Home for Horny Monsters Book TwoChapter 3 Planting the Seeds
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Kisa stood in the kitchen and scowled at the pantry door.
How many times had she wandered in here and absent-mindedly opened it? At least three times a day, and now that she was here again, she had decided to look through the whole pantry and discover just what it was that she was looking for.
Her missing memories really bothered her. She had just assumed that something would come back to her in the last few days, but all she got was static. Vivid images of the old man stirred something up in her that she couldn’t describe, but they didn’t tell her a thing about his identity or even her own.
Tink walked into the kitchen and climbed up onto the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. She looked at Kisa and yawned, revealing a frightening amount of teeth.
“Stupid cat, litter box somewhere else.” She slugged half of her coffee and winced. “Blegh. Maybe kitty pee in here, too.”
“Hey, fuck you.” Kisa put her hands on her hips. Ever since she had almost fallen off the railing the other day, she had deliberately avoided the goblin. Being alone was difficult in a house full of so many people, but at least everyone gave her some space. In a lot of ways, it was almost like they didn’t even see her. She hadn’t decided yet whether this offended her or not, but it had given her plenty of time to think things over.
However, the one person in the house who always seemed to notice her presence was Tink, and she never failed to comment on it.
“Worthless cat lay around all day. Tink too busy for fucking.” She smiled at her own joke and then drank the rest of her coffee. “Too tired, too.”
“Wow, you’re so clever,” Kisa responded while rolling her eyes.
“Tink very clever, thank you.”
“No, that’s sarcasm, you stupid goblin!” She growled and held out her hands, her claws unsheathing. “Ugh! Why do they even keep you around?”
“Husband need sexy goblin girl. Other girls fine too, but Tink extra special.” She grinned. “Nobody smart like Tink.”
“Please. You can’t even talk straight, you brain-dead—”
Tink leapt from the counter and landed in front of her, fangs bared. She grabbed a handful of fur on Kisa’s chest and shoved. Kisa stumbled back into the shelves, causing boxes and cans to spill all around both of them.
“Ow, dammit!” She tried to reach the box of oatmeal that had fallen on the floor, leaning dangerously far forward on her crutches. They wobbled beneath her until they slid away, causing her to land flat on her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as pain shot through both of her legs, and she rolled onto her back to clutch the thick, plaster cast on her left leg. Her right leg was in a brace that bent at the knee, pins holding the thing in place.
“Easy, Kisa.” He came in from the next room over. It was a different apartment this time, and when he knelt by her side, he slid one arm behind her and lifted. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I shouldn’t have to fucking call you,” she snapped. “I need to learn to do this shit on my own.”
“Language, Kisa. Just because you are hurt does not mean we have lowered our standards.”
“I’m not hurt, I’m crippled!” She picked up one of her crutches and threw it across the kitchen. “The doctors don’t even know if I’ll walk properly again, much less dance.”
“Anyone can dance, Kisa.” He picked up her crutch and set it just out of her reach. “Dancing comes from the soul, not the body.”
“Yeah, well tell that to the acceptance committee at Julliard!” She threw her other crutch now and clawed at the table in anger. “They don’t give a shit about my soul, they want to see me dance. A full ride! They offered me a full ride, and unless you know some miracle man who can fix my legs in the next year, it’s gone forever.”
He shook his head and clucked his tongue. “More to life than dance, Kisa.”
“You and I both know that’s the only way I was ever going to go to college. My whole future depended on being able to dance! I haven’t just lost my legs, I’ve lost my will to live.” She threw herself forward onto the table and bawled, slamming her fists against the wood of the table. “It’s not fair! I’ve been kicked around my whole life, and just when it was getting good, I get hit by a fucking car!”
The table beneath her hands vanished and she was back in the kitchen with Tink, her back pressed against the shelves. The goblin snarled, lines of exhaustion written across her face.
“More to smarts than big words,” she growled, then put her face in her hands and took a step back. “Ugh. No. Tink sorry, no want fight.”
Kisa stared at the goblin, her heart pounding in her chest. The flashback this time had not only been intense, but all the rage and misery she had felt back then had somehow carried itself forward in time, and all she could think about was how she had lost everything that mattered to her. Her legs had been crushed, her femur splintered in several places. So many dreams had gone out the window, just like her memories, and all the pent up anger in her body finally had a direction to go.
“Well, I do,” she growled, then threw herself at Tink.
The two of them shoved each other around the kitchen, grappling, grunting and claring. More containers fell, splitting open boxes of pasta and a giant bag of rice. The floor became slick with dried goods, so they ended up on the counter, throwing fists and claws at each other. Tink bit into Kisa’s shoulder, only to spit out a mouthful of fur. Kisa picked up a jar of spaghetti sauce and smashed it across Tink’s eyes, blinding her.
They fell off the counter and crashed onto the floor. Kisa rolled on top of Tink, her hands squeezing the goblin by the throat. There was an unlabeled rage now powering her, and she smacked the goblin’s head onto the floor repeatedly.
Tink just laughed. This made Kisa mad enough that she picked up a nearby can and smashed it into the goblin’s head.
“What the absolute fuck is going on in here?”
The temperature of the room dropped dramatically as Yuki stepped into the kitchen. She was covered in fresh paint and crystalline shards of ice spun in circles around her outstretched hands. Her eyes were wide open, and circles of frost had formed along her cheeks.
Kisa froze in place, then looked down at the goblin. She had just attacked a member of the house for no good reason. Granted, Tink had pushed her first, but she could only imagine how the others might see it. The anger from before melted out of her, and she let go of Tink’s hair.
A feeling of dread filled her chest, and she moved back from the goblin, afraid that Yuki might attack her.
“Tink helping dumb cat find snack in pantry,” the goblin declared. “We climb too high, fall off shelves, big mess.” She sat up and wiped some sauce off of Kisa’s face, then licked her thumb. “Still taste good.”
