CHAPTER#49

"No, don't worry about it." He was about to tell her a lot of things, things that weren't going to make sense, and he felt that starting with a society of witches trying to break into his house would be a bad idea. "It's a long story, but we'll get around to it eventually."

"So what did you need my help with?" Beth asked. Today she wore a white blouse with a black pencil skirt that clung tightly to her thighs. She had black shoes to match, and her hair had been pulled up into a bun. Beth, as usual, was a vision to behold, but something was off about her. Mike just stared at her for a few seconds, wondering where to begin. He felt antsy, appraising Beth once more. Why couldn't he shake the danger sense in his gut?

"It's complicated," Mike told her, unsure of how to continue. "I want to show you something." He walked into the living room, standing next to the fireplace. He picked up the doll he had set on the hearth. "Do you remember when I gave you this?" He held it out.

"Yes." Beth took the doll from him with her left hand. "I took it home with me. You said to get rid of it."

"It isn't just a doll. Here, may I?" He took Jenny back from her, setting the doll down on the table. "So I suppose you are wondering how it got back here. Here, take a seat." He sat on one of the chairs. Beth made herself comfortable on the couch, setting down the files. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse, then tucked away a wisp of hair that had come loose.

His whole body went numb, the feeling in his gut expanding through his limbs. What had been a simple attempt to tuck away a strand of hair had suddenly become a revelation. It was subtle, nearly impossible to notice, and even Mike had doubts. But the chill in his stomach persisted, and he had to know.

"Just a sec." Mike pulled his phone out of his pocket, and quickly snapped a picture. It only took him a second to flip the image horizontally, and a moment more to realize what it was that his mind was trying to tell him. When she had tucked away that stray hair, Mike had realized that the part in her hair was on the wrong side of her head. The Beth on his phone looked correct, a mirror image of the one sitting across from him.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Beth said. She lunged at him, stepping across the table with lightning speed and scattering her files everywhere. Strong hands caught Mike around his throat, yanking him out of his chair. Gasping for air, Mike struggled to free himself, but Beth's grip was impossible to break. She casually lifted him in the air, his legs hanging below him.

The doorbell rang.

"You need to answer the door," Beth told him. "Let him in."

"Let... who..." Mike's dangling feet kicked at Beth, but she ignored him. He swung his legs even harder, planting his foot firmly in her gut, but it was like kicking a brick wall. Beth marched him toward the door, stepping across the fallen folders. What was going on?

Jenny, still on the table, tipped over and crashed to the floor. She ran across the room, disappearing beneath the couch. The couch lifted off the ground, hovering briefly in the air before launching itself across the room at Beth. The couch busted apart on impact, Beth grunting, but ignoring the assault.

His vision going dark, Mike closed his hand around the hilt of the dagger, hoping that he was right. He sliced cleanly through Beth's wrist then fell to the floor, gasping for air. There was no blood. Instead, Beth's hand exploded into a pile of sand upon impact with the floor.

"Fuck!" Mike got to his feet, slashing wildly at Beth's other hand. The small pile of sand rolled across the floor where it merged with her foot. Beth's hand grew back, and she flexed it experimentally, her eyes never leaving Mike's.

"Answer the door, Mr. Radley." She moved toward him, her face expressionless, fingers reaching. Mike slashed with the dagger, spilling sand everywhere. It got in his eyes, and he coughed, stumbling backward and falling on the floor. She grabbed Mike, lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the wall.

Cecilia phased through the front door, hair billowing wildly behind her, white eyes wide with rage. The temperature of the room dropped, frost forming on the walls and floor. Mike placed his fingers in his ears, the dagger clattering to the floor.

The banshee screamed, her voice causing Beth's features to ripple, sand blowing off of her skin and filling the room like a miniature dust storm. Cecilia moved closer to Beth, arms wide and her body aglow with fey magic. Beth's features blurred further, sand now running off her body in torrents. Her arms thinned out, and Mike was able to break free, sliding to the floor. Mike grabbed the knife, the shrill sound sending ice through his entire body and causing his ears to ring. Stumbling to his feet, he made a run for the back door. He wasn't going to win this fight on his own.

"Mike!" Naia stood on the edge of her fountain, lines of worry written on her face. Zel stood at the other edge of the fountain, holding a water skin beneath the water. Several vials had been laid out on the fountain's edge.

"She's made of sand!" Mike shouted, the back door ripping free of its hinges. Beth walked out, a maelstrom of whirring sand following close behind to form up along the back of her body. "How do we stop sand?!?"

"That's a homunculus," Zel stated, quickly packing up her belongings and galloping off. Mike circled around the edge of the fountain, the dagger held before him. He needed a plan, but he couldn't think straight. His ears were still ringing from Cecilia's scream.