NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65: Chapter 66
Subaru and Emilia spent a comfortable night in the manor, trying to ignore the fact that they had no idea how or if they 'd ever get down.
They went downstairs to a large kitchen that was inexplicably stocked with fresh food and Emilia made them a more or less palatable meal.
While they ate, Subaru told Emilia about his bizarre adventures in the Trial although he kept a lot of the details to himself.
I think Emilia doesn 't need to know about what Rem said.
Or about who Sycorax actually disguised herself as …
Now that I 'm out of there, I'm not really sure what to make of everything that Rem and Ram told me.
Where they just telling me what my subconscious believed that they would say?
Or is there more to it than that?
When they finished eating, Emilia started to clean up and do the dishes.
Subaru got up to help her but Emilia glared at him and her eyes flashed violet. "Sit. Down. Subaru," She grated, emphasizing every word.
Subaru raised his eyebrows as he obediently sat back down.
"You were stabbed in the back yesterday," Emilia grumbled, scrubbing dishes. "I want you to take it easy today!"
Subaru chuckled. "Well, it wasn't much of a stab. Frankly, I still can't believe that Virgil didn't manage to kill me from that angle."
"Don't tempt fate!" There was a hollow sound as Emilia rapped her knuckles on the wooden counter.
Subaru shrugged. "Honestly, Echidna's trial or vision or whatever the hell you want to call it was way worse than anything Virgil did to me. Although, I 'm guessing that the trial would have been much easier if Sycorax hadn't corrupted it."
"What do you think they were?" Emilia asked. "Virgil and Sycorax, I mean?"
Subaru shrugged. "Well, I don't know the correct 'magical terminology' but I think that they were probably just what they said they were: magical creations sent by a rival witch to destroy Echidna's Book."
"Did you notice how Sycorax looked just like Daddy at the end?" Emilia asked.
Subaru nodded. "It was hard to miss," He said.
"That was creepy!" She shuddered.
"I hear you," Subaru admitted. "You know, I didn't think about it too much before but it almost feels like they were deliberately designed as… I don't know, maybe a dark reflection of Beatrice and Puck."
"You think so?"
Subaru nodded. "Assuming that Sycorax took his 'true' form at the end, he looked just like a black Puck. And Virgil did kind of remind me of Beako, right down to the way that he spoke. When I thought that he was just her little brother, I didn't think too much about it but now that I know that they were faking it, it feels like the witch who created those two decided to copy Beako and Puck."
"To confuse us?" Emilia asked.
Subaru rocked his hand back and forth. "I don't know. Maybe. Not sure if even the witches could have guessed that we, or anyone else really, would manage to get up on the island."
Emilia frowned. "If they didn't think that the people who'd come to the island would have known Puck and Beatrice, then why bother making them in their image?"
Subaru scratched his chin. "I don't know. Now that I think about it, Virgil and Sycorax seemed to really dislike Beatrice and Puck. They never missed a chance to assure us that they were superior to them."
"They were mean and cruel!" Emilia said resolutely.
"Well, yeah they were but I think that maybe there was more to it than that," Subaru said slowly. "I feel like they were both very… insecure about being made in another being's image and that they were worried that they couldn't measure up. That makes me think that maybe the witch who created them was engaged in some kind of rivalry with Echidna. It almost reminded me of a parent who bullies their kids into outperforming their rival's kid at sports of scholastics so that the parent can lord it over their rival."
Emilia looked at him with a frown. "That's… a strange way to look at it, Subaru," She said awkwardly.
Subaru chuckled. "I don't know. It was just an idea. 'See! I'm way better at making spirits than you, Echidna! And you two, be sure to beat Puck and Beatrice at everything! Mama doesn't do second place! '" He said mockingly.
Emilia gave Subaru a strange look and then kept scrubbing the dishes. "If that's true, then those spirits are probably in a lot of trouble right now. "
"I can't say that I feel too sorry for them," Subaru snorted. "Virgil stabbed me and Sycorax gave me what felt like almost a week of psychological torture!"
"The vision that you were trapped in sounds like a nightmare, Subaru," Emilia said slowly.
Subaru nodded. "Yeah. And one that was tailor-made for me. I don't know if Echidna is alive, dead, or something in between but if I ever meet her, I want you to distract Beako while I punch her!"
"Tailor-made?" Emilia asked.
Subaru nodded. "Yeah. The world was ruined by powerful witchcraft and it was all my fault. Everyone I cared about blamed me for the mess, turned against me, and even tried to kill me. Pretty much my perfect nightmare when you get right down to it."
Emilia 's scrubbing slowed. "Echidna's trials in the Sanctuary felt similar," She murmured. "They were all specifically tailored to hit my most sensitive spots…"
Subaru frowned. "We never really talked about them, did we? I know what the first trial was like but what were the others?"
Emilia didn 't answer right away. "There's not much to talk about. The second trial was just a beautiful dream. Mother Fortuna and Guese were both still alive and together. We were married and living safely in the unfrozen forest. We even had a baby," She finished wistfully.
Subaru stared at her for a long time. "Well, that sounds awfully nice of Echidna," He said questioningly.
Emilia sighed. "The trial was, would I stay in this perfect dream world forever or would I leave and go back to the real world."
Subaru nodded. "I'm really glad that you picked this world. Even if it sucks most of the time, I would have gone crazy if I 'd lost you."
Subaru thought for a moment. "What about the third trial?"
A dish slipped through Emilia 's fingers and fell into the sink with a clatter.
Emilia picked up the dish and quickly started to clean it again. "It was… confusing. Just a bunch of scary and dark images that I couldn't really make sense of," She waved it off.
Subaru frowned at her. "What was the trial? What did you have to do?" He asked gently.
Emilia shrugged, scrubbing at the dish with unnecessary vigor. "I had to decide to keep fighting even after being confronted with all of those nightmarish images. It was actually a very easy trial. I knew that they were all fake and that they could never, ever happen so I was able to just ignore them."
Subaru frowned. Emilia sounds funny. Like she 's almost daring me to disagree with her…
"Any luck finding anything that we could use to repair the balloon?" Subaru changed the subject.
"There's nothing that I could find that we could use to repair the balloon," Emilia said.
Subaru stood up and began opening kitchen cabinets and draws. "Did you check here? It seems like the kitchen uses magic to keep itself fully stocked. Maybe the same magic that generates food would also generate sewing thread or something?"
Emilia squinted at him. "Subaru, why would the kitchen's magic make thread?"
"I don't know," He admitted. "It sure would be convenient right now though, wouldn't it?"
Emilia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Subaru, the reality is, I can't find anything up here that we use to fix the balloon."
Subaru nodded. "I wouldn't be super confident in my abilities to sew something airtight anyway. But that kind of leaves us at loose ends."
"At least we finally found the Book!" Emilia pointed out.
Subaru laughed bitterly. "Yeah! We found the Book. Then we lost it. And now we're stuck up here. Do you think that maybe our luck has a sense of humor?"
Emilia frowned at him. "Subaru, that's not helping."
Subaru sighed and nodded his head.