“Are you sure?” Yuki’s eyes narrowed at both of them. “I thought the house was under attack with all that noise!”
“Tink step on dumb cat tail when fall. Make big sound. Misunderstanding is all.” She stood up and looked around, a forlorn expression on her face. “Big misunderstanding.”
Yuki looked back and forth between the two of them and then sighed. “Here. Let me help you two clean up.” She walked to the nearby closet and pulled out a broom and a dustpan.
The three of them swept up the food and broken glass, and then mopped up the sauce. Kisa said nothing, but Tink grumbled the whole time. Once they were done, Yuki cast a suspicious gaze over both of them before departing.
“Why—” Kisa began, but Tink put a hand over her mouth and shook her head, then beckoned her to follow.
She led Kisa down the stairs to the basement—a place that Kisa hated. It was like a giant concrete coffin, and for some reason, the freezer filled her with a sense of dread.
“Fox have good ears,” Tink whispered. “We talk now.”
“Why did you stick up for me?” Kisa rubbed her arms with her hands, her body filled with a phantom chill. “I was going to beat your ass.”
Tink rolled her eyes. “Good joke, but no. Tink no worried, much better fighter than stupid cat. Not important, though.” She sat down on the floor and yawned again. “Tink no want cat to get in trouble and have to leave.”
“Why though? You and I don’t get along.”
“So? Tink not always get along with others. For long time, Tink get along with nobody. Learn how to fix everything, maybe everyone love Tink, maybe not, but had to try.” The goblin pulled her goggles off her head and stared at the lenses as if lost in a memory. “Tink make much trouble, get grief from everyone. So Tink be quiet, hope nobody notice, still trouble. Things work out, but Tink still lonely. Then husband come, make everything worth it.”
Kisa scrunched up her face. “That doesn’t answer my question in the slightest.”
The goblin groaned. “Dumb cat like Tink. Not know place yet, not even know self. Lonely, like Tink was.”
“I like being alone.”
“No.” She shook her head firmly. “Difference between alone and lonely. Right now, dumb cat is both. Maybe hate Tink, but that’s okay. Maybe if wait, dumb cat will make friends like Tink, find purpose. Husband say to give dumb cat a chance, so Tink keep mouth shut.”
Kisa frowned. “So, what, you’re gonna be nice to me because Mike said so?”
“Yep.” Tink slid the goggles back over her head. “Doll try to kill husband, now friends. Fox try to kill husband, also friends. Demon lady, too. Give extra chance, make best decision. Tink give extra chance, also make best decision.” She stood and stretched, her tail flicking behind her like a whip before giving Kisa a knowing look. “Especially because dumb cat broken in head. Tink know all about that.”
Dumbfounded, Kisa watched as the goblin walked up the stairs.
“But doesn’t mean Tink always nice,” she shouted down the stairs, then turned off the light with a laugh and closed the door.
Though it was dark, there was enough light coming in through the basement door that Kisa could still see plenty. She chuckled at how juvenile turning off the light was and waited a couple of minutes for the goblin to clear out.
She sat on the bottom step, her tail curling around her feet. Ever since the day she had arrived, she had felt lost. Her entire history was missing from her, but why?
What hurt more was that Tink had been right about her being lazy. The few times she had given any thought to attempting to remember anything, she had been filled with fear. It was almost like she didn’t want to remember, but why would that be? She barely spoke to the others, and they had given her plenty of space as a result.
But did she need that space? Was Tink right? Was she lonely?
“A second chance,” she said, her eyes on the opposite wall.
The freezer hummed, and the fur on her back and neck stood up, the room now closing in on her.
“A second chance,” said the old man, holding a dark collar in his hand. It was made of some type of dark fabric and had a silver bell on it. His face was twisted up as if in pain as he sat across from her in their apartment. “Something leftover from the old country. It may fix you, Kisa, but it will change you.”
She pulled her hair up and tilted her head back, revealing her throat.
“Do it,” she demanded, her leg throbbing. She had been out of pills for the pain for nearly a week now and didn’t care if some weird folk tale killed her.
With a sigh, he leaned forward and buckled the collar around her neck. She waited for something to happen, to feel different inside, but ... nothing.
“I thought this was supposed to change me?” she asked.
“Take time. Magic never an exact science, Kisa.” He coughed, his face briefly turning bright red. “We will know in a day or two.”
The apartment shattered like glass, and she was now back in the basement once more. Only now, the light was back on and she saw a blonde woman in front of her. She projected an aura of hope and radiance.
“A second chance,” said the woman, holding the same collar in her hands. “Now that it’s off, how do you feel?”
There were no words. Kisa threw herself at the woman and embraced her, her eyes full of tears.
“You saved my life, thank you!” When she stepped back, she wiped the tears from her eyes. “If I can ever do anything to repay you, just tell me and I’ll do it.”
The woman’s eyes gleamed beneath the hanging bulb of the basement. “As a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me. It won’t be easy, but you will be helping me like I helped you.”
The room swirled again and she was now in the second-floor studio room, only now it was fully furnished. The harp stood against the wall, the strings vibrating on their own as it played a song by itself.
“Please, Emily, give me a second chance, I know I can do it this time!” Kisa was on her hands and knees. “Please don’t make me wear it again.”
The blonde woman from before regarded Kisa cooly. There was a cruelty in her face that hadn’t been there before, and she crossed her arms across her chest. Dangling from one of her hands was the collar.
“It’s just for a little while,” Emily explained as she slid it around Kisa’s neck. “I just need you to be a little bit ... cattier. You owe me, remember.”
Kisa cried silently as she stared at her hands. For now, they were human. But for how much longer?
Kisa threw herself back onto the steps, her hands clutching at her throat to tear the phantom collar off. The memories were just fragments, but they had been real enough. Emily had been the previous Caretaker, and she had been partially responsible for her transformation.
