Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 018

The house shook, but this time, Jenny remained quiet. Taking a deep breath, he told her exactly what he wanted.

-

Sebastien watched her with amusement and curiosity, tracing the intricate patterns Kali had scribbled in the air. The crystal in her hand glowed orange, leaving behind fluorescent trails. Kali's spell glowed intensely, sucking energy from the Geas, expanding across the sky.

"It seems I underestimated you," Sebastien told her, watching the letters expand until they were nearly ten feet high. Kali smiled in satisfaction, watching her spell devour the Geas. The spell she was casting had been instrumental in taking out a warlock in the 1800s.

The letters grew brighter, blinding light filling the front yard. In her hand, the crystal was suddenly too hot to touch, flames curling around her skin. Kali cast it away from her right before it detonated, the letters first crumbling in on themselves, then exploding. Kali felt the sound inside her gut, falling to one knee as the blast washed over her. It bent around Sebastien, who used his cane as a staff to protect himself. He shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"You knew that was going to happen," Kali said, glaring at Sebastien.

"I hoped it would. Can't have you taking all of the glory." Sebastien crossed the grass, picking up what was left of the crystal. "Completely stripped of its magic," he announced, crushing the crystal with his fingers. A dark powder drifted away on the slight breeze.

Kali stood up, shrugging off his comment. "No matter. I know a hundred different spells I can try."

"And you are welcome to them." Sebastien checked his watch, a gold Rolex with his name on the back. "However, my plan is going to start any minute now. Feel free to watch all your hard work amount to nothing."

Kali shook her head, then put a calming hand on the snake at her side. The python lowered its head, rubbing its face against her thigh.

"We'll see," she whispered, gazing at the windows of the house once more.

-

Mike closed the back door, squinting in the morning light. The sun's rays were scattered across the mist hovering over Naia's fountain, casting rainbows of light in every direction like a giant prism. The nymph was busy dancing on the surface of the water, her white gown billowing behind her while birds flew in circles around her body.

"How did it go?" Zel asked from her spot off to the side. She had set up a table, and was busy scribbling some notes to herself in a giant leather journal while watching Naia. Mike saw that she had drawn Naia almost perfectly, a drawing that looked almost like a photograph.

"Ask her yourself." Mike set Jenny down on the table. The doll gave a small curtsy, causing Zel to startle, her equine hindquarters briefly losing control. "Jenny, this is Zel. She's new to the house."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Zel gave a rather eloquent bow of her own. "I am unfamiliar with your species, I'm afraid."

"Tormented human soul trapped inside of a doll. It's a long story." Mike saw that Naia was no longer dancing, her attention on the three at the table. "She agreed to help."

"But at what cost?" Naia looked doubtful, her crossed arms pressing her breasts against her chest.

Mike shook his head. "For now, her freedom from the Vault. Without a host, it takes a tremendous amount of energy for her to do anything. Speaking of which, Zel, I'm going to need a pick-me-up."

"You just got up," Zel said, furrowing her brow.

MIke sighed. "Being a spirit, Jenny needs to run on the energy of her surroundings. The Vault acts as a giant barrier to prevent things like her from walking off on their own. I guess I'm acting as a spiritual battery for Jenny right now, or at least that's how she explained it to me." He pictured the images Jenny had shown him. It had taken a bit, but once she had convinced him that she wasn't going to eat his soul, he had agreed to be her energy source until she got a body. "We are keeping things to a minimum, but I feel like I've finished a brutal workout, and that's just from our talk. Do you have anything that will give me a boost?"

"Actually, a couple of things." Zel disappeared into the garage, and Mike followed. She had already set up shop in there, using the work bench as her apothecary. In the corner, she had built herself a bed out of several blankets he had found in the house. Zel was busy eyeballing a few flasks, holding them up to a lamp she had installed on the workbench.

"And?"

