Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 016

"Missing clock?" Lily undid her ponytail, her dark hair flowing freely across her shoulders.

"Yeah. An old grandfather clock. I don't see it. However..." Beth stood on the corner of the pallet. "I imagine it was right here. You can see the gap where they didn't stack anything."

"That's weird. From everything I saw, there was no mention of selling a clock. Just those boxes."

"Well, that's something for their lawyers to figure out. After all, clocks don't just get up and walk away." Beth stuck the papers in her briefcase, which was open on a stack of boxes. She closed it, sliding the locks into place. "This could have been way more work for me. Thanks for all your help."

"Thanks for letting me tag along." They walked out of the storage unit together, Beth pulling the door down and then locking it. "I don't know about you, but I am famished. Lunch isn't holding me over like I thought it would."

"I doubt there's anything nearby," Lily said, her shoes clicking on the hard floor beneath them. They walked back into the sun's light, squinting at the sudden brightness. Walking past the office, Beth saw that the worker was fast asleep at his desk.

"Such a hard worker," she said.

"Hope he's having good dreams." Lily said, a smirk crossing her face. They got into Beth's car, and Beth pulled out of the dirt lot and back onto the main road. They drove largely in silence, occasional small talk breaking up the trip. Beth pulled into the drive-thru of a local burger joint, requesting extra fry sauce for Lily to eat. The miles were swallowed up behind them until they found themselves back in the city. Beth dropped Lily off at the parking garage, noticing that the town car was gone.

"See you tomorrow?" Beth asked. Lily winked, stepping out of the car and walking across the lot. Beth watched her disappear behind a concrete pillar, marveling at how helpful her new intern had already proven to be.

-

Navigating the cliff path took some effort, but Mike and Zel finally arrived at the door to the greenhouse. Standing before the giant wall of glass, Zel stared up into the sky, her eyes round in wonder.

"I never thought about how it would feel to leave this place," Zel said, lowering her gaze to the door. "I debated trying to sneak out a few times, but the human world is cruel to my kind, and I had nowhere else to go."

"Why didn't you bust out and speak to Emily?" Mike asked. "I'm sure she would have let you stay."

"Maybe." Zel admitted. "My aunt warned me that if I did, it was my one shot at survival. If Emily said no, I was out on my own with nobody to help me. Emily wasn't exactly known for her kindness to strangers, especially among my tribe."

"What did they say about her?" Mike asked.

"Recluse. Homebody. Murderer." Zel shrugged, her breasts rippling through her tunic. "She seemed okay when we met her, but very guarded. Didn't let us anywhere near the house."

Mike moved to stand in front of Zel. "So here's the deal. Be honest with everybody when you meet them. Tell them why you want to move in with us."

"I'm lonely. I have nobody else. I want to fit in." Zel's eyes shimmered with tears. "You don't think they'll tell me no, do you?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem. We do have to talk to Naia first." Mike appraised the centaur, listening literally to his gut. Naia had imbued him with a danger sense that often came far too late, one that he felt in his stomach as an icy spear of pain. For now, his stomach was silent.

Zel took a deep breath, running her hands across her stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little worried. I don't know what I'll do if you make me go back."

"I think you're good to stay. Like I said, I want to run it by Naia first, simply because she knows the house better than I do." Mike opened the door. "And if that doesn't work, you're always welcome to stay in the greenhouse and come visit. It isn't like you haven't already lived here for a decade. Maybe we can redo the garage, make it a living space for you."

Nodding, Zel stepped through the portal onto the darkened lawn of the house. Mike followed from behind, closing the greenhouse door.

"Hello," he called, expecting someone to be waiting for him. Strangely, the house was silent. "I was supposed to be back hours ago," he explained, walking across the lawn. Zel followed in silence, her eyes fixed on the house like it would reach out and snap her up.

"Tink? Abella?" Coming around the corner into the garden, he saw Naia lying in the fountain, blue and green strands of hair spread across the surface of the water like seaweed.

"There you are!" Naia sat up, the water of the fountain parting to let Mike in without getting his feet wet. Naia pulled him in for a tight embrace, "You were supposed to come back forever ago!"

