Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 034

"I'm not sure what you could have gained from my computer."

"Ah, now that's an interesting subject. You see, Amir and his associates will never grant me my freedom, nor will they renegotiate the terms of my employment. When he summons me up, I intend to give him information that he hasn't asked for, easily verified information from your laptop that will assure him that I do, in fact, have the ability to wear your body like a suit and walk right out of there with whatever my heart desires. Specifically, what Amir desires. I have long known what secrets the house holds, Satan only knows that they've all asked me enough about them. I've held some good answers close to the vest, for selfish reasons."

Beth wanted to throw up. If what she was hearing was true, then she had become a huge liability to the house.

"Ah, now you're getting it." He grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light of day. "So let's say you have your bovine fuck buddy over there stick your head in the water here until you perish. I tell them everything they want to hear until everybody here has been properly enslaved or destroyed. Amir and his trained monkeys get their happy ending and I get the luxury of laughing at you all for the rest of eternity. I don't even have to be asked to know that you won't do it."

"But why? If you're going to tell them everything, then why not just do it?"

"A demon's rage knows no limits. The moment I am released from my prison, I would unleash hell on those who have trapped me. I don't want to see them win any more than you do, and I can tell you they will need a lot more than three questions to make that happen." He chuckled, his laughter overlaid with a much deeper, sinister sound. "The answer to your question is that I would rather get what I want and leave them out in the cold. Therefore, you have two reasonable options here. Option one, you continue to resist and I have a wonderful time slowly taking control of you. One day you walk away with one of the home's treasures and hand it over to the Society. As a reward for good behavior, they throw you back in with me, and I will make sure you never leave again. We spend eternity together working on the holes in our relationship." He held up a studded collar. "Once you've properly begged for forgiveness of course."

"Option two?"

"You come willingly. That reflecting pool would be perfect, actually. If you come on your own, I never let them know otherwise. The war between the Radley home and the Society goes on with no additional help from me. We spend eternity together, but maybe... just maybe..." he shook the collar, causing it to transform into a wreath made of flowers. He took off his hat and placed them atop his own head. "Maybe not as much begging is required."

"I don't understand. Why bother giving me a choice at all? Aren't demons supposed to be evil?"

"Evil, yes. Stupid, no. The human soul is a beautiful thing to behold, but it is beholden by certain rules. You see, either way, I end up with your soul. But the difference between a soul taken and a soul freely given..." he sniffed the air and shivered in delight. "It's so exquisite. Why settle for plastic when you can have diamonds?"

"I fucking hate you." She said it so forcefully that spittle sprayed from her mouth. Oliver had her trapped and he knew it. Hot tears were already rolling down her cheeks and she sank to her knees. Asterion returned from his hiding spot, kneeling by her side to comfort her. When she looked up, Oliver had vanished from the waterfall, but her reflection still wore the wreath of flowers.

-

The snow, water and ice had been scary enough, but the sudden deluge of rain and mud had been downright terrifying. The thunderous sound of a massive storm had boomed inside of the alcove, and the three of them had huddled together as the world ended around them. A torrential downpour formed a large waterfall over the opening of their enclosure, water flooding the ground and coming near them. Mike and Zel had crawled as far back against the cave wall as they could, hoping to avoid getting wet. Ratu had woken up just long enough to wrap herself around his torso for warmth, shrinking herself down even farther.

Waves of heat had come with the rain. Steam had filled the cavern at one point, causing Mike to worry if they would be boiled alive. Huddled together, the three of them waited in the dark, wondering when the madness would end. Eventually, a heavy fog rolled in to replace the storm outside. While preferable to the deadly deluge, it was thick enough that they were forced to remain where they were.

The temperature dropped, and they shivered as the fog slowly cooled and condensed into ice. Certain that staying would result in freezing to death, they exited the cave walked toward the edge of the cliff.

The landscape of the mountain had changed drastically. What had once been large drifting slopes of snow were now icy crags that extended in either direction. Trees and boulders had been uprooted, leaving the hillside a ruined mess. If it wasn't muddy, it was frozen, and Mike quickly realized that he needed better footwear the next time he decided to pass through a magical portal.

