Vivi faded back as Lewis rested their hands on Dulcie's shoulders. "Dulcie, who on earth told you… why would you think that? You weren't even there."

Dulcie's lip quivered. "Mom always said… don't sing without her. Wait for the change. But it's not fair. I wanted to sing. I found a real quiet place and sang a little song." Her shoulders shook. "And then I came back and they said you were dead. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"She doesn't talk. I don't know why, but she hasn't talked since you died. She was dressing in your clothes for weeks afterward."

Lewis pulled her close, drawing Dulcie's head to their shoulder. "Dulcie, no. It was never you. You had nothing to do with it. I've had a monster chasing me for a very long time, Dulcie. Since before you were born. And that's what killed me. A big, scary, nasty demon. It was never you. I promise."

Dulcie's fingers knotted in the folds of Vivi's now-sleeveless sweater as she clung to the last vestiges of her brother. "Are you gonna stay? Please stay, Lewis. I need you. I'm scared, and you made it all safer."

Vivi's supported Lewis' buckling spirit, calming the tremble in his voice to the mildest tremor. "I hope I can, Dulcie. I'm trying."

"Are you gonna come home and help Mom? Dad says she's sick."

"Her Pa wrote a letter sayin' he caught her Ma tryin' to poison her," Lance butted in bluntly. "Sent her to me, beggin' me to keep her safe. An' I don't mean to be rude, but either we are finding Arthur or someone is doin' a crapton'a explainin' to me, 'cause I can't take much more waiting on either. You wanna start, Mystery?"

Mystery stiffened. "Wait…"

"Don't bother. Yer daft if ye think I dunno what goes on in my own shop," Lance growled, setting his hands on his hips. "And yer awfully loud for somethin' tryin' not ta get caught. 'Specially when you're in a room where it's just you an' Artie, and I can't get him t'say more'n two words these days if I'm lucky. Artie isn't the type ta go on long-winded rants 'bout how dumb he is. Dead giveaway, dog."

"What do you mean poison?" Lewis demanded. "Vivi, did you know-no, you didn't. Dulcie, what's wrong with Mom?"

"I don't know." Dulcie's voice muffled through the bunched-up fabric at Vivi's shoulder. "Stopped going to work. Stopped eating. Cries a lot, talks about flowers we can't see. She won't let Dad leave."

Vivi's body tensed. Mrs. Pepper hadn't commanded Lewis often, but it he'd hated it, sometimes ducking around corners or into the nearest restroom to gather himself. The loss of control his mother's voice inflicted unnerved him for reasons he'd only begun to understand after recalling the Shiker.

"Lewis!" Lance snapped. "Either get us to Artie or drop me there, I don't care, but I need ta get to my nephew!"

Vivi's phone chirped from her purse. It lay near the staircase. Mystery probably gathered her things the first day he found her again. She fished for her phone as Mystery sighed.

"Mr. Kingsmen, it's more complicated than you're allowing for."

"No, really? And here I thought this was all a candyland dream. Follow gumdrop road an' all that molassass."

"Your sarcasm is unhelpful."

"And yer face is unhelpful. Take me to Artie."

"Your nephew is possessed, Lancelot, and if you would just calm-"

"Don't you call me that you son of a-"

"Guys, cool it!" Vivi snapped. "Arthur texted." She bit her lip. "What do you think, Lew?"

"I think it's a trap," Lewis responded. "The last call you got was a trap too."

"But look at the style, Lew. If the Shiker was trying to snag us, wouldn't he copy Squire's texting style?" She scrolled back through previous texts. "Partial sentences, but all capitalized, properly spelled, and punctuated. This last one is a panic text."

"The Shiker can fake panic! He'll do whatever he has to to get what he wants!" Vivi's arms wrapped around her torso. "He will kill you slowly to break me, Vee. He will."

"Gimme that." Lance swiped it from her hands, inspecting the text. "Confirmed. Artie won't text like that 'less it's bad. Last time I saw texts like that he was jammed in an alley hidin' from some thug kids. If someone's tryin' to scam you, they've done a damn good job. I'd try to be calmer tellin' you to come back. 'It's all over, I'm fine,' not…" he glanced down at Dulcie, swallowing his words. "Mm. Not this."

"This is madness!" Mystery spat. "You ran into one trap so you could escape and run right back into another one? Because of text patterns?"

Vivi's teeth sank into her lip. She took a deep breath in through her nose. "Lew. Touch down for a few seconds in the cave. Let's see what we're dealing with. If he sneezes wrong, we scram."

Mystery grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her to face him. "I've had it up to here, Vivi! You are deliberately bringing yourself, Lewis, Dulcie, Lance, and me into danger on next to no proof! How many times do you expect me to find you? How powerful do you think I am?" He shook her, shouting, "Not powerful enough is the answer! It would take my whole pack at least to come at The Shiker properly, and we still don't know what we're dealing with. Do you want me to just belly up and open my mouth to him? Is that what you want, Vivi? Watch him slit you neck to navel just because he can? Is it? Is that why you pulled me out of the gutter, to let me get attached to you so you could get yourself killed? I won't have it! You're all the pack I have anymore!"

Vivi's eyes filled. She was having difficulty pulling words past the shame in her throat. Lifting her hands to his wrists, she squeezed them gently. "Mystery. I'm sorry. I never should have done that. But Squire… he's pack, too."

Mystery pulled his hands out of her grip, turning away. "Do what you will. I don't give a damn. If we survive this, Vivi, that's it. You're on your own. I'm finished with you."