Emilia thought for a moment. "Subaru, assuming that we do get down from here and find the Book, what do we do next? "
"I'm not sure," Subaru admitted. "Korë told me about the Book but she didn't mention where we'd need to go to use it. I don't suppose you know any legends about how we can reach the Od Laguna?"
"By dying," Emilia suggested with a smirk.
Subaru laughed. "Too bad that we dropped the Book then. We could have just taken the Book and jumped off the island with it. Problem solved!"
Emilia chortled but then her face became stern. "Subaru!" She scolded. "That's not funny!"
"You started it!" He complained.
Emilia thought for a moment. "I suppose that Otto and the Ryuzus might try to stage a rescue," She suggested.
Subaru shook his head. "Maybe. In a few months , " Subaru replied. "Also, I'm not sure that I give Otto and Delta great odds for managing a hot-air balloon. I doubt that we can count on a rescue. Besides, Felt and Garf are in a dangerous situation down there. They could be in trouble. They definitely need our support. We'll need to come up with some way to get off the island ourselves."
"You should try to get some more rest. I'm going to search what's left of the library for Books on the Ryuzus' machine," Emilia said.
"Keep an eye open for references to the Od Laguna while you're at it," Subaru suggested. His eyes grew speculative. "Maybe… we could rig up a parachute from the balloon?" He said vaguely. "I don't know how to use one but I imagine it's not terribly hard to drift down to the ground."
"What's a 'parachute?'"
"It's a…" Subaru hesitated. "It's like… it's like you jump off something high with a… big bag of air so that you drift slowly to the ground."
Emilia 's eyes widened. "Subaru, are… Are you really sure that would work?" She asked in a small voice.
Subaru flushed. "Well, the theory is sound …" He mumbled.
Emilia seemed quite alarmed by this prospect.
That 'afternoon' Felt and Garfiel stood on the balcony outside their room. The sun was almost directly overhead but the city was black as night.
"What the hell, fleabag?" Felt whispered. "The sun hasn't shone in two days!"
"I'm guessing the Captain had something to do with this," Garfiel replied.
Felt rolled her eyes. "Obviously! But why the hell would he try to make the situation worse ? The city is about to go into full-blown panic! "
"I doubt that he knew that this would happen," Garfiel said. "Sonas asked him to shut the beam off and he did. Seems there were a few factors at play that Sonas didn't count on. But that's not important right now."
"It isn't?" Felt asked in disbelief. "The city is panicking, the Iotuns could attack any time now, and we have no idea if Subaru and the elf are even OK!"
"I meant that there's nothing that we can do about it right now," Garfiel clarified. "So we should be focusing on the stuff that we can take care of."
"Like what?"
There was a knock on the door.
Garfiel and Felt shared a sharp look. Garfiel quickly stole to the door and pressed himself against it. Felt grabbed a small knife off the table.
"Who is it?" Garfiel called.
"Your chauffeur."
Garfiel and Felt both groaned.
Garfiel stepped away from the door and opened it. A moment later, Koh entered the room.
"What do you want?" Garfiel asked.
"I have some information for you," Koh replied.
"The top ten best ways to pick up women?" Felt asked brightly.
Koh snorted. "Whatever Brendig is looking for under the city? He's almost found it, " He said with no sign of his normal jovial attitude.
Garfiel looked at Felt in horror.
"How do you know that?" Felt asked.
"I overheard Sonas's seneschal talking with that Colonel," Koh muttered. "What's her name? Brasca? She said that they've found the inner chamber and they should breach it in the next few days. I figured you'd like to know."
"Shit!" Garfiel hissed.
"Calm down, fleabag," Felt said distractedly. "We don't even know what this thing is!"
"We know that we don't want Brendig to find it!" Garfiel argued. "We've got to stop them!"
"No," Felt said firmly. "Subaru told us to keep our heads down and stay out of trouble! We need to wait for him to get back."
"The Captain didn't know that Brendig was going to find the weapon!" Garfiel protested.
Felt rolled her eyes. "Subaru didn't even seem to care about the weapon! "
"Frankly, kid," Koh muttered, sitting down on the floor without ceremony, "I'm not sure what we can possibly do to stop them."
"What if we sneaked down there tonight and stole it ourselves?" Garfiel asked excitedly.
"Garf," Felt sighed. "They said they'd almost found it. That they were going to find it in the next few days. That implies it'll take a small army of diggers a few days to find it. Whatever it is isn't going to be lying on an altar down in the tunnels somewhere."
Garfiel thought hard for a minute. "But we don't actually want the thing, right? We just want to make sure that Brendig doesn 't get it!"
Koh dumped his pipe ashes into a convenient bowl. "What are you suggesting?" Koh asked.
"You're an alchemist, right?" Garfiel replied.
Koh shrugged. "Well, I have some experience in the craft at least."
"And you were bringing all those explosive primers to Kararagi. And you're a former terrorist!"
"Oh," Felt sighed. "So this is what you were thinking," She grumbled.
Garfiel ignored her. "I bet that you could make us something that goes 'boom.'"
Koh stared at him for a long moment. "What are you talking about? If it was that easy to make high-power explosives, I wouldn't have bothered to smuggle them here at all! I would have just made them in Girali! And 'something that goes boom?!' What the hell does that mean? What are you trying to blow up? The tunnels? Even if we could do that, a blast that strong might make the whole city collapse! "
"No. The other day, I was talking with a few of the slaves that the mercenaries are using to dig out these tunnels. They told me that the excavation is taking place beneath a now-dry lake bed that abuts the plateau. Brendig and the others dammed the river and drained the lake to get access to these tunnels. Apparently, they used slave labor to build the dam and they were running low on materials before they were done. The slave I spoke to was worried that it might break someday."
"Huh," Koh put his unlit pipe in his mouth and sucked on it thoughtfully. "What were the supports made of?"
"Wood," Garfiel said at once. "And not good wood either from what I heard. It sounds like they just cut down some old dead trees that they found in the area because a lot of the supports are full of tiny holes from insects. All we need to do is blow up those supports and the whole area will flood, the tunnels will fill with water, and some of them will even collapse! Brendig will have to start all over again!"
Koh fiddled with his pipe for a long moment, seemingly deep in thought.
"Garf, this is a crazy idea," Felt sighed.
"If there's any way that we can do it, I'm going to try. With or without you!" Garfiel said firmly.
Felt rubbed her forehead with a moan.
Garfiel glared at Koh. "Well?" Garfiel asked impatiently.
"Don't rush me," Koh said.
Felt narrowed her eyes. Koh is acting really funny right now. I 've never seen him act this serious, even when we were captured and enslaved…
So … what does this tell me about him?
"I might be able to do something," Koh said finally. "Netty, the alchemist that I work with, has been asked to mix up sixteen hundred pounds of prime fertilizer for Sonas's private greenhouse."
"Really?" Felt sighed. "I'm so very glad for her."
Koh sniffed. "She always over-orders ingredients just to be safe that she doesn't come up short. I bet that there's still enough lying around for me to mix up a few hundred more pounds of fertilizer."
The room was momentarily silent.
