Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 019

Hey all! I'm back again with Chapter 19!

I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that was kind enough to leave comments or send me letters. My internet has been down for several days, so it was a nice surprise to finally log back in and see so many kind and wonderful notes from the Lit community!

If you are new to Home for Horny Monsters, I would strongly recommend starting at either Ch. 01 or Ch. 13. This story is written like a novel, which means there is a cohesive storyline that is followed (and eventually ends). If you aren't new, welcome back! You're about to meet a new kind of monster today!

Where last we left off, Beth and Lily had arrived at the house (by crashing a car) and the witch Kali began cracking open the magical Geas that protects the inhabitants. Mike is getting ready to brave the Labyrinth in the hopes of finding the monsters who went missing.

Don't forget to rate, comment, or send me a note if you enjoy this chapter! I may not respond (I have a ton of emails right now), but I do read them all for motivation!

The Labyrinth

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. Apparentl,y 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 funeral. It had been easy enough to delve into Alex's records, and Daryl now found himself outside of Dana's house.

He wasn't a hundred percent certain that Dana had even been inside the house, but he did know that he had to try. Kali was determined to dismantle the Geas herself, and Sebastien had already gone rogue. Neither of them had been willing to accept help, so he was here on a hunch, hoping that Mike had been naïve enough to allow her in during those first couple of days in his new home.

He didn't bother knocking - a quick flick of the wrist and the locked door allowed him entry. His movements were quiet, his soft footfalls barely registering on the concrete floor. Early light leaking through the windows provided the only light to see by.

For him, it was enough. Many years back, he had taken the eyes of a powerful magician, making them his own. He could see everything clearly in shades of gray, even in the darkest shadows of the garage.

Daryl pondered the mostly finished motorcycle in the middle of the bay. It was nearing completion as far as he could tell, and he allowed his fingers to gently touch the exposed chrome.

The sudden chill through his fingertips caused him to yank his hand away. Crouching, he examined the bike. The bike had been meticulously restored, but he could see the areas where the metal had been pounded out, paint reapplied, and new parts installed. He let his hand hover over the bike, feeling the shift in temperature once more.

It was the signature of a young life cut short, a remnant of Alex Winter's abrupt departure from this world. Fascinated, Daryl allowed his fingers to roam, brief flashes of a wet highway and bright headlights filling his mind. He traced the sensations, wondering if he could somehow find the soul of Alex Winters.

No. At the edge of the spiritual imprint, he felt the severed thread left behind by a soul that crossed over. Once Death cut that thread, the departed were beyond Daryl's ability to revive.

Standing, Daryl looked around. He had seen Dana's car in the driveway, so assumed she would be home. The loft upstairs looked like a great place to start. Before climbing the stairs, he reinforced the spell that muted his movements, the shadows gathering beneath his feet. The last thing he wanted was to let the girl know he was in her home and scare her off.

Putting his weight on the stairs, he felt them creak beneath his feet. The spell absorbed the sound nicely, the apartment filled only with the sound of songbirds waking up outside. Climbing the stairs, he kept a careful watch for any movement from up above. He held his wand behind him, the magical energy gathering in his wrists, begging to be released.

The loft had some furniture, a fridge, and a bathroom. Daryl walked into the bedroom area, frowning at the bed. Stacked on the mattress was a large pile of boxes, each one overflowing with clothes. He knelt down, taking a peek under the bed. She wasn't there either.

Fuck. Walking past her desk, he saw that she had drawn an elaborate diagram of gears. Clearly she had been working on something, but he saw no sign of her current project. He took a peek in the bathroom, hoping she was hiding in the shower.

Nope. Not here either. Scratching his head, he surveyed the apartment once more, casting a spell to detect life. Other than a family of mice living in the walls, he didn't spot anything of use. Widening the spell, he discovered the weakened soul of an elderly woman in the house next to the garage, her dim light puttering around in the kitchen. Tucking his wand away, he decided to go over and ask her where his prey could be. He closed the door behind him as he left.

Somewhere inside the garage, he heard a clock chime that it was the top of the hour. Gritting his teeth, he walked over to the nearby house, giving the front door a sharp rap of his knuckles. When the old woman opened the door, a blast of yellow light from his wand froze her in place.

