CHAPTER 187

Abella soared away, and the Jabberwock scrambled to its feet. It let out a hiss and was almost out of the fountain when a blast of water knocked it off its feet. Three powerful jets of water sprayed from the fountain, slicing through its thick hide, and Naia rose up from the fountain, riding a surge of water. The runes on her torso glowed so brightly that they could be seen through her dress, and when the Jabberwock swiped at her, she burst into a spray of liquid, only to reform behind it.

Spirits were bailing out of the Jabberwock and sucking energy out of the water, but they were being crushed by the combatants when they fully manifested, sending spirit shards all across the yard. Yuki joined in, raining ice down on the Jabberwock, and Abella reappeared, hurtling toward the back gate like a meteor.

"It's about to get messy," Lily said when she landed by Beth's side.

There was a roar from inside the gate, and as the Jabberwock broke free of the ice again, Abella tumbled through the gate clutching a diminutive figure in her arms. When they stood, Beth watched in awe as a series of dark chains materialized around the newcomer's necks, linking them back to the Underworld.

Cerberus transformed back into a three-headed dog and howled as it tore its way through the standing army in the yard, determined to get to the Jabberwock. The chains around Cerberus tightened and tried to retract, but the devil dog had too much momentum.

The Jabberwock saw Cerberus coming and tried to scramble away, but three giant sets of jaws clamped down on it, and Cerberus allowed the chains to do most of the work, pulling them free. The two heads on the side maintained their hold on the Jabberwock, and the third head opened its drooling maw to reveal an endless tunnel filled with blazing fire that scorched its way through the beast.

Souls fled the Jabberwock in various states, some of them burning like candles and melting into the lawn with silent screams. Cerberus had no trouble ripping the Jabberwock to shreds, and Abella landed next to Beth with a heavy thud.

"Now that is a good dog," Abella noted.

Yuki joined them, her tails shimmering with a magical aura as she climbed onto the turret. The quartet watched as cerberus turned the Jabberwock to ash and then turned their attention on the army of souls.

"They had her bottle-necked inside, she was trying to get here this whole time," Lily told them.

"Sorry about your Jabberwock," Beth told Yuki.

Yuki shook her head. "This is what I get for turning its brain off while I was out with Tink. It's almost like we were played, and that all of this was planned for."

"That's because it was. The shadow did all of this, he's been watching us for weeks. He knew what he was doing."

Yuki's eyes flashed, and she turned her attention to the castle in the distance. "Well maybe it's time we took the fight to him."

Beth looked at the castle. It was still being bombarded by the demons Lily had brought. "It looks like they've got it under control."

"You know..." Lily looked deep in thought, and a mischievous grin broke across her face. "I bet if we got in there, we could rescue that piece of Emily he has."

Yuki gasped, and the roof went silent. The only sounds now were Cerberus tearing through some spirits and Naia hosing away the Jabberwock's remains with massive spurts of water.

"I think that's a terrible idea," Beth said as she looked over at Yuki. The kitsune's eyes were shimmering now, her mouth open as if she couldn't get enough air.

"Is it, though? I could take the fox with me, we could be in and out in an hour. The demons won't mess with her if we're together, and we promise to come right back." Lily held a hand up as if taking an oath.

"I'm going, with or without Lily." Yuki now stood on the edge of the roof, shuffling through the tarot cards in her hand. "That bastard ruined my life, and I would love to dish out some payback."

"Besides," Lily added. "If we don't do it, you know Romeo is going to dedicate his entire life to it. We've turned the tide here, and we may never get a better chance. It's a phantom castle that floats around in the Underworld, and this is the only time we know for a fact that the shadow isn't home."

Beth let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. There were so many things going on that all she wanted to do was gather everyone up and watch over them until Mike returned. But Lily had a point. If Yuki went by herself, she had no doubts that nothing but trouble would come of the decision.

"In and out," she told them. "I'll keep Abella with me in case I need help of my own, but the two of you need to make it quick. We all know this was coordinated, but to what end? Everything that has happened has been a diversion, so he may have realized the two of you are going in there."

Lily frowned, then looked at the castle. "Shit, now I think it's a terrible idea."

"I don't." Yuki had tucked away the cards and was on the edge of the roof. "He didn't expect the demons, nobody could have. You're completely unpredictable, which makes me think that he wasn't planning on losing his home. That piece of shit took the love of my life and twisted her into a gnarled, ugly thing that killed herself to protect me. So even if this is suicide, I owe it to her to try."

Lily shrugged, then looked at Beth. "She's got a point. Catch you on the flip side."

Her wings extended and she took to the sky, then swung back down to grab Yuki by the arms and flew toward the gateway. When they passed through it, the color vanished from their bodies as the veil between their world and the Underworld shimmered momentarily.