"What the hell good does that do us?!" Garfiel asked incredulously. "Are we going to block the tunnels by planting trees?"
"It's an explosive," Koh said flatly. "Not a great one, mind you, but it can be effective if we don't have anything better. The Alliance has been using devices like this since before the war. We just need to mix the fertilizer with the right primer and, as you say, 'boom.' Netty won't be looking at those ingredients again any time soon so she shouldn't notice that I stole them. The primer is easy to cook too. It's not the best explosive per pound but we should be able to blast that dam to splinters…"
Koh thought some more. "Netty is supposed to be busy tomorrow with some kind of function at the palace. They're getting ready for some kind of big spectacle at the old coliseum. I can't imagine why the hell she's going under these circumstances. All of the locals seem to be either in denial or completely oblivious to their town being occupied by a hostile military force. But she'll be gone all day. I could make the bomb then."
Garfiel clapped his hands together in triumph. "Perfect!"
"Not so fast, Garfiel," Koh muttered. "We still have a problem."
"What problem?" Felt asked.
"Getting this stuff out there," Koh muttered. "Even if the wood isn't the best, I wouldn't use less than five hundred pounds to destroy this dam."
Garfiel shrugged. "Maybe we could borrow a wagon?" He said suggested.
"And do what with it, fleabag?" Felt sighed. "We can't just walk out the front gate with a wagon full of dirt without the guards getting very, very curious about us. I don't think that they'd buy our story that our 'master' ordered us to go out and fertilize the desert."
Garfiel digested that. "Well, what about bringing it down onto the Shelf and taking it out that way?"
"Same problem," Koh said. "Actually, that's a worse problem. The guards will be even more suspicious of us bringing large quantities of anything down onto the Shelf."
Koh looked back and forth between the grim Felt and downcast Garfiel.
"Well," Koh said slowly, "I guess that's it then. If we can't figure out a way to get the payload out into the desert then there's no point in making the bomb."
"Not necessarily," Felt said slowly. "What about the pyroxene crystals?"
"What about them?"
"They blow up all the time! Could we make a bomb out of them?"
Koh shook his head. "Not one that I'd like to put any trust in. The pyroxene crystals run the gamut between extremely stable and rocks that blow up if you look at them funny. If we gathered up a hundred pounds of pyroxene, I don't have the equipment here to inspect it. I couldn't be sure if it would react with the primer or not. Or if it might go off by itself if you hit a bump in the road."
"What about the stable stuff?" Felt asked. "You have access to those stabilized stones if you're one of the people working to stabilize them, right?"
"Stable pyroxene crystals take a very strong primer to be explosive! Like I said before, I can't easily make those kinds of primers here! Sonas isn't stupid, he doesn't want any risk of someone handing that stuff to the slaves. Pour a few barrels of primer on those fields and the entire Crimson Hills becomes a fireball five miles wide!"
Felt folded her arms across her chest. "That fertilizer bomb you mentioned…" She said slowly. "How explosive is that stuff?"
"As compared to what?"
"I mean will it blow up if you look at it funny?"
"No," Koh shook his head. "It's extremely stable stuff."
"What if you dropped it?"
"I just said that the stuff is stable!" Koh said in annoyance.
"Even if say, we dropped it off the side of the plateau?" Felt asked pointedly.
Koh didn 't answer right away. "Well… that is an idea, isn 't it? That might even be a brilliant idea. We just drop the bags off the side and then go down the Shelf elevator and pick them up later."
"Would it work?" Felt asked.
"I don't see why not," Koh replied. He glanced at Garfiel. "How heavy is the security around the site when they're not digging?"
"Apparently nonexistent from what I've heard," Garfiel said. "And I don't think that anyone is watching the dam at all. Besides, nobody wants to be out in the desert when the Iotuns are moving around."
"But we're about to do exactly that," Felt pointed out, "And we're going to do it while we're lugging a few hundred-pound sacks behind us."
"The Iotuns still aren't coming out while the sun is 'up,'" Koh mused. "Doing it during the 'day' should be safe."
"We can't," Garfiel disagreed at once. "That's when the slaves and the mercenaries are going to be inside of those tunnels. If we blow the dam then, we'll drown hundreds of people. We have to do this at night."
"Did everyone forget that our collars smell like candy to the Iotuns?" Koh asked. "We can't make it to the damn at night! We'll get eaten!"
"Well, we can't just drown all those innocent people!" Garfiel protested.
Felt pinched the bridge of her nose. "Koh, can you make us a fuse? Like, a nice long one?" She asked. "We could plant the bomb during the day and it would blow up after everyone left."
Koh shook his head. "I don't have anything that I'd trust to do that kind of job. Even ignoring the very real possibility of someone finding the bomb before it blew, the longer the fuse, the more likely that something ends up going wrong with it."
Felt thought about it. "What if… we split the difference?"
"What's that mean?" Garfiel asked.
"What if we set the bomb at the end of the afternoon when everybody is leaving the tunnels? Then we set a short fuse and head back to the city pretending that we were working with the other slaves. The damn bursts, the tunnels flood, and we all get back to the city before dark."
Koh thought it over. "It could work, " He admitted, "But there are two problems. One, you two will need to get down to the Shelf tonight so that you can head out into the fields tomorrow without being noticed. I should be able to mix up the chemicals you need tomorrow but there 'll be no way for me to get down and help you so you'll need to know how to set up the bomb by yourselves."
"If you tell me what to do, I can manage," Felt said. "I'm pretty good with my hands."
"I sure hope so because if you aren't, you won't have hands when this is over," Koh said.
Felt blinked.
"Second," Koh continued. "I don't know how you're going to get back into the city! You say that you'll blend in with the other slaves but how are you going to join that column marching back to the city without the mercenaries noticing? Or one of the other slaves ratting you out?"
Garfiel made a face. "Maybe we'd be better off coming back on our own and not joining the others?"
"Probably," Koh admitted. "But the entire city is going to be on high alert after that bomb goes off!"
"They won't dare come out and search for us while the Iotuns are out!" Garfiel scoffed.
"Probably not!" Koh answered. "But that leaves you two out in the desert, wearing delicious-smelling collars, and trying to sneak back into a fortified city!"
Felt sighed and paced around the room, rubbing her chin. Finally, she stopped and looked at Koh. "What about a rope?"
"For what? Hanging yourselves?" Koh muttered.
"Where are you going to drop the explosives?" Felt asked.
"There's a quiet spot not too far away from the shop where I work, near the eastern side of the plateau. I should be able to drop the stuff there without anyone noticing."
"Could you lower a rope down later?" Felt asked.
Koh stared at her. "That's dangerous, Felt," He criticized. "I'll need to secure that rope to something stout! Dropping bags off the side and walking away is one thing but if anyone notices that rope that you're climbing, they'll sound the alarm and you'll be trapped with nowhere to go!"
"And if we don't do it, Brendig will find the weapon!" Garfiel said at once.
Felt made a face, imagining all the ways that this could go wrong. "Alright," She sighed. "I guess this is what we're doing."
