CHAPTER#101

He shook his head. "I refuse to believe that. There's always a way. Nothing's impossible."

"Your optimism aside, I can't think of any way to get to the portal by tomorrow morning. Can you?"

"I..." A sick feeling had formed in his gut. How long could the others hold out against the Society? "Surely there's got to be a way. I refuse to believe it can't be done."

"That's why it's called a hard truth. Sometime tomorrow, the dial will reset, and the Society will come. However..." a grim smile broke across Ratu's face. "I also fail to believe that the fight for them will be easy with an angry kitsune guarding the house."

"Do you think she stands a chance against them?"

"Possibly. Right now, our biggest worry is going to be how to get home. " Ratu picked up the journals.

"We just need to get back to the portal."

"You've forgotten something important. You left the key in the wardrobe."

His face fell, and the world spun around him. Putting a hand on Ratu for support, he knelt down, waiting for the dizziness to pass. He had been so focused on getting back up the mountain that he never once considered the idea that Yuki had locked them in.

"Hey. Don't worry about it." Ratu rubbed his lower back. "Let's focus on the things we can do. Like get something to eat?"

Mike swallowed the giant lump that had formed in his throat and stood up, blinking away the tears that had already formed in his eyes. Everyone was counting on him, and the weight was suddenly crushing. Closing his eyes, he took several breaths. Ratu was right. Freaking out now wasn't going to help him get home any faster. A good meal might help him focus better anyway.

She took his hand and led him inside.

- - -

Yuki filled the bathtub to the brim with hot water, trying her best to ignore Naia's absence. Stripping off her robes, her tails swished in the hot, humid air of the bathroom as she stepped over the tub wall and into the water, the warmth rapidly climbing her legs.

When the tub overflowed, she sighed, remembering that there wasn't a nymph to prevent a mess from being made. She opened the drain and snapped her fingers, causing the water on the floor to flow in reverse until it was back in the tub. Satisfied she wouldn't flood the bathroom, she stoppered the tub once more and laid back.

The tears came slowly at first but then flowed freely once the full weight of her reality sunk in on her. How had things gotten out of control so fast? Sure, she had expected some resistance to her taking ownership of the home, but she definitely hadn't expected everybody to forget about her. The fight with Abella had been exhausting in more ways than one, and seeing the look of horror on Sofia's face as she turned to stone had twisted a knife in Yuki's heart.

Tink had fled into the Labyrinth with others she hadn't recognized. Determined not to be ambushed later, she had frozen the reflecting pool so that none of them could take a shortcut back. She would deal with them eventually, but for now, she just couldn't handle it anymore. Years of pent up anger had taken their toll, and all she wanted was a nice, hot bath.

Her tails floated along the surface, so she took several minutes to wash them clean with soap and shampoo. Most of her bathing had been restricted to the rivers of her prison, though she had, on occasion, made herself an actual bath. However, a proper shampoo was far superior to stealing toiletries from the centaurs. She had done her best to avoid them for many years, but their path's eventually crossed. How many times had a group of warriors clustered near her tower, demanding entry? She had stoned them all, moving their statues out back. She had debated tossing them from the tower to shatter on the rocks below, but Daisy had convinced her that keeping them in storage could have certain benefits as well.

After a good scrub and rinse, she drained the tub a bit to get rid of the dirt and filled it up again. Then she grabbed a nearby towel and soaked it in hot water. She got it nice and wet and placed it over her face, letting the heat open her pores.

The water streaming down her face mixed with more tears, and a sob escaped her lips. This was not the triumphant return she had expected, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was going about everything all wrong. The urge to release Naia was tempting, but her old confidante would likely not be in the mood to speak with her unless she brought back Mike first.

She simply couldn't. After what had happened with Emily, there was no way she could trust another human being with the house.

The warmth of the tub soaked into her core, and she let out a sigh.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?" Naia was scrubbing Yuki's back, her fingers massaging the muscles beneath.

"Your hands are magical," a much younger Yuki replied. Intense warmth radiated out from where Naia touched her, relieving aches and pains. Yuki and Emily had just returned from a quick trip to Europe that had failed miserably and resulted in a fight with a bridge troll. They had gotten banged up a little, but had eventually escaped to the safety of the forest. "Is that nymph magic or water magic?"

"It's water magic. I can teach you sometime." Naia's thumbs dug into some tight muscles around Yuki's left shoulder blade. "You can learn a lot about a person by how their muscles are wound up?"

"Oh really?"

"It's true. For instance, you have a sore spot down here," Naia's hand moved below Yuki's ribs, "that's from an impact."

"Yeah. I got kicked." It had hurt like a bitch, too.