"Why are you doing that?" Vivi hissed over her shoulder. "You're not exactly subtle as a human."

"Perhaps not, but speech is an advantage at the moment and a talking dog is even less subtle." Mystery kept his hands in his pockets, his longer legs matching Vivi's furious pace with ease.

"I don't need a babysitter," she spat. "I'm not crazy right now, just angry."

"Vivi, of all people, you don't need to convince me of your sanity. I know you're perfectly sane even when you're in a swing, and I'm fully aware you're angry. I'm not here to babysit you. I'm here because you need a friend."

Vivi's steps slowed. "Well. Yeah. I do. I guess."

Mystery pulled up alongside her, slipping an arm through hers. "Then allow me to escort you to the nearest pizza shop. I believe it's been awhile since you've eaten. You can vent all you want in between slices, but I insist you have at least three."

Surprised, Vivi allowed herself to be pulled down the road to the local pizzeria. Mystery sat her down and went up to the counter, flashing the Mystery Skulls' credit card, and returning with a large meatlover's pizza.

She hadn't eaten since dinner the previous night and her mouth watered over the aroma of sausage-pepperoni-bacon-beef-meatball goodness. She winked at Mystery. "Itidakimasu!" And just like that, the smile cracked off her face. She dropped her face into her hands.

Mystery scooted his chair next to hers, squeezing her shoulder. "Chloe will be alright. She's managed this long with Duet. Whatever magical properties she has are probably focused inward on herself now that she isn't healing you or Arthur."

"She was hurting so bad, Mystery. And all I could do was babble on about the plan I had to distract Duet." She shoved her glasses up, wiping her eyes. "I couldn't even comfort her because I couldn't shut up. And I was going to make it right. I was going to find her today and get her away from Duet where she could recover and be safe. Then Lewis. Stupid Lewis!"

Mystery held up a napkin, which she took, blowing her nose.

"I'm shocked as well," he admitted. "I'd never seen this side of him. I saw flashes of something hidden in his time with you, but never like this."

Vivi grabbed a slice of pizza, shoving it in her mouth. She didn't want to cry again. Mystery's words were a sore reminder that she had invited that monster in, had let him live with her. Maybe he didn't show it so much with Mystery around, but he had to have been just as cruel then. It had to be like that, there couldn't be a switch that big. You couldn't just rewrite who you were after death. If anything, death brought out most spirits' true colors.

It took her five slices to slow down and take a few breaths. The rest of the pizza had already vanished and Mystery was wiping his mouth with another napkin. "Better?"

"A little." She sniffed.

"A walk, then?" He offered his arm again.

A lopsided smile made its way across her face as she accepted it, teasing, "I bet you like this kind of a walk better."

He rolled his eyes. "While it's not very dignified to be on a leash, I understand the necessity of making other humans comfortable in my presence." His eyes slid around to Vivi as they exited the shop and continued down the sidewalk. "So. About today."

Vivi's gait turned jerky again as she simmered.

"Any thoughts about it?"

"Plenty. None of them anything you want to hear. Suffice it to say, if I ever see that over-mixed shark muffin again, I'm landing him a one way trip to the underworld."

Mystery blinked, taking a moment to decipher her sentence. "I'm sure you don't mean that."

She jerked her arm out of his. "Of course I mean it. What, do you think I enjoy watching Squire gasp on the edge of death? Whatever he was, Lewis is the enemy now. Him, and everything about him." She jammed her hand into her purse, withdrawing the small gray box. "I'll have nothing to do with him ever again!" She hauled her arm back and let it fly. The box sailed in a lengthy arc down the street.

"Vivi!" Mystery scolded. "You don't have another talisman right now. You need every bit of protection in case the Shiker does show up!"

"I don't care. I'll find something else. Anything else." She frowned, tilting her head. "Did you hear it hit the ground?"

Mystery paused. "I wasn't listening."

"I was. It was heavy enough. It should have made a sound."

Mystery lifted his head, his nostrils flaring as he scented the air. His eyes widened.

"Let me guess." Vivi growled, her eyes little slits.

"And his scent is fading. He's leaving."

"Fantastic. And Squire's his first target. I swear when I get my hands on that skull I'm going to punt it so far he'll… never…" Vivi blinked. "His targets. Squire. Shiker. Kay."

"What?"