"I'll let myself in," he said, closing the door quietly behind him.

-

They had carried Beth to the fountain, laying her out gently on the cool marble. Naia and Mike held her in place while Zel examined her, running her fingers gently across Beth's body. A tiny sphere of glowing water hovered over Beth's face.

"I don't feel any breaks," Zel announced, sliding her hands out of Beth's shirt. "I'm guessing she was knocked senseless by the... airbag?" She looked at Mike for confirmation.

"Yeah, that's the right term." Mike's arms were crossed. "How long do you think she'll be out?"

"Hard to say." Zel shook her head. "It sounds like it may be part shock."

"Well, she isn't asleep." Lily sat on the other side of the fountain, flicking the water with her fingers. She still wore her business casual outfit, one leg delicately crossed over the other. She looked like she was ready for a job interview. "Otherwise, I could go in and try to wake her."

"Which means we have to wait," Mike said, gritting his teeth. He didn't like the idea of waiting any longer than he had to.

"Wait for what?" Lily asked.

"Uh, well..." Mike gestured at Jenny, who sat near Beth's head, fabric legs dangling by the water. "I was hoping that Beth would let Jenny possess her again so that she could take me to the Labyrinth."

"And what if she didn't?" Lily asked. "Were you going to force her to do it?"

"No." Mike shook his head. "That can't be something we do. It would make me no better than the people outside, and then where-"

A crack of thunder, louder than an approaching train, shook the house, causing everybody to cover their ears. The earth shook beneath their feet, and dust scattered off the roof, settling around them like tiny clouds.

"What the fuck was that?" Mike called, his ears ringing. He noticed that Naia stared incredulously at the sky, her mouth open. Cecilia burst through the rear wall of the house, energy crackling around her body.

"The Geas," she said. "It's cracked!"

"How can you tell?" Mike asked.

Cecilia shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters now is that we need to get that crazy woman out of our front yard. The Geas is a powerful spell, but it can be dismantled given enough time."

"Well, I can't go get Tink with Beth like this," Mike said. "I really want to do this by the book."

"Are you going to go stab that woman out front with the dagger then?" Naia asked him. "Because if you don't, eventually she will break the spell."

Mike thought about it. Even if he could get close, could he kill another human? It was the same doubts he had about the minotaur, about violence in general. Maybe to save his own life, or to protect someone. Then again, it was the kind of question that could only be answered in the heat of such a moment.

"I've got it!" Mike said. "Lily could go out and knock her out cold for a few hours, buy us some time."

"That won't work," Lily said, her eyes on the surface of the fountain. "The woman with the snake is Kali, the Voduo Queen."

"Don't you mean voodoo?" Mike asked.

"I said what I meant. Kali is super old school, pins in dolls, talking to snakes, dancing naked in the moonlight, that kind of thing. She's made so many deals with so many spirits that even if I could get close enough to sting her, it likely wouldn't affect her anyway." Lily crossed her arms. "She got pissed once because she thought that someone had broken into one of her warehouses to take a bunch of rare spell ingredients. Ended up tracking the wannabe witch doctor to their shop in New Orleans."

"What did she do?" Mike asked.

"Hurricane Katrina." Lily arched an eyebrow. "Witch doctor's home wasn't far from where the levee broke."

"She broke the levee?" Mike asked in awe.

"After she summoned the hurricane. Figured it wasn't enough to drown the thief, but killed off anyone who had gone to see her. Made her stand perfectly still in her own house as the water rose, then kept her alive the entire time the fish were feeding on her. I think it got the point across."

"Holy shit," Zel whispered, then covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, that slipped out!"

"Don't worry about it." Mike stared at Beth's sleeping form, then looked at the doll. "Does anybody here have any idea how to activate the house defenses?"

They all looked at each other. Zel kept her eyes on Beth, her slim fingers brushing the hair away from her face.

"Nobody? Any ideas?" Mike looked at each of them, hoping for an answer. The silence between them opened a void in his stomach, and his eyes eventually circled back to the woman lying on the cold stone of the fountain. His fingers tightened on the hilt of the dagger in his belt, and he could feel the weight of his own decision crushing him.