The Priestella conference building was an enormous domed marble structure supported by countless white pillars. The building was massive since Priestella, being more or less the center of the continent, was commonly used as a meeting ground for diplomats and negotiators from around the world.
That evening, Anri and Gustov stood a short distance outside of the council chamber. They waited, partially concealed behind a group of marble columns, not far from the massive door and stairway that led into the main council chamber.
There they stood and there they waited.
"We don't want to be late but we don't want to be early either," Gustov reminded Anri. "Otherwise, they might perceive us as being weak or over-eager."
Anri gave the old man a fond smile. "Are we really concerned about appearances, Grandfather? Frankly, I have my doubts that anyone will even care that we're here at all."
"One never knows, Anri," Gustov reminded her. "If we've put all this effort into coming here, we should be ready to seize even the most unlikely of opportunities. Frankly, I'm not certain why you were so insistent on attending this conference at all."
Anri flushed. "Err. I… had a… premonition of sorts that we should be here, " She said lamely.
Gustov gave her a queer look and then shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a leader following her instincts, Anri. Up to a point," He added meaningfully.
Anri gave him an awkward look. I certainly can 't tell Grandfather that we're only here because the Witch's Gospel suggested it. The shock of finding out that his own granddaughter was using witchcraft to keep her foes at bay would certainly be enough to kill him.
Frankly, I 'm not even certain that we need to go to this conference. The Gospel told me to come to Priestella on these dates and I just assumed that it was because of the conclave since the timing lined up so perfectly but maybe the Gospel only wanted me here so that I could meet with Felt and Garfiel.
And possibly even that obnoxious harpy Priscilla. I almost burst out laughing when she declared her intention to marry Subaru. Still, I 'm not going to tell her the truth as long as she's intending to seek him out and help Felt and Garfiel find him in the process.
I 'll let Emilia set her straight. I just wish that I could be there to watch.
In any event, if we 've already finished everything that we needed to do here, we could depart now and avoid a boring conference.
Still, it 's better to be safe than sorry. The Gospel's instructions haven't changed since speaking to Felt and Garfiel so at least it's not a problem that we 're still here. In the worst-case scenario, we're just wasting our time at the conclave and I have plenty of that to waste.
Besides, being away from Siros for the past few days has been some of the most relaxing and restful time I 've spent in months.
Some motion on the stairway caught Anri 's eye. "Look, Grandfather," She pointed at the door. "I think that's the Vollachian representative entering. We can go in now and not be the first ones to arrive."
Gustov nodded.
That evening as the tower quieted, Julius returned to Beatrice and Mimi 's cell.
"Julius," Beatrice said immediately. "Betty and Mimi are ready and most of the guards eating dinner or retiring. We'll use the vents to reach Bubby and rescue him."
Julius nodded. "And you will attempt to break into the office to disarm his alarm as well?" Julius asked.
Beatrice nodded. "Yes. Then we will hide in the vents and make our way to the bottom levels. Then we'll try to escape in a laundry wagon."
"Those wagons are tightly locked down to prevent this. You'd need to bypass several locked doors," Julius warned her.
"Betty's Mother's Multikey will open the way. If that fails, we'll try to escape through the sewers."
Beatrice suddenly noticed Julius 's somber expression. "Julius?"
Julius took a deep breath. "Miss Beatrice, I'm afraid that… I will be unable to accompany you."
Beatrice blinked. " What ?! Why not?! "
"Miss Beatrice," Julius said. "I have just been informed that there is a VIP prisoner being held in isolation in this very tower. A VIP demi-human…"
Beatrice cocked her head, clearly not understanding.
"Wait. Julius," Mimi murmured. "Do you think that it could be Felix?"
Julius nodded. "I am certain that it is. I can't imagine that there are any other demi-human prisoners in Lagunica that require so much effort to ensure that their identity remains a secret."
"Why was Felix captured?" Mimi asked.
Julius 's face grew grim. "Montefort wished to gain leverage over the remaining royal candidates. With this goal in mind, he kidnapped Felix and arranged for you to be charged with sedition. I was not expected to survive my mission to Ganaks and as a result of this, I was assigned here as well."
Beatrice squinted at him. "Betty doesn't know about this, Julius. Keeping all the prisoners in one place seems clumsy. Especially since everyone knows that the four of us are here already. Betty feels like the evil duke wouldn't want to hide more hostages here."
Julius nodded. "You made a valid point, Miss Beatrice, but doubtless Lady Crusch will already be already hard at work, scouring the kingdom to locate Felix. This reduces Montefort's options of locations in which he can be confident that he can maintain secrecy. Torgon Tower is entirely the domain of Lord Zyst. Its guards and mages are loyal to no one else. Thus, secrecy here is assured."
"Except you," Beatrice pointed out. "If you found out that the cat knight was here, you'd alert the lady general immediately!"
Julius frowned, considering that.
"Then what do we do?" Mimi murmured. "Do we wait until Julius can find Felix and then we all try to escape together?"
"We can't," Beatrice murmured in a tone of regret. "The mages are stealing more of Betty and Bubby's magic every day. We're already dangerously low. If we wait much longer, we'll be too weak to do anything. Bubby isn't even being fed! Besides, Betty needs to find her Subaru. And Betty and Bubby's mother!"
Julius 's face grew pained. "Ah yes. Please give Subaru my… regards," He said in a voice that was not quite sarcastic.
Beatrice frowned and put her hands on her hips. Does the fancy knight have a problem with Betty 's Subaru, in fact?!
"Betty has a mother?" Mimi asked in surprise.
"Betty's mother is the most amazing person of all time!" Beatrice declared triumphantly.
"Wow!" Mimi breathed. "Can Mimi meet her?"
"Excuse me," Julius murmured. "But can we focus on the escape for now?"
Mimi frowned. "If Julius is remaining behind then maybe Mimi should stay here and-"
"No," Julius and Beatrice both said firmly.
"Miss Mimi," Julius said. "I am deeply moved by your dedication to our friendship but this is a very poor idea."
"If Mimi stays behind," Beatrice said before Mimi could respond. "She will be questioned about the disappearing spirits. Such questioning would not be enjoyable and the guards have made it clear that they do not consider Mimi valuable enough to worry about breaking her," Beatrice said matter-of-factly.
"I must reluctantly agree, Miss Mimi," Julius continued. "I feel aghast to put it this way but so long as I remain in Montefort's power to restrain Lady Anastasia, the Triumvirate will view you as surplus and acceptable casualties. They would extract any information you possess about the escape by any means necessary. Therefore, you must escape with the spirits."
Mimi hung her head. "Mimi isn't looking forward to telling Miss Anastasia that she left you behind," She murmured.
"I am certain that Lady Anastasia will understand the situation, Miss Mimi, and that she will not blame you for it," Julius replied.
Mimi shook her head. "Mimi isn't worried about getting in trouble. Mimi just doesn't want to see the heartbroken look on Miss Anastasia's face when she finds out that Mimi escaped but didn't bring Julius home too!"
Julius flushed. "Miss Mimi, regretfully we must escape separately but escape we must and escape we shall. I am certain that knowledge of my continued good health will be extremely welcome to Lady Anastasia. And perhaps even more important, Lady Crusch must be informed that we have a solid lead on Felix's location."
