Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 062

"Aha!" He held up a bony finger. "Per the rules of 'Finders Keepers,' that money belongs to anyone who finds it when nobody else is nearby."

Beth squinted at him. "Finders Keepers isn't a valid law. But if it were, it certainly does not apply whilst inside of a domicile. Otherwise I could go into the office and claim your maps or your teacups whenever I wanted as long as you weren't around."

Death rose a hand to make a counterpoint, but faltered. "Hmm. Perhaps I misunderstood the full tenets of Finders Keepers, and I see that I have made an egregious mistake," he admitted. "In effect, those pictures now belong to you. Please accept my apologies. I would be happy to loan you my Viewmaster should you wish to view them."

"Ugh, no thanks. Here." Beth handed the disc over. "You can have it back. But no more taking money from my room."

Death took the disc from her and deftly slid it into place as he rushed out of the room toward the kitchen.

"And I want my own title!" Beth shouted after him. "Make it something good!"

"Are you guys arguing with a poltergeist?" Eulalie asked.

"That's just Death," Dana replied. "Just try not to let him walk through you, it feels awful."

"Wow," she whispered with shimmering eyes. "I always wondered what it would be like here, but never imagined it would be this busy! Emily invited Velvet and me when we were little and told us about some of the people who lived here, but I kind of forgot about them until I saw them out front. The banshee is pretty, can't believe I forgot about her."

Beth nodded. "That would be the geas," she said. "It alters memories when the old Caretaker dies."

Eulalie sighed, then looked at Mike. Her eyes shimmered under the lights of the living room. "This is so interesting, and I wish I was here under different circumstances, I really do. I often dreamt of coming here and getting to know all these different people, and maybe even being allowed to stay. But we need help. This is a lot to ask, but would you come to Oregon and see if you can help us? We just want somewhere to live in peace, I promise."

Mike nodded. The land was his, and therefore, so was the responsibility. "We can head out in the morning," he told her. "We don't have a Bigfoot, but we do have some tricks of our own. You lead me to the cabin and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you so much, I—" She opened her mouth to say something else, but her stomach growled. Wincing, she put her hands on it. "It's been awhile, sorry."

"C'mon," Beth said, then took Eulalie by the hand. "Let's see if we have anything for you to eat, then we can figure out what to do next."

Mike watched them go, then let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Once he was certain that Eulalie couldn't see him, he shuddered. Even though Eulalie seemed nice, he couldn't look at her legs without feeling baby spiders all over his face. He felt bad, and promised himself that he would do his best to get over it.

Up on the roof, Abella gazed balefully across the yard. The party had long since wrapped up, and though she was watching for signs of movement, it was the conversation inside the house that she was listening to.

She could hear it in his voice. A slight hitch here and there, or a quick clearing of the throat. Mike was nervous about this Eulalie character, and for good reason. The Arachne were dangerous, and if she had her way, she would have held that crate shut until someone set the damn thing on fire.

Footsteps on the roof alerted Abella that someone had joined her. It was Kisa, she recognized her soft footfalls. The cat girl sat next to Abella and pulled her knees up to her chin.

"You never sit with me," Abella noted. The roof of the home was big enough that they rarely even saw each other. In fact, if Kisa held still for long enough, Abella couldn't even hear her breathing, or see where she was. It was some type of magical invisibility that made people forget that she was there.

Kisa's ears flattened, and she let out a low growl. "Sorry," she mumbled. "That one kind of slipped out because I'm all worked up. Can I tell you something?"

"I suppose."

"That thing down there gives me the shivers." Illustrating her point, Kisa's spine stiffened, and she shook her head. "Like, holy shit. I've never seen a spider up close before, but her whole body is just...damn."

Abella nodded. "Have you ever wondered why humans have such a reaction to spiders?"

Kisa shifted forward, her tail moving around erratically.

"Can't say I have," she muttered. "Don't really stare at spooky shit and wonder why it's so spooky."

"It's primal. You fear things that are different, but it goes even deeper with arachnids. It's not just that they have eight legs and too many mouth parts. Your ancestors were hunted by them relentlessly. They could wipe out entire villages overnight if they wanted to, and only those who had a healthy dose of fear survived to pass the tales along. It's no different than your fear of the dark."

