Damn. Walking past her desk, he saw that she had drawn an elaborate diagram of gears. Clearly she had been working on something, but he saw no sign of her current project. He took a peek in the bathroom, hoping she was hiding in the shower.
Nothing. Scratching his head, he surveyed the apartment once more, casting a spell to detect life. Other than a family of mice living in the walls, he didn’t spot anything of use. Widening the spell, he discovered the weakened soul of an elderly woman in the house next to the garage, her dim light puttering around in the kitchen. Tucking his wand away, he decided to go over and ask her where his prey could be. If her car was out front, perhaps she had gone for a walk or maybe even a jog. He closed the door behind him as he left.
Somewhere inside the garage, a clock chimed that it was the top of the hour. Gritting his teeth, Daryl walked over to the nearby house, giving the front door a sharp rap with his knuckles. When the old woman opened the door, a blast of yellow light from his wand froze her in place.
“I’ll let myself in,” he said, closing the door quietly behind him.
Mike carried Beth to the fountain with Lily’s help, then laid her out gently on the cool marble. Naia and Mike held her in place while Zel examined her, running her fingers across Beth’s body. A tiny sphere of glowing water hovered above Beth’s face.
“I don’t feel any breaks,” Zel announced, sliding her hands out of Beth’s shirt. “I’m guessing she was knocked senseless by the…airbag, you said?” She looked at Mike for confirmation.
“Yeah, that’s the right term.” Mike’s arms were crossed. “How long do you think she’ll be out?”
“Hard to say.” Zel shook her head. “It sounds like it may be part shock.”
“Well, she isn’t asleep.” Lily sat on the other side of the fountain, flicking the water. She still wore her business casual outfit, one leg delicately crossed over the other. She looked like she was ready for a job interview. “Otherwise, I could go inside her dreams and try to wake her up.”
“Which means we have to wait,” Mike said, gritting his teeth. He didn’t like the idea of waiting any longer than he had to.
“Wait for what?” Lily asked.
“Uh, well…” Mike gestured at Jenny, who sat near Beth’s head, fabric legs dangling above the water. “I was hoping that Beth would let Jenny possess her again so that she could take me to the Labyrinth.”
“And what if she didn’t agree?” Lily asked. “Were you going to force her to do it?”
“No.” Mike shook his head. “That can’t be something we do. It would make me no better than the people outside, and then where—”
A crack of thunder, louder than an approaching train, shook the house, causing everybody to cover their ears. The earth shook, and dust scattered off the roof, settling around them like tiny clouds.
“What the fuck was that?” Mike called, his ears ringing.
Naia stared incredulously at the sky, her mouth open.
Cecilia burst through the rear wall of the house, energy crackling around her body. “The geas! It’s cracked!”
“How can you tell?” Mike asked.
Cecilia shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. What matters now is that we need to get that crazy woman out of our front yard. The geas is a powerful spell, but it can be dismantled, given enough time.”
“Well, I can’t go get Tink with Beth like this,” Mike said. “And I don’t want to use her body without her permission. It’s super fucked up that she’s even involved in the first place.”
“Are you going to go stab that woman out front with the dagger then?” Naia asked him. “Because if you don’t, eventually she will break the spell keeping her out of the house, and they will come in and raid this place.”
Mike thought about it. Even if he could get close, could he kill another human? It was the same doubt he had about the Minotaur, about violence in general. Maybe to save his own life or to protect someone. Then again, it was the kind of question that could only be answered in the heat of such a moment.
“I’ve got it!” Mike said. “Lily could knock her out cold for a few hours with her stinger, buy us some time.”
“That won’t work,” Lily replied, her eyes on the surface of the fountain. “The woman with the snake is Kali, the Vodou Queen.”
“Don’t you mean voodoo?”
