CHAPTER 184

She hated the idea of getting wet. Shuddering with revulsion, she closed her eyes and jumped, fighting the impulse to turn around and scramble back to the safety of dry land. As the cool water wrapped around her, she panicked, hoping that Marco still wasn't waiting on the other side.

When she spilled out into the living room, she got tangled up in a piece of furniture that was on the floor nearby, then tumbled forward and slid on the slippery floor before crashing into the wall. She tried to stand, but her feet kept slipping out from beneath her.

"Ah, yes. The cat. I remember you." Marco crouched down in front of her, his wand thrumming with power as he pushed it against her forehead.

Kisa whimpered, the ice in her veins making her hold perfectly still. She somehow knew without a doubt that any attempt to flee would end in her death, and she was trembling.

"You were her last ditch effort, did you know that? There was a time when Emily thought she could pull one over on me, to undo our bargain, and when I tried to make her kill you, it took everything in her power to shut you away instead. Well, her and that damn goblin."

"Tink?" Kisa went still, satisfied to let Marco keep talking in the hopes that an opening would appear and she could run away.

The shadow frowned. "That cunty little gremlin was always a problem. Manipulating her memories was always such a hassle, and if not for the fact that she kept the house running, I would have been rid of her years ago. But yes, she begged and pleaded with Emily not to hurt you, even offered to give her goggles back to spare your life. Emily took over just long enough to block me out and seal you away. What I didn't know was that she had sealed away the Grimoire as well. Tricky little bitch."

"What...why did Tink want to spare me?" Kisa was curious, but noticed that Marco was relaxing his guard the longer he talked.

Marco rolled his eyes. "I'm not surprised you don't remember, Emily kept making you wear that damned collar until it scrambled your brains. You were best friends with the goblin. Unwanted and unloved by everyone, both of you desperate for Emily's affection, it was so pathetic..." He frowned, and then dropped the Grimoire to pull the glowing necklace out of his pocket. It was flashing furiously, and he scowled at it.

"Yes, you're right, I do talk too much," he said. "It's a bad habit I need to break is all. Hmm? Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea."

With his attention on the necklace, Kisa kicked the wand away and made a break for it. She was almost to the door when Marco tackled her from behind, and she was about to roll over to scratch his face when he slid something over her head and around her throat.

She tried to scream, but darkness closed in on her. The last thing she saw was a pair of intense blue eyes open in the darkness, followed by a woman's laughter.

Dana had stripped enough of the coating off of the end of the wire for Quetzalli to hold onto, but definitely hadn't expected her to stick it in her mouth. The lights in the house dimmed as she sucked the current through her teeth, filling the air with electromagnetic energy. Nearby spirits were bedazzled with electrical sparks as they came into focus, then shrieked in pain as the magic of the house tore them apart in an effort to boot them out.

She pumped her fist in victory, but it was short lived. The smell of copper and ozone filled the air, and then the power went out completely. Standing in the darkness, she could just make out the eerie shadows that formed on the stairs below them.

"Up!" Dana shouted, and Quetzalli followed. They ran into Mike's room and closed the door behind them. The room had been tossed, and Mike's bed had been flipped over on top of a large backpack. It was Tick Tock, and Dana picked up the mimic and strapped him to her back.

The door shuddered, and then a black mass formed and pushed through. There was just enough light from outside to see the menace on the spirits' faces, and when it reached for them, Quetzalli touched it. There was a loud zap, and the spirit backed away, color moving across its face. Instead of exploding like the others, it faded back through the door.

"I'm low on charge," said Quetzalli. "There are too many. If we go to the fuse box, I can do it again, but I don't think I can make a big enough field for the house."

The door shook, and a pair of shadows pushed their way through.

"We can talk about it later," Dana said, then helped Quetzalli toward the window. She grabbed onto the dragon as the spirits tackled them, sending them spiraling out into the night sky. Dana held tightly to the dragon and got herself underneath in time to take the brunt of the fall with her legs.

Both of her legs snapped on impact, and she let out a grunt as she did her best to protect the dragon. Tick Tock unfolded several metallic legs like a spider, then lowered them to the ground. One of the spirits had followed them down to the ground and moved toward them. When it reached them, Quetzalli zapped it with lightning from her horn, which caused the spirit to come into focus.

It was an angry looking woman holding a frying pan. She had the look of a peasant, and the rags she wore had several holes in them. Her movements were jerky as she approached and raised her pan high, but Beth appeared behind her with a flowerpot, which she brought down on the spirits head.