Chapter 11

11

Mizuki stared around, wide-eyed. "Holy moly, when you said you were living in a cave, this isn't what I pictured."

Before I could reply, Clover emerged from the bedroom, barking. The three heads raised quite the cacophony. To forestall a possible issue, I stepped in front of Mizuki and the yipping turned to a happy whine. Clover's lopsided run led him to slam into my legs and I dropped down to hug him.

"Hey, Clover. Who's my good boy?"

"Yip. Yip. Yip." The tail thumped hard on the floor in excitement.

"Oh, he's precious!" sighed Mizuki, which led my dog to pausing in his exuberance to eye her.

I cleared my throat. "Clover, this is Mizuki, my friend. You will be nice to her, right?" I added in a stern tone.

Clover's heads tilted one way, then the other.

Mizuki knelt and held out her hand, palm up, on which rested three pieces of beef jerky. The second they were scarfed down, she got mauled with kisses. Clover knocked her over and licked her face in triplicate to her giggling pleasure.

When the slobbering was done, Clover raced around the room, making all kinds of noises and Mizuki sighed. "I can't believe Nova wanted you to get rid of him. He's a sweetie."

"Agreed. Let's get this stuff in the kitchen and then I'll give you a tour."

The coolers got tucked by the wall but didn't require a spell to keep them cold as Rani, the castle cook, had already hexed them to stay chilly. I dumped my suitcase in my bedroom and grimaced at my bed which still held the pile of garments in lieu of a mattress.

"Guess I should have mentioned we'd be roughing it for sleeping."

Mizuki pursed her lips. "You should have mentioned it. We have a few air mattresses in the storage room."

I could have slapped myself in hindsight at her suggestion. "Sorry."

"Bah, no biggie. Maybe we'll pop out later to grab one." She glanced around and whistled. "Cool space. Could use a bit of color, but decent size."

"All it's missing is a window."

"You know, we could hang a mirror on the wall and spell it to show the outside, or whatever place you like."

"Really?" The idea intrigued. "Want to see the rest of the place?"

Mizuki exclaimed over the bathroom but went silent at the sight of the library. Like, literally stared for a good minute before whispering, "Do you know what kind of treasure you have here?"

"Not really but I figured it was rare."

"It's more than rare," she exclaimed, grabbing the book I'd left on the table and leafing through it. "Our records don't go back far. The knowledge that should have been passed down by reapers and witches from centuries ago was destroyed or missing. It's why we've been so clueless when it comes to things like a messovenata and even Moloch. This, though," she jabbed her finger on the picture of the Demon Lord, "is what we've been seeking. Knowledge about demons. Weaknesses. If we can translate this, it could really be a turning point in the fight."

She left the book on demons to run her fingers over spines and pulled out a thick one that came in a matching set of three bound in the same brown leather embossed with a symbol on the cover and Roman numerals I, II, and III. "This is the sisterhood's insignia and I'll bet these contain our lost history."

"Which we can't read," I reminded her.

"Yet," Mizuki countered.

"The voice in the portal says the language they're written in died so I don't know how we're supposed to figure them out."

"That kind of thing never stopped archeologists. Think of language as a cipher to be decoded. Once you figure out a few words, then the rest will fall in place."

"You make it sound easy."

"It's not," she chirped, "But I do love a challenge. That is, if you don't mind me trying?" she asked, peering at me shyly.

"Try away. But I thought you weren't good at translating."

"I'm not, mostly because I've never bothered trying. But this…" She ran her fingers lovingly over the spines. "This is worth learning. How did you even find this place?"

"The voice in the portal. I told her I needed somewhere Clover wouldn't be murdered on sight." I then added, "This used to be her home."

Mizuki paused to stare at me. "The voice lived here? On Earth?"

"Yeah. Why do you sound so shocked?"

She sounded sheepish as she said, "Nova seemed to think the entity might be a demon trying to trick you."

I frowned. "I mean it's possible." And not something I'd thought of.

"If it was a demon, then it was evolved, because this is civilized. I mean, a kitchen and a bathroom, not to mention a library. The person who lived here wasn't a savage. Has the voice said what happened to her?"

I shook my head. "She's dropped tidbits, but nothing concrete other than she misplaced her trust and it cost her. She also said to never believe a thing a demon says."

"Obviously."

