CHAPTER#141

With a loud crack, the gorgon's head turned to stone. Now heavy, Amir dropped it on the ground where it cracked and fell apart.

Howling in pain, Yuki grabbed at her own face and pulled out the gorgon's eye as it busted into three stony pieces of its own. She reached for her inner pocket, trying to grab one of the major arcana cards, but Amir was quickly upon her.

"It's over for you." Amir removed his blindfold and gave her a kick, sending her sprawling on the ground. Yuki cried out in agony, trying to roll away. The members of the Society swarmed in, surrounding them both. "Kali, break this geas right now."

"Yes, High Priest." She plucked some tiny heads from her pouch and tossed them out. They swam through the air lazily, moving back and forth to build her a table out of soil and retrieve a large sack from the edge of the yard.

"I must say, you were a troublesome fox." He knelt down and grabbed Yuki by the chin. "You will make an excellent addition to my collection."

"No." It was the fight with Emily all over again. She had been tricked, outmatched, and now lay defeated once more. This had become her fate somehow, every decision leading her here once more. Her mind and body were suddenly numb from shock.

"You were strong, I'll give you that much. But you weren't strong enough." He pushed her down and twisted his fingers in the air. A set of thick chains sprang from the ground and circled her ankles and wrists, forcing her into a seated position. They tightened, trapping her hands by the ground. "From here on out, we're done playing games."

Her thoughts were suddenly thick, a tide of emotions rushing up to consume her. She had lost everything before, but not on this scale. Her failures had now cost the others, her own pride her downfall. Her head throbbed painfully, and she tried to summon up her magic, but she was officially tapped out of power.

She tried to reach her inner pocket where she had tucked the remaining major arcana cards, but the chains weren't long enough. The only thing she could reach was the minor arcana that she had tucked into her sleeve, but it was no use. The spells, even directed, wouldn't be enough to free her or give her an edge.

Looking over at Abella, she thought back to what the gargoyle had said. If Mike had been here, the others would have been able to help her. If she hadn't locked them away, they could have made sure this never happened. She had been so caught up in her own quest for justice that she had become blind to the truth that surrounded her. No matter how much she desired the position, the house would never obey her whims, never truly allow her to become the Caretaker and protect everybody inside.

Blinded by rage, greed and revenge, she had tried to force her will on the house, to bend it to her whims. The signs had been there, but the rush of what she had thought would be an ascent to glory had made her unable to see the lack of wisdom in her decisions. She had ruined everything.

She wished someone could help her, could save the others from their fate. Thinking back to the man who she had tried to murder, she realized that she honestly wished he was there to help. A simple twist of the sun dial would have sent all of these people away.

The epiphany hit her like a rush of cold water. She had been so focused on protecting the house that she had forgotten that being the Caretaker didn't just mean keeping the place safe. It also meant taking care of it, and nurturing those within. Mike likely wasn't the protector she expected, but he was what the house needed. Someone to love and care for the others, to nurture and encourage them, and utilize their strengths as his own.

She didn't have the others, not now. Mike had a small army of strengths to pick and choose from.

All she had was herself and a handful of cards. And even if it was only a few minutes, maybe it would be the minutes that counted the most. Already, the others had taken defensive positions around the sun dial, ready to tear apart anyone who came out of the house to stop them.

Shaking her arm, she let the remains of the minor arcana fall into her palm. There were maybe thirty cards left, some of them the weakest spells she had created. However, just like a tarot reading, it wasn't about which cards were drawn individually, but how they went together as a whole.

Abella's words came to her and Yuki gritted her teeth, focusing all of her rage on the people around her.

"Time to make some big things happen," she growled, pinching the cards in her fingers. Flipping her wrist over, she squeezed, causing the cards to leap up from her hands, the magic in all of them activating at the same time.

---

Mike stood helplessly at the window, the storm of magic outside so excessively violent that both Ratu and Tink had held him back.

It was a technicolor storm of magic. Water, fire, earth and air had been unleashed in every direction at the same time, swirls of fire and earth climbing into the sky, powerful rain battering the sides of the house. The men and women on his lawn were tossed about like popcorn, their screams drowned out by the wind. Swords fell from the sky, chasing each other like angry birds and crashing into anybody who got in the way. A blast of air sent Amir across the yard, and a pair of swords ripped into him when he tried to stand back up.

"What do we do?" he cried, his face pressed against the glass.