Elizabeth, dressed in a white sleeveless dress, plus Micky and Mike, slowly shimmered into view and they found themselves inside a large foyer. It had black marble floors and a wooden staircase going up to the second floor. The two Monkees immediately looked uncomfortable.
"Is this Synthea's house, Elizabeth?" Micky asked quietly. "And is she gone?"
"Yes and yes." The angel replied, "The house is empty right now, so we must search for that spell book while we have the chance. I've nullified the evil charms around the house, so you won't have to worry about touching anything."
Normally, Elizabeth would never enter a private home without permission, nor take anybody along with her. However, finding that spell book was very important. The angel also knew that Mike was somehow central to whatever Synthea was planning and so Elizabeth wanted him close by.
"Where do we start?" Mike asked.
"Should we split up?" Micky asked as well. "Cover more area that way."
"No, we stay together." Elizabeth replied. "We'll start in the basement."
The angel led the two Monkees across the foyer and behind the staircase to a door which led to a short hallway. This hallway led to a small black marble chamber. There was an altar against the wall with a candelabra of black unlit candles sitting on its top. There was a pentacle carved into the wall behind the altar and there was a ram's head in the middle. Micky and Mike took a step back in fear. Elizabeth glared at the satanic altar and the candles on the altar flared up suddenly then died out. She then touched the altar for an instant and then pulled her hand away.
"What did you do, honey?" Micky asked.
"Those candles will never work no matter how hard Synthea tries to light them," The angel replied, "And if she tries to use that altar again...well, she's in for a big surprise."
Micky and Mike smiled as they followed Elizabeth out the far door.
Just outside the altar room, they came to an open door with a set of stone stairs leading down to the basement.
"Here it is, Elizabeth," Mike said, "But it's sure dark down there."
The angel cupped her hand and a small ball of white light appeared. She looked at her friends and the white lights appeared in their hands too.
"Groovy." Micky smiled and gently tossed the ball up and down in his hand.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth led them down into the basement. It was totally made of stone and lit up with torches. On one side was an empty bier.
"Looks like something was lying on here." Mike remarked.
"Yes, but what?" The angel wondered.
They looked around some more, but could not find anything useful. So, they slowly went back upstairs and Elizabeth extinguished their lights.
"Let's go a different way." Micky said, "I don't want to go through that altar room again."
So the three went in a different direction from where they had come.
They soon came to another room. This room looked more like a pantry, the shelves on the walls filled with food. Mike noticed something moving around the bottom shelf.
"There's something moving over there." Mike said, walking over to the shelf.
"Be careful, Mike." Micky warned.
Moving a box of crackers, a small black kitten tumbled out to the floor. The kitten was wearing a leather collar with a pentacle charm around its neck. It immediately got to its feet and hissed at Mike.
"Hey, easy." Mike said, "I won't hurt you."
Elizabeth gazed at the kitten for a few seconds, then got down on one knee and held her hands out.
"Come here, I won't hurt you." Elizabeth soothed.
The kitten stared back at Elizabeth for a few seconds, then slowly walked over to her. The angel picked up the kitten and began to gently stroke its fur. The kitten rubbed its face against her chest. After a few seconds, Elizabeth looked at Micky and Mike, a disturbed expression on her face.
"Let's go back to the pad. This kitten is..."
Suddenly, footsteps were heard coming toward them. The kitten jumped out of Elizabeth's arms and raced over to the door. The angel made herself and her friends invisible.
Keith walked into the pantry and the kitten began to hiss at him. He chuckled at the sight.
"Easy, little miss." He said, pushing the kitten to one side with his foot. "Even wizards have to eat you know." He continued over to the shelves and suddenly stopped, sensing something was wrong. He put his fingers to his temples and looked around. He was about to look at the place where Elizabeth, Micky and Mike were standing, when the kitten started to tug at his shoelaces. Keith looked down at the kitten in annoyance. He roughly shook the kitten away.
"Get away from me before I feed you to one of the demons." He growled.
The wizard picked up a box of cereal from a shelf and left the room, the kitten still glaring at him. After several seconds, Elizabeth, Micky and Mike became visible once again.
"Thanks, sweetie, you really helped us out there." Mike said, picking up the kitten and petting it.
"Let's go, we can't do anymore here." Elizabeth said.
The kitten meowed and gave the angel a pleading look.
"Yes, my dear, you are coming with us." The angel smiled. She put her hands on Micky and Mike's shoulders and they all disappeared.
Elizabeth, Micky, Mike and the kitten appeared once again in the living room of the pad. The angel quickly took the kitten from Mike and placed it down on the floor.
"Step back, please." She told the two Monkees.
Micky and Mike were puzzled, but did what Elizabeth asked.
Elizabeth bent down and laid her hands on the kitten for several seconds. There was a puff of white smoke and the kitten changed back into Miss Vaughn, the lady that had argued with Synthea. She was sitting on the floor, her hair and clothes disheveled. Micky and Mike jaws dropped.
"Oh my my..." Micky breathed.
Elizabeth knelt down beside the frightened girl.
"Don't be afraid, you're among friends." She said, taking the other woman's hand. "What's your name?"
"Margaret Vaughn, oh thank you, thank you for saving me." She whimpered, then broke down in tears.
Elizabeth embraced the other woman in a hug while Micky and Mike could only stand there in shock. After several minutes, Margaret let Micky and Mike help her to her feet and lead her over to the couch. Mike ran over to the kitchen and brought her back a glass of water. Elizabeth put her hand on Margaret's head and Margaret's hair became clean and combed and her dress was pressed again.
"Take your time and relax." Elizabeth said to the other woman. "I'm sure you have quite a story to tell."
Chapter 12
Chapter 14
More stories by Lisa
Home