"Sorry about that, I ran into some trouble." Mike stepped aside, gesturing at the centaur behind him. "Naia, this is Zel. I found her living in the woods of the greenhouse. She asked if she could move in, and I said I would have to check with you."

"It's your call, lover, but we have some more important problems to deal with. You need to go see Cecilia, right away!" Naia performed a curtsy for Zel. "It's very nice to meet you, but we'll have time for proper introductions later. You can stay back here - in fact, I insist on it."

Puzzled, Mike waved farewell to Zel and walked in the back door. "Tink? I'm home!" Surprised when the goblin didn't emerge, he walked through the front door, stepping onto the porch.

"It's about time," Cecilia hissed, appearing next to him. The air was immediately cold, but that wasn't what Mike noticed. Standing in the middle of his yard was a black woman in a bright white suit..

"What the actual fuck?" Mike started to walk forward, but Cecilia placed a hand on his chest.

"She's been standing out here all day," Cecilia said. "She's one of them."

"Mr. Radley." The woman's voice was deep and soulful. "Such a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kali. I am a member of the Society, and I have come to you with a very limited time offer."

"Zero fucks given lady. This is private property and I insist - " Mike's foot was almost on the ground beneath his porch when it erupted. Dozens of snakes broke through the soil, fangs bared at him. He backpedaled onto the porch, staring at the writhing bodies in his front yard. His hand went to the bag on his belt. "Sweet facing Jesus!"

"The Geas of this home is quite strong, the strongest I have ever encountered," Kali informed him, waving her hands slowly through the air. Shadows trailed behind her fingertips, shadows that fell to the ground and squirmed beneath her. "I will learn much by finding a way to break it. Unless, of course, you would like to discuss terms?"

"You need to find Tink," Cecilia said, helping him to stand. "She knows how to activate the defenses, she used to do it for Emily when she wasn't home."

"The house has defenses?" Staring out at the half-naked woman on his lawn, he shivered. She was chanting quietly in a language he didn't understand, more shadows dripping from her fingers to encircle the house. "And where is Tink? Or Abella?" Mike imagined the gargoyle could crush Kali easily beneath her weight.

Cecilia fixed him with a scowl. "Sofia gave you a fool's errand. She convinced Tink and Abella to help her in the Labyrinth while you were gone in order to keep you safe. They left shortly after you did. I wanted to come after you, but this bitch showed up."

"They what?!?" Mike cast a glance in Kali's direction. The shadows and snakes were gone, but the woman's sinister smile remained, sending a chill up his spine.

"The offer is only good until I find a way in," Kali informed him. "Make no mistake. I will tear your entire world apart when I do." Raising her fist, she pantomimed knocking on a door. Mike watched in astonishment as green light rippled away from her, traveling along a giant invisible sphere that surrounded the home.

Mike contemplated the woman on his front lawn for several moments. Without the others, how could he hope to protect the house? To protect them? Storming back inside, he did his best not to slam the door behind him.

"What should we do?" Cecilia asked, passing through the front wall, lines of worry on her face.

Mike ignored her, stamping his way up the stairs. He walked into the room at the end of the hall, the room with the closet door that opened to another world. He could see the scuff marks in the wood from Abella's careful footsteps, saw that the door of the closet was still open. Reaching into the bag, he grabbed the knife tightly as he rounded the corner and promptly smashed his face against the back of the closet wall.

"Fuck!" Mike's nose was gushing blood all over his shirt. He had expected the portal to still be open. Stumbling back out of the room, he ran past Cecilia at the bottom of the stairs and into the kitchen. The maps had all been taken, and there were no instructions left behind for how to open the portal to the cave.

"Fuck!" Mike screamed at the table, spraying blood everywhere. Cecilia was where he had left her in the front room, waiting patiently for him. He beckoned her to follow, stepping onto the back patio. Zel and Naia were deep in conversation when they saw Mike's face.

"It's bad," Naia said, reading the look on his face.

"Yeah, it is." Mike approached the fountain, one hand pinching his nostrils shut. Zel stepped forward, applying a powder to his face that stung like a faceful of bees, but stopped the bleeding.

"What do we do?" Naia asked. Zel, who had no idea what was going on, stood quietly to the side.

