CHAPTER 134

"You guys ready for family game night?" she asked.

Reggie nodded, his eyes focused on the horsemen as they sat. Famine's big gut pressed against the table, so he had to sit further away. War's massive torso looked out of place as well, and he had the appearance of a meat dreidel that was ready to topple forward any moment. Only Pestilence fit into their seat, their hazmat suit sagging noticeably when they sat forward.

"Let's see what you've got," War sneered.

"And so, we begin," Murray declared, and a bright light enveloped the players. The world swirled violently around Beth and she felt like she was falling as the light took her. Terror filled her body, and she bit her lip to hold back a scream.

She hoped she hadn't just fucked everything up.

012

The walk back to the cabin took less than an hour, and Mike let out a sigh of relief when he saw it in the distance. Bigfoot had them utilizing tree portals to shorten their journey, with the owl always hopping through at the last second. The ominous creatures of the woods had watched them when they left the cave, and many followed them toward their destination, but a few were left behind with each jump. He assumed it was part of the treaty they had established with the owl, who had acted as both an interpreter and mediator.

It was a fairly simple agreement. If the Nirumbi and the other creatures agreed to peace with the occupants of the cabin, as well as each other, then they could stay. The owl would act as their leader instead of the current Caretaker, whoever that may be.

However, this agreement hinged largely on getting rid of Leeds. The owl had assured them that her magic was more than capable of trapping him, and that it would be a simple matter of pushing him past his own boundary. Mike doubted it would be that easy. If history was any indicator, he was in for a rough night.

He took the morning to sleep. Between sex with Dana and his near-death experience, he had been fairly energized all night. Upon seeing the cabin, his feet had started to drag through the snow and he stumbled. Quetzalli and Yuki had held his arms until they walked inside, and he had promptly gone to his room and fallen into a deep slumber.

At first, he dreamed in images. Instead of landing in the Dreamscape, he saw the events of the last few days as they flitted through his mind like photographs in a flipbook. Darkness came and then went, and when he finally awoke, he was alone.

Puzzled by the silence, he moved to get out of bed and nearly fell when his foot caught on something heavy under the covers.

"Ow!" The lump in his bed shifted and Kisa appeared, rubbing at her face. "That really fucking hurt!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked, then looked around. He was still in the cabin. "Is this a dream?"

"Maybe." Kisa slapped her cheeks and winced. "I must have fallen asleep in the sitting room. This feels pretty real, though. Hey, listen! You need to get home right away! The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse trapped us in another dimension, and Beth is—"

"Wait, what? The Apocalypse?"

Kisa scowled at him and grabbed his face with her hands. The pads on her fingertips were soft, but her grip was borderline menacing. "Shut up for a second and just listen!"

She explained it all. An angel had spirited them away and locked them up in a world made of mist. Apparently, Beth was acting as Death's lawyer, and now was playing board games in the front yard against War, Famine and Pestilence for the fate of all mankind.

He wasn't certain yet that this wasn't a dream.

"Oh, and something in the house has been attacking us," she finished. "Knocking us out, one by one. Tink was put to sleep a couple days back, and she still hasn't woken up. Cecilia got knocked out, and so did one of the fairies. Oh, and Beth got cloned by primordial ooze, so now there's two of her, kind of. It's time you wrap up your vacation and come home!"

Mike took a deep breath through his nose, doing his best to lower his blood pressure. If everything Kisa had said was true, they were all in danger and there was nothing he could do. He wasn't even sure what to do with the knowledge that there were now two of Beth.

"It's hardly been a vacation, here. C'mon." He slid out of bed and noticed that he was still fully dressed from last night. At least he wouldn't be walking through this dream in his underwear. Those were the worst! "Let's try and figure out what our current situation is while I tell you what's going on in Oregon."

He explained the situation with Leeds as he put on his shoes, and then they walked into the main room of the cabin. He had just finished telling her about the new truce when he noticed that the building had changed.

The television and entertainment center was gone. Instead, a massive fireplace with a roaring fire greeted them, casting long shadows into the eaves of the cabin. When he looked in the kitchen, it was much bigger and had an assortment of drying meats hanging by the window.

Kisa whistled. "This place is impressive."

He frowned, then looked upstairs. The shadows parted, revealing that the walls of the cabin were covered in various animal trophies.

"This isn't what it looks like in the real world," he told her. "Stick close to me."

She pressed herself into him and sighed. "Damn, you feel good," she muttered. "Just having you close makes me feel better. And safe."

He put his arm around her and squeezed. His magic responded to her presence, filling him with warmth and calm.