Julius hesitated. "Miss Beatrice… what you will do once you're out of the tower?"
"Help Betty's Bubby," Beatrice said immediately. "Bubby is very weak and needs care. Betty must nurse him back to health."
"And Mimi will help!" Mimi jumped in. "No cat left behind!" She declared.
Beatrice looked surprised but she nodded in agreement.
Mimi continued, "Mimi needs to find her way back to Anastasia. But… Mimi has no idea where she is or… even where Mimi is right now," Mimi said slowly as if comprehending the size of the task for the first time.
Julius nodded. "I understand, Miss Mimi. Torgon Tower is located in the northwestern part of the kingdom. It might behoove you to continue west across the border and make for Ivada. The kingdom of Kararagi will have no quarrel with you and you should be able to proceed in safety. But I urge you to be careful and to watch out for slave traders," Julius said darkly. "Lady Anastasia told me stories about the predators in the streets of Kararagi cities."
"Mimi knows. Mimi and her brothers were born on the Kararagi streets too," She reminded him.
Julius nodded. "Once you are in Ivada, you should have no trouble locating one of the Hoshin Trading Company's branches and they will certainly assist you in reuniting with Lady Anastasia and your brothers."
Mimi 's face brightened.
Julius turned back to Beatrice. "Unfortunately, I can be of no assistance in helping you reunite with your contractor," He apologized.
Beatrice sighed. "There have been no reports of Betty's Subaru, I suppose?"
Julius laughed without humor. "Just the opposite! I overheard the warden discussing the matter with his lieutenants during dinner. Subaru Natsuki is everywhere! Reports have poured in with sightings of him on Mount Pardochel in the north to Ginhuive in the south and everywhere in between. His witch has been reported both summoning a legion of dragons out of the Ganaks mountains, cursing the Crumbly Desert with a spell of eternal night, and even waking the dead in southern Vollachia. She is now said to be marching northward with a legion of shambling corpses in her train."
Beatrice thought for a moment. "Betty's magic will be very weak once she removes the bracelet, I suppose, but Betty will still be able to sense her Subaru from far away. She will be drawn to him like a magnet. And perhaps we'll even find Betty's mother on our journey…" She added quietly.
"What's a 'magnet?'" Julius asked in confusion.
Beatrice bowed her head with a sad look. "Something… Something that Betty's Subaru invented," Beatrice said sadly. "It's like a lodestone."
Beatrice shook off her melancholy and took a deep breath. "Betty, Bubby, and Mimi will find Betty's Subaru, Julius. Don't worry about us."
Julius nodded. "While that is certainly reassuring, I urge you both to be careful and cautious on the road. The kingdom will be searching for you and perhaps even more unsavory predators will be in the hunt as well."
Beatrice nodded sagely.
"If you are ready to attempt to make your escape, do you require anything from me?" Julius asked.
Mimi and Beatrice looked at each other for a moment.
Beatrice shrugged. "No. Betty would just recommend that Julius spend as much of the night as possible around other people to avoid any accusations."
Julius nodded. "A sensible idea, Miss Beatrice. I will retire to the cafeteria for now. Good luck to you both!"
"This stuff weighs a ton!" Garfiel complained as he dragged a handful of sacks across the desert.
Felt sighed, "I'm more worried about the very obvious trail that we've leaving, fleabag."
"Yeah. We need to go back to the city and disappear quick," Garfiel agreed.
"Garf, this is such a crazy idea!" Felt complained. "There's so much that could go wrong!"
"I know that," Garfiel admitted. "But if we don't do it then the Captain is going to get back here just in time to find Brendig waiting for him with the weapon in hand."
"We don't even know what the weapon is! Or what it does! And are we even sure that Brendig is that close to getting it?" Felt asked.
"If Koh is right then Brendig is talking about releasing the hostages and leaving in a few days!" Garfiel hissed. "Why would he do that if he didn't think he was about to get the weapon?"
"Maybe he's estimating it wrong," Felt argued. "Or… Maybe he's actually giving up!"
Garfiel gave her a steady look.
"OK, yeah, not likely," Felt admitted.
"How much time do we have shrimp," Garf grunted.
Felt glanced up at the sky. The sun hung low in a black sky. "The miners are going to start heading for the city in the next hour or two. We need to set this up in the next hour if we're going to get back in time. With any luck, we might already be back in the city by the time it goes off."
Julius hadn 't even left the area before Mimi and Beatrice were out of their cell and scrabbling into the vent.
"On our way to freedom!" Mimi chirped.
"Betty's only concern is should we remove the bracelets first or wait until Bubby is safe," Beatrice admitted.
"What do you mean?"
Beatrice sighed. "It would be difficult to remove them quickly during an emergency," Betty admitted. "So it would make more sense to remove them soon. But if Betty and Mimi do then the thunderclap will ring out and alert everyone before Bubby is safe! "
Mimi shrugged. "But they'll blame the regents that Betty will leave out."
"We hope so," Beatrice said dubiously.
"Alright, now what?" Garfiel muttered as he dropped the bags with a sigh.
The dam stood under an enormous tent. The tent appeared designed to protect the wooden supports from wind and weather.
A small stream of water emerged from both sides of the dam, allowing a tiny amount of water to flow.
"Why did we need a bomb for this?" Felt asked incredulously, inspecting the wooden supports. "This wood is all rotten! I could kick this apart myself!"
"Shrimp, do you really want to be under all that water when it breaks free?" Garfiel asked pointedly.
Felt sighed. "You make a good point," She admitted.
"Alright, shrimp, what do we do?"
Felt made a face. "Hang on," She muttered. She rummaged around in the bag and pulled out a large jug that had a small rope coming out of the bottom. "OK, according to Koh, we want to stuff all of the fertilizer into this jug."
Garfiel quickly helped her stuff jug. The fertilizer strangely didn 't really smell and it didn't precisely feel like dirt either. It was more like coarse sand.
"Now we pour the primer in it," Felt continued, opening a large canteen and pouring the foul-smelling liquid into it.
"Now we light it?" Garfiel asked.
"Now we light the candle," Felt corrected.
She pulled a large candle out of the bag and set it on a stand.
"So if Koh was right, this candle will work just like a timer. It will burn down in exactly sixty minutes."
"Well," Garfiel muttered. "He said more or less," He reminded her.
"Well, close will have to be good enough," Felt answered.
She placed the rope from the jug under the candle.
"Alright," Felt said. "Candle burns down, the fuse is lit, boom!"
"Hey, how do we use these?" Garfiel asked, holding up a piece of flint.
Felt gave him a strange look. "You've never started a fire before?" She asked incredulously.
"I grew up in a house full of mages!"
Felt sighed. "Never mind," She took the flint and struck them together until the sparks landed on the wick and the candle started to burn.
Felt took a moment to check everything.
"Alright, looks good to me!" She said. "Let's move!"
Mimi and Beatrice were in the laboratory furthest away from Puck.
Beatrice was carefully setting out vials full of brightly colored liquids and placing them in an upright rack.
