Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 113

"I saw that." Beth glared at the distant ships. "I wonder why he's got so many boats?"

"It allows him to hide. We've tried to make contact a few times, but finding one boat when you're looking at dozens of them makes the task impossible. And it doesn't help that they're packed full of dead humans who leap out at you." The mermaid looked past Beth and winced. "Not that it's my place to comment, but it looks like things aren't going well."

Beth looked back again and saw that Ratu was physically keeping Leilani and Kailani apart. Both princesses were extremely animated as they spoke to each other in their native tongue.

"What are they saying?" asked Beth.

"It's best not to comment. But in short, Kailani wants to leave you land walkers to your fate and is implying that her daughter is a...what is the word for someone who takes dick in exchange for money?"

"Whore."

"Yes, that. She is trying to sell out our people in exchange for the Caretaker's dick." The mermaid brightened. "Speaking of, is it really true that he--"

"Probably, yes." Chuckling, Beth swam out a bit further and closed her eyes. She could feel the ocean's caress, every wave pressing into her and holding her afloat. It was starting to feel like coming here to speak with the merfolk was a mistake. The high-pitched yelling of the merpeople on the beach was impossible to tune out, so Beth took a deep breath and let herself sink below the water.

She descended in darkness until her feet hit the sand. With a tiny twist of magic, she captured some air bubbles for her eyes so that she could see. The ocean was dark, illuminated only by the setting sun above. There were still remnants of skeletons among the sand, along with broken weapons and chunks of Paradise that had already been swept out to sea.

Mike was relying on her. For this entire trip, she had been forced to sit things out and wait. If she didn't contribute now, then what good was she? Annoyed, she sank her mind into the distant sound of the waves crashing onto each other, letting the current carry her troubles away. Her magic permeated the water, causing bubbles to appear from nothingness and then rise to the surface.

Sitting on the ocean floor, she felt a faint buzzing in the back of her mind. She reached back to the makeshift holster at her hip where the rod of Osiris was. The phallic wand reacted immediately to her touch, sending a ripple of magic out through the waves that briefly illuminated the ocean floor.

Clutching the rod in her hand, she felt the ocean currents still around her as the mana spiraled away from her as if exploiting the environment. It had been decided some time ago to lock up the rod to avoid incurring the wrath of Isis should the goddess think they had stolen it. As a result, it had only received cursory inspections from Ratu.

What did she remember about Osiris? He was the god of agriculture and fertility, but it had turned into something more. What was it? That's right, cycles. The natural ebb and flow of growing and the harvest.

The rod pulsed in her hands once more, and a few curious merfolk circled her from above. Had the rod reacted to the ocean? Or was it reacting to her magic? She had trained with magical implements, but unlike most humans, was able to use her magic without them.

Curious, she channeled her magic through the rod. She didn't ask anything of it, or make demands. The rod was just a conduit for her energy, after all. Closing her eyes, she let her magic flow through the rod of Osiris. She didn't even worry about how long it was taking; after all, she needed to learn how to use the damned thing, anyway.

All of the sudden, her consciousness expanded. She was no longer sensing the water nearby, but the call of the distant depths, the feeling of sand brushing across itself at the whims of the tide. The reef was in the back of her mind, the tiny creatures that lived there clicking at each other as they lived their singular purpose. At some point, it became difficult for her to remember where she ended and the ocean began.

Without thinking, Beth breathed the ocean in and they became one. The salt briefly burned her nasal passages before a sense of well-being consumed her. Sitting in the sand, she could feel the raw power of the ocean around her, the unending depths that regarded her with curiosity. She inhaled, breathing in the ocean and tasting the salt on the back of her tongue.

It was bliss.

When she opened her eyes, it was to a different spectrum of light. Even with the waning light of day, there were details to be seen that had been hidden away. Digging her fingers in the sand, she could sense the tiny creatures that lived beneath. She could smell a nearby school of fish, along with a turtle that had come in for a closer look. The ocean had a pulse in a way she'd never truly appreciated, connected together in thousands of tiny...

Cycles.

Clutching the rod to her chest, she finally understood. The legendary artifact was powerful enough on its own, but all it had done so far was to concentrate her magic, allowing her to fully connect with the element she loved.