"If they aren't back by morning, then something must have happened. They were going down there to fight a fucking Minotaur, and that shouldn't have taken them all afternoon. What was Sofia thinking?" Mike looked at the bedroom window of the second floor. "What were any of them thinking?"

"They were thinking of protecting you," Naia told him, summoning a sphere of water to clean his face. "But that's not what is important. If they aren't back by morning, what then?"

"Then I go after them," Mike said, a dark look crossing his face.

"But you don't know how to open the cave," Naia told him.

"You're right, I don't." Mike pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing gently up and down. "But I know someone who does."

-

Beth tossed her briefcase on the counter, pausing in her kitchen long enough to grab herself a glass of wine. Stripping out of her clothes, she greedily swallowed the contents of her glass, smiling at the soccer field outside of her apartment. Tonight, a swarm of red and black moved back and forth on the field, the enthusiastic crowd somehow cheering her up. They had figured out what was missing, and now the next step would be to visit with Mike. She used her phone to send an email, asking when would be a good time to stop by.

Sliding into a pair of panties and a nightgown, she brushed her teeth, hoping to rid her mouth of the aftertaste of wine. The cheap stuff was good, but left a nasty aftertaste. Feeling like her luck was looking up, she wandered over to her closet, pulling out a small briefcase hidden within.

Her phone dinged. Standing up, she walked to her nightstand to check. Mike had already replied.

Tomorrow morning would be great, he wrote. The sooner, the better!

"Some other time then," Beth said, pushing the briefcase with some regret to the back of her closet. She would have to get off some other day. Closing the closet door, her eyes slid sideways to the mirror that faced her bed. He sat on the end of her bed, leaning forward and bracing his weight on his cane.

"I'm afraid you're about to become a victim of circumstance," Sebastien told her. Beth spun on one foot, a scream building in her throat. Sebastien stood, placing the tip of his cane in the middle of her chest and giving her a push. Beth fell backwards into the mirror, expecting her world to become bathed in broken glass. Instead, the mirror cushioned her impact, the softened surface gripping her like a thick glue.

"What is happening?" Beth asked, her body slowly sinking into the mirrored surface. She struggled to break free, but that only sped up the process.

"You're about to become my ticket into the Radley home," Sebastien said. His face twisted into a sneer, and he pushed her even harder. Her stomach flopped, the gravity of the room shifting. Even though she was standing, she felt like she was on her back, and her one free hand reached out to grab something, anything. Behind him, a lump was forming beneath the covers of her bed, an unseen figure slowly sitting up."I'm afraid that I can't have anybody finding your body."

"I don't understand!" The silvery liquid clung to her skin, working its way up over her face. The figure on the bed now sat upright, the blankets sliding away to reveal a mass of blank flesh. Its skin rippling like water, Beth watched in horror as the thing on her bed opened its mouth and took a deep breath. Breasts formed beneath its chest, and hair grew down to its shoulders. The thing on the bed stood, slender legs forming beneath it. It stuck one hip out, its horrible face settling into a shape that was instantly familiar, yet strange. The scream in Beth's throat froze when she saw that the thing had become her.

"I don't care to explain it. Through the looking glass with you." With one final shove, Sebastien pushed her through. The world around her popped, and Beth was falling, the mirror above fading into the distance as she tumbled down the rabbit hole. Throwing out her arms, she was able to stabilize herself, her rapid descent slowing. Somewhere far beneath her was a soft red light, her destination slowly growing larger. The walls of the tunnel slowly opened up around her, its surface lit by the glow beneath.

"This has to be a dream," she said, unable to convince herself. The warm rush of air across her legs and face was far too real. Perhaps she had fallen into a drunken slumber, and this was a type of fever dream? The stress of her week must have finally gotten to her, and seeing that creepy lawyer was her brain tossing detail into this bizarre fantasy.

She had plenty of time to contemplate these things as she fell.

-

The next chapter is nearly done already, so the wait won't be nearly as long this time, I promise! If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave me a review, comment, or send me a note. I read ALL of them, and they really keep me going when I get stuck inside my own head. Check out my bio, where I always inform readers when the next upload is going to occur! Next chapter will feature everybodies favorite estate agent, Beth!

Much love to my Literotica readers, you folks are awesome! Take care of each other (and yourselves)!