The light took us back to the rear of the mansion, where there were men and women dancing in a circle. Dressed in green leotards with pointy ears, they looked vaguely comical, but when they saw us, they stopped suddenly.
"Mortals, you have seen sights unfit for human eyes," one of the men said. "You must pay. Come with us."
They frog-marched us down a set of steps, pushing us into a cellar. I slipped on the wet floor, landing in an inch of slime, and Victor and Emma did similarly. The door locked behind us, and a faint green illumination grew brighter.
A ball of light appeared in the air, then a woman's face shone across onto the wall. She also had pointy ears, fine features and bare shoulders.
"You must atone," she said. "None are permitted to see the faerie folk. You must please me by showing how little you care for the vestments of the outerworld."
"I think she wants us to strip," Victor said.
"Mortal, you are correct," the woman said. "But not you, and not the girl. Her form pleases me and you are already rightly attired."
I pulled off my damp shirt and jeans, standing there in my speedos and a door swung open on the other side of the room. We gingerly waded through the gunk into the next room.
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