"You're saying that people are afraid of spiders because of the Arachne?"

Abella nodded. "Think about the things that humans are afraid of. Some are logical, like falling. Public speaking is bad. But why are spiders so high up on the list? Most of them are harmless."

"Hmm." Kisa surveyed the yard while toying with a bracelet on her wrist. It was a pretty yellow band that matched a similar one that Tink sometimes wore. "It's kind of weird, but I'm half a cat because I wore a cursed collar to fix my shattered legs. I'm not really in a position to argue."

"Do you know what hunts man?"

"Tigers. Sharks. Taxes." Kisa smirked at her own joke.

"Do you know what hunts the Arachne?"

"Really big fly swatters?"

Abella snorted in disgust. "The answer is nothing. No being in their right mind willingly hunts them for food. If this is just silly for you, I'd prefer you go someplace else to sulk."

"You really hate them, don't you?" Kisa looked at Abella expectantly.

Abella pursed her lips and nodded. "More than anything."

She spread her wings and leapt from the roof, soaring over the yard and then circling higher when she reached the edge of the geas. Down below, the yard had come to life with fairies, insects and lightning bugs. Their chorus reached Abella's ears, but brought her no joy as she attempted to reach the clouds.

How could Mike trust Eulalie so quickly? Despite Lily's assurance that the Arachne was safe, what if she tried to mate with him? It was instant death to mate with the Arachne, and Abella would die before allowing Eulalie to make a move on Mike.

She wanted to punch something or someone, but her options here were limited. To correct the issue, she flew outside of the geas. The magic was like a leash once she passed its boundary. It compelled her to return, but she could resist for a while. The sky had taken on the azure hue of twilight, and she wasn't worried about being spotted.

While soaring over a nearby park, she spotted a group of teens down by the edge of the lake. They were laughing while throwing rocks at a pair of ducks that were out on the water. About fifty feet behind them was a large stone monument dedicated to the park where they had leaned their bicycles.

With a grin, she landed nearby on the soft ground and wrapped her arms around the monument. She used her tail and talons to keep from sinking too far into the ground while she carefully lifted the conical monument into the air. As long as she didn't tilt it from side to side, it should remain structurally sound.

Once it was free of the soil, she wiggled her fingers down its cool sides until she could get her hands beneath the bottom and then lifted. The monument went into the air high enough that the bikes fell into the gap it had left. With a smirk, she set the monument down on top of them.

The bikes creaked as they bent and became pinned. Only their bent and mangled wheels remained visible. Should they ever be removed, the bikes would be completely unusable.

With a chuckle, she used her tail to wipe away her footprints and then lifted into the sky. Other than the laughing teens, the park was abandoned and she wasn't too worried about being spotted. She wished she could see their faces. Dishing out petty justice hadn't made her feel much better, but it was a start.

She flew toward downtown and found one of her favorite perches on a local church. After folding her wings about herself like a cloak, she pressed herself against the stone facade and shifted the color of her skin to match. From here, she could watch people moving about the city without fear of being spotted.

The pull of the house was growing stronger, but her anger made it easy to stay away. At some point, the compulsion would be too much, and she would have to take to the sky to protect the home once again.

No, that wasn't correct. She would fly home to protect him.

She could still picture the day she had met Mike, how she had listened in panic to his screams for help. The mandragora hadn't been fed in forever, and it was trying to consume him. Her limbs had been stiff, and she had fought to wake up and rescue him.

He had seemed so helpless in that moment, but had accepted her without any fear. It had been that way with all the Caretakers, an immediate kinship that they felt with the monsters of the house. But Mike had been different. He had been just as enamored of her as she had been with him, and she couldn't wait to feel his soft flesh against her fingertips.

She imagined that humans felt the same way about plush dolls as she did about them. They were so fragile and cute, she simply couldn't help it. This was a feeling that the others of her Clan had never shared, which was the main reason she was even here.

Pierre was the other.

