CHAPTER#47

"I'll take that as a yes," Mike said, his voice cracking. "But if you're going to leave this place, you need to help me first."

The house shook, but this time, Jenny remained quiet. Taking a deep breath, he told her exactly what he wanted.

-

Sebastien watched her with amusement and curiosity, tracing the intricate patterns Kali had scribbled in the air. The crystal in her hand glowed orange, leaving behind fluorescent trails. Kali's spell glowed intensely, sucking energy from the Geas, expanding across the sky.

"It seems I underestimated you," Sebastien told her, watching the letters expand until they were nearly ten feet high. Kali smiled in satisfaction, watching her spell devour the Geas. The spell she was casting had been instrumental in taking out a warlock in the 1800s.

The letters grew brighter, blinding light filling the front yard. In her hand, the crystal was suddenly too hot to touch, flames curling around her skin. Kali cast it away from her right before it detonated, the letters first crumbling in on themselves, then exploding. Kali felt the sound inside her gut, falling to one knee as the blast washed over her. It bent around Sebastien, who used his cane as a staff to protect himself. He shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"You knew that was going to happen," Kali said, glaring at Sebastien.

"I hoped it would. Can't have you taking all of the glory." Sebastien crossed the grass, picking up what was left of the crystal. "Completely stripped of its magic," he announced, crushing the crystal with his fingers. A dark powder drifted away on the slight breeze.

Kali stood up, shrugging off his comment. "No matter. I know a hundred different spells I can try."

"And you are welcome to them." Sebastien checked his watch, a gold Rolex with his name on the back. "However, my plan is going to start any minute now. Feel free to watch all your hard work amount to nothing."

Kali shook her head, then put a calming hand on the snake at her side. The python lowered its head, rubbing its face against her thigh.

"We'll see," she whispered, gazing at the windows of the house once more.

-

Mike closed the back door, squinting in the morning light. The sun's rays were scattered across the mist hovering over Naia's fountain, casting rainbows of light in every direction like a giant prism. The nymph was busy dancing on the surface of the water, her white gown billowing behind her while birds flew in circles around her body.

"How did it go?" Zel asked from her spot off to the side. She had set up a table, and was busy scribbling some notes to herself in a giant leather journal while watching Naia. Mike saw that she had drawn Naia almost perfectly, a drawing that looked almost like a photograph.

"Ask her yourself." Mike set Jenny down on the table. The doll gave a small curtsy, causing Zel to startle, her equine hindquarters briefly losing control. "Jenny, this is Zel. She's new to the house."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Zel gave a rather eloquent bow of her own. "I am unfamiliar with your species, I'm afraid."

"Tormented human soul trapped inside of a doll. It's a long story." Mike saw that Naia was no longer dancing, her attention on the three at the table. "She agreed to help."

"But at what cost?" Naia looked doubtful, her crossed arms pressing her breasts against her chest.

Mike shook his head. "For now, her freedom from the Vault. Without a host, it takes a tremendous amount of energy for her to do anything. Speaking of which, Zel, I'm going to need a pick-me-up."

"You just got up," Zel said, furrowing her brow.

MIke sighed. "Being a spirit, Jenny needs to run on the energy of her surroundings. The Vault acts as a giant barrier to prevent things like her from walking off on their own. I guess I'm acting as a spiritual battery for Jenny right now, or at least that's how she explained it to me." He pictured the images Jenny had shown him. It had taken a bit, but once she had convinced him that she wasn't going to eat his soul, he had agreed to be her energy source until she got a body. "We are keeping things to a minimum, but I feel like I've finished a brutal workout, and that's just from our talk. Do you have anything that will give me a boost?"

"Actually, a couple of things." Zel disappeared into the garage, and Mike followed. She had already set up shop in there, using the work bench as her apothecary. In the corner, she had built herself a bed out of several blankets he had found in the house. Zel was busy eyeballing a few flasks, holding them up to a lamp she had installed on the workbench.

"And?"

"Well, a couple of options. I'm hesitant to give you any more of that potion. Since it seems to be a spiritual drain, I can supplement some of that granola with peppermint extract and wolfsbane. That should act as an upper. I also have something that acts like adrenaline, but that's only for emergencies. Hmm." Zel pulled out a small mortar and pestle, crushing up some leaves. She poured in some viscous fluid from a test tube that she had, and then added some small grains of salt. It smelled like Vaporub from across the room, and Mike's mouth went dry.

"Okay, here. Try this." Zel presented him with a small flask.

"All of it?" Mike asked.

"Yep." Zel nodded, her hair bouncing across her breasts. "Might taste weird, so swallow it quickly."

Mike took her advice and chugged the chunky liquid. It tasted disgusting but filled his belly with an immediate warmth. The bond he had with Jenny was tangible like a bungee cord stretched tight and threatening to drag him under. He felt its draining effects diminish significantly. "Hey, that worked pretty great. What was in there?"