CHAPTER 196

"C'mon, let's go inside," she said. "We can check on Abella, and I want to make sure Jenny is okay. Once we get Abella outside, she can help us find Kisa and Tink, figure out where they went." She knelt down and picked up Cerulea, who was covered in dirt but unharmed.

"The wee ghost should be fine, if not a bit startled," Sulyvahn added. "That one can take more than a lash, I promise ye."

She nodded, then turned to Death, who was now wandering the front yard rubbing his skull anxiously. His scythe had disappeared, and he crouched down to pick something up.

"Everything okay?" she asked, still amazed that she could see him.

"It is now," Death replied, then turned to face her while slipping something into his robes. "I thought I had lost my spider and would be forced to give Mike Radley a treat instead of a trick."

She laughed, the trauma of the night suddenly overwhelming her. Hugging the Grimoire to her chest, she stepped away from the house so that she could look up at Quetzalli. "Thank you," she shouted so that she could be heard. "I think we've had enough lightning for the night."

"You can never have too much lightning," Quetzalli replied while adjusting her horn. "But you are very welcome."

Mike watched in awe as Lily attacked the queen while Ratu brought down balls of blazing fire. Lily was immune to the heat, and was whirling about in a tight leather outfit with a pair of black batons that she used to block the swords. Zel placed herself between Mike and his mothers, her hands going to her pouch.

"If you're going to make an appearance," she said, "now rather than later would be great."

An eerie wail filled the air and Cecilia passed through the wall of the house, her shrieks causing his moms' voices to be drowned out. They tried to attack the banshee, but burst into smoke in the presence of her screams.

"Mmph?" he asked.

"Tink fix." The goblin crawled up from under the porch holding a cutting torch. He shrugged and knelt down, allowing her to cut the metal off his face. It was a trick that wouldn't work in the real world, but as long as he didn't focus on specifics, it wouldn't hurt him in the Dreamscape.

Lily let out a yelp and was tossed through the air, allowing the queen to summon rays of golden light that circled Ratu, forcing her to dance about as the ground turned black around her. Seeing an opening, the queen raced toward Mike, her swords held high, only to be intercepted by Abella, who tackled her from above and knocked her to the ground.

"I heard you like it rough," Abella said, then punched the queen in the mouth. The queen shrieked in rage and blocked the gargoyle's blows with one set of arms while the others twisted about in a set of gestures. Thick vines wrapped around Abella and ripped her away just as Tink got the metal plate off of Mike's face.

"How?" he asked, then moved away as the queen leapt over Zel and stabbed the door with one of her swords. She slashed him across his midsection and was about to hit him again when Tink crawled up her side and bit the side of her boob.

"Cursed goblin!" The queen ripped Tink free and made to stab her, but the blade was blocked and then countered by Sofia. Though the cyclops was eclipsed by the queen's size, she was quick enough to dodge and deflect her blows with ease.

"I think you know how," Zel said with a smirk, then jumped away as the battle moved her way.

"Are all of you in my head?" he asked.

"Not all of us," Zel replied. "But it is getting rather full in here. Now, if you don't mind, could you help us out a bit?"

"Absolutely." He jumped off the porch and fixed an object in his mind. It was difficult to make from dirt, but eventually a large, marble basin formed in the front yard and filled with water.

"You tricked me, Caretaker! I'll have your head!" The queen's blades whirled in place as she summoned a series of glowing runes that blasted the cyclops out of the way. Once the path was clear, she grabbed her blades out of the air and came toward him. Cecilia rushed in and let out a scream, but the queen was unfettered by the aural assault and tore through the banshee like paper. It gave Mike an extra second, and he hoped it was all he needed.

"Naia!" Mike jumped in the fountain. "Naia, where are you?"

When the queen moved to attack him, she passed right through his body. Puzzled, he looked down at his hands and saw that he was made of water. The queen shrieked in frustration and tried to attack him again, but her blades passed through him effortlessly.

"Neat trick, right?" It was Naia's voice just inside his ear. "I can't do much to fight a queen, but I can do plenty to protect you here."

"She can't hurt the others, right?"

Naia giggled. "No. This whole thing will be over soon. See?"

He didn't see it at first, but Lily came back into the clearing dragging a large door behind her. It was the anxiety, and Abella had broken free of the vines and was helping Lily carry it over. Sofia was busy fighting the queen again, and Tink had become a literal ankle biter, tripping up the queen.

"I don't get it. Are they going to stuff her in my 'can't stop peeing' dream?"

"No. Once she's in there, she will face an anxiety of her own." No sooner had Naia spoken did Lily open the door. Abella picked up the whole frame like a giant bug net and slammed it over the queen's head.