Trying to kill the woman on the front lawn was beyond him. Simply waiting for her to crack the Geas and come into the house, potentially hurting his family was also not an option. He was being forced to choose, and the damnation of such a decision was something he would have to come to terms with later. He looked to the women who stood around him, all waiting on his decision. His eyes found the cold porcelain gaze of the doll standing next to him.

"Do it Jenny." He looked at the others. Naia looked resigned to the idea, and he couldn't tell what Cecilia was thinking. Lily, however, turned her back on him.

The air filled with static, and the doll climbed on to Beth's chest, her cloth hands on Beth's lips. A white mist emerged from Beth's lips, and with a sudden blast of light, Beth sat up, her fingers clutching the doll.

"Beth?" Mike asked. Her eyes opened, revealing that they were now completely black.

"Beth is sleepy," Jenny whispered, holding one finger to her lips. "When she is ready to come outside and play, I will tell you."

"Okay then. Remember, you are inside her body long enough to get me to the Labyrinth, and then you have to bring her back and let her go."

Everyone waited for Jenny's response. Jenny looked up at the sky, her dark eyes focused on something far away.

"Boom," she whispered, moments before the sky above filled with thunder. Mike flinched, his heart racing in his chest. The shockwave rippled across the house, blowing out one of the upstairs windows. Mike ducked, but the glass didn't travel far, falling in small fragments to the courtyard below.

"Jenny?" Naia asked, a warning on her voice.

"There and back again, a Jenny's tale." Jenny smiled. "I am just borrowing her for today. The sun will come out tomorrow."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Okay then. Show me how to get inside the closet."

-

Naia sat on the edge of the fountain, wistfully gazing at the house. During times like these, she wished she could leave her fountain, to do more. Unfortunately, that could never be an option, no matter how much she wished it. She was a part of her spring-leaving was a concept as foreign as walking out of her own skin. Having the spring's water routed through the plumbing of the house alone had been a massively difficult magical undertaking. Though the details were fuzzy, she remembered that much.

"So what now?" Lily asked. She still sat at the edge of the fountain, wearing her intern clothing. She had taken off her shoes, her feet soaking in the warm water.

"We wait, I'm afraid." Naia could feel Mike walking through the home, so close yet so far. She dreaded that disconnected feeling she would get when he stepped into the closet. He would suddenly disappear, and she would be unable to feel him. She took comfort in still knowing he was alive, but sometimes it wasn't enough.

"You could order me to go with him," Lily said, her voice soft.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Naia smiled at the succubus. "You are right. I could make you go, as your master. You would have to protect him, maybe die for him. And you would like that, because it would prove that you're right. It would prove that I put him above you, ergo he puts himself above you."

Lily didn't respond, her eyes focused on the water in the fountain. Naia could see the tension in her shoulders, the fear of what was to come next.

"The Caretakers of this home have been many things, but this one is different. I have loved them all, in my own way, but something about Mike makes my soul sing for him. He doesn't see us just as objects, or slaves, or even as monsters. He sees each of us for who we are. He respects us. Some of the others haven't been nearly as kind, barely tolerating some of us to be here."

"That's easy to say for someone who will fuck anybody who comes in this place." Lily's face reddened as the words left her mouth. "You're the one who gets to choose, aren't you? I saw it in his memories. You can drown anyone who isn't a good fit."

"If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is." Naia lay on her back, floating along the surface of the water. "It's like a calling. I can tell they will take care of the house, but not necessarily love those who dwell here. And things can change over time. It isn't perfect. No relationship is. There's a reason Zel hid from Emily. Consider that."

"So why not make me go help him?" Lily asked. "He didn't give Beth a choice. Why give me one?"

"He didn't give Beth a choice because he doesn't have one either." Naia swirled the water with her arms, becoming one with the waves. "And if you think he isn't beating himself up over it, you are wrong."