"We need to go down," he said, looking toward the valley. Through holes in the clouds below, he could see that the forest had been flattened near the base of the mountain. Multiple landslides had been triggered, the scene reminding him of an old National Geographic film of Mount St. Helens after it blew. "We'll freeze up here."

"We need to go up." Zel's lower lip trembled, with just a hint of blue. "We need to go up and go back home."

An ominous cry echoed from above and a shadow passed through the clouds.

"Do you still think that's the best plan? Even with that thing up there?"

Zel nodded.

"Shit." He looked up the hill and then down it. Up looked ten times harder to climb. "You're not telling me something. Now spill."

"Mike, I..." she was interrupted by the sound of hooves on stone. Her eyes looked past his shoulder and went wide, so he turned. At first he thought he saw a group of men come around the corner on horseback, but only because his brain wasn't ready to accept the fact that he was looking at a group of six centaurs. They were soaking wet and wearing hunting leathers, their hooves kicking up clods of dirt. Various feathers hung decoratively from their clothing and they wore bracelets with different colors on them.

"You." The one in the lead leveled his bow at Mike. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm lost." It wasn't the whole story, but it was absolutely true. "I came through a portal up the mountain and was attacked by a woman in white."

If he was hoping for sympathy, he was sorely mistaken. The moment he said portal, several others raised their bows.

"Whoa now, I'm not here to cause any trouble." He put his hands in the air.

The lead centaur spat. "That's what the last human said."

Mike swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He briefly considered telling them that he was the Caretaker, but the last person he had told it to had tried to blow a hole in his chest and then leveled part of the mountain around him. "Not all humans are the same."

The centaurs laughed as if this was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

Mike smiled, briefly assuming that he had somehow broken the tension, but the bows lifted briefly as if they were going to fire.

"Wait!" Zel stepped in front of him. "We invoke parlay."

The lead centaur frowned. "If we were to fill you with arrows, nobody would know that you invoked parlay."

"The sky mother would." Zel sneered at the lead centaur. "And the moon goddess sees all, even in the brightest day. Unless the herd has forsaken the gods, then divine wrath will fall on you for killing those who abide by tribal laws."

There was intense muttering from the centaurs, and the one in the lead frowned. "You seem to know much about our kind." He looked her up and down, his face turning to disgust when he saw her hooves. "By the moon, you're unfinished. An abomination."

More mutters as they looked at her. Zel's face fell, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Maybe I am." Her voice trembled. "But centaur laws still apply."

"Ugh." He waved a hand and the others put their bows away. "Fine. We will take you to our chief. But should you try to escape..." he drew his line across his neck.

"We understand." Zel hugged Mike's arm against her, and he felt Ratu's body relax. She was sluggish, but apparently paying attention.

He looked at the centaur closest to him. "See if Ara and Hydrus are back in the hunting cave. If not, then we must hope that they found their way to safety down in the Valley."

"It was just us in there," Mike said, but the centaur passing him accidentally hit him in the head with an elbow.

"Oops," he said as sarcastically as possible over his shoulder. The centaur inspected the cave for a couple of seconds and came back out. "They aren't here, Orion."

"Ah shit," Zel muttered, squeezing his arm even tighter.

"Come," Orion commanded. "If you can't keep up, we will tie you to ropes and drag you."

"Well, couldn't you just give us—" Zel pinched Mike's arm so hard he yelped and all of the centaurs were suddenly statues.

"Give. Us. What?" Orion leaned close, one hand going to a knife strapped to his human waist. Mike could see the fire behind those green eyes, a spark that was looking to grab hold of any kindling.

"...a moment to fix my shoes? I just need to tighten the laces because they got wet." He tried to smile, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm afraid that humans are rather reliant on our footwear."

Several moments went by, and Orion's hand finally moved away from his knife. "Make it fast. We must return before the sun falls."

