"Well, there's that," Luis says. "And besides, when the stakes are this high, we don't have the luxury of repeating, ah, failed experiments."

No offense, Pratibha.

"I'm not sure that the bond goes so far that the house could or would 'punish' her directly to keep us in line, but, well. If we starve the house, then she will get weaker, too."

Like the first ritual, where they could hardly keep her awake.