Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 074

I will be such a good father to her, Leeds told her.

"She already has a father!" She scanned the darkness, the sensitive hairs on her body allowing her to sense his movements. When she felt him, she made another leap and crashed face-first into another stalactite. With a grunt, she fell and landed clumsily on the ground.

I can teach her to be a monster like her grandparents.

"Fuck you!" She fired the gun again—but didn't see him in the flash this time. By a quick mental count, she was nearly out of bullets.

This place is a shrine to their transgressions, little spider. There is no hiding where you came from.

"What matters more is where you're going, you sick fuck!"

How old will she need to be until she can mate? Leeds actually laughed out loud, his voice echoing from every direction. I would be such a good grandpa to—

Leeds made a choking sound, followed by the impact of flesh on stone. For several moments, all Velvet heard was the sound of dripping water from somewhere in the darkness.

The silence was broken by the sound of rustling fabric.

"If he took something from you, it isn't here." It was Abella's voice, and she didn't sound very happy.

"It's not what you think," Velvet whispered.

"Enlighten me." There was another meaty thunk, followed by a groan from Leeds.

"Do you have him?" Velvet asked.

"For now. Have to be careful not to kill him is all."

There was a small rush of movement, and Velvet could almost picture Abella smashing Leeds' face into a nearby wall. The devil was being repeatedly stunned.

"Abella, I—"

"Had you smash my eggs but hid one from you?" In the silence that followed, Leeds groaned.

Velvet wasn't sure how to respond. She moved toward Abella's voice and got her hands on Leeds. He tried to fight her off as she searched him again, then grabbed his throat.

"Where is it?" she asked. A shadow grabbed her by the leg, but vanished when she squeezed his throat hard enough that something popped.

"So I was right." Anger and disappointment laced Abella's words.

"Listen. There's a lot I need to say about—"

She's going to attack you, Leeds whispered in her mind. Your betrayal has enraged her!

Velvet stepped back and put up her hands. "Please, just hear me out before you do something you regret."

"Huh?" There was genuine confusion now. "I'm not going to risk letting this piece of shit go, even if I'm pissed at you."

She lies. There was just a hint of desperation in Leeds' tone.

"Leeds says you want to hurt me," Velvet admitted. "I can hear him in my head, he keeps taunting me."

There was a loud snap, followed by a scream from Leeds. She felt him withdraw his presence and let out a sigh of relief.

"You only have one wrist left," Abella growled once he quieted down. "You go in her head again, I'll break the other one. Or the first one again, whichever hurts worse."

Velvet let out a sigh. "It's true, I did hide one of my eggs from you. But it wasn't like the others, I promise. When Mike and I...when I held those eggs, they really were bad. Each one of them was a killing spree waiting to happen, but the one I hid was different." The other eggs in the clutch had all been a mottled grey, but the one she had kept had been the most beautiful blue she had ever seen in her life. Upon touching it, she had received a static shock that had set her hair on end. Whereas the other eggs had radiated hunger and intensity, this one had an aura of curiosity to it.

She didn't know how to convey all of these things to Abella, not in the dark where they couldn't even see each other. She needed the gargoyle to see how genuine she was, to know that these weren't just lies spoken in the dark.

"Look," she began, her hearts pounding loudly in her throat. "You know it exists now. This bastard said he had it, and since he was on the roof of the barn, I figured he stole it out of the jeep. It was in the glove compartment. After we take care of this, you and I and Mike can sit down and discuss what happens next. I need you to trust me, to trust that my kind can be different. Despite our differences, you should know that I trust you. Maybe it's just because Mike does, and I'm in love with him, or maybe it's something more, I just...I need you to give me some time. "

There was a long moment of silence, broken only by a groan of agony from Leeds.

"Velvet." Abella's tone had shifted drastically. "The jeep was the first thing to burn. If he didn't take it, then..."

The beating of her hearts was like a pair of hammers now, and Velvet's limited vision blurred in anger. She lunged toward Leeds and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Did you take it? DID. YOU. TAKE. IT?" She was shouting now, her veins filled with ice water as her human heart dropped through the floor and spiraled toward Hell itself. She was hyperventilating, waiting desperately for his response. When he said nothing, she shook him violently, his head flopping back and forth.

Leeds let out a cough-filled chuckle.