"You're the boss." Maintaining eye contact, he stepped back and knelt down to pull a large glop of mud out of his shoe with one hand, his other hand going to the pouch on his waist which was now hidden by Zel's coat. By feel, he could tell which vial was which, and he slid one out, then quickly undid his laces and re-tied them while palming it. Wiping his fingers on his pants, he stood and grabbed Zel's hand, pressing it into her palm. "I'm ready," he said to her.

Zel shook her head, then adjusted the collar of her coat. Her hand was empty when it rejoined his.

The hike down the hill was brutal, to say the least. The centaurs moved just slow enough for him to keep up, and he didn't have any breath left to speak with Zel as they walked. He could feel his shoes stretching apart beneath the soles of his feet, and the chill had seeped through his clothes. Wishing he still had the sun stone, he held tight to Zel until they managed to get a break from the wind behind the first clump of trees.

From farther down the mountain, he could tell where all the water had fallen. A large swath of rock was now exposed, and anything growing along it had been scrubbed away by the torrential downpour. The centaurs stopped for a few moments to take in the destruction, their eyes on the wreckage below. Trees and rocks had been smashed apart into a slurry of devastation.

"For what it's worth, I hope your friends are okay," Mike told Orion.

The centaur grunted, then ordered the group onward.

By the time they reached the Valley, Mike's legs felt like they had been stretched too far. His muscles were already sore and cramping, and his mind was drifting to the possibility of a hot bath once he got back. Naia would find a way to soothe his aches and pains.

A sigh escaped his lips, which earned him a dirty look from the centaur nearest him. Now that the landscape had leveled out, the centaurs seemed a little more relaxed. They followed a river basin that had overflowed and washed out its own banks before emerging into a giant prairie near the bottom of the valley. From here, Mike could now tell that the horses he had seen earlier were actually centaurs, spread across the valley floor. When the hunters grew near, several more came out to join them. These carried a combination of spears and halberds, all of which were pointed directly at Mike and Zel.

"So this is the honor guard," he muttered.

Hooves were stamped and tails angrily flicked as Orion held a conversation with one of the newcomers just out of earshot. The only word that floated across the gap was "parlay", and it was clear that the others were just as annoyed by its invocation. They walked across the long field to a set of over-sized yurts. They were large enough for the centaurs to go inside, but they were led past the yurts and into a thick grove of trees behind them which marked the edge of the forest.

The centaurs were silent as they marched them through the woods. There were several thick trails that led through the trees, easily wide enough for their horse bodies. He wondered if they were technically horse trails because the horse part walked them, or if it was politically correct to call them centaur trails.

He also wondered if they would stab the shit out of him once they got back to their village. Zel remained quiet, her hand tightly clasping his. She stumbled more than once, and he wondered if it was due to being nervous around her own kind. Ratu moved, shifting around on occasion to avoid the end of a spear point. His escort wasn't exactly being delicate about his transport.

Inside the trees was a large clearing with a series of yurts that had been ornately decorated with astrological symbols. The largest yurt had an image of the sun on it, and from it emerged a massive centaur with a thick, wooly beard that just barely covered his massive pecs. He stood nearly three feet taller than Mike, and wore an ornate crown woven from branches that had leaves sprouting from it. He carried a giant staff with a crescent moon on top made of some type of pale white stone.

"Why have you brought these humans to me?" the chieftain demanded.

"They invoked parlay." Orion crossed his arms. "They know much of our laws, Grand Stallion."

The Grand Stallion walked close to Mike and stared down at him. Unsure whether to meet his gaze or not, he settled for sticking out his hand.

"My name is Mike. Nice to meet you."

The Grand Stallion's nostrils flared, and Mike fought the impulse to duck away. He half expected a blow to come from the man, so intense was his gaze. Other individuals came out of the smaller yurts, male and female centaurs dressed similarly but lacking staves of their own. He watched them from the corner of his vision, his eyes on the massive centaur before him.

"Mike," Zel whispered, tugging on his shirt. Mike didn't look back at her, worried that it would be rude enough to cause the Grand Stallion to have them executed or something similar. Centaurs seemed to be a rather proud group, as well as high strung.

