CHAPTER 191

"Enough!" The queen picked him up and slammed him against the nearest wall, choking him with two hands while pinning his arms with the other two. Her body was dripping with sewage, and the curls of her hair had come undone, making her look like a drowned rat. "If I have to spend the next hundred years in here ripping you to pieces, I will!"

"Mmph!" he called out to the house, hoping that Naia would hear. Already, the memories of his mother were beginning to circle the yard, their words reaching out to him like clawed hands. He had no offensive plan, and his defenses wouldn't hold up against the emotional assault of his mother for much longer.

The queen leaned in close, revealing that her teeth had become fangs.

"I will chew your goddamn face off," she whispered in rage. "I will run my fingers beneath your skin, I will—"

Her eyes went wide and she leaned back to reveal that a thick, black tail had wrapped around her throat, choking her off. When she shifted to see her attacker, Mike was surprised to see Lily standing there.

"Oh, you must be the new girl," Lily said. "Sounds like you're into some kinky shit. The safe word is chucklebunny, by the way."

Lily pulled with her tail, and the queen let go of Mike. The queen put her hands at her hips and drew a quartet of golden blades that appeared from nowhere.

"Treachery," she growled. "No outsiders are allowed!"

"Mmph mmph, mmph," Mike agreed, even though he was glad to see the succubus. Had she simply waited in the Underworld, and had now stepped in to intervene? And where was Naia?

"Hardly." This voice came from the side of the house, followed by the sound of hooves on stone. Zel appeared, and she held what looked like a golden scroll in the air. "According to the terms of your agreement, his entire soul is eligible for this contest. After all, that's why you're able to use his own mother against him, isn't it?"

"What? How?" The queen looked at Zel, then Lily, then Mike. Behind him, he heard movement in the house, and looked over his shoulder to see Ratu appear, carrying a large ball of fire in her hand that pulsed hungrily.

"It's complicated," Ratu informed her, and then threw the ball of fire.

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Beth realized she was holding her breath, then let it out in a quick burst. Marco's face was covered in black lines that looked like bulging veins, and she wondered if her former co-worker was even still alive.

Kisa, on the other hand, looked just fine, save for her crystalline blue eyes and the necklace around her neck. Beth recognized it right away; it was the same necklace Ratu had been studying.

"Well?" Marco pointed his wand at Kisa. "I can assure you, no matter how many lives she has left, she won't survive a direct hit from this."

Up on the roof, Abella stood with her fists clenched, her eyes now on Beth, awaiting instructions. Far above the house, the fairies had descended, most likely for a closer look. The spirits had pinned Sulyvahn against some bushes, and he had dropped his own head on the ground.

"You have nowhere to go," Beth said. "Right now, your castle is under siege by demons."

"I'm aware," Marco replied. "I'm aware of everything. I've been watching everyone in this house for the last month, following your every step, predicting your every move. I put ideas in your heads, allowing you to go about your days thinking you were in control."

"You couldn't have known Lily was bringing an army," Beth protested.

"Please. Even chaos is predictable. She was aware that I told the fairie queen when he was coming. I knew she would go with him, which gave her the opportunity to round up some friends on her return trip. Nothing that happens here happens without my approval." His tone was smug, and she had never seen a shit-eating grin so big. "All they will find in that tower is a bunch of delays."

Kisa looked over at him with disapproval, her mouth twisted into a grimace. Her left hand moved to the necklace, touched it briefly, then went back in the air.

"So you knew about Samhain?"

"Poor, simple Beth. Who do you think dropped that book in front of you?"

She gasped. The pieces were coming together, but she wasn't about to admit it. Something was going on with Kisa, maybe something the shadow couldn't predict, and he seemed very eager to chat about it.

"That was you?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Of course it was. I've been watching all of you ever since the box was opened." He tucked the book under his arm and took a step forward. "This place used to be my home, and I know all of its secrets. Granted, I have to wait until the Caretaker discovers them, but once they do, I have years of insights to pull from. Once this useful meatsuit delivered the box containing the observatory, I knew that the Grimoire would be mine again. All I needed was time."

"But surely you couldn't have planned for everything?" Beth put the palms of her hands against her chest, as if surprised.

"But I did!" He took another step forward. "Granted, Death and the dullahan were a nuisance, but easy enough to dodge. I whispered tales of Halloween in the goblin's ears as she worked, had Marco post pictures of the Jabberwock on the internet to draw a crowd, all of this was me!"

Kisa threw another nervous look at Marco. "Let's go," she growled.

Beth couldn't believe it, but the shadow was actually monologuing. Mike had mentioned how chatty the shadow was, but seeing it in person, she knew she could use it to her advantage.

"What about Kisa? There's no way she would betray the house. What have you done to her?" Beth laid it on thick, knowing that whatever possessed the cat-girl saw right through it. However, the way that the hand kept reaching for the necklace made her think that Kisa was still in there, and she was fighting.