"Never even went inside," he declared. "I was too busy here, slaughtering the Nirumbi with the help of their own. You see, we're all monsters here, inside and out. And to be honest, even if I had stolen your egg, I would have smashed it on my own, because we all know that your kind are little more than—"

Velvet let out a roar and ripped Leeds free from Abella's grip. She smashed the demon into the stone walls of the cave, her fingers digging into the horse-flesh of his head. Leeds let out a strangled cry, and the air grew thick around them.

The hairs on Velvet's body stood on end as a wave of darkness picked her up and smashed her into a nearby wall. Abella was shouting something, but Velvet couldn't make out a single word of it. She fought to stand, her legs weak beneath her as Leeds ran back out into the main cavern, his cape flapping noisily behind him.

"Grab him!" Abella cried as she moved toward the exit. The ceiling was too low for the gargoyle to fly, and her running speed was very slow. Velvet could feel the impact of her massive steps as tremors that reverberated throughout her body.

Cursing, Velvet bolted past Abella in time to see Leeds gliding down to the bottom of the Nirumbi's main chamber. He cackled maniacally as the shadows thickened and broke free from the ceiling, each one a massive tentacle that reached for her. She dodged a few and took aim with her pistol, but Leeds had moved around the massive pillar in the middle of the cave.

"Shit!" She sprinted along the nearest wall, her feet slipping on the wet surface of the cave. When she fell, she scraped up her arms as she tumbled to a stop near the bottom of the cavern. Her head was spinning now, and she stumbled sideways and tripped over a pile of bodies.

Up above, the shadows were no longer reaching for her. Instead, they were wrapping around the main pillar of the cavern like a nest of anacondas. Each coiled shadow squeezed, making the rock beneath them groan.

"Velvet!" Abella shrieked in panic from up above. "Run!"

"Abella, I..." She was simply too dizzy. The dim light of the cave plus the odd echoes of laughter and breaking rock had thoroughly disoriented her. Stumbling forward, she heard a loud groan from the stone above, followed by a sharp crack.

Up above, the ceiling broke apart. The shadows continued to squeeze as large fragments rained down from above. Stunned, Velvet looked up in time to see Abella swoop down through the chaos and grab her by the shoulders with her talons. Pain bloomed through her upper arms as the talons dug in so deep that she bled through her shirt, and the world fell apart as the main pillar shattered.

The opening to the chamber was close, but Abella had to tuck in her wings for them both to fit. Unable to fly, the two of them crashed into the tunnel and then slid to a stop. It was becoming impossible to breathe. Up ahead, Abella let out a cry of agony, which helped Velvet find her.

"Come on," she whispered as her fingers settled on stony flesh. She hooked her hands around Abella's waist and pulled. It was hard to maneuver in the narrow passageway, and the gargoyle had gone completely limp. Stumbling forward, she realized that her gait was off. She had lost one of her legs in the crash.

The ground rumbled again, and something else collapsed behind them. The passageway was so choked with dust she could hardly breathe.

Leeds had planned this all along, she realized. To lure her away from the others. Had he known that Abella would follow? Or maybe he thought it would be someone else.

Disoriented, it occurred to her that she might be moving deeper into the tunnels. The air was so clogged, she couldn't sense where it was flowing to or from.

The ground shook, and a chunk of rock fell in their path. Velvet let go of Abella and tried to push it out of the way.

"Leave...me..." Abella's voice was muffled.

"No man left behind," Velvet rasped. "Family motto."

"Not a man," Abella replied. "Just a rock with...wings."

Velvet shoved the rock around a corner and grabbed Abella by the wrist. "You're family as far as I'm concerned, damn it!"

She pulled, tears flowing down her cheeks. The world was closing in and she couldn't see. Her hands had gotten wet somehow, and Abella kept slipping free, so she wedged herself beneath the gargoyle's body and crawled forward on her belly, hoping they were headed toward freedom.

"This is my fault." Velvet was on her abdomen now, using her legs like poles to push them both forward. "I shouldn't have let him trick me."

"Not your fault," Abella replied. "Leeds. Huge...bastard."

Velvet wanted to laugh, but couldn't. It was too painful. She moved down the tunnel, her fingers searching for purpose. A rock fell from the ceiling and clipped her in the head, and it felt like the world was sideways.

"Must get out," she mumbled to herself.

