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"CHARLES! DELIA!"
There are few things louder than a demon, and nothing more impossible to ignore. Both Charles and Delia sat bolt upright as Beetlejuice appeared above their bed. He dropped down between them, landing in a crouch and already talking.
"Charles! Charles, where's the ring? I need the ring right now so I can find Lydia. I didn't mean to lose her, I swear! I put her in a circle and there's no way anything other than a Great Old One or a freaking Archangel could've gotten her out of it! Or maybe not. Fuck! I don't actually know! Because Juno was a shit mom and didn't teach me anything, so I learned all my magic from street gangs and-and-and like two weeks with a real teacher before I got cursed, but that guy knew his stuff and he never shut up about 'connections,' and he was actually right, which is why I need that ring!"
Charles's mouth was hanging open as he tried to parse through the torrent of words. The important part came through, though, and he latched onto it. "Lydia's in trouble?"
"YES!" Beetlejuice was tugging on his hair, eyes glowing so bright they actually cast a small amount of light to illuminate the scene. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! She really wanted to go see monster land. And she didn't want to wait, and she passed all the tests to make sure she could handle it without her brain exploding, and so before we left I did everything I could think of to keep her safe, I promise I did! I gave her my jacket and the wedding ring and I stayed next to her the whole time, right up until Cupcake came bursting in on the scene and I had to go help people, because that's the sort of thing I can actually do, and it's not like the assholes in the Towers were gonna help! But someone grabbed her while I was gone and I gotta go find her right now because time moves slower here so I don't have time—"
Delia leaned forward and put her hands on his cheeks, forcing the demon to look at her. "BJ" she said, her voice gentle but firm, "take a breath." He stared at her, eyes even wider than before, and opened his mouth again. "Lawrence, breathe," she ordered. He stopped at the sound of his first name, shut his mouth, then took in a shuddering breath. "Good job. Now let it out, slowly, then tell us what you need to help Lydia."
Still shaking, he said, much slower this time, "I need the wedding ring Charles always wears around his neck. Lydia's got its mate. They've got a connection, magically speaking. I was gonna use it as a safeguard on our way back to make sure we arrived here with no detours, but that same connection will give me something solid to follow."
"Where is she?" Charles demanded, even as he opened a drawer on the bedside table.
"I don't know, Charles, that's the problem!"
"Beej," Delia soothed, stroking his hair and causing a crackle of static, "he means generally. Where did you both go?"
He swallowed hard, struggling to explain calmly. "The Neitherworld. It's… It's a place where folks like me live. Lyds was bored, and technically going through a mirror means we didn't leave the house, so we wouldn't be breaking a rule." He shot Charles a nervous look that turned into one of relief at the sight of the ring dangling from Charles's hand. He snatched it, then tumbled off the bed. "Right! Okay, let's do this—" He broke off and turned back around, eyes fixing on Charles. "One more thing. I need something else from you, Chuck."
"If it will help find Lydia, then you can have whatever you need," Charles replied instantly.
"It'll help big time." Beetlejuice had started rummaging through his pockets, tossing things onto the floor and bed in his haste. "Blood calls to blood. Willing to donate for the cause?"
Charles nodded. Beetlejuice finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a wicked looking knife and a glass vial. Charles didn't even have time to look nervous before Beetlejuice had taken hold of his wrist and cut a slice into his forearm, a third hand catching the resulting trickle of blood in the vial. "Don't worry, it should get used up in the spell, and I'll destroy whatever's left."
Charles, who hadn't realized he should be worried about that until this moment, nodded. "Please be careful with that ring. It's very important to me."
"I'll bring it back safe and sound along with Lydia. Promise promise promise." Beetlejuice crossed his heart, capped the vial of blood, then vanished. There was a banging noise upstairs from Lydia's room, then silence.
They sat there for a moment, still reeling from the suddenness of it all, then Charles threw off the covers and got out of bed. "Let's go."
Delia was grabbing her robe when a knock came at the bedroom door. "Charles? Delia? Lydia is missing and so is Beetlejuice!" Adam's voice was verging on frantic. "We heard a bang and went to check on Lydia, but she's not there and something knocked her mirror over!"
Charles opened the door and joined the two worried ghosts in the hall. "We just spoke to BJ. There's been more trouble."
Barbara, noticing the blood on his arm, said quickly, "I'll go get some iodine and a band-aid."
"Meet us in Lydia's room," Charles instructed, already heading for the stairs. "We'll fill you in. Not that we know much at this point."
Delia paused on her way out the door, noticing one of the items Beetlejuice had tossed aside when searching for the knife and vial. It was Lydia's bag. After a check inside, she tossed the strap over her shoulder and hurried after her friends and fiancé. Maybe the sketchbook would provide some much needed clues. It would be something to do while they waited at least. Although, remembering Beetlejuice's expression as he'd promised to bring Lydia back, Delia suspected they wouldn't have to wait too long for answers.