CHAPTER#148

"Damn. Really, we can't just kill him?" Mike laid his dagger on the table. "This was able to hurt Cecilia. Would this do anything?"

"You could hurt him, but it would only be temporary and he would heal," Ratu answered.

"But what if it was a fatal injury?" Mike pointed to the side of his own skull. "If I could lodge it in his brain or something? Even if he heals, we could shut him down that way, right?"

Ratu frowned. "Maybe, but demons are very good at shapeshifting. You would have to catch him off guard. It sounds strange, but it's no difficult feat for a demon to move its internal organs around to avoid injury."

"Okay, so Oliver has a demon healing factor and we need to stab him in a brain that moves around. What else do we know about him?"

"Demons always have to tell the truth," Zel added, holding up one of her notebooks. "They love to play games with mortals. Also, they are completely immune to fire and heat, on account of being from Hell. Oliver's dimension is traversable by others, but Oliver himself cannot leave. I even have some notes from Beth about her time there, so can tell you how to leave without a portal. There's a reflecting pool on his side, and I even have the words to get out. The place was a large garden with animal statues and she even drew me a crude map." Zel flipped her notebook over to show everyone a drawing on it. "Once there, he is likely to be in his pavilion over here." She tapped on the drawing with a finger.

"Okay, good, we can use that." He looked at the others. "If we're going to stab him in the head with the dagger, what do we do to keep him off balance? Between us, Yuki and I should be able to do something to keep him off guard long enough to play pin the knife in the demon. Any ideas?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no ideas were offered. Mike sighed, sitting back in his seat. They needed a plan, and they were going nowhere fast.

"I have a question." Yuki had pulled a few cards from her sleeve, cycling through them. "Could a demon hurt a demon?"

"I mean... yes, I suppose." Ratu leaned forward with interest. "You have something?"

"I think I might. I could cause a distraction, which might let us disable him." Yuki looked across the room. "I would like to point out that even if we take Beth from Oliver, he is going to be beyond pissed. We wouldn't actually be solving the real problem, just putting a band-aid on it. Even if we plant that dagger in his skull and bury him deep in the dirt, the Society can go back and forth to his world, remember? That's how they put Beth there in the first place. They will go looking for their magic eight-ball when he doesn't show up when called, pull the knife out of him, and then there will be literal hell to pay."

Mike felt his heart sink. Yuki was right. They needed an even bigger solution, but what? What could be done to destroy a demon or even get rid of the Society?

The room suddenly cooled, causing Mike to shiver. He rubbed his arms for warmth and saw Ratu shifting uncomfortably.

"Could you ease up?" Ratu asked, squinting at Yuki. "It's freezing in here."

"That isn't me," Yuki replied. Everyone went quiet at the sound of soft cotton feet pitter-pattering across the floor. A bundle of fabric flew through the air, and Jenny tumbled to a stop in the middle of the table, causing everyone to jump.

"Jenny!" Mike put a hand to his chest. "You scared the crap out of me."

I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That WILL be a queer thing, to be sure, the doll said, her voice echoing in his skull. Yuki suddenly sat up straight as if a bolt of lightning had traveled through her body.

"Um, yeah, I'm sure it would." He was happy to see her active, but this wasn't helping. "Do you have an idea we can use?"

And she tried to fancy what the flame of a candle is like after the candle is blown out, for she could not remember ever having seen such a thing. Jenny looked around the table, then settled on Yuki. If he smiled much more, the ends of his mouth might meet behind, and then I don't know what would happen to his head! I'm afraid it would come off!

"Jenny." Mike let out a sigh. "Jenny, I know you're trying to be helpful, but if you know something, we need a straight answer."

"No. No, you don't." Yuki held her hands up for silence. "In fact, none of you do. She's quoting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Why would she be doing that?"

"She's quoting that book? We had no idea," Mike admitted. "She's always been a bit weird about talking, no offense Jenny, but she was saying some really strange things once she got her hands on the emerald. Our theory was that she was having visions of the future, but now I wonder... was she quoting Alice this whole time?" He tilted his head. "Or maybe it was both? She referenced something that happened, actually. Sorry to say this, but I beheaded your Jabberwock." He winced as the words left him.

Yuki scowled but brushed it aside. "Yes, but why? Don't you see? Why that book? It's one of my favorites, I could rehearse it by heart if needed. It's why I made the Jabberwock, I felt like I was Alice and had been trapped through the looking glass. If she's having visions of the future, why not just tell us up front, why quote from the book?" Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, I think I get it."