CHAPTER 177

That was an odd question to ask, and he thought briefly of the cave he had seen. "No. Was I supposed to?"

The queen frowned, then pulled out another scroll and opened it. "Let's just say that I had an agreement with someone else to stop you. It was more of a favor than an agreement, really. Did you have help getting here?"

He thought of what had happened to Quetzalli. "Does it matter? I do believe there was nothing in the rules about getting help from others."

"You are right. I am curious is all. When a deity's claim to fame is keeping others from breaking oaths, one really must expect better of them." She was near the bottom of the scroll now, and her features pinched. "Ah, there it is, the free-will clause. I'm not sure how you got away from her, but no matter. This is what I get for relying on others to do the work for me." She tucked this scroll away in midair as well and then sat in her chair, a glare fixed on her face.

"So...we can go?" He looked around, fairly certain that an ambush was about to occur at any moment.

"I'm certainly not going to stop you." She clapped her hands and a pair of tiny attendants flew from behind her throne and brought her a small bowl with fruit in it. She picked a pear that practically glittered and took a bite out of it, juice running down her chin.

"Ooookay, then." Mike turned his attention back to the cage. Seeing no discernible door, he looked over at the queen. "I don't suppose you would just let her out, would you?"

"I'm not keeping her here. The cage is your problem, not mine." She now had a fresh goblet full of wine, which she sipped. "If you can't get it open, you might have to come back later."

"There's no reason for you to be nasty," he said, then turned his attention to the cage.

"We could come to an agreement, if you like." She sipped her wine coyly. "Though I doubt you will enjoy the terms."

He smirked. "No need." He set his backpack down and opened the main pocket, then dug down past the sandwiches. He pulled out the hacksaw, then lifted out a blade, still wrapped in cardstock. "Figured you may try something like this."

"And you really think that will cut through those bars?" asked the queen.

"This is a top of the line blade. I had Tink test the top five for me and give me her opinion on which would be strongest." He unwrapped the blade, revealing a black surface that absorbed the light. "Once we narrowed it down, I had Ratu enchant it for durability."

"How...ingenious of you." The queen sat and watched as Mike picked a couple of junctures on the cage and started sawing. It was slow progress. The blade stuck on more than one occasion, but when he finally got through the first bar, he looked up to see a huge smile on Cecilia's face.

"Keep going," she encouraged him, then touched his face through the bars.

By the time he got the blade through a second time, he was covered in sweat. The queen said nothing to him, content to watch. On the third cut, he was about halfway through when the blade snapped.

The queen chuckled. "Looks like your magic failed, Caretaker."

"It's a good thing they come in two packs." He stuck his hand in the bag and felt around, but the second blade was missing. "Hey, did you take it?"

"Me, personally? No. And I've been here the whole time, it must have been an independent agent, acting entirely on their own."

"Man, of all the luck." He looked at Cecilia and winked, then dug to the bottom of his bag and pulled out a sandwich from the bottom. He opened the wrapper to reveal a tuna salad sandwich dripping with mayonnaise.

When he opened it, he heard the queen gag, and he dug his fingers in and pulled out another wrapped blade. "It was tough trying to figure out which you'd hate more, this or the meatball sub. It's actually quite good, and perfect for hiding a blade in. Figured someone would search my bag on the way in and a cake would have aroused too much suspicion."

"You expected treachery?" The queen's voice was ominous now, and had an edge to it that could bleed a rock.

"Nope. I expected you to meet the terms of our agreement. Nothing more, nothing less. The cage bit is getting old though, I must admit." He slotted the blade into the hacksaw and started cutting.

"You know, it will likely take you some time to finish getting her out."

"Uh huh." He ignored the queen, his sole focus on the bars in front of him.

"Could be an hour or two, easy. I wonder if you are aware of what is happening at your home right now?"

He paused and looked at the queen, his lip twitching. "What did you do?"

"Me? Nothing. I have had no hand in the events of today, Caretaker, this act of villainy was perpetrated by the one who informed me that you were coming." She reached behind the throne and pulled out a mirror decorated in silver and gold embellishments. She handed this to an attendant, who flew it over to Mike.

When he took the mirror, he could see his house, besieged by a spectral army. In the front yard, Abella was busy ripping off part of the Jabberwock's wing while Yuki froze its feet to the ground as it bounced around the yard, destroying everything. An ice wall had been built between the lions, and Mike couldn't figure out if it was there to keep something in or out.

"They are failing," the queen said. "The shadow has made his move, and when he is done—"

"My world will burn, I get it." He licked his lips nervously and watched as the mirror flipped between the occupants of the house. It bounced from face to face, showing fear and anger everywhere he looked. Sulyvahn was busy whipping souls into shreds in the front yard, and the rats were fleeing the home in a panic as the spirits tore it apart. The faeries were flying high above the home, safe from the melee below. Asterion was lying unconscious somewhere in the Labyrinth, one of his horns broken off.