Book Eight: Chapter 7

“Which brings me to reason number two.” Ratu tilted the completed statue up, revealing the bottom to Mike. The words for Emily were written on the bottom.

“Ah,” he said. Emily had been the Caretaker before him, a woman who fell prey to a parasitic shadow that drove her to insanity in its mad bid for power. In her final moments, she had managed to regain control of her body long enough to take her own life and halt the shadow’s plans. “Shit.”

“Vastly understated.” Ratu hefted the pieces in her hands. “So not only is there a good chance that this person is still around, but they at least knew who Emily was. Why would they bother giving her such a gift? Was it a trap? Or perhaps something more sinister?” The naga slipped the statue pieces into the sleeves of her robes, which contained interdimensional spaces capable of holding much larger items.

“I have no idea. Naia?” Mike looked at the nymph hopefully.

Naia shook her head. “I’m afraid that any knowledge