CHAPTER 180

Abella stood, wiped the Jabberwock's ichor off of herself, then glared at Beth. "I hate this," she said in her thick, French accent. She tossed the chunk of tail in her hands away and then took to the sky once more.

"Because that," Beth said, watching the gargoyle disappear over the roof. "We need the Jabberwock out here."

Dana shrugged. "You're the boss." She helped carry the coiled up wire and the two of them went into the house.

Beth looked down the hill at the shadowy mass around the gate. If she went down there, would the spirits be able to hurt her? If she passed through the gate, they would definitely be able to, and she worried that they may grab her and drag her through. She had no way to lock the gate if she closed it, and she needed to find a way to bring Cerberus onto this side of the gate. Suly would be her best bet, but he was surrounded by angry souls.

"Shit, shit, shit," she cursed, moving down the hill. Could the centaurs help? She might be able to bring them here, but then what? And they were cut off from Ratu whose magic might help. Jenny was running interference inside, so would be of very little help.

Who was she forgetting?

Behind her, the lights in the house flickered, and then the air was filled with the shrieking of tormented souls. The windows exploded as hundreds of balls of light burst out of the house and drifted toward the ground like bits of ash, only to vanish into the dirt. Bits of glass tinkled against the cobblestones of the back yard and she covered her head to protect herself. The flickering lights went out, and the smell of burning plastic filled her nostrils. There seemed to be no movement inside, which meant that the ghosts had been purged from the home, at least temporarily.

Up above, the Jabberwock had wrapped itself around one of the turrets, caving in part of the roof over Mike's bedroom. Abella had her tail caught in the Jabberwock's mouth and was being shaken like a cat that had caught a mouse, her stony body taking yet more chunks out of the roof. Yuki was up there as well, freezing the roof, trying to get the Jabberwock to slip and fall into the backyard.

She hoped Mike was faring better than she was.

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The saw slid through the last piece of metal, and the bar fell to the ground with a metallic clang. Looking up, he saw that the gap was now wide enough for Cecilia to squeeze through, so he stuck his hand out for her and she accepted.

When he pulled, steam rose from her flesh, but she said nothing. Once free, she threw herself onto him and let out a cry of joy. Tears flowed freely down her face as she peppered him with kisses and spoke rapidly in Gaelic, then held him once more.

Mike glanced at the faerie queen, who watched as if bored. Certain she was up to something, he pushed Cecilia away, then tilted her head up by her chin. "Let's get you home."

She nodded, and he packed up the saw and put the backpack on. They walked a few feet away before Mike paused, then looked at the banshee.

"How do we get home from here anyway?" he asked.

"I can get us there." Cecilia closed her eyes and opened her mouth to sing. The sound of her voice penetrated straight through him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. He took her hand in his and watched as a golden circle formed in front of them, featuring a sandy beach with an ocean of stars on the other side.

Squeezing her hand tightly, they walked toward the portal together. They were almost to it when Cecilia froze in place, jerking his arm back.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and turned to look at her. A golden spotlight shone down on her from above, and she was motionless inside, as if trapped in time. "Cecilia? What the hell?"

He yanked her hand, but was unable to move her. He looked past her shoulder at the queen, who still looked bored and was contemplating her fingernails.

"You said you would allow us to leave unhindered!" he shouted. "What the fuck is this?" He tried to step into the spotlight and push Cecilia out, but it was no use. She was unmoveable.

"Oh, I did nothing. This one is on you." The queen stood, her robes shifting around her as she clapped slowly. "As promised, you found a way to enter my court via the Underworld, so I allow you to leave. But per your addendum, the two of you will leave unharmed, as well as intact."

"Neither of us are harmed, nothing happened after I got here."

"Please." The queen approached him now, a smirk on her face. "Unharmed and intact, foolish Caretaker. Words that can be interpreted in many ways." She stood by Cecilia now, and hooked her finger in the front of Cecilia's blouse and tugged downward.

The pale skin between Cecilia's breasts were revealed, along with a thin scar that had been left behind by a magic dagger. The witch Sarah had cut Cecilia with the dagger, but Mike hadn't thought twice about the injury since.

"The wound is healed," Mike protested, but the queen held up a hand to silence him.

"You said unharmed and intact. I could argue that she is not in the condition she was created in, therefore neither condition applies." The queen stroked Cecilia's cheek lovingly, then raised her fingers to touch the strands of red hair.

"That doesn't even make sense," he shouted, heat rising in his cheeks. "That's just your interpretation!"

The queen laughed. "And? It's my realm, Caretaker. I interpret our agreement to mean that she will leave here in a state of perfection." She snapped her fingers and the golden spotlight turned silver, casting Cecilia in an eerie glow. The banshee floated now, a look of concern on her face. "So I will reset her. Make her brand new again, as if she were freshly created."

"No!" Panic appeared on Cecilia's face. "No, please, not that!"

"What do you mean reset?"

"Tear her apart and put her together. Minus the impurities, of course. The hair, the scar, and also this." The queen hooked her fingers near Cecilia's face and then yanked. A diaphanous substance appeared in her fingers, stretched tightly across Cecilia's face like a caul.