CHAPTER 195

He frowned. "That sounds very much like the kind of warning you gave me earlier. Did you know that Velvet was going to die?" He tried to muster some anger to go along with his words, but he had given it all to the forest.

"I didn't, but I've been part of the game for a very long time, Caretaker. There are certain patterns that repeat themselves, and all I did was warn you about a potential threat." She nocked another arrow and let it fly, piercing another creature. When this one shrieked, the water exploded and sent a geyser of steam into the air.

"Is that even hurting them?" he asked.

"It breaks their connection, albeit temporarily. They shouldn't even be here, but your misery has allowed them in. As long as you don't hand yourself over to them, they can't hurt you. They are a natural consequence of becoming a bigger player in the game."

"I don't want to play the game," he said, then lowered his gaze. "Not if it means losing people I love."

"We're always playing someone's game, Caretaker." She dismissed the bow and sat down next to him. "Order and chaos. Life or death. Some games can't ever be won, you're simply playing until you lose."

"Sounds grim." He sighed, squeezing Tink so tight that she let out a squeak. "I know that you can't tell me your name, but what do I call you, anyway? Cabin? Forest? Autumn? Meadow?"

When she didn't respond, he turned to see that she had vanished.

"Figures," he muttered. Out in the water, he saw something briefly surface and then disappear. It was roughly between the two creatures that had been shot, a black mass that moved toward the shore.

Suddenly worried, Mike stood up as the black creature rode a sudden wave up onto the shore and then crawled its way through the surf until it stood on its back legs. it regarded him from beneath a thick layer of seaweed before yanking it off.

"Kisa?" He turned around and saw that Kisa still stood behind him on the beach. There were two of them.

"That was way harder than I thought it would be," she said, then coughed up a bunch of water. "I feel so loopy, it's from all that swimming."

"What are you doing here?" he moved toward the water and then hesitated. Was this a trap of some kind?

"Being a messenger girl, apparently." She tilted her head to one side and smacked it. Water splooshed free of her ears, followed by a small fish. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," she mumbled. "This place is weirder than I thought."

Mike remained silent, waiting for an answer.

"Things have gone from bad to worse," Kisa explained. "Lily knocked me out with her venom and is doing some sort of trick to try and bridge the gap between us because I need to talk to you. No questions until the end, I don't know how long I'll be in here."

She then told him all about how an ancient priestess had taken over Murray's body, and that the horsemen were back and hitching a ride to Earth. As heartbreaking as his own situation was, the one at the house had become dire.

Once Kisa finished, she let out her breath in a rush. "We need you to figure out how to help us. It's just Beth and I, and we're out of food and water. Beth thinks she can cause a diversion using the Grimoire, but it's risky."

Mike groaned and then flopped over on the sand. He was exhausted, both physically and spiritually, but the house needed him. Even here, in the Dreamscape, he could feel the dull ache in his shattered arm. He needed a plan, and he needed it yesterday. The stress of the situation had him staring blankly at the sky as his mind struggled to function.

"Oh, and one more thing." Kisa knelt down and pinched Mike's nipple through his shirt, giving it a twist.

"Ouch, what the hell?" He rubbed at it with his left hand, wincing.

"That's from Lily. She says to tell you that--" Kisa's mouth kept moving, but it was like someone had muted her. She scrunched up her face in concentration, then tried to speak again and failed. Mike was fairly certain she was trying to tell him to quit being a little bitch and come help them.

"Tell the others I'm on my way," he said. "The barrier is down, so I'll be there soon."

Kisa nodded, relief spreading across her face in a wave that turned into a smile. She blew him a kiss and then evaporated into smoke that drifted away into the Dreamscape.

He opened his eyes and sat up in bed. Yuki lifted her head and yawned, revealing all of her teeth.

"We need to go home," he said, then turned to slide out of bed. The splint on his arm caught the blankets, sending a painful twinge up his shoulder.

Yuki transformed, her hands on her hips. "Hold it right there. The last time you tried to bolt, you almost tore yourself apart with magic."

Mike knelt down, looking for his shoes. "This is different. Things at the house have gotten worse. If we don't figure out how to stop them, it might be the end of the world."

"Shit." Yuki reached under the bed and pulled his shoes out. She coaxed him back onto the bed and then helped him tie the laces while he told her what Kisa had said. As he spoke, he saw Velvet's dog tags sitting on the nightstand. Doing his best to maintain his composure, he stuck them in his pocket.

Minutes later, they were outside the bedroom. Quetzalli was ready with a bowl of hot soup that she had been keeping warm on the stove while Dana stood at the window, her gaze locked on something he couldn't see.

"Where's Abella?" he asked. "We need to head home."

"She's been outside with Emery," Dana replied. "He thinks he can fix her wing, but they need plenty of room to do it."

Yuki explained the severity of the situation as Mike devoured the soup Quetzalli had made. Abella appeared a few minutes later, her wings wrapped tight around her body as Mike got his things together.