“I said what I meant. Kali is super old school, pins in dolls, talking to snakes, dancing naked in the moonlight, that kind of thing. She’s made so many deals with so many spirits that even if I could get close enough to sting her, it likely wouldn’t affect her.” Lily crossed her arms. “She got pissed once because she thought that someone had broken into one of her warehouses to take a bunch of rare spell ingredients. Ended up tracking the wannabe witch doctor to their shop in New Orleans.”
“What did she do?” Mike asked.
“Hurricane Katrina.” Lily arched an eyebrow. “Witch doctor’s home wasn’t far from where the levee broke.”
“She broke the levee?” Mike asked in awe.
“After she summoned the hurricane. Figured it wasn’t enough to drown the thief and killed off anyone who had gone to see her. Made her stand perfectly still in her own house as the water rose, then kept her alive the entire time the fish were feeding on her. I think it got the point across.”
“Holy shit,” Zel whispered, then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, that slipped out!”
“Don’t worry about it.” Mike stared at Beth’s sleeping form, then looked at the doll. “Does anybody here have any idea how to activate the house defenses? Naia, you can see all Emily’s memories. Can you tell me how to do it?”
They all looked at each other. Zel kept her eyes on Beth, her slim fingers brushing the hair away from her face.
“It’s something only the Caretaker can do,” Naia told him, her eyes now shut. “I see…none of it makes any sense. There are gaps because someone else taught her how to do it and those memories are still locked by the geas.” Her eyes popped open, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mike. All I know is that Tink knows for sure. She was supposed to teach you, but the tumultuous nature of your first few days here likely caused her to overlook the defenses. The house has never seen a siege of this scale before.”
“Cecilia? You’re always out front. What did you see?”
“I could only see the souls and magic of those involved. The Caretaker links the magic of the home to the defenses and then activates them from the middle of the yard. By what process, I do not know.” She hung her head in shame.
“Shit, so we don’t know. Any other ideas for stalling the wicked witch out there?” Mike looked at each of them, hoping for an answer. The silence between them opened a void in his stomach, and his gaze eventually circled back to Beth lying on the cold stone of the fountain. His fingers tightened on the hilt of the dagger in his belt, and he could feel the weight of his own decision crushing him. Tink and the others were likely in danger, and even if he could stall Kali, they likely weren’t coming back without his help.
Trying to kill the woman on the front lawn was beyond him. Simply waiting for her to crack the geas and come into the house, potentially hurting his family, was also not an option. He was being forced to choose, and the damnation of such a decision was something he would have to come to terms with later. He looked to the women who stood around him, all waiting on his decision. His eyes found the cold, porcelain gaze of the doll standing next to him.
It was a hard decision. He would have to beg for forgiveness later.
“Do it, Jenny.” He looked at the others. Naia looked resigned to the idea, and he couldn’t tell what Cecilia was thinking. Lily, however, turned her back on him.
The air filled with static, and the doll climbed onto Beth’s chest, her cloth hands on Beth’s lips. A white mist emerged from Beth’s lips, and with a sudden blast of light, Beth
sat up, clutching the doll.
“Beth?” Mike asked.
Her eyes opened, revealing that they were now completely black.
“Beth is sleepy,” Jenny whispered, holding one finger to her lips. “When she is ready to come outside and play, I will tell you.”
“Okay, then. Remember, you are inside her body long enough to get me to the Labyrinth, and then you have to bring her back and let her go.”
Everyone waited for Jenny’s response. Jenny looked up at the sky, her dark eyes focused on something far away. “Boom,” she whispered moments before the sky above filled with thunder.
Mike flinched, his heart racing. The shock wave rippled across the house, blowing out one of the upstairs windows. Mike ducked, but the glass didn’t travel far, falling in small fragments to the courtyard below.
“Jenny?” Naia asked, a warning in her voice.
“There and back again, a Jenny’s tale.” Jenny smiled. “I am just borrowing her for today. The sun will come out tomorrow.”
Mike sighed. “Okay, then. Show me how to get inside the closet.”
