CHAPTER#90

"That's... that's crazy!"

"Worse yet, I also believe that she intended to use the secret of the house to control the being - eventually." Ratu tucked the key back into her kimono. "That being said, this is just a theory. Emily brought me many ancient texts under the guise that I was perfecting my craft. Instead, I was researching the grim possibility that she was about to make a huge mistake. Months before her death, I had learned how to destroy and harvest the magic from the final object. Instead, I encased it beneath a lake of ice."

"If you know how to destroy it, then why do you need the goggles?"

Ratu pursed her lips, deep in thought. "This... artifact is extremely dangerous. As I mentioned, the Ancient Ones are extremely powerful, but not just in terms of strength. They reside in a plane that is devoid of time and space. The sheer act of interacting with such a creature can destroy the mind, and as such, the object I need to destroy is very devious. Imagine trying to drive a nail into wood, but in the moment you swing your hammer, the nail is now a snake, and the wood a piece of pie. So now you are chasing a snake with your hammer, but now your hammer is a mallet, and you are a German Shepard."

"...what?"

"Exactly. This isn't just a hallucination, or a fever dream. The last object is sealed inside a container meant to prevent the chaos from spreading. Once the container is open, you have to hit the nail before the world changes around you. As a human, just to look upon this thing would cause you to go insane. However, the goggles are a Divine Object, able to pierce the veil and protect the user for a time."

"And this is where I come in."

"Perhaps. With Emily dead, my contract with her is void, except I have technically collected on a bargain I never delivered. I am unable to leave this place, and I am afraid that I suspected that you had come down here to demand the results that Emily never achieved." Ratu bowed her head. "For this, I am sorry."

Mike nodded. "It sounds like you were trying to do the right thing. I accept your apology. What about you, Tink?" Mike looked down at the goblin and smiled. Sometime during the conversation, she had eaten her fill, then leaned her head against his side, promptly falling asleep.

"Do you know what she called me right after I brought her here?"

Mike grinned. "I can only imagine. Did it end with fuck?"

Ratu laughed. "It was like stream of consciousness from the bottom of a swamp. Asterion asked me to explain to him what some of the words meant. He had never heard them before."

"Yeah." Mike put his arm around Tink. "She can be feisty. Does this mean you will let them all go? My friends and the faeries?"

"I require a new contract of you, the Caretaker. Once you have fulfilled your part of the bargain, I will release all of you."

"Lay it out for me."

"I would ask that you use those goggles to help me destroy the last object. I also wish to continue living in this place, with the caveat that I am allowed to leave when I choose."

"Sounds straightforward enough." Mike lightly stroked Tink's hair, smiling when she muttered in her sleep. "In exchange, I ask for the release of my friends, and that you never do anything to bring danger to the house. Also, safe passage if I or any of the others wish to come see you."

"That... is an odd request."

"You seem rather lonely." Mike said. Ratu's posture shifted very slightly. "If you were truly a solitary creature, you wouldn't have chosen this place to come. I'm sure the minotaur is nice enough, but he doesn't strike me as much of a conversationalist."

Ratu considered Mike for several seconds, then laughed. "You are an interesting human. Perhaps I will enjoy getting to know you."

"So what now?" Mike asked.

"I have preparations to make. Feel free to rest in the pagoda - you will be unsurprised to find that it is bigger on the inside."

"Sounds about right." Mike finished the last few bites of food on his plate, then pulled Tink into his arms. She shifted, pulling herself tightly against him.

"Husband," she muttered. Mike smiled, walking along the table and toward the pagoda. The area around it was surrounded by hanging cloths that flapped gently in the breeze generated by the burning braziers. Drawing close, the pagoda gave off a weird illusion, suddenly looking even taller now that he was up close. Stepping through the doorway, Mike stared upward in awe. The pagoda stretched as far as he could see, creating the illusion that he was staring into infinity. Climbing the stairs by the entrance, he soon found a small room lit by hanging lanterns with a large, comfortable bed. Moving toward it, he knelt down to gently set the goblin onto the soft, red sheets.

"Wha-?" While laying Tink on the bed, he felt her teeth clamp down on his shoulder. Growling, Tink pulled Mike into bed with her, her tail whipping around until she was on top of him, her hands pinning Mike to the mattress. She released his shoulder.

"Tink wait long time for husband," she announced, her eyes narrowing. "Husband come for Tink. Husband love Tink."

"Of course I do, but - hey!" Tink was yanking Mike's pants off now, her back to Mike. He grabbed onto her hips to push her off when he felt her hands on his cock. She tickled the underside of it with one of her claws, then bent over, sniffing the air.

"Who is this?" Tink asked. Mike felt suddenly ashamed, but knew there was no reason to be. Tink didn't care that he had sex with the others. To her, it was no different than watching tv or sharing eggos with a friend.