Moving along the edge of the church steeple, she paused when she saw the gargoyle that had been built on the corner. It was like a devil, with large horns and fangs. The stone was new, maybe only a decade old.

Had it really been so long since she was here last? Time was an interesting construct for her. Her kind were capable of being still for months or even years if they wanted. It was like hibernation, and they would only awaken if threatened. The last time she had come here was after a fight with Emily, but she couldn't remember what the argument had been about.

At the time, she had been contemplating leaving the house because of something Emily had done. Still angry after arguing with her, Abella had come here to blow off some steam, ultimately deciding that the house was still her safest bet for survival.

She crouched along the edge, her eyes and ears on the people down below. A pair of women walked along the sidewalk, laughing at each other while they held hands. When she closed her eyes, the images came unbidden.

The French city of Marseille was sprawled out beneath her. The faint light of distant torches twinkled like fireflies, but her attention was squarely focused on the couple walking on the path beneath her.

They had met earlier, a nobleman and a young woman who lived down near the docks. If not for the class disparity, she wouldn't have paid them much attention, but the way he had spoken to her was far too familiar.

The man left after a brief discussion about the baked goods being sold in a nearby cart, but the woman took her sweet time picking out bread before leaving. Abella had waited, and been amply rewarded when the commoner met the noble in an alley next to a cobbler's shop. The two had embraced like lost lovers, only to be chased away by a stumbling drunk.

It had been easy to follow them. The night was dark, and there weren't many people out. Abella had moved along the building tops, making sure to keep the couple in view. The man led the woman to an isolated garden where they found a stone bench to sit on.

Abella gripped the edge of the roof she was on in anticipation, her fingers crushing the brick into powder that scattered on the breeze. The man sat on the edge of the bench and the woman on his lap with her back to him. He playfully grabbed her breasts through the thick fabric of her dress while licking her neck.

"C'mon, c'mon," Abella muttered, then licked her lips. It was very rare to get the opportunity to watch humans fuck, and it was usually through a window, or the view blocked by awnings. The woman was grinding her ass on the man's lap, and she could hear both their hearts thumping from where she sat.

The man ran his fingers through the woman's hair. Abella mimicked the move with her own hands, wondering how it felt to him. Her hair, being made of stone, was stiff and fairly unyielding. She had touched human hair before, but only on corpses. Humans were very squishy by nature, but their hair fascinated her most of all. What would it feel like to run her fingers through the thick locks of a woman? Or even a man?

Shivering in delight, her tail moved of its own accord and thumped on the stone of the building. Down below, the woman paused for a moment, her wide eyes scanning the area.

"Did you hear something?" she asked in French.

"I only have ears for you," he replied, then spun her around in his lap. He undid the laces of her dress to free her breasts and nibbled the pale flesh around her nipples. "Let me taste you," he muttered.

She acquiesced, her head tilting back. This gave Abella a phenomenal view, and she brought her tail around to put her foot on the tip. The last thing she wanted was to get so excited that she scared them off.

The woman was making noises that reminded Abella of a cat. They were gasps of joy and pleasure. Abella squeezed her own breasts out of curiosity, then frowned. It definitely didn't feel as good for her as it did the woman below.

The man was now fumbling with his belt, and the woman was doing something beneath her skirt. Clothing fascinated her, and she watched as the two of them shifted about for a moment before coming to a halt. They both let out moans of pleasure.

"Holy shit," she muttered. He was definitely inside her now, and the woman had arched her back. This wasn't just some chance meeting for either of them. Was she a servant of his? Or perhaps a secret mistress? Abella could see the ring on the man's finger. Marriage customs among humans were very quaint, but not always honored.

So, a forbidden romance, then? Maybe he was forced to marry for land or wealth, and the woman was a childhood love of his. Perhaps they had been in love this entire time, their entire relationship forced into seclusion. That would make this tryst even more precious, more passionate.

Abella gasped at the sudden sensation in her pelvis. Her hand had moved on its own down to her groin, and she stroked her stiff labia with the knuckles of her fingers.