The tunnel widened and she lost her way. Sliding free of Abella, she moved around in an attempt to explore her options. There were three directions she could go, but which one was right? Crawling deeper into the earth would do them no good.

Sobbing, she wrapped her hands around her father's dog tags. What would he do if he were here?

Velvet. Her father's voice startled her, and she turned her head to hear it better. It had come from the tunnel to her left.

"Daddy?" She waited, not sure what she would do if she heard him again. There was only silence now, and she pondered waiting longer, but the ground rumbled beneath her again. The main cavern's collapse was triggering more activity in the tunnel, and she didn't have time to indulge her hallucinations.

Picking up Abella, she moved toward a bigger opening to her right.

Velvet. This time, his voice was stronger and from the same place.

Gasping for air, she crawled toward his voice. She had been in the dark for so long that she was seeing lights where there weren't any. Abella had gone silent, which concerned her even more. Was she just unconscious? Had the gargoyle died? Abella definitely wasn't breathing, but did she even need to?

"No man left behind," Velvet growled, crawling forward a few more feet. She could feel him now, always just around the corner. If she could just make it a little bit further, she would get to see him again. The minutes stretched into hours, and the flashes of light were becoming images. She saw her daughter first, a young woman with intense eyes that sparkled with magic. Mike came next, his smile warm as he laughed. They were connected in a way that she couldn't explain, and a strange sense of peace overcame her.

She saw her sister, then Uncle Foot, then Mike again. The images flickered rapidly now, and she realized that she had fallen asleep. Groaning, she grabbed onto some rocks and pulled herself forward. The tunnel behind her collapsed, jettisoning another blast of dirt and gravel.

If she put Abella down, maybe she would make it. In a moment of weakness, she tried to shrug herself free of the burden. Maybe the gargoyle would be fine and the others would come rescue her later.

Velvet. His voice was disapproving, and she felt a chill on the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry, I...Abella, I'm sorry." She grabbed onto the gargoyle's wrist and pulled, but was too tired. "I want to, I really do, but I can't. I can't!"

We can. She felt him now, standing right behind her. The sound of boots on stone filled the narrow passageway and she felt their hands on her body. She couldn't tell how many of them, numbers had become a foreign concept, but they pulled on her, helping her to drag Abella further into the tunnel.

"No man left...behind. No man...left..." She was light-headed, the air insufficient for breathing. Her thoughts were like balloons, each one floating away until she only had one thought left.

No man left behind. It had been her father's mantra, one he even said in his sleep. The words repeated in her head as the others helped pull Abella to safety.

The cavern widened, and she felt a cool breeze over her shoulder. She thought she could make out the twinkle of a star or two over the distant pines, but her vision was too blurry to see much.

She needed to rest. There was a good spot not far from the entrance, a smooth one that looked borderline comfortable. The others guided her as she slumped over, her eyes on Abella. The gargoyle wasn't moving, but the two of them had made it.

The earth rumbled once more, and the cavern belched out stone and dirt from where they had come. Gasping, Velvet turned her attention to the shades who had guided her.

"Daddy?" She let out a chuckle. "There are two of you."

My Velvet. Her father put his hand against her cheek. She was surprised at how warm it felt. I'm so proud of you.

"I'm tired," she mumbled, her eyes closing.

I know, he replied. Rest now. You're in good hands.

With a sigh, she let the strength leave her body as the darkness swooped in to claim her. Her father took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I missed you," she whispered to the darkness.

Nobody is ever truly gone, fluffy girl.

She wanted to say more, but couldn't. Somewhere in the darkness, she heard singing and knew it was just for her.

Dear reader, we have moved into the endgame of Book Five. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was both fun (and difficult) to write. Some of you have made some phenomenal guesses at who was manipulating things from behind the scenes, so great job!

Before you go, make sure you leave me some stars, it's an easy (and free) way to support my writing. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send me feedback letters, I've been super busy this month and have been catching up on them (often I have to choose between writing or reading emails, I tend to choose the former to keep up my release schedule).

If you're looking to fill the void (and maybe gain some additional insight into this chapter), make sure to check out The Last of Her Kind here on Lit to learn more about Velvet's parents.

Much love to all of you, and special shoutout to those of you who have been going through tough times. It's a special feeling for an author to read that they've helped you through a difficult time.

Until next chapter!

~Annabelle Hawthorne