Cats and spiders spilled out of its mouth. The cats spread over the floor and the spiders covered the walls and ceiling, turning the entire room black. Dinah thrust her head in, bellowing. The spiders skittered, the cats backed away, but the snake paid no attention. Willa dashed to the back door, nearly tripping over the two-headed lizard fleeing the house to disappear in the long grass. Inside she found the old folks staring at the office door as Dinah’s roaring sounded from within. “Get back!” hollered Willa, running up. “Get away from the door!” They were just beginning to move when the office door exploded into pieces around them. Tengu and Baz fell toward the front door, Belle and Horace to the stairs. The dark shape flowed through them into the parlour, a rippling blackness six feet high blocking the hallway. Tengu and Baz disappeared outside. Horace stood halfway up the stairs in total shock. Belle’s wheelchair had tipped over at the foot of the stairs, where she lay, her face agape in horror.
