CHAPTER#113

"She is at the gate." He gazed at the wall, his eyes looking past it. "And now the gate has opened."

"She's here? But why?"

"To stop Tink from finding husband." Tink made a fist and punched her other hand. "Tink make pelt, wear in winter."

"You mustn't fight her. Your job is to find Mike and get him back here to turn the dial." Though, with a fox demon assaulting them from within, she hoped he had some more tricks up his sleeve.

Blinking away her exhaustion, she watched as the rats opened numerous portals that went to strange places. A jungle where the sky was somehow an upside down city, the tower in the sky that Mike had been to, and even the inside of a submarine that had taken on some water. Each portal was a glimpse into a world that had been forgotten, and some of them immediately faded from Beth's memory once the rats shut the portal down. Dozens of them were opened simultaneously, and Tink paced the corridors, dragging her club behind her.

"There!" Tink nearly knocked over a group of rats that had opened a hole barely a few inches wide. "Husband is in there, Tink can tell!"

Silence rippled across the rats for a few seconds, and then they swarmed. Pending portals were shut down, and rats squeezed in to help open the new portal as soon as there was room. They swarmed to the other side, the sound of their teeth on stone filling the air and sending chills down Beth's spine.

"She is close now." Asterion shouldered his axe. "She will be here soon."

"Go go go!" Reggie shouted. The rats chewed frantically, and Tink was practically hopping up and down in front of the hole. Another squad of rats slipped through the gap to help from the other side.

Once the portal was large enough, Tink tossed her club through and fought to squirm into it. Her hips got stuck and she began frantically kicking her feet, her skirt lifting up to reveal her bare booty.

"Tink stuck!" Her voice sounded both muffled and far away. The rats nearby went to push her through but balked when her foot connected with one of them, knocking him over.

"Out of the way!" Beth placed a foot on Tink's butt and gave her a good shove. The goblin slid forward several inches, then stopped again. Letting out a sigh, she placed a hand on each of Tink's buttcheeks and pushed as hard as she could, musing over Tink's inability to wear panties.

Tink popped through to the other side, falling sideways onto a stone floor. An azure sky with floating clouds could be seen through a window overlooking a mountain range.

"Close it," Beth said.

"Wait!" Tink's face popped into view. "Beth come, too!"

"There's no time. Find Mike, tell him what happened here." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Bring him back. You can do it."

"Lady Beth." Reggie's nose twitched and he ruffled his hands nervously over his fur. "I will stay and help."

"No. Make sure the portals all get closed and then hide. Your people need you, and we will need you once this is over. The last thing we need is a change in the monarchy."

"I will do my best." Reggie turned toward the portal. "I need some volunteers to go with Lady Tink to retrieve Sir Mike."

Several rats raised their hands, and they ran through to the other side to help close it. The Labyrinth was full of chewing noises as the rats quickly shut down the portals all around them. Asterion looked nervous, his gaze turning along the far wall.

"Hmm. She is fast." The minotaur frowned. "It is as if she knows this place."

"Great," Beth muttered. Reggie had the rats opening a small portal into their tunnels, and as each hole closed, the rats would either migrate to help close another or run for the safety of their den. The air temperature was cooling and Asterion took her hand.

"This way," he rumbled, leading her out of the room.

They took a few shortcuts, the gnawing sounds diminishing behind them. Eventually, they entered one of the rooms with the river flowing beneath it. This one had a small drawbridge that Asterion lowered in order for them to cross.

Their feet were thumping on the planks when the kitsune appeared. She had forced her way up onto the wall above them, her face red with effort. Asterion had explained to Beth that the magic of the Labyrinth affected weight and balance once above the wall to prevent flying or climbing, but it seemed that Yuki had been able to surpass these limitations.

"There you are," she growled, nearly falling from the wall. "There used to be a shortcut here, you know." Then she moved toward them.

Beth moved behind Asterion, her hands on his hips, waiting. When he hadn't been turned to stone after a few seconds, she figured it would be safe enough to look. Leaning out to the side, she watched as the fox demon descended from above, sliding down a large ramp of ice she had created for herself. Upon touching the cavern floor, an eerie fog billowed out from the kitsune, causing ice to creep outward from where she stepped.

Her footsteps were quiet, and, behind her, three large tails swished around, defying gravity.

"My name is Yuki. Where is Tink?" the kitsune asked, her voice carrying across the distance between them easily. "I need to talk to her."

"We just want to talk," Beth said, holding her hands out. "We don't want a fight with you."

"What are you all doing down here? I can sense the portals you are opening. Whatever you were attempting, it needs to end now."

"We aren't attempting anything, but we do want to talk."

"I don't have time for games, so let's speed things up." Yuki pulled a glowing white ball out of her pocket and tossed it to Beth, who caught it. "I can use this to find out if you're telling me the truth. Basic trickster magic. As long as you answer my questions, I won't freeze you or your beefy sidekick."