Looking up, she saw that a bunch of the merfolk had surrounded her, gazing down upon her in awe. Turning back toward the shore, she commanded the ocean to carry her and it obeyed. She emerged from the water carried in a pearlescent orb which shimmered and burst upon stepping on the sand. The court of the merfolk along with her housemates all gazed at her in amazement.

"Is this your magic, land walker?" Kailani's tone was saturated in disbelief. "Who is doing this?"

Beth opened her mouth to answer and promptly vomited up all the ocean water in her lungs. Apparently, her newfound command over the waves didn't magically teleport the liquid from her lungs.

With a wave of her hand, she extracted the water from her lungs, resolving to remember this next time she chose to make a dramatic entrance.

"I've come to a conclusion." Beth looked at Aurora. "Your people have family on the island. We're going to need their help."

"We're not allowed to tell them about what we do here," said Aurora, uncertainty on her face.

"Fine. Let them die then." Several members of the Order flinched. "You see, we're planning to abduct the entire damned island tonight. If your people help and get fired, Mike will compensate them."

"He can afford to do that?" Aurora glanced at Lily-Mike.

"Yep," she replied. "I am well known for how I share my endowments."

Ratu smacked the succubus. Beth looked at Ingrid.

"What do you think? Can you organize the people who are left here to help us with the defenses?"

Ingrid glanced left and right. The remnants of the Order had made a small bonfire and there were maybe a hundred people capable of fighting.

"With the Director's departure, I am the highest-ranking official and will accept all responsibility for our actions." She gave a meaningful look to Aurora. "I intend to break protocol, despite your best advice."

"Thank you." Aurora bowed her head at Ingrid and then turned to Beth. "You will need to let me know what our people should expect."

"We will. Our best are already on the job and you can expect a full defense of the island to be mounted by sunrise, with or without the help of the merfolk." Beth looked over at Pele, who was regarding her coolly. "The wounds you have dealt the people of the sea are far too fresh. I apologize for wasting your time and bringing you here. It was my hope that they would greet you with the reverence you've come to expect."

Pele studied Beth for a moment, then looked down at the rod of Osiris. "On the contrary, I have zero regrets. Things have been interesting since your family arrived, but now I may even claim that they're...exciting."

"Thank you." Beth looked at Ratu and Lily-Mike, then turned her eyes on Princess Kailani. "Am I correct in assuming that your people won't help because it's not a merfolk problem?"

Kailani sneered. "Honeyed words still taste salty in the water, land walker. But yes, I intend to tell my people that we will not get involved. Enough of my people have died over this business already, I won't see more floating in the waves."

"Okay, then. I can respect that." Beth hooked her fingers and yanked the aqueous orb supporting Kailani's weight. The mermaid crashed to the ground with a yelp of fright, and her court along with her warriors immediately rushed to her side.

"You dare attack me?!?" Kailani tried to summon more water to lift her up, but Beth commanded it all to leave. Anyone not walking on legs was immediately dumped in the sand. Ratu and Lily-Mike immediately moved next to Beth and eyed the merfolk cautiously.

"You and I have unfinished business." Beth waved the wand of Osiris and the bay emptied itself out into the open water, leaving several other merfolk stranded. "By your decree, you have slandered my client with malevolent accusations along with my own attempted abduction as a means to gain his cooperation."

"Stop speaking so fast. Leilani, help me!"

"No." Princess Leilani moved next to Beth. "I would like to hear her out."

"The way I see it, you owe me and my family for attacking us, for putting us in a position where two of our own were abducted. Your friend out there started it, and you helped him. So I demand recompense from you and your people." Beth's eyes widened and she raised her hand to use a blast of water to send a spear off course. It slammed into the sand next to Wallace, who immediately moved uphill a ways.

"What would you have of us? Treasure? Magic?" Kailani spat. "You would hold me hostage for it?"

Beth crossed her arms and stared down at the princess. Her magic hissed to the surface, turning the water that still clung to her skin into steam.

"No. I'm going to give you and your people two options to repay me. Your first option is to--" Beth's danger sense clicked into place just as Lily-Mike snatched another spear out of the air.