Naia sat on the edge of the fountain, gazing wistfully at the house. During times like these, she wished she could leave her spring, to do more. Unfortunately, that could never be an option, no matter how much she wished it. She was a part of her spring—leaving was a concept as foreign as walking out of her own skin. She could either be in the fountain or the bath but never anywhere else.
“So what now?” Lily asked. She still sat at the edge of the fountain. She had taken off her shoes, her feet soaking in the warm water.
“We wait, I’m afraid.” Naia could sense Mike walking through the home, so close yet so far. As long as he was in the home proper, she could feel his emotions through their bond. However, the farther he traveled from her spring, the harder it was to feel him. Eventually, his life force would feel like a distant flame, bright enough to see but not warm enough to feel.
“You could order me to go with him,” Lily said, her voice soft. When Lily had tried to kill Mike, he had put his soul on the line in order to escape. However, because Naia and Mike were soul-bonded, both of them had become Lily’s new masters, and it wasn’t a role that had been casually accepted.
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Naia smiled at the succubus. “You are right. I could make you go, as your master. You would have to protect him, maybe die for him. And you would like that because it would prove that you’re right, that he’s just like your previous master and sees you as nothing better than a tool to be used. It would prove that I value him above you, and by extension of our bond, that he values himself above you.”
Lily didn’t respond, her eyes focused on the water in the fountain. Naia could see the tension in her shoulders, the fear of what was to come next.
“The Caretakers of this home have been many things, but this one is different,” Naia said. “I have loved them all, in my own way, but something about Mike makes my soul sing for him. He doesn’t see us just as objects, or slaves, or even as monsters. He sees all of us for who we are. He respects us. Some of the others haven’t been nearly as kind, barely tolerating some of us to be here.”
“That’s easy to say for someone who will fuck anybody who comes in this place.” Lily’s face reddened as the words left her mouth. “You’re the one who gets to choose, aren’t you? I saw it in his memories. You can drown anyone who isn’t a good fit.”
“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.” Naia lay on her back, floating along the surface of the water. “It’s like a calling. I can tell they will take care of the house but not necessarily love those who dwell here. And things can change over time. It isn’t perfect. No relationship is. There’s a reason Zel hid from Emily. Consider that.”
“So why not make me go help him? He didn’t give Beth a choice. Why give me one?”
“He didn’t give Beth a choice because he doesn’t have one either.” Naia swirled the water with her arms, becoming one with the waves. “And if you think he isn’t beating himself up over it, you are wrong.”
“That’s the worst part,” Lily said. “I can tell that he is. I can feel him as if he stands behind me, his chest pressed against my back. I can feel you in the front, both of you just standing there, waiting to command me. It will happen eventually, you’ll see.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Naia stared at the sky. Storm clouds were forming up above, a result of the magical attack on the geas. “Just remember that he is doing his best to protect the others. Somehow, I feel like that’s the same reason you are here, isn’t it?”
Naia heard Lily pull her feet out of the fountain. The back door slammed shut as Lily went inside the house. A smile crossed Naia’s face, and she became one with the water, melting beneath its surface.
Strong arms gripped Dana, fingers interlaced with her own. She pushed herself farther into those arms, breathing in through her nose and letting out a sigh. She could smell the faint hint of Alex’s deodorant, feel hot breath on the back of her neck. Months of anguish were somehow forgotten, Dana moved to another time and place. Alex must have been working on the motorcycle because the bed smelled faintly of motor oil.
“Alex,” she whispered, squeezing the fingers in her hand. The fingers squeezed back. Memories of the crash and the ensuing months suddenly flooded her mind, the sweet release of sleep now eluding her. She could feel the tears running down her face, hesitant to open her eyes and break the spell, knowing that her true love would vanish in the waking hours of day.
