“Time to go in.” Mia ran and launched herself over the black ring, landing on the porch. Murph followed her inside. They then split up. Mia sent Murphy into the cellar to look for the tins. If everything went to hell, at least the manuscript would have been saved.
She moved through the big room as quickly as she could and headed up the stairs and into the room where she was attacked before. She scanned the ceiling but didn’t see anything. She walked over to the closet, kicked the shoes out of the way and pried up the boards, exposing an oilcloth-wrapped bundle. She picked it up and stuffed it down the back of her pants. She moved out into the playroom.
“Mee ah,” the boys chorused.
She nodded to them. She pulled out of her pocket two metal cars she had purchased at the dollar store. She squatted down and rolled a car to each of the boys. The elder of the boys patted his back, indicating the sword on Mia’s back. He mimed a fencing posture.
“Mia, behind you,” Ted warned.
Mia spun around, pulling out her sword and shield at the same time. A black entity moved quickly towards her. She took up the fencing posture the boy had recommended. He moved beside her, and the two of them faced the entity.
“I’m asking you to voluntarily leave this home,” she said.
“Get out,” Timmy said, poking his imaginary sword at the elemental.
The elemental lunged toward the boy. Mia put her body between the creature and the ghost child. She pushed out with her shield, repeating, “I’m asking you to voluntarily leave this home.”
The elemental pushed back. Mia pulled Timmy behind her. “Take your brother and hide,” she hissed.
“What are you?” the elemental asked, sensing Mia’s power. “You’re neither bird nor beast.”
“I’m asking you for the last time to leave this place or perish.”
“Me perish? I am older than the trees that were hewn to build this place. The only one who is going to perish is you.”
It pushed Mia back so hard that she hit the opposite wall. She heard the camera crush behind her.
“Note to Ted,” she said, “Impact housing on all Mia cams.”
Mia quickly moved to the center of the room. The elemental was moving overhead on the ceiling. It had taken the form of a large spider.
“Ted, I’m seeing eight legs of ish,” she reported.
“Think Samwise Gamgee,” Ted said. “Bring out your inner Hobbit.”
The spider jumped.
Mia sidestepped, quickly bringing her shield up in time to deflect most of the weight bearing down upon her. The legs became hands and gripped the shield. Mia sliced at them only to find them replaced with metal hooks.
“Now that’s not fair,” she complained, moving backwards.
It pulled the shield from her hand, and as it did, Mia leaned in and stabbed into the center of the moving mass.
Sparks flew.
Mia withdrew her sword and watched as the darkness was sucked inward until a being started to emerge. It was a beautiful black woman. Her hair was thick and held up in a patterned scarf that matched the long dress she wore.
She looked at Mia sadly for a moment and pleaded, “Take me home,” before she fell to the ground.
“Oh my god, Mia,” Ted said.
“I have to take her home,” Mia said.
“Do you know where home is?” Ted asked
“Orion told me.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’ll be once more standing in front of Roumain.”
Mia housed her sword. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but I get the feeling, I’m taking back someone who was taken from him. Don’t worry, he can’t hurt us anymore.”
“No, he can’t,” Ted said. “Are you going to be able to hold her, Mighty Mouse? She is half again as tall as you are.”
“Watch and learn, Grasshopper,” Mia said, taking the remaining camera off, setting it on the ground and angling it up at her. She remembered the bundle she found in the closet and drew it out and lay it on the ground beside the camera.
Ted watched as she activated her wings, and as they sprouted, she grew, matching Sariel’s height. The top of her wings touched the high ceilings of the second floor. Mia bent down and lifted the woman into her arms. She extended her wings, as she had seen Angelo do, and wrapped them around both of them and disappeared.
Ted sat back amazed.
Murphy, who had come with news of the wall of tins, made it into the room just in time to see her disappear.
Ted watched as the ghost moved to the spot where she had dropped the package and the discarded camera and shook his head. “Mia’s still a slob.”
~
The air was still when Mia opened her wings. She looked around at the familiar graveyard and approached the middle and called out, “Roumain!”
The ground opened, and out of the thick mist walked the judge. He looked warily at Mia.
She knelt down and lay the beautiful woman on the ground before her and stepped away. “I was told to bring her here. I’m sorry, Roumain. I sense there was much love between the two of you.”
Roumain squatted down and moved his hand along the woman’s face. He put his hand on his heart, and Mia watched as the king of purgatory cried. Mia withdrew her wings but allowed the tattoos to roam her back just in case she needed to bolt. She walked over and put a hand on Roumain’s shoulder in sympathy.
“Was it your blade that took the elemental curse from her?”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
“You freed her, Mia. This is Violine Roumain, my wife.”
“How did this happen?”
“She got too consumed by the black arts. She made a bargain for power, and the power took her. She has been living this horrible existence for nigh on an eternity. I have looked for her, made bargains with the wrong creatures to get her back. In short, sold what was