"I gotchu, boo." The succubus blew her a kiss.

"Your people can choose to commit to the defense of this island. I know yours is a powerful voice capable of swaying their decision and conveying the importance of what is about to transpire."

"Waves take me, you just keep talking." Kailani rolled her eyes. "What is the second option?"

"Your other choice is I get to see you crawl." The steam curled around Beth's arms, twisting above her like a waterspout. "Me and every other person here gets to watch Princess Kailani crawl back into the ocean on her belly like a coward, away from the mess she helped make with a guy she kept around for his dick. And even though you'll command your people to never speak a word of it, it'll come out. You'll be whispered about in the shadows of the reef, the Princess who traded her integrity away for a little land walker action. Also, I'll personally see to it that every mermaid colony on this whole damned planet gets a chance to see the video."

"Holy shit," someone from the Order whispered before being shushed. As if on cue, several different cell phones came out of pockets and were raised toward the beach where the conversation took place.

The color drained from Kailani's face as she realized what had just happened. She looked at her advisors who now pointedly ignored her gaze. This decision was to be hers and hers alone.

A few minutes passed as Kailani contemplated her options. It was clear that the princess didn't want to commit her people to a war, which Beth understood. At the same time, Beth simply didn't care.

Kailani's gaze shifted from Beth to her daughter Leilani. A dark look briefly appeared on Kailani's face, then vanished.

"It occurs to me that my opinions on this matter may be...a conflict of interests." Kailani smirked at her advisors, then turned her full attention back to Leilani. "Until the sun sets tomorrow, I am allowing my daughter Princess Leilani to act fully in my position. Any decisions or mistakes will be hers to make and it shall become a test to see if she is worthy of the mantle of leadership someday."

"Mother!" Leilani looked positively horrified. Beth noticed that a few advisors nodded their approval. The other merfolk exchanged uncertain looks, many of them giving looks of disdain to Kailani herself. The princess was throwing her daughter to the sharks and everyone seemed to know it.

"She may act in your full capacity?" Beth tilted her head to one side.

"Yes." Kailani was suddenly demure. "I and the other princesses shall sit back and watch her actions with great interest. Let it be known that all shall obey her word as if it were my own."

"Excellent." Beth snapped her fingers and the bay filled back in. Instead of slamming into the stranded merfolk, the waves gently swallowed them up. "Then our business is officially concluded. Now kindly fuck off. The grownups have a lot to do tonight."

"YEAH!" Lily-Mike pumped her arms over her head.

The royal court obeyed Beth, leaving Leilani on her own with a small squadron of soldiers that waited in the bay for their orders. The princess looked like she was sick to her stomach, a feeling that Beth shared. As the royal court fully disappeared under the waves, Pele moved to stand next to Beth.

"Interesting indeed." The goddess of fire grinned. "Shall we head back and hear about how you're going to save my people?"

"In just a moment. Leilani?" Beth moved next to the princess and took her hand. "I didn't know she would do that to you."

"It's fine." Leilani's tone made it clear that she was lying. "Just tell me what to do and my people will make it happen."

"We'll get through this together." Beth looked at the setting sun and sighed. She only hoped there was more she could do. Taking a moment to study the ships on the horizon, she turned toward the people awaiting orders on the beach.

"Let's get started, people." Even though her body was on a beach in Maui, her mind was already back east, wondering if Mike was okay.

The trees shivered in anticipation as Mike sprinted through the clearing, Daisy only a few feet in front of him. He kept his eye on the glittering trail she left behind, his senses expanding to reveal every nook and cranny that the forest had hidden in the dark of night.

The spiders had caught word from their brethren about a place under the mountain, a city of stone that had recently come to life with bright lights and stinking spray that had killed all their food. Mike hadn't managed to meet up with the others yet, but had sent the location via fairy.

There was a flash of blonde hair, and then Dana was sprinting alongside him. She slowed down, turning her head to contemplate him. Her blue pupils were dilated, partially due to the darkness, but mostly because of what she had been eating.

"Here, take Tick Tock and Mace." Mike slid the bag off his shoulders and pulled the Grimoire out before tossing the mimic to Dana. "Don't wait up for me."

