CHAPTER 183

"Improvise," Ratu responded, her eyelids closing. "I need...to...so tired." When the naga shut her eyes, her body settled and she looked no different from the earth itself. Worried that she may have died, Kisa put her hand on Ratu's skin and was relieved when it shifted beneath her touch.

"Go," Ratu muttered, and Kisa moved toward the exit.

She ran after Marco, her padded feet allowing her to be completely silent, and it wasn't long before she caught up to him. He didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, and was speaking as if someone was next to him.

"Yes, my army is keeping them busy, so we should be able to sneak out of the front," he said. "Your mother will be waiting out front, you have no idea how thrilled she'll be to have you back."

Something in his hand pulsed blue, the glow casting an eerie shadow behind him. Kisa realized he was talking to the necklace.

"No, he's out of the house. He started a fight with the faerie queen, so I let her know he was coming. I imagine she's already killed him." There was a rumble from above, and he looked up, concern on his face. "We should still be safe. The home can't be destroyed by normal means, but it will be in a state of disrepair."

Kisa was able to move even closer, and was surprised when she felt a chill form in her gut, and a sudden urge to hide. She ducked behind a wall just as a rockpile behind her shifted, and Marco's footsteps halted. She imagined that he was looking her way now, his wand outstretched, the image so intense that she was frozen in place when the wave of energy blasted past her hiding spot and struck the rockpile, scattering stones the size of her head in every direction.

"Just making sure," Marco muttered, and then his footsteps were moving again. When Kisa peeked around the corner, the blue glow of the necklace was fluctuating wildly.

"Me? I used to be a Caretaker, like Mike, only competent. I didn't have a house like he does, rather, it was a magnificent tower. It's been almost completely destroyed, but I was able to salvage part of it in a pocket dimension. However, now I'm stuck in its duplicate in the Underworld. Hmm? Yes, I was killed some time ago, but I had learned enough about soul magic to stitch it into a book. It was by accident that I—"

Kisa felt the chill again and ducked into a shadow as Marco spun around. She was able to watch him through a gap in the stones as his dark eyes searched.

"I can't wait to be free of this place," he muttered, then turned around again.

Kisa rubbed her tummy, marveling at the odd sensations that kept passing through her belly. What was that about?

"Anyway, I was a lot like you. Instead of being trapped inside of a necklace, I was gradually gaining strength inside of Emily, the previous Caretaker. Eventually I was able to bend her will to my own and manifest physically, but the bitch killed herself and I was stuck in the Underworld again until my tower was discovered." He tilted his head as if listening to something, then laughed. "Oh, you have no idea. I spent so many years exploring this place, and had only just discovered some of its treasures. The Architect was clever, I'll give him that. The Grimoire is just the beginning, but we will need it to craft a new body for myself. Once that's done, the game can begin anew."

The way Marco spoke made Kisa pause. He sounded happy, and kept chuckling in response to whatever the necklace was saying. Was he flirting with it?

They were nearing the exit to the Labyrinth, and she was closing the distance behind him. On occasion, she could see the shadowy outline of the spirit possessing Marco, as if it was struggling to wear him properly. Dark lines had appeared on the back of Marco's hands, and he was starting to limp.

He was nearly to the reflecting pool when Kisa made her move. She charged toward him and was only a few feet away when she felt that chill in her gut again.

Marco turned around and pointed his wand, but Kisa slid beneath the blast that would have taken her head off. Up close, she jumped for his face, claws outstretched, and tackled him to the ground. She heard something clatter across the stone floor of the Labyrinth, and Marco shouted something in a language she didn't recognize. Her fur stood on end and she leapt off of him as his entire body was engulfed in green fire.

Stunned, she watched as he jumped into the reflecting pool and vanished. She moved to follow after him, but stopped when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. It was the vial of black liquid, and she picked it up to see that the cork had come loose. The liquid crawled up the sides of the vial as if to escape, and she pressed the seal back into place, then put the vial on the ground. The vial was thick enough that it couldn't easily fall over, but she found a small rock to put on top of it just in case.

Marco knew she was coming, and she was about to jump in the pool when she felt the cold spot in her gut return. It was a warning system, of that she was certain, but where had it come from? Kneeling down by the water, she closed her eyes and saw a very vivid image in her mind of Marco standing opposite of the coat closet by the door, his wand outstretched and waiting.

"Stupid fucker," she muttered. After a while, the cold spot faded, and she opened her eyes to contemplate the glistening pool in front of her. She knew she needed to jump in, to take the shortcut back to the house, but there was only one problem.