Beatrice studied the vials closely. "Mimi, please hand Betty the Iron Tears."
"The what?" Mimi asked in confusion.
Beatrice pointed at a vial across the room that was filled with a bright pink liquid, "That."
"Oh!" Mimi said, grabbing the vial and bringing it over to Beatrice. "Betty, not to quibble or anything but wouldn't it be easier to just call it 'the pink one?'"
Beatrice gave Mimi a sour look as she took the vial.
Mimi shrugged. "Just a suggestion."
Beatrice carefully tilted a verdant green vial and a golden yellow vial to make it look like both of these vials were just seconds away from spilling into the pink vial.
"Is Betty almost done?" Mimi asked.
Beatrice nodded. "Betty is done! Let's get back into the vents before we remove these bracelets!"
The pair scrambled back toward the vents and sealed the passage behind them. "At least putting the grate back on is easier than taking it off from the inside was, I suppose," Beatrice muttered.
Mimi nodded. "OK. Let's take the bracelets off before we rescue Puck!"
"Alright," Beatrice agreed. She yanked at her bracelet but the stones were hanging together tenaciously.
As Beatrice tugged the stones would separate, showing nothing but inches of empty air around each stone but as soon as Beatrice relaxed her grip, the stones snapped back together as if magnetized.
"Betty, are you sure that we loosened them enough?" Mimi asked in a worried tone.
Beatrice snorted. "Betty loosened them… plenty, in fact!" She said, grunting with effort. "We just need more force, I suppose!"
Mimi thought about it and then shook her head. "We're going about this wrong," She pronounced. "We need to work together."
Beatrice continued to struggle. "What is… that supposed… to mean… in fact?" She grunted.
Mimi darted over to Beatrice, standing much too close to her for the little spirit 's comfort but Beatrice was too busy trying to remove the bracelet to object.
As Beatrice strained to pull her stones apart, Mimi yanked her own stones apart and by using all of her strength, she managed to sneak one of her stones under one of Beatrice 's stones.
Beatrice stopped pulling on her bracelet in shock. The stones snapped back together and held on tenaciously. Mimi and Beatrice 's wrists were now bound together at an awkward angle.
"Why would Mimi do this in fact?!" Beatrice squawked, fighting with all her strength not to scream in fury at this latest stupidity from the tiny cat-girl. "Now Betty and Mimi are tied together!"
"Exactly!" Mimi beamed.
Beatrice frowned at her in confusion. "And why did Mimi do that, in fact?! " Beatrice hissed.
"Mimi can see that Betty isn't used to working in groups," Mimi pronounced loftily. "Betty clearly didn't grow up with two little brothers."
Beatrice blinked. "Betty has a big brother, " She said pointedly. "So what?"
Mimi gestured at their bracelets. "Pull hard, Betty!" Mimi directed. "Help Mimi shift her arm!"
Beatrice had no idea what was going on now but she complied. Mimi struggled and squirmed until she had turned her arm around in the binding so that Beatrice and Mimi were facing each other and could grab each other 's hands.
"Now what?" Beatrice asked in frustration.
"Sit, Betty!" Mimi commanded, sitting down herself. "Sit and put Betty's feet against Mimi's feet!"
Beatrice 's eyes brightened as she finally understood the plan.
Mimi and Beatrice sat down and pressed their feet together.
The girls grunted and strained as they pushed against each other and the binding holding the stones together began to become strained.
"Mimi… is a… genius!" Beatrice gasped. "Sticking more of the stones so close is increasing the required binding energy to hold them all together! Their grip on one another is weakening!"
"Really?" Mimi grunted. "Mimi just thought that it would be better to use our legs to pull them apart," She admitted, pushing her muscles to the limit.
Before Beatrice could reply, she found herself flying away from Mimi and striking the side of the vent hard. Her ears rang and there was a noticeably sore spot on top of her head but she and Mimi were unbound.
"We're free!" Beatrice chirped. She frowned, her own voice sounding odd to her.
Beatrice 's face paled as she realized that breaking apart the two bracelets had sent a sound like the mother of all thunderclaps echoing through the prison.
Mimi crawled over. "Mimi's head is ringing!" She said in a loud voice.
Beatrice shook her head, trying to relieve the ringing in her own ears as she gathered up the scattered stones and put them in a pocket.
"Not good," Mimi muttered very loudly. "Will they think that Betty's potion made all that noise?"
"Too late to worry about it! Let's go get Bubby!"
"Princess Kairei," Montefort said with a deep bow.
The pair had met just inside the conference room. Gustov stood silently behind his granddaughter, his face impassive.
"Grand Duke Montefort," Anri said graciously, extending her hand.
Montefort brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "I am so relieved to know that you were saved from the machinations of those terrible witches. And even more pleased to see that there seem to be no… residual effects of their brainwashing…"
"I am grateful for your concern," Anri said with a warm smile.
"Can I offer you the attention of some of our finest Lagunica healers?" He asked solicitously. "Perhaps they could locate any traces of the Witch's former influence."
"That is very kind of you, Duke Montefort," Anri replied. "But I believe that I have fully recovered from my time with Subaru Natsuki and Emilia."
"It's nothing short of remarkable how quickly you recovered," Montefort complimented her. "One would think that such a powerful magical influence would leave… significant and detectable signs of its existence."
Anri gave him a winsome smile. "Alas, Duke Montefort, I'm afraid that I have no immediate plans to donate my brain for research purposes. So we may never know."
"A shame indeed," Montefort smiled. "Might I have the pleasure of escorting you to your seat, Princess?"
"How kind of you, Grand Duke," Anri said, offering him her hand. "As always, a gentleman's gentleman."
Montefort took her hand. "You are far too generous to me, Princess," He said with a laugh as he led her to the enormous circular conference table. "My concerns are far more pedestrian. I'm simply seeking out the simplest way to accomplish my goals."
Anri laughed like the tinkling of bells. "My dear Grand Duke, you do have a way of always living up to my expectations."
Montefort pulled out her chair as Anri daintily took her seat and Gustov sat down beside her.
Montefort gave Anri a formal bow which Anri answered with a gracious smile and then he turned and walked away.
Anri rubbed her hand. I very much find myself in need of a bath …
Beatrice and Mimi made their way through the vents, back to the room which held Puck 's cage.
Beatrice reached the grate and started to unscrew it using the Multikey but Mimi grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"What is it, I suppose?" Beatrice whispered.
Mimi gestured toward her ears. "Mimi hears the sound of people close by," She breathed. "Betty and Mimi should wait."
Beatrice nodded and sat in the vent, waiting patiently.
A few minutes later, Beatrice heard the sound of voices coming down the hall.
"-Never do that again, Ovyd!" One voice said in disgust. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"What kind of bonehead experiments with sonic spells and then doesn't clean up the regents!" Another agreed indignantly.
"I always clean up after myself!" Ovyd protested as Beatrice saw them pass the door. "And I wasn't even working on sonic spells today anyway!"
"Hey!" The first snapped. "The sign-in sheet says that you were the last one out!"