Holding her head in her hands, she let out a cry that became the drawn out yowl of a cat in pain. She stumbled up the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Please, Emily, take it off!” She was pulling at the collar on her throat, but Emily was ignoring her.
“Not until you can fit through here.” Emily tapped at a cardboard cutout she had on the floor. They were in the study, away from the others. “Once you can fit through there, the collar comes off.”
Kisa growled, but crawled toward the opening. She turned her head sideways and found that it was still a tight fit. Determined to make it through, she pressed forward until the cardboard split around her shoulders.
“Damn.” Emily shook her head. “Guess we’ll try again tomorrow.”
“No, please.” Kisa grabbed for Emily’s hand. “Please, I ... I’m having trouble remembering things. I’m forgetting who I was.”
For a moment, the Caretaker’s features softened, but the moment didn’t last.
“We’ll try again tomorrow,” she declared.
In the kitchen, Kisa moved out to the dining room. Other memories were coming back, memories full of blank spots that made no sense. She could see herself sitting at a table with Emily and Tink, but the other seats were blurry. There was an argument on the stairs about being unable to go into town and shop for new clothes. Another one about helping Emily hunt down some rats.
None of it made sense! She paused as Death emerged from the office, then ducked away to avoid the specter. She peered around the corner to see Mike sitting at the desk with some books in front of him.
He looked up, his eyes immediately meeting hers.
“Oh. Hey, Kisa.”
“Hey, Kisa.” The old man was lying on the floor of the kitchen, his hand pressed to his chest. His breath was coming in gasps, and he reached up to touch her face. “You ... I...”
“Shh. The ambulance is on its way.” She cradled his hand against her face.
“Death ... answers before ... asked...” His eyes slid down her face and onto the collar around her neck. It had only been a few days, but her leg was already out of the cast, the transformation of her body already begun. “I need ... to take ... that off...”
“No.” She put her hand to her throat. “You can take it off later. It’s helping, I barely have a limp now.”
“No, Kisa, you don’t...” He looked past her shoulder at someone she couldn’t see. “Oh. Okay then.” A sigh escaped his lips and then he was gone.
“No! Please, you can’t leave me!” She held his head tightly against her chest and screamed.
Kisa bolted past the study and headed straight for the backdoor, anxious to get outside of the house. Random memories bounced around in her head in no particular order, memories of the house. There was no longer enough air for her to breathe, and it wasn’t until she shoved her way into the garden and stood beneath the open sky that she felt like she could finally inhale fully.
The nymph was out there, floating on her back beneath a small swarm of birds. She reminded Kisa of a Disney princess and wondered if Naia ever burst into song.
Naia.
Kisa stormed up to the edge of the fountain and slammed her paws on the rim.
“How come you don’t know me?” she demanded. “I have memories of this place. Memories of Emily. Yet none of you seem to know who I am, and that doesn’t make sense!”
Naia lifted her head, water running in streams down her hair. “That’s a very good question,” she admitted, then sat up. The birds above her flew away and vanished in the bushes of the garden. “I’ve asked myself that same thing more than once.”
“You’re all in on it, aren’t you?” Kisa hopped into the fountain and scowled. The water was freezing. “It’s some kind of sick joke between you guys, isn’t it?”
The nymph shook her head. “No, it really isn’t.”
“Well I think you’re lying, and that’s good enough for—” she grabbed for Naia and her hands moved through the nymph, her body now made of water.
“Stop,” Naia said calmly, placing her hands on Kisa’s wrists. “Your anger is misplaced.”
Kisa pulled away and swung, but Naia let the hit connect, spraying water everywhere. She swung again and again, her rage and frustration building as she shrieked at the nymph.
“Why doesn’t anybody know who I am?” she yelled, then fell to her knees. The water parted beneath her, and she dug her nails into the cool stone of the fountain, hoping the marble would crack beneath her fingers.
Naia slid her arms around Kisa and held her tight, stroking her hair. While she did this, the back door opened and Yuki came out, covered in fresh paint.
“I saw what happened,” she explained, then pointed at one of the windows up above. “From my room. And I heard what you said.”
Kisa sighed in exasperation as the kitsune sat on the edge of the fountain. “Okay, fine, you busted me. I tried to start a fight, but clearly everyone here can kick my ass, so—”
“How old are you?” Yuki asked, then brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “‘Cause you’re acting like a toddler.”
Kisa drew back and hissed.
“The same thing happened to me,” Yuki told her. “While your memories are gone, mine aren’t. I spent years with everybody here, and I have so many memories with all of them, but theirs were taken away. I know what you’re going through—for the most part, anyway. It sucks. But it wasn’t their fault, or mine for that matter. I almost made a terrible decision because I didn’t know who to blame for it.”
Kisa thought back to what Tink had said. “Did you actually try to kill Mike?”
“Yep. Within a few seconds of meeting him, actually.” Yuki waved her hands over the water and a figurine made of ice appeared, which she picked up. It looked similar to Yuki, but this one had an eyepatch on and her face was a mask of rage. “I failed, obviously. I even trapped the guy in another dimension and turned everyone here to stone.”
“Wait, what? Stone?”
“It’s true,” Naia added. “Even me.”
She thought again of her fight with Tink, then looked at Naia and Yuki. She had spoken more with them just now than she had since she arrived. Why was that? Was she naturally aloof, or was there more to it?
“I turned everyone to stone and then got into a huge fight with a bunch of nasty witches on the front lawn. Almost died, actually. These were all things I did because I was broken and angry.”
“So, what, is there a moral to the story? Stop being such a bitch?” She couldn’t help it, the words just slid out of her mouth.
Yuki dropped her figurine in the water and summoned another. This time, it was Kisa, her hackles raised and her face frozen mid-scream. “Nobody is asking that. I mean, yeah, would be nice if you’d calm down a bit. The point I’m trying to make is that the choices we make, no matter what our mood, can permanently affect our lives. And right now, being angry with everyone won’t help you find the answers you seek. This isn’t just a safe place to stay. It’s a home, and the people here are family. We may not be best friends, but we sincerely want to help each other.”