The zombie nodded, then threw her arms through Tick Tock's straps and shot forward through the trees so fast that he only saw a glint of the daggers in her hands. Mace did a happy little twirl behind the zombie, then moved ahead of her.

Determined to keep pace, Mike tried to run faster. Sadly, no amount of grit or determination was going to close the gap between himself and Dana. His stamina was great, but she was truly tireless.

The branches bent away from him to let him pass, the trees calling to each other with their leaves as if a mighty wind were blowing across the top of them. In Mike's mind, all he could see were his children's faces, and then those who were already there, fighting to protect them.

Yuki. Bigfoot. Jenny. Even Death, though no physical harm could be done to the Reaper. Dana would be there soon enough, but what if something bad already happened? What if he arrived and...

Tiny motes of golden light curled around his fingers and fell to the ground where they ran alongside him for a few seconds before disappearing into the dirt. With each step, he heard thunder in his ears as if the sky were breaking apart up above.

Please be safe, he thought, his heart hammering against his sternum. All of you.

His cadence increased, his stride carrying him longer distances with every step. Daisy looked surprised when he caught up to her, then redoubled her efforts to lead him to his family. The spiders following in his wake chittered in annoyance as they fell behind, but a bunch of them stopped to release strands of silk that pulled them into the air, allowing them to float on the breeze in his wake.

Breaking free of the trees, he found himself in a long valley. Sprinting across its length, he mistook the golden light that drifted down on him from above for starlight.

Cyrus got to his feet, a pair of wands in each hand. Coughing through the blood that trickled from his nose, he glanced over in the direction Elizabeth had been. The witch was missing, and the sword he had jammed into the ground to divert lightning away from him had actually melted. He didn't know if she was out of the fight, but her shadows were gathering together and swarming in his direction. On the other side of the hangar, Yuki had used the distraction provided by Cyrus to fill the nearest turret tower with hundreds of staves that had pin-cushioned the men manning the gun.

Of Jenny, there was no sight. Bigfoot had charged into one of the squads and was using one man to beat another man to death. When somebody opened fire on the sasquatch with a shotgun, Bigfoot dropped his makeshift club and grabbed his attacker in both hands. Letting out a roar, Bigfoot ripped the man in half, then threw the remains at the other attackers.

"Subtle." The mage turned his attention to the approaching shadows. They swirled wildly, as if unable to properly maintain their shape. His left ear was no longer ringing, but he also couldn't hear anything out of it. His right knee felt like it wasn't connected properly anymore, and the dull pain that seemed to live in the base of his spine was now a sharp one that went all the way up his back and between his shoulder blades. He sniffed in an attempt to stop the flow of blood down his face, but his nasal passages were swollen shut.

The men of the SoS were busy with Bigfoot and Yuki. The only thing between the children and freedom was the shadow army, most of whom were staring at the old man with crimson eyes.

Master Cyrus grinned in anticipation.

The first shadow to reach him turned its hands into sharp blades and tried to cut him in half. He fired the mostly depleted wand of light into the thing's torso, blowing it apart. The shadow behind it tried the same tactic, but Cyrus had already drawn a spare blade and unfolded it. Catching the assault, he twisted away and sliced the creature in half.

"Ten men, my ass." He walked away from where the kids were hiding, moving back toward the guard tower. The shadows followed, sliding across the floor at uncanny speeds. They shifted as they walked, their limbs melting back into their bodies. Cyrus turned his attention to the runes that lit the room and wondered if they were contributing somehow.

There was only one way to find out. He swapped out the depleted light wand for a pair of stone stress balls. Spinning them casually in his hand, he raised his palm to his mouth and whispered a single word of magic. The first ball activated and shot across the room where it embedded itself in the stone, causing part of the magical runes to flicker. Satisfied, Cyrus repeated the process with the remaining ball. When he did, the second ball broke the sound barrier as it shot across the room to reunite with its mate.

The explosion knocked loose a section of wall which collapsed into rubble. Almost immediately, several shadows disappeared and Yuki's ice crept along the floor where they had been standing. Men hiding nearby fled in panic, and two of them were caught by large stalagmites that Yuki had summoned beneath them. The dying men struggled as the ice encased them, the temperature in the room dropping rapidly.