Chapter#09

"It's been-" Abella spun in place, her powerful tail smashing through the wardrobe that rushed at her and turning it into a pile of splintered planks. Tink had jumped back into Mike's arms in surprise, and he held her tightly. "...enchanted."

"How can you tell? I mean, other than the obvious." Mike, suddenly aware that he was squeezing Tink's breast, set her down.

"I'm a creature made of stone. I can smell the magic on this. Look." She picked up one of the boards and it wiggled in her grasp. "Wood doesn't bend this way unless it's under a spell."

"Well who would cast a spell like that?" Mike asked. Abella opened her mouth to respond, but they all heard the low whistle of air across the room. Where the wardrobe had been standing was a large hole in the wall. Mike groaned.

"I should have known." He walked back into the hall and opened up Tink's toolbox. He brought back flashlights and handed them out. "I'm hoping this doesn't go to another Labyrinth."

"Not sure." Tink was inspecting the inside of the hole. "Not natural. Someone chew hole."

"Did you say chew?"

"Yes. Big teeth, look." Tink ran her fingers around the edge and Mike saw the large grooves. Beyond the plaster and wood was a thick layer of something that looked like particle board. He shined the light in the hole and marveled at the weird collection of vents and pipes on the inside.

"Not a cave. It almost looks like someone tunneled through the house." Of course, the statement was only half true. The length of tunnel he was looking at would easily carry them outside the external wall. "In for a penny, in for a pound I guess."

"Tink first." She scurried into the hole, her goggles on. She could see in the dark with those, but used her flashlight to illuminate the passage ahead. "Husband come, then rock girl."

"Sounds good to me." Abella was able to squeeze through the opening with her wings folded in, the shaft widening to about ten feet. The passageway creaked ominously under her weight, but it held. They moved slowly, all three of them sweeping the area with their flashlights. Cerulea had dimmed her own glow, hidden just behind his shoulder. The space made Mike think of one of those sci-fi movies where the heroes crawled through the belly of a large ship - pipes and large vents seemed to be connected with no real direction intended, and he even spotted a broken door that opened into solid concrete.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Inside house," Tink whispered. She looked back at him. "Between walls. Bad place, be very careful."

"I don't understand. This is the house?" Mike touched one of the walls. He had figured this was just another interdimensional space the home was connected to.

"It is very bad. None of us know very much, but on a couple occasions, the house got damaged badly enough that we saw a space like this." Abella tapped on a pipe with her finger. "It's all beyond me, but I imagine this is where the house keeps... itself I guess. All folded up between the walls."

"I see." Mike touched a different pipe. He wondered if Naia's spring moved through any of them.

"Not good for house." Tink patted a random piece of wood that stuck out of the wall. "We find other side, then Tink fix right away."

"You can fix this?"

"Mm-hmm. Tink patch up walls. Once both sides patched, tunnel close up like scab. No be inside when happen."

"Or?"

Tink turned around to face him. She squeezed both hands together and blew a loud raspberry.

"Husband become jam."

"Interesting." He followed her in silence. Up ahead, a dim light filled the corridor, and someone had laid down a tattered red carpet. They moved into a large room that had been piled high with broken furniture and various trinkets along the walls. The room was lit by a singular lamp which had been tilted to cast its glow on an antique high-chair made of wood. Sitting in the chair was a creature about two feet tall, wringing its hands together like a nervous fly. It shifted forward into the light for a better look at them, a tiny gold crown on its head and a dirty robe draped across its shoulders. Long white hairs along its jaw made it look like it had a beard.

"Oh fuck." Mike whispered.

"Who dares to enter the Rat King's domain?" A shadow by the high-chair stepped into the light. This rat was not as big as the rat king, but still stood at just over a foot tall. It wore a dark pair of glasses that Mike was certain had been stolen off of a Mr. Potatohead toy. "You are trespassing in his kingdom!"

"No trespass!" Tink was pulling her hammer free, but Mike was able to grab her by her pigtails and pull her back before she could move any closer.

"My name is Mike. I am the new Caretaker of this home." At the word caretaker, a muttering filled the room and he watched several rats appear from the shadows, their beady eyes shimmering while they inspected him. "Was it you who clogged up the doors of my home?"

"Where is Emily?" The Rat King spoke this time, his voice surprisingly deep. He had leaned farther forward, revealing a yard-stick with a green gemstone duct-taped to the top of it.

"My Great Aunt Emily has passed away. I am her heir." The muttering this time was louder.

"Silence!" The Rat King commanded. "So the Destroyer is dead?"

"Uh... if you mean Emily, then yes." Mike was startled when the whole room erupted into cheers, the rats around the room dancing in place with one another. The Rat King let them have their fun for several seconds before raising a hand in the air.

"This is truly a great day for we have lived in the shadows long enough." He pointed his scepter at Mike. "In the spirit of good cheer, I give you one week, child of man, to conclude your business in my kingdom."