This time, Kisa managed to hold her thoughts in. The kitsune was right. Being mad at everyone wasn’t going to help her. Still, the idea that her memories had been messed with was sorely upsetting. “So how am I supposed to act? I don’t remember anything about myself, other than I used to dance.”
“I can see why knowing who you were is a foundation for who you are today.” Yuki waved her hand over the figurine in her hand. It was still Kisa, but now she was curled up in the window of the house, a smile on her face. She held it out. “However, we often forget that today’s choices don’t have to be about yesterday. We can move forward as the person we are, the person who makes us happy.”
Kisa regarded the figurine, then took it. Obviously the kitsune had spotted her sleeping in the window. “I’m not even sure this is who I really am.”
“Then maybe it’s something we can all figure out together.” Yuki passed her hand over the surface of the water, and ice sculptures of everybody appeared, one at a time. “It doesn’t have to start with everybody, not all at once. But I think you should at least try.”
Kisa wiped her eyes, then set her figurine down and watched it bob in the water along with the rest. She spotted one in particular and picked it up. It was Tink, holding a hammer.
“Second chances...” she muttered, then dropped it into the fountain to watch it melt.
The back door slammed open and Mike came running out, his face lit up in excitement. Death followed close behind, one hand held protectively over his tea to keep it from spilling.
“Hey,” he said to everyone with a wave as he shot past, then ran down into the backyard. Yuki pulled herself out of the fountain and made her way down into the garden.
Kisa got out of the fountain and shook herself off before following.
Mike, Death and Yuki now stood by the back gate, the Caretaker holding the padlock in one hand.
“This is it,” he told Yuki, “the gate we need to the Underworld!”
“I’m not so sure,” she told him, eying the gate with suspicion.
Death put a hand on the gate and leaned against it casually. “I am no fabricator of untruths, Lady Yuki. On the other side of this gate lies the spirit realm.”
“So then all we have to do is get this open, right?” Mike shook the padlock, but Kisa was no longer paying attention. Her eyes slid up the length of the gate to the top where there was a small gap between the bars and the archway was. The world went silent, and now she was standing before the gate, Emily at her side.
“Get back in there,” Emily commanded, pointing up at the gap. One of her eyes had gone black, and an eerie mist surrounded her body. The last couple of days had been like this, and the others were unable to see it. “I won’t tell you again.”
“I was attacked,” Kisa explained. “Not by the shadows, but something else. You said that they wouldn’t notice me!”
“Nobody is supposed to notice you. That’s the whole point of using the collar to turn you. If I wasn’t paying so much attention, even I would barely notice you.” Emily took Kisa by the chin and examined her face. “Hmm. You aren’t lying. Tell me, what was it? What attacked you?”
“I never saw it,” she replied, then yanked her face away. “I heard it growling and then it chased me. I never found his castle, and I was lucky to make it back here alive.”
“Fuck!” Emily put her face in her hand and the mist coalesced around her like a cloak. “I’m running out of time, Kisa, and I need you to get it back!”
“I can’t do it, Emily! I was lucky to get away! That thing was huge!” The moment the words left her mouth, the collar had appeared in Emily’s hand once more. “No, I’m not letting you put that back on me. I can barely remember my own name anymore. I feel like there’s an actual cat growing inside of me, and she’s taking over. I thought I owed you for getting the collar off of me in the first place, but now I see that I’m just a tool for you and your weird games. I’ve heard the rumors from the others, and I would rather leave and take my chances with the rest of the world than stay here and have you turn me any farther!”
Emily tilted her head, appraising Kisa. It was impossible to tell if she was angry or not, but the blonde turned her attention back to the gate and crossed her arms.
“Go to your room and pack,” she said, the collar dangling from her hands. “Have Tink help you. I’ll come to see you off.”
Kisa said nothing, her eyes filling with tears as she turned away.
She was back in the present, viewing the gate through tear-laden eyes.
Yuki was now inspecting the lock and Death was sitting on a nearby rock, enjoying his tea in silence.
“I’ll see if we can use a hacksaw on it,” Mike announced.
“It won’t work.” When Kisa spoke, they all turned to look at her as if noticing her for the first time. “A hacksaw on the padlock. Nor will acid, an axe, whatever you have.”
“Kisa.” Mike crossed his arms and tilted his head in the exact same spot Emily had stood those many years before. “How do you know?”
“The gate, it goes somewhere. It’s something I remembered, just now while standing here. You can’t break the lock, nothing will. Emily couldn’t get it to break, either.”
“Did she have a key?”
Kisa took a deep breath and shook her head. “She used to. I never got the full story about it, but I vaguely remember something about getting tricked and the key getting busted.”
“Well, damn.” He looked at the gate and then back to Kisa. “You seem to know a lot about the gate.”
“She wanted me to go through it. I can fit through the gap at the top.” She swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat. “Why do you want to go in there?”
“Death told me it’s a gate to the Underworld. I can use it to return to the faerie realm to rescue Cecilia. Why did Emily want you to go in there?”
Her heart was pounding now. “She wanted me to steal something from someone on the other side. Something she gave away and desperately wanted back.”
Yuki knelt next to Kisa so that they were eye level. “What did she want?”
“I ... don’t remember that part yet, it was something ... small. In a container.” Kisa pressed her hands against the bars and felt a cold rush of air blast her from the other side of the gate. “There’s a guy who lives on the other side, a shadow man. I’ve seen him before, but don’t remember where. She wanted me to get something back from him, but she couldn’t go herself because of the gate.” Hot tears ran down her face and she brushed them away. “She kept making me wear the collar. Every day I wore it, I became more cat and less human, but I also became smaller, harder to notice. She used to have me go out into the neighborhood and practice stealing, because we discovered that people don’t notice me, not even if I’m right in front of them. I would sometimes walk into people’s homes while they were eating dinner, and rummage through their cabinets. It’s part of the magic that changed me.”