"I had two dreams, remember? One of them told me which Shiker we were looking for. The other one told me Squire was in trouble. In both of them there was a list of names. On one side was most of the Pepper family and me, and on the other was the Shiker, Arthur, and Kay. And that side was burning."

Mystery's jaw dropped. "Vivi, you can't be implying what I think you're implying."

"That he blames Kay as much as Arthur, so she's no protection against Lewis? Absolutely." She wheeled around, making a beeline for the hotel. Her phone began to ring and she pulled it out.

"Arthur. Frisking bagel crumpets! Squire!" she shouted into the phone. "I think Lewis was just here! Don't move, I'm on my way!"

…...

It was difficult to keep his prosthetic from clicking when the rest of his body was still a jittery mess. It wasn't as though he could tell his nerves to shut down and he wasn't completely sure they should. There had been two attempts on his life that day alone, and according to Mr. Pepper, he might well have a permanent bullseye painted on his back for Aji to home in on.

How much of it was her own rage and how much of it was a curse? Arthur knew little about curses or the laws they lived by. The Skulls had never had to deal with them. For all he knew, Aji was as driven by the curse as he'd been by the demon. Or perhaps she was more than happy to fulfill her part.

And Lewis was no longer under a curse; he'd already died. But he wanted Arthur dead for sure. Arthur's fingers slipped past the panel in his prosthetic, brushing the golden feather hidden there. He had some protection, but how much?

This wasn't right. None of it. This didn't fit the Lewis he knew. Something had to be wrong. Was Lewis under control of the Shiker? That would make sense. He had those little pink ghosts like Duet did, the ones the Shiker had drained to the edge. Any vision he'd had of Lewis as a child had been riddled with demonic encounters. He must have been prisoner of some sort to the creature. But for what purpose?

"Arthur?"

His eyes snapped over to Kay. She was hugging her arms again, watching him with that sort of unsure, cagy look she got when she was nervous about asking him something.

"Do… do you want me to tell you to talk?"

Ah, Kay. So careful.

He reached out to take her hand, shaking his head gently. He wasn't up for fighting through the residual memories today. He squeezed her hand, grateful for her thoughtfulness in asking.

She pulled closer to him, winding her fingers through his and keeping pace.

They arrived at the Dairy Queen in silence. Arthur pulled the door open, and strains of the local oldies station wafted through. He immediately shut it, glancing over at Kay. She sighed, her shoulders stooped. "It's all right. We don't have to."

Arthur frowned. He pulled her around the corner of the building, holding up his hands and mouthing Wait here. Darting around the corner, he slipped inside the building. Kay was getting a Blizzard, and so was he. They both needed something to lift their spirits.

As he stood in line, his thoughts wandered back to the issues at hand. Lewis had been under a curse, the one handed to Mrs. Pepper for some great failure. She had mentioned a curse and a god, likely a goddess. She'd made a plea to him just before the graveyard incident. If anything happened to Kay, he was to turn Mrs. Pepper over to the authorities. Now he knew what was supposed to happen to Kay, so it was his responsibility to find a way to stop it. He had to find a way. If Lewis was here, he'd break every law, natural and unnatural, to find a way.

But Lewis was here. His eyes widened. That's it. He had to get through to Lewis for his sisters' sake. He'd listen for that reason, if no other. He had to!

That meant facing Lewis again. He quailed at the thought. What if he couldn't break through? Would Lewis find a way to kill him? And if he didn't, would Aji?

He had to consider the possibility that he wouldn't survive the week. Ghosts stayed around for unfinished business. Arthur swallowed, fiddling with his sideburns. The Pepper family is my unfinished business, he vowed silently. I'm not going anywhere until they're safe, no matter what happens. He hoped it would be enough. And how did Chloe fit into all this?

"Sir? Your order?"

Arthur snapped free of his reverie, fumbling with his wallet. He pulled out his phone, typing Two #5 please. Medium.

"Coming up." The lady swiped his card and left the counter, grabbing paper cups and compiling the ingredients.

If he did get through to Lewis, he'd have to get more information about where he'd come from and why. He'd already taken those secrets to the grave, maybe he'd be more willing to spill them now. That way, if they encountered this Shiker again, they'd be prepared.

Unless, of course, Lewis really was working with the Shiker. Or under his control. He ground his teeth. Not enough information to know!

"Here you are, sir!" The lady handed over two chocolate Oreo Blizzards. "Have a great day."

