CHAPTER#149

"Get what?" Zel asked.

"The emerald had a piece of my soul in it. She can't be straight forward because of it. That book was my salvation, and I suspect Jenny has had a vision of what's to come, but is stuck sharing it through the words I love the most. Is that... is that right?"

Jenny approached Yuki, then bowed her head. Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.

"Jenny," Yuki whispered. "A flame after it's been blown out... a smile that stretches all the way round... oh my god, you're brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" She looked at Mike, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "I know what we have to do, but I'm going to need some help."

--

Hours later, they stood by the reflecting pool, their eyes on the untroubled waters. The rats had finished their examination, their teeth steadily grinding into the cold rock nearby. A blast of heat emerged from the hole they had chewed, and Mike found himself looking at a sky that made him think of dusk. He licked his lips as the hole widened, then looked over at Yuki for support.

"You sure this is going to work?" he asked.

"No." She frowned at him, the warm wind ruffling her hair. "But we're going to try anyway."

He clenched his jaw, waiting for the portal to be wide enough, then his eyes slid over to the reflecting pool. If what Zel's journal had suggested was true, Beth was going to exit the same way she came in, and the last thing they needed was for her statue to be hurled into the front of the house via the closet shortcut. On Yuki's advice, they had blocked off the closet door upstairs, which would render the shortcut inert.

"Remember. Don't eat or drink anything. You'll be stuck forever." It was one of the few things he could remember from Zel's list that hadn't been emphasized during their meeting.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Her lip curled up to reveal very sharp teeth. "I'll have other things to worry about."

"Okay, on my mark." He checked the time on his phone. "Ten minutes."

"You'll know that I'm there. Trust me." Yuki turned her face toward him, the light of the portal reflecting off her dark, green eyes. The reddish hue of Oliver's prison made her fur look orange in its light.

"Okay." He looked into the portal and took a deep breath then hopped in.

It was disorienting, the sensation of falling and then falling some more, but he gracefully landed in a crumpled heap on the other side. The crimson world he had viewed through the portal was gone, and now he stood in a beautiful garden. Scattered throughout were several statues of animals wearing fancy clothes, as if preparing for a tea party.

"Holy shit," he muttered, looking around. "Through the looking glass, indeed." He stood, dusting himself off. The animals in the garden nearby slowly turned to face him, and he found himself looking at a statue of a bird in a top hat. It regarded him with cold, lifeless eyes.

"Mr. Radley." Oliver's voice spoke directly in his ear, but the demon was nowhere to be seen. "This is a... surprise."

"Yeah, I'm here to talk about my friend and was wondering if we could have a friendly chat?"

"That dagger on your belt does not suggest a friendly chat."

"Yeah, well..." Mike touched the hilt with a grin. "From what I've been told, it would just piss you off."

Oliver laughed. "You are a brave man, Mr. Radley."

"Please. Call me Mike."

"Mike, then. Okay, I'm curious. Let's talk." The statues lifted arms, wings and snouts to point there way through the small hedge maze, and Mike followed. It didn't take him long to find the gazebo at the center of the floating island, and he fought hard to keep the surprise off his face when he arrived. A large pedestal had been built, and Beth was placed upon it, frozen in a defiant stance.

"As you can see, she is well cared for." Oliver appeared behind him, wearing a bright white button down shirt with a purple overcoat and a top hat. He waved a hand at the small table nearby. "I wasn't expecting company, but perhaps you would like some tea?"

"No thanks. I'm only here to talk."

"Well, I would like some tea." Oliver sat down at the table and poured himself a piping hot glass of a red liquid. "So what brings you here today?"

"Her." He pointed at Beth's statue. "I heard you pulled some kind of dirty trick and began messing with her head. Then you forced her to come here and I want her back."

"Interesting choice of words. I didn't force her, she made the choice." Oliver turned around, his face wistful. "Regrettably, that damn fox turned her to stone before I could properly enjoy her. But no matter. I have plenty of time to figure out how to restore her."

"Okay, well, let's try this the easy way. What do you want? In exchange for Beth."

Oliver grinned, setting down his teacup. "This little minx wandered into my lair not too long ago and thought to trick me out of what was rightfully mine. An unexpected side effect of our tryst was that she carried a piece of me inside of her. There's a lot I can do with a human soul to help me pass the time in a place like this, so you will find me hard pressed to think of something I want in exchange from her."

"Okay, new question. What do I have that is equal or greater in value?"

Oliver's yellow eyes flashed. "Ah, now that is the way we do things around here." He contemplated Mike for several seconds. "And what a fascinating collection of things that you have. Even you aren't aware of the powerful objects in your possession."

"Objects?" Mike put his hand on his chest. "I figured you would be interested in my soul or something."