

"Are you sure you can get there and back by nightfall?" Sofia asked him. She stood next to Tink at the kitchen table, arms crossed in front of her. Tink had unrolled the original map of the Labyrinth, using small mugs to hold it open, carefully drawing a replica with a ruler and a protractor.

"Oh yeah. Should be back around lunchtime, I know right where I left it." Well, that was a small lie. He knew that it was by the Mandragora, but nothing else. Sofia had spent what little had remained of last night harping on him for details regarding the knife, where he had set it, and if it had runes carved into the hilt. The truth was that he didn't know - shortly after Sarah had dropped it, he had been too busy getting high on the spores the plant had released that made him and Sarah fuck until they were too exhausted to move.

He wasn't about to share that detail with the cyclops. She seemed to be in a constant state of disapproval with him, and he felt a strange desire to please her. Was it that she was the latest monster in the house, and he had a strange urge to protect her? Or maybe it was that she didn't seem to be that interested in him at all.

"I guess I'm off." He gave a small wave, but Sofia ignored him. Tink was already busy with the copies of the map. It had been Sofia's idea to leave behind the original, and provide all three of them with a copy, just in case. Sofia had informed them this morning that she intended to come along, for Tink's sake.

"Bye," Tink muttered, waving dismissively with her free hand. Feeling a little let down, Mike stepped out the back door into the garden. Abella had found a dark corner beneath the roof, her iPad clutched tightly in her hands. Mike couldn't be sure, but he was fairly certain that she was watching Friends.

"Good luck, lover." Naia blew him a kiss. A small watery sphere splashed against his cheek.

"I shouldn't be long," he told her. Abella and Cecilia had offered to go with him, but he asked them to stay behind and watch out for the mysterious woman in white who had been spotted in the front yard yesterday while he was at the library Now that the Mandragora was properly fed, the only danger in the greenhouse would be the sudden storms.

The greenhouse looked innocuous enough, but Mike knew better. The Mandragora opened the door for him, the vines pushing it open gently. The sudden blast of warmth and humidity felt good against his skin, and the smells of the greenhouse flooded his nostrils. Miles of sky in every direction greeted him, and he shut the door behind him. Above the door, glass windows extended all the way into the sky. Mike could see clouds reflected in those upper windows, and wondered just how high it went. If he could climb that high, would he find more world beyond the metal and glass? Or did the world truly end right there? If so, how far did the jungle go?

"Okay, sweet pea. Lead the way!" He gave one of the thicker vines a gentle pat. The Mandragora rubbed gently against his leg, leading him toward the edge of the cliff that bordered the forest. Last time he had been here, he had led Sarah the witch to her demise. This time, the Mandragora led him along a hidden side path that was not only far easier to navigate, but took him along a shaded part of the path where he was out of the sun. Whistling softly to himself, he made his way down the cliff.