PROBLEM - Anthony Lockwood

CHAPTER SEVENTY EIGHT

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lxxviii

this is the beginning of the end

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"WHAT'S THE TIME?" Alice asked, breaking out of their comfortable silence.

Lockwood arms were around her as her head lay on his chest. He turned to look at his watch, "Almost 3."

Alice pursed her lips. Lucy would most likely be with Kipps at this point, but George should've been back by now.

Lucy should have brought back the bone glass ages ago, though.

Unless George had it.

Alice sat up, tearing herself from him.

"What is it?" Lockwood inquired, sensing her sudden change in demeanour. Alice jumped from the bed, beginning to run downstairs. "Ally?" he called, racing after her.

"The others aren't back yet. Why aren't they back yet?" she gasped, running to the phone and began to dial a number.

"Who are you calling?" Lockwood inquired.

"Kipps," Alice replied, "He'll know where they are."

"What?" his face contorted into an expression of disgust.

But Alice had the phone at her ear, and Kipps had answered it. "Kipps, is Lucy there?"

"Yeah, she's with me... It's Alice. I'm putting you on speaker," Kipps declared.

"Okay. I'm putting you on speaker, too."

"Alice!" came Lucy's voice, sounding strangely alarmed, "We were about to call anyway. Look, Quill and I have gone through the Dulac book, and Mary Dulac killed Bickerstaff. Also, she said that the mirror is a window and not a mirror at all, and when we looked at the illustration, it was a spiral, not a glass. I think George is in serious danger."

"Listen, 'For this looking glass was not a mirror after all, it was a window'..." came Kipps' voice as he read out from the book, "'Since that glance I am damned. All I want to see is more.'"

Alice grabbed Lockwood's hand, and they raced to the kitchen, beginning to push and move crockery and dishes away from the tablecloth to reveal hundreds of spirals.

"We need to find George now," Lockwood gasped.

"I'm gonna run back to the house to grab the Skull," Lucy declared. "He might be some help."

"I'll head to the graveyard and look for him there. You all stock up on kit, and I'll call my team on the way," Kipps offered.

Alice nodded, "Okay, we'll meet you there."

When the call ended, Lockwood faced her with an annoyed expression. "So, all this time Lucy's been running off, it's to see Kipps?"

Alice grimaced, "Um... she's the best person to answer this. Basically, he's a massive prick, but he's a massive prick that's on our side now."

"I'm still better than him," Lockwood reminded.

Alice chuckled, "Yes. Yes, you are."

In the minutes that followed, Alice quickly changed into her black mini dress and black tights. With her dark red lipstick, cloak, and pointy shoes, she looked more like a witch than ever.

By the time she had gotten downstairs, Lucy had returned and was frantically going through the storage room with Lockwood.

"It's all empty," Lucy cried, "George must have forgotten to restock."

"This is all my fault," Lockwood disgareed, "I should have noticed what was happening to him."

Alice began to search the empty boxes and shelves alongside them and shook her head, "No, it all started going wrong when I joined. I screwed everything up between you."

Lucy swore loudly, "Fucking hell! One measly box of salt bombs?! This is a nightmare, we're dead."

Lockwood turned to Alice, "You don't think you have any witch things that could help us?"

Alice bit her tongue, "Okay come to my room, and bring the Skull."

They raced upstairs and Lucy grabbed the Skull from the kitchen and followed them up.

When Alice returned, Onyx was sitting on her desk, eyeing them. "Oh you're back, thank god." She raced over to the cat, scratching her behind the ears in welcome.

"Where did she go?" Lockwood asked.

"I sent her to deliver Julius Winkman's finger to a relic hunter."

"Oh."

Alice began to dig through her bags and drawers, pulling out some jars of herbs and small glass bottles.

"What are those?" Lucy inquired.

"This is a mixture of deadly nightshade, aconite, mistletoe, and hemlock - it's what I used to banish the monks back at Combe Carey," Alice explained. She grabbed her knife and pricked her finger, dripping it into the little glass bottles alongside the herbs. "Throw these like little hand grenades, but make sure not to breathe in." She made some other packets. "This is witch hazel and sage, which will protect you."

Lucy put the skull down on the desk, and Onyx hissed at it. "What do you know, what have you seen?"

"Too busy playing happy couples, weren't you?" the Skull hissed, "No wonder he found another friend."

"What's it saying now?" Lockwood inquired.

"He said that George has found another friend," Alice translated.

Lockwood furrowed his brows, "What other friend? Flo? George doesn't have any other friends apart from..."

"Joplin!" Lucy gasped.

"She... she wouldn't do anything, would she?" Lockwood stammered, eyes wide.

"Death is coming," the Skull announced. "And he's coming to meet it with her. Can you feel it, death witch?"

Alice swore under her breath.

"It's got Joplin too. Everything who goes near that thing loses their minds," Lockwood seethed.

"Tell me how to stop them!" Lucy demanded.

"I'll tell you if you take me," the Skull implored, "Take me to see my master!"

"He wants to see Bickerstaff," Lucy declared.

"He's with the dead, about to join them," the Skull mocked, "And it's all your fault."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Right, I'm going to make a voodoo of Joplin."

"Voodoo dolls are a thing?" Lockwood grimaced.

Alice nodded, turning to go to her floorboard and retreve her spellbook. "It's dark magic, though, and can go very wrong, so are we okay with Joplin dying?"

"Yes," Lucy said quickly, "Kill the bitch."

The Skull began to laugh, loudly and mockingly, causing both Alice and Lucy to turn to it and glare. "What are you laughing about?"

"You know that a voodoo is not strong enough to defeat the power of my master's bone glass," the Skull snapped, unseeing eyes fixed on Alice, "You know what you need to use, Deane. Mirror for mirror."

Alice swallowed. She shook her head.

Letting them find out she was a witch was one thing.

Letting them find out she was the daughter of the witch who caused the Problem was another.

The Skull rolled it's empty eyes, "Have fun watching your friend die then."

Alice turned to Lockwood, watching as he looked at her with wide, searching eyes. Full of care and concern.

And she decided that she would do as the Skull asked, and take out the wrapped hand mirror under her floorboad.

And tear open the Veil.