"He is still armed." The Grand Stallion said, pointing at Mike's dagger. "You would bring an armed man to speak with me?"

'A human with a knife is no match for a hunter," Orion responded, shrugging his shoulders. "And he barely looks coordinated enough to use it. If you're worried about it, I can just take it away from him."

"Mike," Zel whispered again, grabbing his arm hard enough that she pulled him off balance. The centaurs around them took a sudden step back, spears and arrows all leveled in their direction. He turned around and would have jumped back himself, if not for the fear of getting stabbed.

Zel's lower body was emitting steam, her face twisting into agony as she started to grow. Bones snapped and skin stretched as her legs split apart then separated. Her skirt split down the back when she became too large for it, her horse body spilling out into the open. Loud gasps came from the centaurs, the clearing now filled with urgent murmuring. Zel let out a loud scream, a wave of heat blasting away from her body and ruffling his hair.

The centaurs were stunned to see one of their own suddenly appear in their midst and had backed away. He could see the confusion on their faces, followed by something else.

"Zelenia?" The chieftain spoke, his voice full of awe.

She looked to Mike, then immediately cast her eyes to the ground, one hoof pawing at the dirt. Zel tensed her jaw and looked back up, defiance in her eyes.

"Hello, father."

-

Yuki was busy building a card castle in mid-air when Daisy appeared. The tiny fairy landed on top of the castle, then walked across the top, her arms outstretched for balance. Yuki continued stacking cards around her until the castle was complete.

"Well?" she asked.

Daisy signed with her hands.

"Really? They survived all that only to be captured by the centaurs?" Yuki laughed so hard that her voice transformed into a loud bark. "That is too perfect. The centaurs will treat them no better than I would."

Daisy signed again.

"Well, no, there's no guarantee that they will be killed right away. They hate humans though, and once they hear that he's Emily's successor, he's a dead man." Yuki leaned back, stroking her chin. "I guess the question is do I wait and see if they do it for me? Or do I go down there and do it myself?" Her gaze settled on the trees before her. "Or do I step through for just a little bit and then check up on them? I would hate to spend another week just waiting to see what happens next."

Daisy's hands moved through the air, leaving glittering contrails.

"That isn't a bad idea. Hmm." The cards shimmered before her and the castle dismantled itself, each card floating back into her hand until the deck was complete. "Yes, I suppose that would work, if you don't mind. I will leave the Jabberwock to guard the portal and come back in a day's time. Assuming everything goes well, then you will be coming with me."

Daisy smiled, her entire body lighting up.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me." Yuki held up a long finger and the fairy landed on it. "I wouldn't wish it on you again, but I'm glad you got stuck here with me."

The fairy did a little flourish, then turned into a ball of light. She pulsed three times.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." A smile stretched across her face, revealing her sharp teeth. Walking towards the trees, she stepped through the portal. It was suddenly dark and she was surrounded by coats.

What the hell? Pushing her way forward, she stumbled through a set of double doors and fell onto the hard, wooden floor beneath. Confused, she looked back to see that she had just come through a wardrobe.

Emily, you bitch. So that's how she had closed her side. Yuki had expected to step out into the backyard, not into a hallway. She shut the door of the wardrobe and noticed a key in the lock. A smirk crossed her face as she turned it then put it in her pocket. Even if that man escaped, now he was the one trapped over there.

Standing, she adjusted her furs and snapped her fingers. Her outfit altered itself into a white and red sundress with three thick, fluffy tails stitched into the fabric on the back of the skirt. She walked toward the top of the stairs and placed one hand on the railing.

"It's good to be home," she said. Taking a deep breath, she descended the stairs.

-

Fox demons, am I right?

A couple of big reveals this chapter with many more to come in the chapters ahead. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please leave a rating or review.

A special shoutout to my beta readers/editors who helped me clean this up significantly. It was a giant mess.

If you are super eager to know when the next chapter releases, I always update my Bio the day I submit these to Lit. You can check there or follow me to get notifications.

FYI, Iceman fans, I haven't forgotten about you! I am steadily working on that final chapter, but don't want to rush out an incomplete story. It's still coming!