"Well, a couple of options. I'm hesitant to give you any more of that potion. Since it seems to be a spiritual drain, I can supplement some of that granola with peppermint extract and wolfsbane. That should act as an upper. I also have something that acts like adrenaline, but that's only for emergencies. Hmm." Zel pulled out a small mortar and pestle, crushing up some leaves. She poured in some viscous fluid from a test tube that she had, and then added some small grains of salt. It smelled like Vaporub from across the room, and Mike's mouth went dry.

"Okay, here. Try this." Zel presented him with a small flask.

"All of it?" Mike asked.

"Yep." Zel nodded, her hair bouncing across her breasts. "Might taste weird, so swallow it quickly."

Mike took her advice and chugged the chunky liquid. It tasted disgusting but filled his belly with an immediate warmth. The bond he had with Jenny was tangible like a bungee cord stretched tight and threatening to drag him under. He felt its draining effects diminish significantly. "Hey, that worked pretty great. What was in there?"

"I used some dried tea leaves for their caffeine. I thought that would act as a fairly good stimulant. Black salt from a volcano, hard stuff to come by, but I have plenty. A couple other minor additives, and then your semen from yesterday."

Mike felt his throat tighten. "My... my semen? You made me drink my semen?" He fought the urge to gag.

"You should know by now that semen is more than just cells and fluid. Human semen contains a bit of your life force, which is easily replenished. Your semen, however, is dramatically stronger than that of an ordinary human. Since you are feeling drained by the doll, I figured why not use your own life force to bolster your spiritual energy?" Zel beamed. "And it looks like it's working!"

"Ugh." Mike stared at his shoes. He guessed there was no helping it now. "Well, thanks. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Zel said. "You can repay me later by helping me replenish my stock." She winked at him. "Oh, and don't forget these!" She handed him a few of her special granola bars. "Eat them if you start feeling hungry!"

"Yeah. Thanks." He pocketed the bars, promising himself that he would hold off unless absolutely necessary. Walking back outside, he saw that Jenny now stood on the fountain's edge, face turned up toward Naia. He couldn't hear what Naia was telling her, but the doll kept nodding emphatically in agreement.

"Hey. You look better." Naia threw a sly grin at him.

"Yeah. Zel made me a potion." Mike's lips tightened at the memory. "I don't feel nearly as depleted."

"I feel the same way when I drink it too." Naia licked her lips mischievously.

"You knew about this?"

"Zel and I sat up for a while talking about all sorts of things." Naia winked at him. "You know us girls. Pillow fights, freezing each other's bras, talking about boys."

"Prank calling the neighbors, showing people your tits on the internet, ordering pizzas for people you don't like. And apparently discussing the restorative properties of my spunk."

"We were just comparing notes." Naia gave him a mock pout. "I mean, if you're going to bring strange girls home, we're gonna talk about your junk."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I suppose that's fair." He looked down at Jenny. She stood patiently on the edge of the fountain. If he didn't know any better, he would think a child had left her there. "You're not talking about my junk with Jenny, are you?"

"That's actually a sore subject," Naia whispered. "The whole 'not having a body' issue."

"Oh." That made sense. Jenny had been a young woman when she had been accused of adultery then burned at the stake for being a witch some centuries ago. "I'll tone it down a bit."

"You're so considerate." Naia kissed his cheek. "So what next?"

"We wait for Beth to get here. I'm not entirely certain how I'm going to break it to her, but I'm afraid we're going to need to borrow her body. Jenny said that she's been through the Labyrinth, and it would be easier to guide me while inside a body. I suggested using mine, but then I would be in the doll, and not much use. That, and apparently she can't use mine."

"That would be the soul exchange," Naia whispered. "Anyone who tries to boot you out ends up going against that chunk of my soul."

"Like in the Dreamscape," Mike said, remembering how he had found Naia hidden inside his own psyche.

"Exactly," Naia said. "It's your secret weapon."