The weight of Alex lifted free of her, those strong arms vanishing into nothing, and she heard the clock chime that it was the top of the hour. The past ripped itself away from her, leaving her with the cold remnants of the morning. Wiping the tears off her face, she opened her eyes, her vision settling on the window nearest her bed. She could hear the birds singing outside. Groaning, she sat up, a dull ache just behind her eyes. Rubbing her head, she slid out of bed before walking past the clock and into her bathroom for some aspirin. She swallowed the pills and walked back out into the loft.
The morning light had snuck in through a few gaps in the blinds, scattering errant rays across the garage. Several of them bounced off the chrome of the bike, lighting up the concrete floor. Dana stared at Alex’s motorcycle, wondering now if she truly wanted to finish fixing it. She had thought that riding it would bring her closer to Alex, make it feel like they were together again, but the cold reality of day reminded her that she was still alive and Alex was gone.
Shaking her head, she retrieved her phone from its hiding place, only to discover that she was almost an hour late for work. She had a couple of phone calls already from her boss.
“Shit!” She grabbed clothes off the floor and dressed as quickly as she could, then bolted out of the apartment. After getting into her car, she turned the ignition and nearly backed into a giant town car that now blocked the driveway.
“Fuck!” She jumped out of her car, staring at the man in the driver’s seat. “Hey. Hey! I need you to move so I can get going!” He ignored her even as she approached. When she banged on the glass, his gaze remained fixed eerily on nothing in particular. “Hey! Asshole! Let me out!”
The driver wore a chauffeur’s hat and matching gloves, which meant he had driven someone. She looked back at her landlord’s house. Who did she know that had their own driver?
There was only one way to find out. She didn’t even bother knocking, just let herself in through the front door.
Mike stood next to the closet door in the guest bedroom. Jenny, inside Beth’s body, fidgeted with her hair, twirling it in her fingers. She was wearing a small backpack that was just one of Zel’s saddlebags that had been modified to carry the doll inside. If they needed Beth and Jenny to switch back, then the doll needed to remain close by.
“Well?” Mike asked. “How do we do this?”
Jenny grinned, grabbing the doorknob to the closet. “Simple, simple! Three o’clock, nine o’clock, up and down.” She turned the knob right, then left, then pulled up on it. The whole knob slid up like a lever, then Jenny pushed it back down and pulled. A blast of cool air hit Mike in the face, and the interior of the closet was gone. The back wall was now composed of smooth rock, and the light of the room was gobbled up by the cave that had appeared.
“Did you get that?” Mike asked Cecilia.
“I did,” she answered, staring warily at Jenny. Mike looked at Cecilia when Jenny grabbed his wrist.
“Come on! I can show you how to open the gate to the Labyrinth!” She pulled him toward the entrance. Mike resisted just long enough to turn on his flashlight. He ducked in time to avoid smashing his face on the rock above, letting Jenny lead him down the tunnel. Cecilia vanished, heading back to the front door to watch Kali. Mike found himself wishing she was still by his side. Jenny had already disappeared around the first bend, humming a random tune to herself.
He wished that someone else could have come with him. Naia couldn’t, and Lily wouldn’t even look him in the eyes. Zel couldn’t come, and he barely knew her. Instead, he was stuck with a half-crazed ghost in his estate agent’s body.
Mike followed behind Jenny, who had slowed down. “So how do you know so much about the house?”
“I’ve been here a long time, and when I’m not locked up in the Vault, I go on adventures!” Jenny turned around to walk backward. “The Labyrinth is extra fun! It has games and places to hide, and the Minotaur will chase you!”
“That’s kind of why we’re going.” A lump formed in Mike’s throat. “But we want to avoid the Minotaur. At least until we find the others.”
“A chase, a race, my panties are lace.” Jenny winked. “If we can cross the bridge, he won’t follow. He is scared of the water.”
“Like the pool?” Mike asked. And what bridge was she talking about? He was never certain what parts of her speech he should be paying attention to.
Radley's Labyrinth for Horny Monsters Page 18