I thought it over. "We go our separate ways."

"What about him?" She pointed at Gordy with her thumb.

"What about him?"

"Well, what happens to you when you go to the Land of the Dead?"

"Don't know exactly. I blackout, and I'm just there."

"You're there, but not your body?"

"Near as I can figure."

She folded her arms over her chest. "So, without Kimball, you aren't going to have anybody to watch over the part of you that remains here."

She was right. There would be nothing to stop Gordy from turning me into a meal. "I'll deal with it," I said with no clue as to how I was going to deal with it.

"There you go again," she said shaking her head. "You can't do this alone."

"We don't have a choice. I'll talk to him."

"You two talking about me?" Gordy yelled.

We ignored him.

"Take Ajax," she said.

"No," I responded. I had put Ajax in charge of watching over her. There was no way I was going to leave her alone with a bunch of cannibals running around the mansion.

"Then take you," she said.

"Me?" It took a second or two to figure out she meant the Throwaway version of me. "Not a chance."

She groaned in frustration. "You have to take one."

"I don't..."

"You're taking Ajax."

"No..."

"Look, I know you told him to protect me, but it's not necessary."

I was embarrassed that she knew I had assigned Ajax as her protector. I gave the big ape a dirty look for selling me out. He refused to look at me.

"In case you forgot, I took care of myself and the others while you were gone. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"It's out of the question..."

She cut me off. "Save it." Turning to Ajax she signed something to him and then directed Throwaway me to follow her.

"What did you tell Ajax?" I asked.

She smiled. "I told him not to let anything happen to you. He's your protector now."

"Lou," I protested.

She held up her hand to shut me up as she back-peddled toward the Halloween room. "It's time for you to be a warrior, not a hero."

I stepped into a dressing room with Throwaway Stevie while Ajax stood guard outside. I kwew Gordy couldn't make his way past the big ape, but I was still a little concerned about the Flish. As far as I knew, he could walk through walls and go anywhere he pleased, but it was a chance I was going to have to take.

Stevie sat on a chair in the corner of the small room. I plopped down on the floor.

"Are we going home?" Stevie asked.

"Someday," I said.

"What are we doing?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

I sighed. "Something." Truth was I had no control over my trips to The Land of the Dead. They just snuck up on me. I wasn't even sure how I was going to get Stevie there with me. I was trying to figure out a way to explain this to him when I felt the floor shake beneath me. It was a gentle rocking at first, but it quickly grew more and more violent.

"What's wrong?" Stevie said grabbing onto my forearm.

"Nothing to worry about," I said. "We're just taking a little..." The shaking suddenly stopped. "... trip."

Throwaway Stevie looked awestruck by the experience. His chest was expanding and contracting from his labored breathing.

"Calm down," I said.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Confused I said, "We're here... nowhere... we didn't go anywhere." And we hadn't. We were in the small dressing compartment. Nothing had changed. Or had it? It did seem a little brighter. I stood up and pushed the door to the small room open. Light poured in.

"This isn't here," Stevie said.

I shielded my eyes from the almost searing light. "No... it's definitely not here." My eyes adjusted and I could see that we were now standing on a busy sidewalk. We were no longer in the same place or the same time. We were in the Land of the Dead. The way the people dressed, along with the appearance of the dead boy, told me that.

"What are we doing here?" Stevie asked.

"I wish I knew."

The dead boy started to walk away. I instinctively started to follow him, but Throwaway Stevie didn't move. I motioned for him to come along, but he didn't budge.

"We've got to go with him," I said.

Stevie slowly shook his head.

"He has something to show us."

"I don't want to see it," he said looking as scared as I had ever seen anyone look.

I smiled. "I know how you feel, but it's important." I stuck my hand out for him to grab onto. He examined it and then took hold of it. I pulled him to his feet and we followed the boy.

Stevie flinched every time someone passed us on the street. "They don't feel right."

"Try to ignore them," I said. "They can't see you."

He fixed on a spot ahead of us and pointed. "He can."

He was pointing to the gray man. It was a younger version of him, but it was definitely him. He grimaced when he saw us approach, but he was clearly agitated before he even saw us. He was pacing in a small circle and gnawing on his fingernails.

"It wasn't hers to sell," he mumbled. "I have to get it back."

The sign above the shop where he was standing read, "Patterson Pawn."

"It's mine. It's mine. It's mine."

There was a note on the door of the pawn shop that said the owner was shutting down for a few days due to a family wedding.

"Have to get it back. It's mine." Even though the old man was younger on this visit to the Land of the Dead, he looked weaker, more unsure of himself, than he had on previous trips. One thing was certain, he really wanted something that was in that pawn shop.

"Problem?" I asked.

He jumped at the sound of my voice, and it made me feel really good. He was scared of me.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't talk to me," he begged. "Please."

I giggled. "Oh, this is fun. The big bad boogeyman is afraid of little old me."

He cowered as I moved in closer. "Yes, I'm afraid. I'm afraid. I'm afraid."

I looked at the dead boy. "You finally made this worth my while."

The dead boy motioned for me to look inside the pawnshop, but I was enjoying myself too much.

"Listen to me, old man, you go anywhere near any kids, I will haunt the crap out of you."

"They need me. I do them good. I save the kids, but I can't anymore. She gave it away. She sold it. It wasn't hers, but she sold it."

"Who sold what?"

"She sold it. My fat ugly wife. She sold what's mine and left with that man."

I couldn't believe my ears. "You had a wife? You mean someone actually married you?"

The dead boy grabbed my hand and tugged.

"What?" I asked, irritated that he would interrupt my fun.

Again he motioned for me to look inside the shop.

I groaned and did as he asked, but not before I raised my fist and pretended I was going to throw a punch the old man's way. He had the reaction I had hoped. He whimpered and covered his head with his arms.

I looked inside the pawnshop window through cupped hands It took me awhile to spot what the dead boy wanted me to see, but when I did, it made sense to me. On the back shelf behind the counter was the old man's canvas-wrapped package.

I turned to the old man. "She sold your package. She knows what you are."

"She had no right. I have to save the children. I need my package to save the children."

"Save the children? You call what you do saving the children?"

"It's mine. It's mine. It's mine," he repeated over and over again.

I stepped toward him, but stopped when I noticed Throwaway Stevie staring a hole in me. "What's with you?"

"I'm just trying to see it."

I raised an eyebrow. "See what?"

"It. The magic."

I raised both eyebrows. "What?"

"She said there was magic in you."

"Who said?"

"Lou. In the basement."

"What?"

"She whispered in my ear about your magic."

"She whispered in your ear..."

"Yeah," he said excitedly. "She said *You were right to choose Oz. There really is magic in him.'" He hesitated and said, "What did I choose you for?"

"I'm not sure," I said.

The old man growled. "She had no right!"