Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 105

That was just one reason the Order collected children and raised them. It was almost impossible for an adult to regain access to their magic. It was like trying to spontaneously regrow a limb. If she had been a year or so older, she absolutely couldn't have become a mage. Knighthood would have been possible, but she would have started at a massive deficit.

They continued through the tunnel for perhaps another hour, Quetzalli occasionally muttering to herself in a language Ingrid didn't recognize. When Ratu had asked what the problem was, Quetzalli revealed that she hated not being able to see the sky. Ingrid felt the same way, but decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

In truth, she was just trying to keep her shit together. The dull pain in her twisted ankle constantly cried out for her attention, and the mental toll of the last twenty four hours was finally catching up to her. She wanted nothing more than to lay down somewhere and sleep it off. Usually when she got this way, she would either talk through her problems with Wallace or fuck him to improve her mood. When this mission was over, she planned on scheduling time off and utilizing one of the therapists the Order had on file. The last thing she wanted was for this mission to become the thing that finally broke her.

"I won't be broken," she whispered, her voice echoing off the walls. It was the same mantra that had gotten her through her experience with the drakes, and every other disaster since then. When it was just her against the world, she refused to succumb to the cracks.

"Is it getting warmer in here?" asked Quetzalli from up ahead.

Ratu frowned and knelt down in the tunnel. She placed a hand on the ground and closed her eyes. "It is," she said. "But there shouldn't be any reason for it to--"

The world rumbled around them, and the vent behind them started to collapse. The three of them broke into a run, sprinting forward as the earth fell apart.

"Can't you stabilize it?" shouted Ingrid.

Ratu's face was twisted up, serpentine features manifesting as flames curled around her fingertips. "I can't," she hissed, her tongue flickering briefly. The walls in front of them cracked apart, revealing another passageway. "I'm not doing this!"

"Shit." Ingrid drew her wand, holding it tight in her fist. Quetzalli tripped over a rock and fell, but Ingrid paused long enough to pull the woman back up. She received a nasty shock for her efforts.

"Sorry," Quetzalli muttered, scowling in frustration.

"Move!" cried Ratu, turning around and flaring her hands. The tunnel walls were still closing in, but debris was now falling all around them. A stone arch deflected the falling rocks long enough for Ingrid and Quetzalli to get away, and the three of them now ran together.

The sound of the earth slamming shut behind them was only slightly more sinister than the crumbling sound of the passageway ahead ripping itself open. Sweat poured down Ingrid's face, pain now shooting up her leg with every other step. Her ankle had been fine all day, but she had likely twisted it again. She was now driven by enough adrenaline that she would have to pay that particular price later.

The ground cracked open beneath them, revealing smooth rock that they slid across. Ratu transformed into a snake and caught Ingrid and Quetzalli in her coils as they slid.

"We can't separate!" she declared as they slid down a polished obsidian slope. "I won't be able to protect you!"

Ingrid was no longer worried about being protected. Whatever was toying with them was far above their weight class. All she could do was hope that they weren't on the menu as Ratu's fire was extinguished and they were plunged into darkness.

The steep slide abruptly leveled off, and they slid together as a unit across smooth, obsidian glass. Suddenly, all movement stopped and Ingrid was tossed free of Ratu's coils. Summoning a magical shield around herself, she collided with a stone wall and came to a halt. The fairies fluttered up into the air, the light from their bodies illuminating a chamber made of stone that terminated in a wall made of cracked and flaking obsidian. The room felt like a sauna, and Ingrid staggered to her feet.

"Quetzalli?" Ingrid looked around for the silver-haired woman and found her in a small alcove beneath the rocks. She ran over and helped pull Quetzalli free, but saw that she was bleeding from a nasty cut on her forehead.

"Here, let me look at that." She moved to examine the wound.

"Don't touch me there," said Quetzalli, pushing Ingrid back and opening eyes that revealed an electrical storm within. A massive electrical charge was building around her, and Ingrid took several steps back.

"Are you...okay?" asked Ingrid.

"Hurt and angry," growled Quetzalli as electrical streamers danced all across her body. "Having trouble...controlling myself."

"Ugh." Ratu had transformed into her human form and was lying on her back, clutching her head with both eyes closed. "What did we even hit?"

"A wall." Ingrid gestured toward the rocky surface with her wand, which was still in her hand. "Can't miss it."

"A wall?" Ratu opened her eyes and squinted, as if looking into the sun. "I don't feel a wall there."