"That's the worst part," Lily said. "I can tell that he is. I can feel him as if he stands behind me, his chest pressed against my back. I can feel you in the front, both of you just standing there, waiting to command me. It will happen eventually, you'll see."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Naia stared at the sky. Storm clouds were forming up above, a result of the magical attack on the Geas. "Just remember that he is doing his best to protect the others. Somehow, I feel like that's the same reason you are here, isn't it?"

Naia heard Lily pull her feet out of the fountain. The back door slammed shut as Lily went inside the house. A smile crossed Naia's face, and she became one with the water, melting beneath its surface.

-

Strong arms held her tightly, fingers interlaced with her own. Dana pushed herself farther into those arms, breathing in through her nose and letting out a sigh. She could smell the faint hint of Alex's deodorant, felt hot breath on the back of her neck. Months of anguish were somehow forgotten, Dana moved to another time and place. Alex must have been working on the motorcycle, because the bed smelled faintly of motor oil.

"Alex," she whispered, squeezing the fingers in her hand. The fingers squeezed back, gripping her tightly. Memories of the crash and the ensuing months suddenly flooded her mind, the sweet release of sleep now eluding her. She could feel the tears running down her face, hesitant to open her eyes and break the spell, knowing that her true love would vanish in the waking hours of day.

She heard the clock chime, alerting her that it was time to put the past behind her. The weight of Alex lifted free of her, those strong arms vanishing into nothing. The past stripped itself away from her, leaving her with the cold remnants of the morning. Wiping the tears off of her face, she opened her eyes, her vision settling on the window nearest her bed. She could hear the birds singing outside. Groaning, she sat up, a dull ache just behind her eyes. Rubbing her head, she slid out of bed, walking past the clock and into her bathroom for some aspirin. She swallowed the pills and walked back out onto the loft.

The morning light had snuck in through a few gaps in the blinds, scattering errant rays across the garage. Several of them bounced off the chrome of the bike, lighting up the floor of the garage. Dana stared at Alex's motorcycle, wondering now if she truly wanted to finish fixing it. She had thought that riding it would bring her closer to Alex, make it feel like they were together again, but the cold reality of day reminded her that she was still alive and Alex was gone.

Shaking her head, she retrieved her phone from its hiding place, only to discover that she was almost an hour late for work. She had a couple of phone calls already from her boss.

"Fuck!" Grabbing clothes off of the floor, she dressed as quickly as she could and then bolted out of the apartment. Getting into her car, she turned the ignition and nearly backed into a giant town car that now blocked the driveway.

"Fuck!" She jumped out of her car, staring at the man behind the driver's seat. He wore a chauffeur's hat and stared right through her. "Hey. Hey! I need you to move so I can get going!" The driver of the town car ignored her, even as she approached. Banging on the glass, he ignored her, his gaze fixed eerily on nothing in particular. "Hey! Asshole! Let me out!"

The driver ignored her. She noticed that he wore a chauffeur's hat and matching gloves, which meant he had driven someone. She looked back at her landlord's house. Who did she know that had her own driver?

There was only one way to find out. She didn't even bother knocking as she let herself in through the front door.

-

They stood in the guest bedroom, staring at the closet door. Jenny, inside Beth's body, fidgeted with her hair, twirling it in her fingers.

"Well?" Mike asked. "How do we do this?"

Jenny grinned, grabbing the doorknob to the closet. "Simple, simple! Three o clock, nine o clock, up and down." She turned the knob right, then left, the pulled up on it. The whole knob slid up like a lever, before Jenny pushed it back down again then pulled. A blast of cool air hit Mike in the face, and the interior of the closet was gone. The back wall was now composed of smooth rock, and the light of the room was gobbled up by the cave that had appeared.

"Did you get that?" Mike asked Cecilia.

"I did," she answered, staring warily at Jenny. Mike looked at Cecilia, the hint of a memory on his lips, when Jenny grabbed his wrist.

"Come on! I can show you how to open the gate to the Labyrinth!" She pulled him toward the entrance. Mike resisted just long enough to turn on his flashlight. He ducked just in time to avoid smashing his face on the rock above, letting Jenny lead him down the tunnel. Cecilia vanished, heading back to the front door to watch Kali. Mike found himself wishing she was still by his side. Jenny had already disappeared around the first bend, humming a random tune to herself.