CHAPTER#29

An Easy Bake oven hopped toward him, a knife hanging out of its open door. He sidestepped, kicking it down the hall. The china cabinet was next, and its doors popped open. The first dish was a miss, but the next hit him squarely in the forehead, splintering against his flesh. He nearly fell over, but Tink grabbed a nearby pillar with her free hand, steadying him.

"Shit, ow!" He ducked behind the pillar as several plates smashed themselves into pieces against it. The furniture nearby was already closing in.

The temperature in the room dropped, and Mike plugged his ears. Tink did the same and Cecilia got between them and the China cabinet. She screamed, the sound painful even through his fingertips. The dishes rattled and cracked inside of the cabinet, and she drew its fire away from them. It fired plates uselessly at the banshee while Mike and Tink ran for it. He kicked down a vacuum cleaner and an ironing board. A loveseat with spider legs leaped across the room, but he fell to his knees, the seat crashing into the wall past him.

The sound of metal slicing through the air made him scramble away, the dummy hopping up and down nearby. It swung at him with several pointy arms, nearly tipping over with every swing. Whoever had designed it had forgotten to give it suitable feet, and Mike ran around it, the wobbly thing falling over in an attempt to stab him.

"Go!" He bent over and Tink leaped over him, landing head first in the hole. Her tail quickly disappeared. He stuck his arms up and jumped.

The inside of the tunnel was rough and beat him up terribly when he reached the narrow section. A strong hand grabbed his foot and pulled him through, dragging him sideways into a room. Abella leaned over him, concern on her face.

"Where's Cecilia?" he asked, but she appeared by his side. Tink was already in the hall, digging through the wood pile when he stepped outside. Once Carmina and Abella were clear, they shut the door and nailed boards into the wall, collapsing against the wall when finished. Tink and Mike held each other, doing their best to catch their breath.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and Zel appeared from around the corner.

"How did it go?" she asked.

Mike groaned in response.

-

Zel used a cotton swab and tweezers to clean ceramic shards out of the cut on Mike's face. He and Tink sat on the hay bales by Zel's workbench. Cecilia was patrolling the house and Carmina had gone into Beth's closet to get Ratu.

"You might need stitches." She had him hold a clean rag to his forehead. "The shards kept moving after they were embedded in there."

"Great. How steady are your hands?"

Zel grinned, then turned back to her table. Mike noticed her feet looked slightly bigger than they had before but kept it to himself. Beth wandered in, her cheeks flushed. She was wearing a different outfit than before, a sundress with boots. She sat across from him, a frown plastered on her face.

"I heard you come back. How did it go?"

"Poorly." He gave her the brief version, ending with their final flight down the hallway. Zel came back from her table with a thick paste and rubbed it into the cut on his head. His scalp tingled and he tried to touch it, but Zel swatted his hand away.

"That needs to sit for ten minutes."

"Why not use some of that potion you gave me?"

"That potion is for emergency use only and that's the only one I have."

"Can you make more?"

"Not until the next full moon. I was too busy during the last one to do anything." She winked at him, then turned toward Tink. The goblin had a nasty bruise on her shin that was already turning yellow. A different poultice was applied, causing the goblin to grimace. He leaned back on the hay, staring at the hanging light bulb up above.

"Is Cecilia okay? I don't see her."

"We wore her out. She's out front now, recharging." He shook his head. "We wouldn't have made it back without her."

"I heard there was need of me?" Ratu walked through the door, her hands tucked into her kimono. She was followed by Sofia, who had to duck when she came in. "Sorry for the delay, but I stopped by the Library on the way up."

"Wow, that was fast." Mike said. Carmina had left only ten minutes ago.

"I guess." The naga sat down next to Beth and took her hand. "So let's hear some more about your problem."

"What problem?" he asked. Beth dropped her head, her eyes on the floor.

"When I got stuck in the mirror prison, the demon there attached part of his soul to mine. This morning, he started showing up in mirrors around the house."

"Wait, so he's inside the house?" He felt a cold chill in his gut.

"Not quite. He can't escape the mirror, so he is only in my reflection. But he's been threatening me, and I worry that he might be putting you all in danger."

"Have you tried calling Dana? She could put Lily on the phone and we could ask her."

"Tried. No answer. Besides, I get the impression that this demon is kind of a big deal, even for a demon."

"And that's where I come in." Ratu pulled out some books from her kimono. "I'm certain we can find a way to undo the spell before it becomes a bigger problem. However, now I wonder if you needed me for something too. That's a nasty cut on your head."

Mike told her everything, then handed over the journal he had taken. Ratu examined it, then handed it over to Sofia. The cyclops appeared bothered by it, her eye glued to the writings inside. When he finished his story, it was Beth's turn. She showed everyone the marks on her arm and explained how Oliver kept coming to her in various reflections. The naga nodded when she was done, deep in thought.