Vivi pulled back. She wouldn't cry in front of Mystery now. Lewis assumed control, stretching out his hands to conduct the mansion. "Dulcie. Listen to me. I'm going to send a friendly little ghost to take you to a room where you'll be safe. We'll be fine, but I want you further away. Okay? Don't be scared. It won't hurt you."

A Deadbeat nuzzled Dulcie's arm and chirped up at her, blinking round yellow eyes. Dulcie stepped back, startled, but the corner of her mouth lifted. She patted its head, hesitant, but with more of a smile as it cooed. It tugged on her arm and she followed reluctantly, keeping her eyes fixed on Vivi until the Deadbeat pulled her upstairs and out of sight.

Vivi was beginning to understand how the mansion moved. She watched his thoughts as he pictured the cave, imagining the mansion materializing at the opening to the lower level as their hands swept through the motions of a conductor. She made a mental note to ask him how he made the mansion itself.

"Some other time," he grunted, dropping their arms.

A howl blasted through the front windows, shattering glass all over the front room. The aged front door jolted against its hinges, the frame twisting from a blow.

Vivi's hands lifted immediately to whisk them away, but to her shock, Mystery shouted, "Wait! Something… I smell something!"

Rushing to the window, he poked his head out. "Gods… Arthur?"

"Come out!" The door splintered further. The tip of a large, black nose poked through with rather large fangs hanging out from under them. "I know you're in there! If I can't catch her, I'll take you!"

"We're leaving!" Lewis raised his hands again.

"Lower your hands!" Mystery barked. "We're not going anywhere!"

"He's still possessed!" Vivi shouted.

"No he's not! This is something else." Mystery swung his leg out over the windowsill and slipped out. A startled yelp sounded, and Vivi and Lance rushed to the window.

Two animals the size of the mansion wrestled in the dark, leveling thinner spires across the floor as one drove the other back.

"More light, Lew!" Vivi lifted her hands, and Lewis lent a brighter glow to the mansion, filling the cavern with warm, rosy light.

A second kitsune faced off against Mystery, lips drawn back from its teeth, its eyes burning green. Its yellow-and-brown mottled coat spiked out, fluffed with fury. It crouched on three legs, a tiny glint of metal hanging at the stump where its fourth leg would be, sweeping seven tails back and forth threateningly.

"Arthur, I'm not your enemy." Mystery maintained a crouch as well, but waved his tails in a friendly manner, his ears perked upright.

"You're in my way!" The kitsune snarled. "Move!"

"Why? What are you planning?" Mystery edged ever so slightly closer.

"I'll see how he likes it!" the kitsune bolted forward, but Mystery lunged forward, snapping jaws shut on the spiky scruff and whipping him across the cave.

Vivi couldn't move. What had happened to Arthur?

Arthur was staggering to his paws, shaking rubble from his coat. "I see how it is. Lewis gets everything. He gets to be loved, and I don't. His love gets to survive beyond the grave, and mine doesn't. He gets saved, and I get left behind! I have lost everything, and I will take it back from him!"

He crouched to spring, but Mystery slammed his shoulder into Arthur, pinning him against the wall. Arthur snapped his jaws at Mystery, but he couldn't turn his head enough to catch anything.

"He… wants to kill me?" Lewis whispered in disbelief.

Vivi didn't bother repressing the full recognition of this irony, and Lewis ducked his head.

"Wait. 'His love gets to survive beyond the grave, and mine doesn't.' " Vivi's head snapped up as Lewis scanned the cave, frantic. "Vivi, I don't see Kay. Where is Kay?"

"Don't you say her name!" Arthur railed. "You don't have the right! You lost it! It's your fault, it's all your fault!"

Horror crawled up Vivi's spine. "Arthur, what happened to Kay?"

"I will kill you!" Arthur roared.

"By the smell of it, she's dead," Mystery grunted, struggling to keep Arthur in place.

Lewis stared out across the cavern.

"I smell freshly spilled blood and ocean spray. Add Arthur's behavior, and it is obvious."

For a moment, Arthur stopped struggling, lifting his snout to sniff the air. "She's getting away!" He lunged forward. Mystery barely had time to catch him by the scruff of his neck again. "Let go of me! She's getting away! Come back here! I know what you did!" Arthur screamed to the darkness. "I know what you did! Murderer! Murderer!"

A little pink ghost soared out over the cavern, coming to a stop, trembling, in front of Arthur's snout. Gingerly, it bopped him on the nose with a tiny something. As Arthur's eyes landed on it, all fight seemed to go out of him. He slumped against the wall, opening his jaws in a long, low keening.

"I can't take it, I can't take it anymore, oh gods. Mystery. Mystery, help me. Everything hurts."

"I would imagine." Mystery finally released him, and Arthur collapsed in a heap of fur. "Your body was never meant for this. Do change back so we can get you to a bed, you've wrecked yourself spending more energy than you have."

"Don't… know how…" Arthur panted.

The little ghost tried to scoot off, but Vivi snapped her fingers. It responded to Lewis' unspoken call, whizzing up to display its prize; a bright, sparkly rainbow hairclip.

"Absolutely not," Lewis responded to the thought already forming in Vivi's mind. "If you think I'm letting her near him after I've already lost one sister, possibly to him, you've got another think coming."

"Dulcie sent this over to him, and he responded to her, Lew. We have to know what happened. We'll stay nearby, just in case. But we need answers." She glanced at Lance out of the corner of her eye. The man was frozen at the window on the opposite side of the door, his expression walled off as he studied Arthur. "All of us need answers."