"So what are you saying?!" Ovyd demanded as their voices began to recede down the hall. "I need to be responsible for making sure that nobody using the lab before me left a mess behind either?!"
Mimi breathed into Beatrice 's ear. "Sounds like they were fooled, Betty."
Beatrice nodded. She gave them a few minutes to get away and then she resumed work on the grate and the pair emerged from the ventilation shaft.
Puck was sleeping in his cage.
"Bubby!" Beatrice said in a shrill whisper.
Puck jolted awake immediately. "Betty!" He whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"We're escaping tonight, Bubby!" Beatrice said with a moan, grabbing the cage and wishing that she could just smash it open with her bare hands. She could see the signs of Puck's deprivation. His fur was dirty and matted and his ribs were visible under his skin.
"Betty is rescuing her Bubby and then Betty is going to make him all better!" She promised.
Puck gave her a wry smile. "Well, I'm all packed and ready to leave whenever you are."
Beatrice nodded.
"Hi, Bubby!" Mimi said cheerfully, giving the magic cat a wave.
Puck hesitantly returned the wave, seemingly a little off-put by Mimi 's excessively cheery demeanor.
Beatrice fumed. Who told Mimi that she could call Bubby that?!
But Beatrice had bigger problems right now and she knew it. "Bubby," Beatrice whispered. "Mimi and Betty are going to go and try to find the charm that unlocks Puck's cage. What does it look like?"
"The researcher keeps it in his office," Puck said, pointing to a small room nearby. "It looks kind of like a medal."
Beatrice nodded. "Wait here. Betty will go get it!"
"Be careful!" Puck hissed. "There's something in that room!"
Beatrice stiffened. "What does Bubby mean?"
"I've heard something moving in there ever since the researcher left! It's alive and it's probably dangerous!"
Beatrice took a deep breath and nodded. "Betty will handle it," She said, rubbing her now naked wrist and wishing that she had recovered even a minuscule amount of magic.
"Betty and Mimi will handle it, you mean," Mimi said firmly.
Beatrice raised an eyebrow at Mimi and then nodded.
The pair scrambled to the closed and locked office door.
Beatrice started to use the Multikey but Mimi stopped her.
"Wait," Mimi whispered. "Let Mimi listen first!"
Beatrice blinked in surprise. "Mimi… is very good at sneaking into places," She said, sounding impressed as Mimi placed her ear against the door.
Mimi grinned at her. "Mimi, Tivey, and Hetaro grew up on the streets of Kyo. Breaking in was part of how Mimi kept the family fed until we met Miss Anastasia."
Mimi listened intently at the door.
Beatrice gave her a moment. "Does Mimi hear anything?"
Mimi pulled back and nodded. "Something moving," She admitted. "Something sliding along the ground…"
"What is it?" Beatrice whispered.
Mimi shook her head. "Mimi isn't sure."
Beatrice made a face. "Betty hates to go in there not knowing what we'll find."
Mimi nodded. "Agreed. But we need to rescue Bubby."
Beatrice nodded and started to use the Multikey to unlock the door.
The Multikey vibrated violently in Beatrice 's hands and Mimi grabbed her wrists to steady her. "Is Betty sure that she can find the charm?" Mimi asked.
Beatrice nodded as the lock finally clicked. "Betty can't cast spells yet but her senses are unfettered. She will feel the magic in the charm and be able to find it."
Mimi put her ear against the door again.
"Anything?" Beatrice asked.
Mimi shook her head, looking worried. "There's no noise now. Mimi doesn't like this," She admitted. "Mimi thinks that this feels like an ambush…"
Beatrice nodded. "Betty feels the same way. But Mimi will watch Betty's back and Betty will watch Mimi's," She promised.
Mimi nodded.
Beatrice pushed the unlocked door and it slowly swung wide open. The pair stayed outside the darkened room and waited for a moment.
The office was tiny, scarcely larger than an office cubicle and it was filled with clutter of all kinds. It looks like a refuse room as much as a researcher 's office.
"Mimi doesn't hear anything," Mimi whispered. "Can Betty sense the charm?"
Beatrice closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded. "Betty thinks so. Betty thinks that the charm is in the desk."
Mimi nodded solemnly. "Let's go then."
The pair crept silently into the darkened office, trying to look every way at once.
Mimi grabbed Beatrice 's wrist. "Let Mimi go first," She whispered. "Mimi sees well in the dark."
Beatrice nodded reluctantly.
Mimi led the way into the office. She moved slowly toward the desk while Beatrice tried to keep a sharp eye on the shadowy corners behind them.
The desk looked completely normal and there was an office chair behind it.
Mimi and Betty both climbed up on the office chair.
"Now what?" Mimi whispered.
Beatrice looked at the central desk drawer. "In here, Betty is sure of it," She whispered back.
Beatrice tried the drawer. It was locked.
"Hold on, Betty has this," Beatrice whispered, pulling out the Multikey and aiming it at the small lock.
The Multikey vibrated in Beatrice 's hands as it worked on the lock.
From behind her, Beatrice heard a faint sound. Like steam just beginning to escape from a tea kettle.
"Whoah!" Mimi shouted as the lock popped.
Beatrice felt the office chair shift underneath her and she crashed hard onto the ground.
The little spirit had a bad bump on the head but she got to her feet quickly.
Her jaw dropped. Mimi was riding a gigantic snake that was at least ten feet long.
Its scales were all glossy black and its eyes glowed red. Mimi had wrapped her body around the mabeast snake, just behind the monster 's flared hood.
"Mimi!" Beatrice cried out.
"Get the charm!" Mimi shouted back, holding on for dear life.
Beatrice froze in indecision. The only reason that Beatrice hadn 't been killed already was that the mabeast was furiously trying to get rid of the cat-girl on its back.
The beast thrashed, rolling over and dragging its neck along the walls, trying to scrape Mimi off.
"Get the charm!" Mimi yelled again as the snake bucked wildly.
Beatrice sprang back on the chair and opened the drawer. She found and grabbed the charm. It looked like a small metal disk with a small ribbon attached.
Beatrice jumped onto the floor as the snake swayed and thrashed around the desk. "Betty has it! Now Mimi must get away from the snake!" Beatrice cried out.
"Mimi is open to suggestions!" Mimi wailed as the snake shook violently.
The snake suddenly grew still. Its gaze latched onto Beatrice with dreadful intensity.
"Betty! Run!" Mimi shouted.
Beatrice bolted toward the door with the snake in hot pursuit.
Beatrice sped toward the door but some instinct warned her and she leaped aside even before she heard Mimi 's shouted warning.
The snake 's terrible fangs just barely missed her but they did cut Beatrice off from the door.
Instead, Beatrice was forced to run back around the desk, toward the enormous serpent 's tail.
The snake momentarily paused in its pursuit to try and shake Mimi off again and Beatrice feverishly searched through the bags of miscellaneous 'stuff' that dotted the office, looking for anything she could use as a weapon.
Beatrice pulled out a stick of some kind that was as tall as she was. It had once been longer but the tip had been broken off at some point, leaving a jagged, splintery edge.