Yuki put a hand on Kisa’s shoulder and squeezed.
“You’re ... not going to make me go through there, are you?” It was a question she was afraid to ask, but it needed to be said out loud. She needed to know what the answer was, because her future depended on it.
“Hmm?” Mike looked at the gap above the gate and then back at Kisa. “You fit through there? Seriously?”
Kisa nodded. “Barely, but I can.”
“Huh.” He turned to look at the gate, and then back at her. He thought for a good minute before shrugging. “Unless there’s a way for you to open it from the other side or something, I don’t see why I would. I’m the one who has to go after Cecilia after all, so sending you in doesn’t help me. But,” he knelt next to her as well. “Can you tell me what you saw in there?”
She shook her head. “I never saw it, but there’s something in there, something big. It wasn’t supposed to be able to see me, but it can, and I barely got out in time.”
“Okay, then. Death, any clues?”
“Mike Radley, I’m afraid my knowledge of the afterlife stops at a gate much like this one. I am blissfully unaware of what lies beyond the veil.” He sipped his tea. “However, I know that a gateway such as this will allow your body to cross over with you. Such a thing is extremely rare, and I haven’t decided if I am surprised that you have access to such a thing.”
“Kisa.” Mike was looking at her now, and there was nothing but kindness in his eyes. “If you remember anything else, please let me know. Thank you for telling me about the gate. Even knowing something is waiting on the other side is very helpful, even if it’s unsettling.”
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Mike opened his eyes. He was lying in his bed with Tink wrapped around his feet. The ceiling up above had somehow become a dome-shaped skylight, allowing him a perfect view of the stars as they swirled about in the night sky of the Dreamscape. Sleep in the Dreamscape was an enigma for him. Despite knowing that he was asleep, he still became tired after a while and allowed himself to crash on his bed. He didn’t actually have dreams while he was here, but instead entered a meditative state...
Daryl stood outside the garage apartment, staring up at the windows above the garage door. It had been no easy matter tracking down the delivery girl. Luckily, she worked several jobs around town, and was well known by name at more than a few establishments. Those who knew her also knew her story. Apparently the love of her life had died in a terrible motorcycle accident. They had scraped what was left of Alex Winters off of the highway, leaving behind grieving parents and a closed casket...
“Did you have a good nap?” The voice was cold, snapping Mike out of his slumber. Tink’s arms clutched him tightly, and he pushed the blankets off of his head, staring at the dark figure in his room. He reached out to touch the lamp, warm light bathing the angry figure in the doorway. She stood with her arms crossed and a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. “Uh ... hi Beth.” Mike slid sideways out of the blankets. “So, uh, I’m sure you have some questions.” Sitting up, Mike tried to keep...
Mike wasn’t sure what he expected to see once inside the tower, but it certainly wasn’t this. What he had thought was the entrance to the tower was in fact an outer wall. A large courtyard full of flowers and creeper vines would have been impressive enough, but the sheer number of butterflies, bees, and even birds had him staring in awe. An entire ecosystem had been formed inside these walls, complete with a small waterfall that flowed out of the cliff itself and fed into an irrigation...
Mike stared at the piece of paper in front of him, then looked up. Jenny stood on the other side of the paper, holding a large pencil in both hands. She was tapping her foot impatiently. He sighed. “How about W?” Jenny drew the last leg on the hanging stick figure, then drew an X over each of his eyes. He heard a distant cackle come from all around the room, and she dropped her pencil. He scrutinized the puzzle before him and then looked at her. Somehow, despite guessing all the vowels,...
The gray skies of the Underworld did little to improve Mike’s mood, and the occasional wail from the house made his stomach sour. Yet he sat quietly as Yuki told Amymone about how she had escaped from her tower. “ ... and after we sent the Society packing, Mike forgave me for trying to kill him.” Her tale done, Yuki put her hands in her lap. “And so I live in the house again. It’s really weird that nobody remembers me, but I’m hoping to try and rebuild those relationships. It’s frustrating,...
Mike held the small sledgehammer in both hands, dubious that he would be able to strike another living being with it, much less a minotaur. Still, it was better than nothing, which made him feel a little bit better. Mike had debated purchasing a gun, but he knew next to nothing about them other than to point the long, skinny end at stuff you wanted to kill. His lack of education aside, Naia had warned him against such a purchase for the sole reason that she had no idea what other creatures...
Mike yawned, covering his mouth, then set his book down on the cart. It was dangerously full, and he knew that Sofia would ream him out if he just kept cramming books onto it. “Can you take this to the platform?” he asked Death. “Yes I can, Mike Radley.” The grim reaper grabbed the cart with bony hands and pushed it down the corridor, the wheels squeaking softly. Mike rubbed his eyes and yawned again, then checked his phone. He had no signal in the Library, but all he wanted was to see the...
Dana was upstairs when she heard the front door explode. Quetzalli emerged from her bedroom with a concerned look on her face, and the two of them rushed to the top of the stairs to look below. There was a flash of light, followed by a scream from Beth. Quetzalli was already heading for the stairs when a man in a hoodie pointed his wand up at her and hissed something under his breath. Dana shoved Quetzalli out of the way in time to catch the brunt of the magic, and the shockwave carried both...
Kali’s fists clenched and unclenched in the back of the town car. Daryl was kneeling on the floor in front of her, contemplating the large patch of skin that had been blasted off the side of her ribs. He gave it a gentle tug, making Kali wince. “You always impress me,” Daryl said, pulling a scalpel from the small kit on the floor. “Anyone else would have passed out from the pain.” “I don’t feel pain.” Her eyes bulged from her head, many of the veins burst from the lightning blast. Daryl...