For a second, I thought of mentioning my dream. I held off mostly because I didn't want to confuse Mizuki if it turned out to just be my mind creating fiction.

We spent that day in the library, coming out only to eat and play with Clover who couldn't have been cuter if he tried, fetching the tennis balls Mizuki tossed over and over. The excited slobbering led to many balls being dropped in our laps.

It was at dinner that I noticed something strange in the kitchen. The table had been set with plates and cutlery while the pot on the hearth bubbled with stew.

I glanced at Mizuki. "I take it you didn't do this."

She shook her head. "Maybe it's a magic kitchen?"

"Bah, no magic. Just hard work." The squeaky reply made me jump and startled Clover who barked.

I glanced at the counter to see Isadora standing on it.

"Isa! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"The messovenata needed me."

"But the castle?—"

"Has others to care for them," Isadora interrupted.

"How did you get here?"

"I have my ways," was her mysterious reply. "This is a nice home. Brownie friendly." She pointed to the grooves in the wall by the counter which I'd not really noticed, but Isadora used as a ladder to climb. The moment she hit the floor, Clover was in front of her, and I feared for her in that moment.

Isadora crooned, "Nice doggie." She reached out, and to my surprise—and delight—Clover bowed his heads for some pets. "You will like my stew. Lots of meat in it."

The wagging tail implied he understood.

Isadora sauntered over to the hearth and used another set of groove marks to climb and check on her stew. The little ledge which had seemed to serve no purpose was actually positioned just right for her to drop in ingredients—herbs that she kept in her apron pockets—and stir.

"Thank you." I couldn't say it more vehemently. "This is awesome. But what of your family?"

"They are old enough they don't need their old mother anymore and my husband passed years ago. It's just me and I like the quiet of your new home. Very nice."

I smiled. "I'm glad to have you." I really was, especially once I saw what she'd done in the bedroom. I entered to see a mattress, not the kind bought at the store, though. I patted it and eyed Isadora. "How did you do this?"

"There is a storage room accessible through the kitchen."

"There is?" I blinked.

"It was spell protected and so the items within remained preserved, including the bales of hay and extra bedding to fix you up with a mattress. Although, I don't know if I'd trust the food. The wine, either. I will test them before use."

"But how did you manage to carry it by yourself?"

Again, Isadora gave me a Mona Lisa smile. "I have my ways."

"You are a marvel." Mizuki and I wouldn't be sleeping on piles of clothes tonight.

"I will return to my new quarters, which are much nicer than the ones I had in the castle. The previous owner treated her brownie quite well. My sisters will be jealous," Isadora stated with pride as she sauntered off, her hand pressing a spot on the stone wall which opened into a doorway just her size. She left and I shook my head.

"I can't believe how many hidden places this cave has."

"It's awesome," Mizuki exclaimed, flopping on the bed. "I'm kind of jealous. This pad is epic. The only thing it's missing are your honeys." She rolled over to wink at me.

I grimaced. "I don't think that's going to happen anymore. They are not happy with me."

"Give them time. They are both strong-minded and also very duty-bound. Right now, they need to decide who gets their loyalty. You or the guild."

"Why can't they do both? I mean, I'm with the guild, working towards the same goal. A demon-free earth."

"Sorry, maybe I should have stated that differently. The Regina is struggling with the fact you are stronger than her. That, technically, you should be the one leading them."

"I don't want to lead anyone!" I couldn't have sounded more horrified.

"Yet. As you continue to grow in your abilities, people will gravitate towards you. Your suggestions will be given more weight due to your power. The shift will happen, and Nova knows this. Hence why I think she tried to exert control over you."

"I thought you liked her?"

"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to what's happening."

My lips turned down. "Maybe I should tell her I don't want the job." After all, I did like Nova and the idea of taking over her job? Shudder.

"Won't matter. The sisterhood has always been governed by the strongest and that's no longer Nova."

"Fuck."

"It won't be all bad. I'll be there to help."

"I still don't want to be Regina. Not to mention, I don't want to move back into the castle," I stated as I lay down on the large bed beside Mizuki.

"Then don't. You wouldn't be the first worker to commute."

I laughed. "You make it sound so easy."

"And you overthink things to make them complicated."

Did I?

That thought followed me into sleep, a dreamless one that ended when my dog used me as a launch pad to vault off the bed because he smelled breakfast.

I couldn't blame him. My nose detected bacon.

It was the best part of that day.