“What did they say about her?” Mike asked.
“Recluse. Homebody. Murderer.” Zel shrugged. “She seemed okay when we met her but very guarded. Didn’t let us anywhere near the house.”
Mike moved to stand in front of Zel. “So here’s the deal. Be honest with everybody when you meet them. Tell them why you want to move in with us.”
“I’m lonely. I have nobody else. I want to fit in.” Zel’s eyes shimmered with tears. “You don’t think they’ll tell me no, do you?”
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. We do have to talk to Naia first.” Mike appraised the centaur, listening literally to his gut. Naia had imbued him with a danger sense that often came far too late, one that he felt in his stomach as an icy spear of pain. For now, his stomach was silent.
Zel took a deep breath, running her hands across her stomach. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little worried. I don’t know what I’ll do if you make me go back.”
“I think you’re good to stay. Like I said, I want to run it by Naia first, simply because she knows the house better than I do.” Mike opened the door. “And if that doesn’t work, you’re always welcome to stay in the greenhouse and come visit. It isn’t like you haven’t already lived here for a decade. Maybe we can redo the garage, make it a living space for you.”
Nodding, Zel stepped through the portal onto the darkened lawn of the house. Mike followed, closing the greenhouse door.
“Hello?” he called, expecting someone to be waiting for him. Strangely, the house was silent. “I was supposed to be back hours ago,” he explained, walking across the lawn. Zel walked next to him in silence, her eyes fixed on the house like it would reach out and snap her up.
“Tink? Abella?” Coming around the corner into the garden, he saw Naia lying in the fountain, blue and green strands of hair spread across the surface of the water like seaweed.
“There you are!” Naia sat up, the water of the fountain parting to let Mike in without getting his feet wet. Naia pulled him in for a tight embrace. “You were supposed to come back forever ago!”
“Sorry about that. I ran into some trouble.” Mike stepped aside, gesturing at the centaur. “Naia, this is Zel. I found her living in the woods of the greenhouse. She asked if she could move in, and I said I would have to check with you.”
“It’s your call, lover, but we have some more important problems to deal with. You need to go see Cecilia right away!” Naia performed a curtsy for Zel. “It’s very nice to meet you, and we’ll have time for proper introductions later, but he needs to go deal with this right now.”
Puzzled, Mike waved farewell to Zel and went in the back door. “Tink? I’m home!” Surprised when the goblin didn’t appear, he walked through the front door and stopped on the porch.
“It’s about time,” Cecilia scolded, appearing next to him. The air was immediately chilled, but that wasn’t what Mike noticed. Standing in the middle of his yard was a black woman in a bright-white suit.
“What the hell?” Mike started to move toward her, but Cecilia placed a hand on his chest.
“She’s been standing out here all day,” Cecilia said. “She’s one of them.”
“Mr. Radley.” The woman’s voice was deep and soulful. “Such a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kali. I am a member of the society, and I have come to you with a very limited-time offer.”
“Zero fucks given, lady. This is private property, and I insist—” Mike pushed past Cecilia, and his foot was almost on the ground beneath his porch when dozens of snakes broke through the soil, fangs bared at him. He backpedaled onto the porch, staring at the writhing bodies in his front yard. His hand went to the bag on his belt. “Sweet fucking Jesus!”
“The geas of this home is quite strong, the strongest I have ever encountered,” Kali informed him, waving her hands slowly through the air. Shadows trailed behind her fingertips, then fell to the ground and squirmed away from her. “I will learn much by finding a way to break it. Unless, of course, you would like to discuss terms?”
“You need to find Tink,” Cecilia said, helping him to stand. “She knows how to activate the defenses. Emily showed her how.”
“The house has defenses?” Looking out at the woman on his lawn, he shivered. She was chanting quietly in a language he didn’t understand, more shadows dripping from her fingers to encircle the house. “And where is Tink? Or Abella?” Mike imagined the gargoyle could crush Kali easily beneath her weight.
Cecilia fixed him with a scowl. “Sofia gave you a fool’s errand. Once you left, she convinced Tink and Abella to help her in the Labyrinth while you were gone in order to keep you safe. They left shortly after you did. I wanted to come after you, but this bitch showed up.”
“They what?!” Mike cast a glance in Kali’s direction. The shadows and snakes were gone, but the woman’s sinister smile remained, sending a chill up his spine.
“The offer is only good until I find a way in,” Kali informed him. “Make no mistake. I will tear your entire world apart when I do.” Raising her fist, she pantomimed knocking on a door. Mike watched in astonishment as green light rippled away from her, traveling along a giant invisible sphere that surrounded the home.
Mike contemplated the woman on his front lawn for several moments. Without the others, how could he hope to protect the house? To protect them? Storming back inside, he did his best not to slam the