“Ow, fuck!” Mike winced as Naia inspected the large bruise forming above his hip bone where Abella had squeezed him with her stony thighs. The Mandragora plant had actually injured him less than the gargoyle had, surprisingly enough. Save for some scrapes on his hands (well, and not being eaten), he was fine. “Yeah, that will sting for a while.” Naia placed a kiss on it. “You had me so worried! I’ve never seen the Mandragora do that before. You’re going to need to feed it pretty...
Mike sat with Naia on the edge of the fountain, their arms wrapped around each other. He took in her scent, which was reminiscent of rain and the forest floor. When she finally released him, she had a scowl fixed on her face. “You had better come back alive,” she told him. “Or I will be very cross with you.” “Don’t worry. I’m going to be very careful. If things start to go south before I get there, I’ll come back and try again next year.” Truthfully, he hoped that wasn’t the case. How many...
Beth stepped out of the secret tunnel into the center of the Labyrinth, her shoe catching a rock and sending it skittering across the cold stone. Up above, a large gemstone shone like a tiny star, warming the entire room to a comfortable temperature. Large tables were covered in different magical items in various states of disrepair, and rats moved around in the shadows, carrying what looked like rocks of different sizes. Ratu was leaning over a stack of books, her kimono hanging open and...
The technicolor clouds of the Dreamscape parted as Mike fell through them, and he flipped himself over in an attempt to finally stick the landing on the beach. For a moment, he thought he had it, but at the last second his feet swung out from under him and he slammed into the ground hard enough that the beach crumbled beneath him. He fought to stay above the flowing sand that rushed in to fill the gap, and was busy pinwheeling his arms when a golden ray of light broke through the sky above to...
Beth scowled at the water. She was sitting on the shore of the Labyrinth’s circular river, watching it rush past. Her knees were pulled against her chest beneath a powder blue skirt, and she tossed another rock into the cold water. It disappeared with a small splash, and Asterion lifted his head from his position next to her to see what had happened. “Is everything okay?” he asked. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t look at the minotaur. “Yeah, it’s fine.” In truth, it wasn’t. Ever since her...
“ ... and that brings me to here.” Dana sat on the edge of the fountain, her chin in her hands. She wondered if she should feel more upset, regaling the others with her tale. Tears were beyond her ability. The strange numbness of her body applied even more so to her eyes. She could no longer feel them, and it was taking effort to remember to blink. “So if I don’t deliver Mike or whatever special treasure the house hides, he will leave me like this.” Naia, Cecilia, and Zel looked at each...
His soul floated, hiding just beneath his skin, dreading the moment that his eyes would open, streaming reality in High Definition through his very being. It wasn’t that he was afraid to face the morning, but rather that he was afraid of how much pain he would be in upon awakening. The morning before, his whole being had been in agony. Between fucking Jenny out of Beth and then carrying Beth home, he wondered if his body would decide to be tired or sore instead. How does a body decide how...
Stirring Memories The group was huddled on the floor, staring at the mock map Mike had made of the hallway. He had used his knife to carve wooden blocks from the still flopping dresser, lying the pieces end to end. The smaller ones had already stopped shaking, and the larger ones were weakening. Cecilia hovered overhead, and Carmina stood amongst the blocks. Carmina had gone first, flying along the ceiling and then back again. Cecilia had become invisible, traversing the same distance. The...
Kali stood in the front yard, her dark eyes focused on the Radley house. She could see tell-tale signs of the Geas all around her like a giant, magical bubble that shifted away from her when she tried to pop it. She had been fascinated by the spell ever since she had heard about it, but had been warned away from trying to mess with it. While Emily was alive, any attempt to come near the house had ended in death for Society members after the fiasco with Garrett. After Emily had died, she and...
Yuki sat on the porch swing, staring out at the front yard with a cup of tea in her hands. The debris from the magic storm was strewn across the grounds, making the land look like a small junkyard. Somehow, it served as a perfect metaphor for her life right now, a giant mess with nobody to help clean it up. She took a sip of tea, letting out a sigh as the hot liquid streamed down her throat. The front door opened behind her and Mike walked out, then sat down next to her on the swing. She...
“Actually, there is something.” Mike carefully walked around the furniture in the room, pulling the doll from the mantle of the fireplace. He came back, handing it to her. The docile porcelain features of the doll gazed imploringly into Beth’s eyes, as if it was sad to be leaving. “I don’t care how, just get rid of it.” Beth realized that even she thought the doll was spooky. Staring into its painted eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m on it. Have a good night, Mike.” She left him, a...
Big Hands, Big Feet The walk back through the tunnels was uneventful. Back in the throne room, Mike had Beth broker a new agreement with the rats. If they wanted to stay, they could, but they needed to close off any tunnels to the outside world that could be used to get in. The rats were hesitant to deny their request, particularly because Tink kept throwing everyone stink eye while holding her club and Mike held Jenny in his arms like a pet. The doll didn’t reanimate on the way back, but...
She sat in the black sedan, watching the old, victorian era home across the street. Through the gate and the hedges, she could only make out the upper levels, replete with turrets and large, ornate windows. Inside that home, she knew would find her prey, but one problem remained. Of the many magical enchantments the house had, the most annoying of them all was that you had to be invited. They had bypassed this little detail with the succubus —using Mike’s blood had let them bypass the...
Kisa sat on the roof of the house, her eyes locked on the wrought iron gate at the back of the property line. It had been over a week since Mike had gone through it and returned with the devil dog in tow. Despite his reassurance that Cerberus was no longer a danger to them, all she could picture in her mind was being chased through the misty woods by a fire breathing beast. Memories of her trip into the Underworld from so long ago had rushed in on her like ice water. She had fled from the...
The drive to the storage unit took over an hour. Staring at the fields on the edge of town, Beth couldn’t fathom why Emily would insist on a storage unit so far away from civilization, especially when there were several good ones within fifteen minutes of her home. “Fries,” she said, and Lily, acting as her copilot, held up the small red fry cup like an offering to the gods. Beth grabbed a few, stuffing them in her mouth carefully to avoid smudging her lipstick. They had grabbed a bite to...
