Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 063

"They're not stupid, they know we're still in here." Frowning, she looked through the gap in the window again. Torches were being lit. The idea of leaving Bigfoot behind made her sick to her stomach, but her feelings wouldn't matter once the flames made it through the wooden walls.

Could the cabin even be set on fire? It was magical in nature and was bigger on the inside. It was something they had never tested for obvious reasons. She said a little prayer as the cheering nirumbi came toward her, their torches held high.

This was her home. It was the only place she had ever known, and now she was going to die inside it.

From the forest, there came a piercing cry that made the hair on her legs stand on end. The sound permeated the house, and Bigfoot shifted uncomfortably on the couch in response.

"What the hell was that?" she asked. It was apparent that the nirumbi didn't know either, because they turned to look outward, the cabin now forgotten.

The cry came again. This time, it sounded like a pair of voices screaming counterpoint to one another, causing her veins to fill with ice. What dreadful creature could conjure such a sound?

The nearest nirumbi carrying a torch turned toward the cabin and came at them. Its beady eyes glistened in the light of the flames as it drew close.

A dark shape crashed into the creature from above. It was a beast with dark skin and powerful wings that flapped mightily. When the newcomer turned to face the cabin, Velvet realized she was looking at a woman with flattened features and pointed ears. Her skin was made of stone, and her lips curled up to reveal a pair of fangs. It was a gargoyle, as beautiful as she was deadly.

The gargoyle trampled the nirumbi into the ground with large talons, then paused when a spear shattered on the back of her neck. She turned her dreadful gaze on a nearby cluster of nirumbi and scowled.

"Wha—

Aghast, Velvet could only watch as the gargoyle barreled into the nirumbi. They scattered like leaves, but the gargoyle snagged a pair of them and flew into the sky. Tiny shrieks filled the air when she dropped them a few seconds later.

Fat snowflakes began to drift across the yard, followed by a thunderclap. The weather had rapidly turned, and the air felt electrified. Velvet realized she was holding her breath.

The nirumbi nocked arrows and held them up, clearly tracking the gargoyle. Velvet debated moving to the roof for a better view, but thoughts of this were dashed when icy spears rained down from above. A pair of women emerged from the forest, causing the nirumbi to panic and switch to their spears.

One of the women had fox ears with a trio of tails whirling behind and wearing a thick white coat. She held a shield made of branches that had been tightly woven together. There were a few arrows protruding from it.

The other was Dana. There were easily twenty arrows sticking out of her, and she collected a couple more plus a spear as she charged into the little men swinging her sword and cutting them apart.

The nirumbi had enough. They let out shrill cries as they broke and ran for the forest. Velvet half-expected her rescuers to let them go, but the fox summoned a volley of ice that caused a momentary whiteout. That shrill cry came again, followed by several thunderclaps. Frost covered the windows, preventing her from seeing anymore, and she backed away from the door.

The storm outside raged for several minutes, then absolute silence. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked.

"Velvet?" It was Dana. "Are you in there?"

Velvet ran to the door and threw it open. Impossibly, her friend had come for her. She would have hugged the zombie, except for all of the arrows sticking out of her.

Dana flicked the sword a few times to knock the blood off of it, then folded it up and handed it over.

"I probably should have brought this back sooner," she confessed.

"Yes. You should have." Velvet smiled, then looked over Dana's shoulder. The yard was covered in a thin blanket of snow, and all around were several nirumbi-sized lumps beneath it. The air smelled of blood and ozone, and she walked outside with Emery right behind her.

The fox woman knelt down over one of the lumps, her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air. Nearby, the gargoyle thudded into the ground and rose, her features twisted in disdain, then indifference.

"Thank you," Velvet said. "You guys saved us. Please, you have to help me. Bigfoot is hurt."

"Poison?" asked the fox. "I can smell it. I may be able to do something to help that." She made it to the door and gave a little bow. "My name is Yuki, by the way."

"Thank you, Yuki." Velvet watched her walk inside and kneel next to the couch. She turned her attention back to Dana. "How did you get here?"

"Magic rat portal. Will explain later. This is Abella, by the way." Dana gestured at the gargoyle.

"I will stand watch," Abella informed them, then lifted into the sky and disappeared.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Velvet said. "Those weird little guys came out of nowhere and I—"

Movement from around the barn caught her eye and she turned her head, her heart coming to a stop. One of the figures was a woman with a large horn coming from her head, but all Velvet could focus on was the man next to her.

He wore a brown coat and jeans and was talking with the horned woman. The wind was catching in his hair, causing it to billow ever so slightly backward. Dark brown eyes that reminded her of earth sat just above a smile that made her entire body hot and smooshy at the same time. In her gut, she felt the heat shift from her belly immediately down to her groin. She suddenly felt heavy, as if the ground were about to swallow her up.

"You must be Velvet." When he spoke, it was as if his voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket. "My name is Mike. I'm the new Caretaker."

"Caretaker?" Emery shook in anticipation.

"And you must be Emery. I have something for you." Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny coin. "I got this a while ago, in case I made it out this way. It's a real silver dollar, and—"

"SHINY!" Emery snatched the coin from Mike, then landed on his shoulder as he gave the coin a bite with his teeth. "It's real silver, Vee, real silver!"

"Uh, yeah." Velvet's brain wasn't forming any words, and she just stared at Mike. It was as if she couldn't get enough of the very sight of him, and she felt her groin tighten beneath her.

"Not to be that person, but can we head inside?" Dana pulled one of the arrows out of her leg. "Pincushion isn't my favorite look."

"Yes, please, come in." Velvet's mouth was dry and her hands shook as she led them into the house. When she followed Mike inside, all she could think about was what it would be like to run her hands through his hair, to touch his skin, to feel him up against her body.

But most of all, what their children would look like.

I hope you had fun reading that, because I had a lot of fun writing it. There is plenty more in store for our intrepid heroes.

Thanks again for dropping by, I absolutely love the Lit community. I've appreciated all the support from you and want you to know it means the world to me. Don't forget to leave some stars and a comment or two, I do try to read them all. Make sure to do something nice for yourself today, and stay tuned to see what happens with our cast of zany characters next month! (probably somethin' sexy, I dunno)

~Annabelle Hawthorne