Ingrid frowned and tapped the wall with her wand. "It's right here," she said, then fell backward when the stone she had touched slid open to reveal a massive, citrine eye.

Her scream was lost in the rumblings of the earth.

Movement through the Big Bog was difficult, even with Leilani helping. They found some shallow streams that the mermaid used her magic to create a path for them to walk on, but the ceaseless rain had chilled Mike to the core. His stomach growled, upset with his all-fruit diet, and he wanted nothing more than to have dry feet again.

Daisy shivered against his crotch. The fairy had gotten chilly long ago, so Mike had tucked her down the front of his pants where she had made a quick nest of his pubic hair and potentially gone to sleep. It had stopped raining for almost an hour, but had quickly resumed. With no direct sunlight, there was nothing to warm him back up.

Opal stayed right behind him the entire time, her body constantly pushing out sticks and leaves that she accidentally absorbed. Her legs wobbled, the high moisture making it difficult for her to maintain rigidity. If not for the fact that Ratu had spent an entire year trying to help stabilize Opal's body composition, the poor slime would probably be back in her decanter already.

With just over an hour to sundown, he was relieved to discover that they were less than a mile out from their destination. A dark crevasse was visible in the cliffs ahead, and his best guess was that they were headed for a cave. However, the steady beating of drums soon filled the air and he felt his heart drop.

"We should split up," said Leilani, her voice trembling. "As long as they don't see you with me, you should be fine. Just remember to bow down if you see them, show them respect. This is their land, their home." She shivered. "None of my people ever encountered them here. It has to be because of Francois."

Mike studied Leilani. She was already scanning the area, her eyes shifting nervously. The clouds above had descended, filling the area with fog. The skeletons had been gone for quite some time now, but it seemed that one problem had replaced another.

"No." Mike moved to Leilani's side and took her hand in his. "You're with me, now. I won't leave you behind."

"But--" Leilani looked over Mike's shoulder and gasped. He spun around to see torches being carried toward them through the trees.

"C'mon." He pulled Leilani behind him. "If we hurry, we can cross the property line before they catch us. I'm hoping that will keep them out."

The rainforest rustled around them, despite the lack of wind. Mike jogged forward through the moisture and the muck, his senses expanding outward. The spiders had all gone quiet, which was a really bad sign. Branches shifted out of the way to allow them to pass, but now he saw dozens of vines and snakes dangling from them.

"Do you feel that?" asked Leilani. Her gait was uneven and she was gasping for air.

"Feel what?" he asked.

"It's like somebody is squeezing my chest."

Mike looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Switching to his soul sight, the land came alive like it was on fire. Spiritual energy permeated the land, sliding over and through it like they were living things. He didn't know if this was what Leilani was sensing, but the sight of it was overwhelming.

It took some concentration, but he was able to focus only on their pursuers. Spirits appeared through the vegetation, carrying weapons made for battle along with their torches. The drumbeat of the forest chased them right through the trees and into a clearing at the base of a cliff. A large crack in the cliff above transformed into the mouth of a twenty foot tall cave at its base, and Mike's magic reacted almost immediately to the sight. This cave was the start of his property. If they could just get inside they should be safe.

"Not so fast." An old woman stepped forward from the darkness of the cave, her earthen eyes tinged with red. Her head was adorned with a crown of kika blossoms and she wore a white dress that only came to her knees. She crossed her arms and stood her ground as Mike, Leilani, and Opal all slid to a stop on the muddy ground.

The mermaid picked up her trident, but Mike grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her behind him. He didn't know who the woman was or what she wanted, but powerful magic radiated off her in waves.

The night marchers surrounded the clearing, their unfathomable eyes on the trio in the middle. They weren't attacking yet, which was probably due to the woman's presence.

Mike took a deep breath and let it out. "Don't do anything," he told Leilani. "And definitely don't react negatively."

"Who is she?" asked the princess.

"Not sure," he said. "But it would be a very bad idea to make her angry."

The woman smiled. Though she appeared to be a native islander, the golden light only he could see radiating out from her body told a very different story. When she spoke next, her voice resonated with power and the mountain trembled beneath them.

"At long last we meet, Caretaker."

Hey, look, I remembered to put an outro this time!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't forget to leave some stars on the way out, maybe comment or email me something nice if you had fun, then give yourself a high-five, because you got something done today!

Make sure to drink plenty of water, and I will see you next time, monster lovers!

~Annabelle Hawthorne