Water flowed through a crack in the wall. On the other side, Mike could hear the river. Placing his hands against the hard stone, he could feel the vibrations through it. Cupping his hands, he collected a mouthful of water and drank it. It was cold with a slight metallic taste, but Blue had informed him that it was safe enough to drink. “Is it good?” Blue asked from her perch on his shoulder. “It tastes like water,” Mike responded, sucking down huge mouthfuls. Wiping his mouth, he turned...
Mike yawned, the morning light through the white curtains casting a blissful glow on the room. He scratched the back of his neck, his foot kicking the lump near the bottom of his bed. He sat up, leaning forward to give the lump a playful pat. “It’s time to get up, Tink.” Mike watched the lump slide to the edge of the bed, disappearing over the edge with a thud. “Owie,” Tink muttered, standing up holding her bottom. She was wearing a tank top night shirt, one of the things Mike had ordered...
Mike realized his mistake as soon as it happened. Upon walking out the main entrance, they had stopped long enough for Beth to bid farewell to Asterion. The group all stood at the edge of the reflecting pool, their shortcut back to the house. When Beth rejoined them, Tink counted down from three and they all jumped in at the same time. That’s when Mike remembered that the magical shortcut would take them all to the downstairs closet. Not until the water soaked through his shoes did it occur...
They came again in the early hours of the morning, moving silently behind the outer wall. They triggered the wards Yuki had set, causing the kitsune to watch their approach through the window with bated breath. She could see them now, ominous shadows that peered over the wall and then vanished, gathering near the entrance for their next attack. Yuki had spent hours building her defenses back up, her mind and body tired from the effort, hoping to catch some sleep. Now, she watched with eager...
Mike’s heart pounded in his chest at the sight of the thing. The Jabberwock regarded the small group of people in its master’s home, then opened its mouth to let out a cry that made him think of a pterodactyl on steroids. Jabberwock saliva misted the entire room, and everyone covered their ears to shut out the cry. Daisy bolted, vanishing down the stairs and leaving a glittering trail behind her. Zel made a break for it, and the Jabberwock lunged for her, leaving a bloody gash in her...
“Are we ready?” Mike asked. The others nodded, each one at their stations. Tink had tied Beth to a chair which had been placed in the fountain, standing behind her with a knife at the ready. Abella was out of sight, watching from up above in case everything went wrong. She had explicit instructions to do whatever it took to protect the members of the house. Naia stood behind Beth, her lips a crooked smirk. “We are ready.” Cecilia said, standing next to him. Mike took a deep breath, taking...
Breakdown in Negotiations Mike pulled his shirt on in front of the bathroom mirror, Naia watching him from the tub. He could see the look of concern on her face, knew that the question was coming, and he had no idea how to dodge it. “Are you okay?” He let out a sigh. “No.” “Tell me.” He didn’t want to. He never wanted to talk about it with anybody. Yet, when he turned to face her directly, he remembered that she was the other part of his soul. She completed him in a way he couldn’t quite...
The Fool The railing was smooth to the touch, as if it had been recently polished. She touched a knot in the wood, her fingers caressing the fractured ridges. Closing her eyes, she took in the smell of the place. The rich scent of oil, sawdust, and water from the fountain out back filled her with a swirl of nostalgia, causing her to inhale again, only deeper this time. So many old scents and a few that were new. Behind them all was the faint, faded scent of sunflowers and...
Sleep came for Mike, but it was far from restful. Unable to properly enter the Dreamscape again, he tossed and turned in his bed, his brain unwilling to let things rest. His first thoughts were on Cecilia. He could see her now, trapped inside a silver cage in the middle of a glen surrounded by waterfalls. Breaking the lock on the cage, he stepped inside—only to have her melt like wax in his arms and slide through holes in the floor. “Cecilia,” he cried out, her name slurring as if spoken in...
Five Minutes Ago “You take me to the nicest places,” Beth said, stepping over a small, mossy rock. The world around them was dark, and the light from their cellphones poorly illuminated the forest floor. A breeze had formed as the cool, night air of Ireland blew through the portal into Mike’s front yard. The portal had been chewed into the inner wall of a crumbling home out in the woods, obviously long forgotten. “I do my best.” He stepped over a large rock and offered his hand when she...
Roommate Trouble Beth sat at the large dining room table with a small plate of bacon, some coffee and a large plate with the remnants of a strawberry crepe. She scribbled a few more words on a notepad by her laptop, frowning at the list. “Any luck?” Sofia asked, walking in with her own breakfast. The cyclops took the seat across from Beth. A few of the seats in the formal dining room had been designed for larger people, allowing the cyclops to sit comfortably at the table. As far as Beth...
Seven of Swords Beth said very little to the minotaur as they climbed the trail to the top of the cliffs. She could tell he wanted to comfort her, but there weren’t words or deeds to make the situation right. Her plan was to speak with Naia and Sofia right away, to see if either of them could offer her any help. There were only a few days to make her decision, and she wouldn’t be able to live with any of her options. She remembered when she was little, her parents started arguing...
Beth tumbled gently to the floor beneath, flipping her body at the last second to land on her feet. Staring up, all she could see were the clouds she had passed through on the way down. She had several red marks on her left arm, each one from a nasty pinch that she gave herself to try and wake up from this strangest of dreams. Now that she was on the ground, she saw that she stood in a beautiful garden with a large marble gazebo in the middle. “How peculiar,” she said, expecting her voice to...
Mike opened his eyes, staring at the waning sunlight through the canopy overhead. Scattered rays were dying, a sign that the sun was sinking toward the skyline, ready to slumber until the break of dawn. The forest was quiet – a complete lack of animals meant that the only sound Mike could hear was the occasional rippling of the leaves as the wind brushed them against one another. Lifting his head, he knew that he needed to get back. Though his slumber had been restless, he had clearly slept...