The woman dismounted, then moved so that she was bent over the bench. The man moved to penetrate her from behind, and as he pressed forward they both let out cries that sounded like startled birds.

Groaning, Abella bit down onto the wall to keep from making any noise. Her teeth ground against the fine stone, and she let out a grunt as she worked one of her fingers into her triangular vagina. Designed for laying eggs, it was easily stretched, which meant a single finger wouldn't do.

She was up to four fingers when the man pulled himself out of the woman. His cock was hard to see in the darkness, but she could make out glistening fluid on the head of it that reflected the distant lights. The lovers shifted about so that the woman could take his cock down her throat, and Abella could hear her groan and swallow as the man came.

Abella was close to an orgasm of her own, and was strongly contemplating using the thick tip of her tail as a cock substitute when she heard the ominous creak of stone wings up above her. She groaned in disgust as another creature landed on the building behind her, then licked her fingers off before turning around.

"Peeping on the humans again, I see." Her brother Pierre smirked at her. "Aren't you supposed to be scouting right now, runt?"

She snorted at him. "You know I would have finished my task before indulging my fancies."

Pierre shrugged, a movement that sent a ripple through the massive muscles of his chest. Out of all of her siblings, he was by far the largest. Only a couple of men in the clan were larger than him: their leader Torsten and Seneca, their shaman.

"I would expect no less of you," he said with a grin that showed all his fangs. The large horns on his head curled downward like a ram, and he moved to join her on the edge of the building. "Don't these fleshlings know that there's a plague?"

"It's about passion, Pierre. They're in love." She spoke to her brother in whispers that couldn't be heard by humans from ten feet away, much less the top of a building. "Look at how he pines for her."

Pierre grunted. "If he pines for her, then why does he leave her before she finishes adjusting her dress?"

Abella watched in dismay as the nobleman threw some coin down for the woman and wandered off into the night. The woman tucked the money in the folds of her skirt and spent a couple of minutes rearranging her clothes before she left the garden. Gone was the illusion of love and passion, and the whole interaction now felt tainted.

"Hmmf." Pierre snorted in disgust. "They can't even breed properly. He has given her money for what? Access to her loins? Disgusting."

"They breed for fun," she explained, then stood to her full height. She was a full head shorter than him. "And it is the oldest profession in the world for a reason. Do you think she deserves shame if she earned some coin to feed her family?"

"Breeding creates more of them," he grunted. "She may have earned some coin, but what now? Will that coin feed the child that is born next summer? The humans are foolish, and I wish your fascination with them would wither like a flower in the fall."

Abella said nothing. Any argument she had with him here would only continue once they were back, and some of her other siblings would likely join in.

"That's what I thought," he muttered. "Come home, Abella." He opened his wings and leapt into the sky. She watched him ascend and then looked back down at the gardens below.

"Fuck," she muttered, then opened her wings to follow. Pierre was dozens of feet above her as she flapped her wings, and she was almost fifty feet above the garden when she heard the clattering of metal followed by a scream that was cut off.

Curious, she widened her ascent and looked down onto the cobblestone road below. Near the edge of the alleyway, she could hear the ringing of metal as a solitary coin rolled across the street and struck a stone before coming to a halt.

Instead of ascending, she hovered up above, moving her head back and forth in the hopes of catching another sound. The streets below were silent.

As she turned her head to look away, she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye along one of the nearby rooftops. The dark figure scurried across the roof with the woman slung over its shoulder, then leapt a thirty-foot gap onto another roof.

"Pierre?" She looked up at her brother, who was watching her. He had a look of confusion on his face.

She followed the mysterious creature. It rustled when it moved, and there wasn't enough light to see what it was. Perhaps a vampire? It had been a while since Abella had even heard of one actively hunting. There had been a clan in Eastern Europe that had gone head-to-head with one and only a couple of them lived to tell the tale. Usually if a creature like that was discovered, the clan would initiate contact to avoid a potential misunderstanding. There was plenty of room for everyone as long as the humans didn't cause trouble.

And if they did, the Clan would see fit to set things right. She dreaded the day that she would be commanded to kill a human, but she would do it to protect her family from destruction.