CHAPTER#114

"I have no reason to lie," Beth said. The ball turned red in her hands.

"Actually, you have every reason to lie. It's what I would do. So I ask again: what were you doing?"

Beth looked at the glowing orb in her hand and then back at Yuki. She fought to keep the smile off of her face.

"Tink just wanted to find her husband and go to him." The ball turned green. "And now that she has found him, they're gonna go home."

A look of disbelief crossed Yuki's face, and then she smiled. "Really? She got married? That's wonderful! She deserves it."

"I..." Beth hadn't been expecting that answer. The kitsune's body language suddenly relaxed and some of the ominous mist around her faded away. "You're happy for her?"

"It's a long story, but Tink and I used to know each other. I wouldn't say we were friends, but we did get along." Her face hardened once more. "Now tell me how you were opening the portals."

"The rat king opened a portal for her." The ball immediately turned red and Yuki summoned a glowing green flame in her hand. "Wait! I mean the rat king had a portal opened for her. He didn't do it personally." The ball flipped back over to green. "This thing is sensitive."

"A rat king? Hmm. That's how she did it. Also explains all the rats I've seen." A terrible look crossed Yuki's face, then vanished. "And where is this rat king now?"

"He took his subjects and went home. I don't think any of them are around, but I can't be sure." The ball remained green and Beth let out a sigh.

"Do you have magic? Do you wish me harm?"

"No and yes. I don't want to hurt you, necessarily, but I want you to stop turning my friends to stone, but I don't know how to make that happen." The ball remained green.

"Hmm." Yuki thought for several seconds, her eyes traveling across the room. "Maybe this is a good place for us to start then. I've been dying to talk with someone, but everybody down here seems pretty angry over what I did to Mike."

"What did you do to Mike?" Beth threw the ball to Yuki.

She caught it, and let out a chuckle. "I locked him in the wardrobe. He might be dead or alive, I'm not sure. But I hope he's dead. I deserve to be the Caretaker, not him."

"I see. And you think turning everyone to stone was the best way to become the new Caretaker?" Beth took a couple of steps forward. "If you knew Tink and the others, then what was the point of attacking everybody and turning them to stone?"

Yuki tilted her head, her eye narrowing. "And who are you, exactly?" She tossed the ball back, and Beth caught it.

"My name is Beth. I moved in here not long ago."

"You seem painfully human to be a resident here."

"I'm just a human," she said with a frown. "It's not like it's a disease."

"Then why do you live here? This home is only for others like myself."

"I didn't get a choice." The ball turned red and Beth sighed. "I mean, I did choose to come live here, and am grateful for it, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. There's a group of witches out there who were trying to use me as a way to get in, so it was safest for the house that I move in where the geas could protect me."

"And what are you to Mike?"

The question made her blush, but she didn't know why. "Legally, I'm his lawyer. When Emily died, it all went to her next of kin and that was Mike. It's why he's the Caretaker."

Yuki's face twisted up, and an eerie glow rippled across her arms. "You're wrong. I'm the Caretaker."

"Legally speaking, the house was passed on to Emily's next of kin. The relationship was distant, I admit, but Mike is Emily's great nephew."

Yuki let out a laugh. "That's where you're wrong. Emily was an only child. I can't blame you for thinking that, though. It's how the geas works."

This wasn't something Beth had expected to hear. "Excuse me?" She threw the ball back to Yuki.

"The geas. When a Caretaker dies, the house passes to the next Caretaker. But here's the big secret; none of them have actually been related. The rules are quite clear. The new Caretaker must be an orphan with nobody special in their life. Someone who could fall down a hole and never be missed. Emily was an orphan with no past and no future, a meager little thing who lucked into the most amazing fate." She tauntingly held up the green ball.

"That doesn't make sense. I saw the genealogy, everyone was excited when we discovered a living descendant..."

"Please. You're talking to a magical fox who can turn people to stone and use a glowing ball to discern the truth— and you think magically forging documents is somehow difficult to grasp?" Yuki shook her head. "Caretakers are supposed to help select these people in advance before they pass. I'm guessing Emily didn't do that."

"No. When she passed, she lived alone. Well..." Beth waved her hand at Asterion. "Not with any other humans."

"This Mike has no claim to the house. My claim, however, is legitimate." The ball flickered a few times at this statement, causing Yuki to curse. She took a deep breath, the words suddenly stuck in her throat. "Emily is my... she was my wife. We were promised to one another, and I would argue my claim is far more valid than any other."

Beth fought to hold her composure, her eyes on the soft green glow of the ball. Emily had been married? "Yes, well, legally speaking, this marriage was never on record and wouldn't be recognized in a court of law."