He nodded, taking the cups and exiting the building. Rounding the corner, he found Kay leaning against the side of the building and handed her one.

She smiled tiredly, accepting. "Thanks, Arthur."

He leaned against the wall with her, putting a spoonful in his mouth. It was rich and chocolatey, and the Oreo bits gave a satisfying crunch. He glanced at Kay, poking at the Oreo crumbles at the top with her spoon. He reached over, tapping her forehead with the top end of his spoon.

"Hm?" She glanced at him. He tapped her forehead again. "What's on my mind?" she guessed, and he nodded. "Lewis," she admitted, dropping her eyes back to the treat.

Arthur tapped her arm to get her attention, then pointed to himself and lifted two fingers. Me too.

"Maybe I can talk to him. Make him understand what happened. It's Lewis. If he tried to hurt you, something's not right."

Didn't 'try'. Did hurt me. But he nodded in agreement with her conclusion.

"Arthur?"

Uh oh. Her voice was shaky.

"I miss him." Her head drooped, her hair falling forward to hide her face. "He always knew what to do and what to say, and I'm so confused. I don't know what to do with what Dad told us. Lewis would know." She gave a half-hearted laugh. "Do you know when he first came, I wanted him to leave? I wanted to wake up and he'd be gone like he never existed. Now he never existed to Vivi, and she hates him because she has no idea how wonderful he was, and I want him back more than anything. And he's back, but it's all wrong."

Arthur set the Blizzard down and pulled Kay into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all this. I didn't know."

Squeezing her, he smoothed her hair back, staring down at her sadly. Please stop apologizing, Kay. This was handed to you. It's not your fault. His mouth quirked. He'd consider wading through more Shiker visions if he could open his mouth and reassure her.

She touched the wall behind him, frowning. "It changed color."

He blinked. Changed color? What-oh hell.

They were no longer outside. The room around them had torn purple wallpaper and elegant wood moulding halfway up the wall. A worn pink carpet runner stretched down the hall they stood in. Suits of armor lined the hall, placed every few yards and staggered on opposing sides of it.

He reached into his pocket, yanking out his phone and jamming the emergency dial to Vivi.

"Arthur, what is this?" Kay clutched his prosthetic.

Not the alley behind Dairy Queen. He swallowed, glancing at the suits of armor. He and Kay were somewhere halfway down the hall, smack in the middle of all the suits. He had no way of knowing which would spring to life, wielding its sword, and no time to warn Kay of every trap they'd triggered this morning.

Was it just this morning?

"Do you hear that?" Kay lifted her head, peering down the hall. "It sounds like…" her breath caught. "Someone's playing music."

Arthur's stomach bottomed out. No. He wouldn't. He couldn't be that cruel. He cupped his hands over Kay's ears, frantically searching for a clue as to which direction led to the front door.

"Squire?" his phone squawked from his pocket. "I think Lewis was just here! Don't move, I'm on my way!"

Great advice, Vee. Don't move. Little late for that. Looks like he can make it appear wherever he wants. He craned his neck as the music stopped, pulling his hands away from Kay's ears. He couldn't tell which direction it had been coming from, but any direction had to be better than staying put. He tapped Kay on the shoulder and pointed to the suits of armor, drawing a pretend sword from his side and swinging it hard.

Kay stared at him. "They move? They attack you? Is this…" she turned to one of the suits. "Is this a haunted house?" Her eyes widened. "Is it his?"

Arthur nodded hard.

Kay turned, pelting down the hall. "Lewis!" she shrieked. "Lewis!"

No! Arthur dashed after her, watching every suit they passed for the telltale glowing eye. None lit, and even the portraits they passed seemed relatively lifeless, though he could swear their eyes followed him.

Up ahead, a door to the right swung open, spilling an eerie pink glow into the hall. Kay took a sharp right, diving into the room. Arthur's sprint wobbled as his knees began to shake, but he followed Kay through the door, which slammed shut behind him.

It was a grand library room, or it might have been in its peak. A vast collection of cobwebbed books filled the back wall from floor to ceiling, wrapping around to engulf most of the right and left walls as well. An array of instruments sat in the far left corner; a grand piano, a cello, a flute, and a violin.

Hovering in the center of the room, arms crossed and skull aflame, was Lewis, staring down at Kay with an icy glare.