If Betty can make the snake lunge at her again, maybe Betty could poke the snake with the stick! She thought desperately.
"Betty! It's coming for you again!" Mimi shouted.
Beatrice grabbed her makeshift spear with trembling hands. She knew that the snake was somewhere on the other side of the desk but she wasn 't sure which way it was coming.
"Betty! Problem!" Mimi said shrilly.
Beatrice bolted around the desk toward the door and met Mimi on the other side. The cat girl was desperately fleeing and the snake was in hot pursuit, its terrible hooded head emerging from beneath the desk.
Beatrice quickly figured it out. The snake slithered under the desk to scrape Mimi off!
The giant snake reared up behind Mimi, its fangs dripping.
"Hey!" Beatrice shouted, brandishing her makeshift spear. "Leave Betty's Mimi alone!"
The snake paused and looked at her.
Beatrice 's face paled when she realized that she had challenged the giant snake armed with nothing more than a broken stick.
Mimi bolted to Beatrice 's side and helped her to steady the stick.
"Move together!" Beatrice whispered to her. "Betty and Mimi will slowly leave the office!"
The snake watched them scurry back. The beast 's head was swaying ponderously high above them as the pair fought to keep the spear pointed at the snake's terrible head.
It 's trying to feint , Beatrice realized as the pair slowly got their backs to the outside world. It 's swaying like this to try and catch us off guard!
"Mimi will get the door," Mimi whispered. "We'll lock the snake inside."
Beatrice nodded, tightening her grip on the stick.
Mimi let go of the spear and reached for the door knob.
The snake sprang.
Mimi leaped back with a startled shriek and Beatrice desperately thrust her stick forward.
A moment later, the stick was violently ripped out of her hands.
By sheer luck, Beatrice had managed to lodge the splintery edge of the stick inside of the great snake 's mouth. The snake's mouth was now a mask of blood. The monster reared back with a hiss that somehow sounded agonized, its body convulsing.
The pair grabbed the door and desperately slammed it behind them, sealing the snake inside.
The girls set their backs to the door, panting furiously.
There came a series of thuds from inside the office as the snake tried to get out.
"Betty," Mimi gasped. "You have the charm?"
Beatrice nodded wearily and then her body went completely stiff. "Mother's Multikey!" She said in horror, reaching for the doorknob.
Mimi grabbed Beatrice 's hand and pulled it away. "We are not going to fight the snake for it, Betty! " She said firmly.
Beatrice 's face was stricken and she slumped to the ground, her expression miserable. "Betty can't believe that she lost her Mother's treasure…" She whimpered.
Mimi looked at her sympathetically. "Betty, we need to help Bubby!" She urged.
Beatrice took a deep breath to steady herself and then nodded. She darted over to Puck 's cage and pressed the medallion against the lock.
It opened instantly.
"Betty!" Puck said, joyfully leaping into her arms.
"Bubby!" Beatrice cried, holding him close.
The siblings both wept.
They heard a cough.
Mimi stood there awkwardly. "Mimi is sorry to break up the tender family moment," She apologized. "But we really do need to go! "
Beatrice wiped her eyes and nodded. "Right."
"What do we do now?" Puck asked.
"Yeah," Mimi whispered. "Do we try to find a laundry wagon or do we check the plumbing system?"
Beatrice hesitated for a long moment. "Without Mother's Multikey, there's no way to get around the locks leading to the laundry wagons. We try to find a way out through the plumbing system, I suppose," Beatrice said at last. "It's the middle of the night. They'll be no wagons leaving until tomorrow morning anyway."
"But we never got around to exploring the sewers," Mimi worried. "Betty and Mimi were focused on escaping with the laundry!"
Beatrice shook her head. "We need to do what Betty's Subaru would do."
Mimi frowned. "What's that?"
"Improvise," Beatrice and Puck said together.
Mimi squinted at them. "It sounds to Mimi more like we're making stuff up as we go."
Beatrice sighed. "Yes. That is Betty's Subaru…" She said in a yearning tone.
Mimi hesitated but then nodded and bolted to the grate, holding it open as Beatrice carried Puck inside.
"Betty," Puck whispered. "Can you take my bracelet off too? Escaping would be much easier if I could fly."
Beatrice shook her head. "No. We… used up all the Alkahest , I suppose. It was pretty small by the time that we recovered it. "
Beatrice put Puck down inside the ventilator. Ironically, it seemed that Puck had a much easier time moving around in the cramped passage than either of the girls.
Mimi nodded. "Mimi is sorry. She hadn't eaten that day. Mimi's stomach just didn't understand that the soap wasn't food," Mimi said shamefaced.
Puck squinted at them as the trio made their way through the passage. "I feel like I'm missing something here," Puck said.
Beatrice sighed. "It is not worth getting into right now, Bubby. What is important, is getting out!"
"Mimi isn't looking forward to climbing down seven whole floors," Mimi admitted.
"More than that," Beatrice replied. "Any passage out of this cursed tower will be in the basement or even deeper, I suppose."
"Mimi is going to be exhausted by the time we get down there!" She complained.
"No," Beatrice said as they reached the first shaft leading down. "Betty thinks she has enough magic for this at least."
"Magic?" Mimi asked.
Beatrice took Mimi 's hand and she took Puck's paw with her other. Beatrice concentrated and the trio all gained a pale purple aura.
"What happened?" Mimi asked in confusion.
Mimi 's eyes widened in terror as Beatrice swayed on her feet next to the open shaft. Her eyes fluttered shut and she began to pitch forward into the shaft.
"Betty!" Mimi shouted, barely grabbing her before she fell.
Mimi cradled Beatrice in her lap until the girl 's eyes slowly reopened.
Beatrice moaned. "Betty… doesn't have much magic yet," She sounded exhausted.
"Betty! You need to be careful!" Puck scolded.
Beatrice nodded. "But we needed this spell, I suppose."
Puck gently stroked Beatrice 's cheek with one tiny paw. "Let's move quickly while the spell lasts," He said.
Beatrice gave a weary nod.
Mimi was still trying to cradle Beatrice in her arms and so she didn 't immediately notice when Puck simply stepped off the edge and into the shaft.
Mimi 's head snapped up in horror but to her shock, Puck didn't fall. Or rather he did fall but he seemed to be drifting down through the shaft as if he was made of dandelion spores.
"Featherfall," Beatrice muttered, struggling to get to her feet with Mimi's help. "A very basic spell, I suppose but rather difficult for Betty right now. Bubby is right. Betty and Mimi should follow and reach the bottom level while the spell lasts."
Beatrice took a deep breath and then stepped off the ledge.
Mimi 's jaw dropped. She watched as Betty and Bubby began to slowly float down the long dark shaft.
Mimi screwed up her courage and then leaped after Beatrice, crashing into the startled spirit and wrapping her body around her.
"What are you doing, in fact?!" Beatrice shouted as Mimi buried her face in Beatrice's chest.
"Mimi isn't used to magic!" Mimi confessed, her eyes shut tight. "Just tell Mimi when we're on the ground!"
Beatrice rolled her eyes and awkwardly patted Mimi 's head.