“Whoa!” Mike splashed water everywhere in his haste to get out of the tub. This time, Naia didn’t fight him as he scrambled out into the bathroom, covering up with a towel. She pouted as he slid across the floor, looking for his pants. Seeing that she hadn’t moved from her spot in the tub, Mike felt his heart rate level out, the burst of adrenaline gone. “Who ... what are you?” He asked, trying to keep his eyes off of her breasts. Other than the strange markings on her ribs, her skin was...
“Easy, kisa.” The familiar voice was thick with a Russian accent and elicited both feelings of warmth and sadness. It spoke to her from the void, guiding her back to the world of the living. The darkness peeled away to reveal a small dance studio with wooden floors and large windows overlooking a city. One of the interior walls was a mirror, and in the reflection was a young, black teen who sat on the floor, her face wracked with pain as an older man held her left leg in place while...
The Naga, the Fox and the Wardrobe The door of the wardrobe didn’t move. Puzzled, Mike grabbed the handle even tighter and pulled again, but it still wouldn’t budge. The wardrobe felt like it had been anchored into the wall, the door completely immobile. Frustrated, he tried rattling the door when he realized that he had missed one very important detail. Right below the handle was a small keyhole. “Ugh.” He got ready to kick the wardrobe out of frustration when he remembered that he had a...
The Hanged Man His chest was on fire and he couldn’t move. His limbs were super heavy and he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. Am I dying? Loud thuds like distant thunder beat in his chest and he thought he heard someone saying his name. His head cleared, and it occurred to him that he had looked onto the shores of the afterlife and they had looked nothing like this. A loud scraping sound filled his senses and he was suddenly blinded by a bright light and someone called his name. Oh shit....
The sudden shift in time and position was immediately disorienting. One second, she was on the first floor of the Radley house, the world spinning around her. The next, she was running along a busted bridge, her legs not quite right beneath her. She tripped, colliding with someone else on the bridge, and they tumbled off together. Once she hit the cold water, her synapses fired all at once, restarting her brain and giving her full control. “Beth!” A hand swung out, grabbing her wrist, but...
Up on the third floor, Mike contemplated the large set of double doors in front of him. The wall where the wardrobe used to be had been replaced with a slightly wider hallway that terminated after a few yards at a large pair of metal doors with a series of gears built into them. He tested the handle, but the door didn’t budge. Symbols were emblazoned across both doors with shapes that seemed astronomical in nature—he recognized the symbol for the moon and the sun, and the planet Mars, but...
“Ugh.” Mike held up a hand to shut out the sun’s light. It had been a late night trying to lay down all the new sod in the front yard. The lightning blasts and storm had killed off most of it, and only a few of the shrubs had survived. The delivery had showed up six hours late, and Mike and the others had to hastily unroll the sod beneath a scorching afternoon sun. Tink had crawled into bed with dirt on her hands and feet, her goggles pulled down over her neck. Mike had fallen asleep in his...
"Quick," he said, "grab the forty miles per hour sign." She bent down and felt around under her seat for the A3-sized placards that he had made up. She pulled them out and flipped through them, looking for the one he wanted. "Good grief, would you look at this idiot?" growled Michael. "Doesn't he know what a de-restricted sign means, for heaven's sake?" He changed down into third gear and cruised up to a few yards behind the bumper of the car in front, edging out towards the...
Four figures were seen with each other, locked together by their hips and holding each other's thighs. They were clearly very voluptuous women with extra body parts below. In front was an orange haired werewolf getting anally reamed and jerked off by a vampire behind her while the vampire was being pounded by a dark skinned mummy. And said mummy was being pounded by a green skinned zombie woman of some sort. To the side of the orgy lied a human woman oozing and caked in cum. The monster women...
FantasyThat evening, Sarah stopped by and asked if we wouldn't mind coming over to meet her parents. Mom and I followed her across the way to her house. Her mom greeted us at the door and welcomed us inside. The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the house, and I spotted a plate of them on the coffee table in the living room. Her dad sat in one of the chairs. Mom and I sat down on the couch, and Mrs. Laurent took one of the other empty seats. Sarah passed around the cookies, then disappeared...
This story introduces two characters to the readers. I will bring them back every once in a while but this was the first time I used them they came to me as a result of a story written called Yukon by – well it does not matter. It is a continuation to a story "Yukon." A couple go to Yukon, wife is fucked silly by a scum bag monster of a man who has done it before to others; husband is forced to put up with it until he finally figures out a way to kill the monster. Wife tells him monster is...
Book One: Naughty Fantasies Created Chapter Eight: Reliving Changed Memories By mypenname3000 Copyright 2019 Note: Thanks to WRC 264 for beta reading this. Linda Davies “What are you reading?” Marissa asked, hugging me from behind. My lover's round breasts pressed into my back, her nipples hard, making me shiver. We'd been making love with Evaline almost non-stop since I'd arrived in Vegas to see her. I almost said the truth of it as I turned off my phone. It would be bad to blurt...
My name is Dr. Reginald Alexander Ghurtholtz. I am a monsterologist, teaching monsterology at the world-famous Graveyard University. For those of you who don't know, monsterology is the study of monsters. Yes, they do exist. Of course, my so-called scientific colleagues disagree with me, but what do they know? They're just a bunch of chemists, biologists, zoologists and so forth. You know... voodoo scientists. They actually had the nerve to tell me that monsterology wasn't even a real word and...
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Premium Interracial Porn SitesTHE MONSTER Hello I'm Lisa and I'm going to tell you an story that is horrible that happened for 4 years ago when i was 24. in a little town i cant say name of but at that place something happened. All started when i was outside walking whit my friend kyle that is 2´7 years old one day. We were going to the shop in our little town it toke 5 minutes to walk. We were walking to the shop to meet Casandra She is 21 youngest of us 3.She were waiting there on...