"I'll have to remember that." Mike crossed to the other side of the fountain. "Well, I guess I'd better get ready. I'm not sure when Beth is getting here, but she said she was coming early."

"Good luck." Naia waved at Mike, and he walked back inside. He grabbed the dagger from where he had hidden it, then sat on the couch with Jenny. The doll sat with him, kicking its legs on the edge of the cushion. Mike watched the doll, wary of any sudden changes in behavior. Their talk had been relatively brief, Jenny communicating through pictures in his mind more than anything else. While it was clear that she hadn't yet forgiven him for giving her away, it sounded like she was just as ready to give him a second chance.

Mike slid the dagger out of the sheath, inspecting it for the first time. He expected a magic dagger capable of cutting through most anything to be lots of things, but boring wasn't one of them. The dagger had a small groove in the middle, the hilt a simple T shape. The handle had been wrapped in leather that looked old. He wondered if it would glow in his hands if orcs came near. Or was it trolls? He was having trouble keeping his thoughts straight. He swung it experimentally. Could he actually use it on a living creature?

The doorbell rang, the sound echoing through the house. Taking a deep breath, Mike looked out the window. He couldn't see who was at the door, but he could see that the woman in white was missing from his front yard. Shit.

"Please be Beth, please be Beth," he whispered under his breath. Mike answered the door, the dagger clenched tightly behind his back. Beth stood on the porch, a bag over one shoulder and a handful of files in the other. There was no sign of the woman in white, but Mike felt the cold feeling in his gut intensify. Leaning out the door, he looked all around, wondering where she could have gone. Cecilia appeared briefly by her swing, shrugging. She had no idea either.

"Come in, quickly." He pulled Beth inside by her wrist, shutting the door behind her. Letting out a deep breath, he rubbed his face, pondering. "Did you happen to see anybody else out front?"

"No. Should I have?" The question didn't seem to faze Beth at all, which meant she must be telling the truth. It suddenly occurred to Mike that the snake woman out front could just as easily cast a spell to blend in, or even become invisible. Rubbing his face with the palms of his hand, he sighed. The anxious feeling in his gut was still there, and he was convinced that if he looked at one of the windows, he would see the witch staring back in. His mind filled with visions of the front yard, teeming in snakes. It had never actually occurred to him that inviting Beth over meant putting her life in danger.

"No, don't worry about it." He was about to tell her a lot of things, things that weren't going to make sense, and he felt that starting with a society of witches trying to break into his house would be a bad idea. "It's a long story, but we'll get around to it eventually."

"So what did you need my help with?" Beth asked. Today she wore a white blouse with a black pencil skirt that clung tightly to her thighs. She had black shoes to match, and her hair had been pulled up into a bun. Beth, as usual, was a vision to behold, but something was off about her. Mike just stared at her for a few seconds, wondering where to begin. He felt antsy, appraising Beth once more. Why couldn't he shake the danger sense in his gut?

"It's complicated," Mike told her, unsure of how to continue. "I want to show you something." He walked into the living room, standing next to the fireplace. He picked up the doll he had set on the hearth. "Do you remember when I gave you this?" He held it out.

"Yes." Beth took the doll from him with her left hand. "I took it home with me. You said to get rid of it."

"It isn't just a doll. Here, may I?" He took Jenny back from her, setting the doll down on the table. "So I suppose you are wondering how it got back here. Here, take a seat." He sat on one of the chairs. Beth made herself comfortable on the couch, setting down the files. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse, then tucked away a wisp of hair that had come loose.

His whole body went numb, the feeling in his gut expanding through his limbs. What had been a simple attempt to tuck away a strand of hair had suddenly become a revelation. It was subtle, nearly impossible to notice, and even Mike had doubts. But the chill in his stomach persisted, and he had to know.

"Just a sec." Mike pulled his phone out of his pocket, and quickly snapped a picture. It only took him a second to flip the image horizontally, and a moment more to realize what it was that his mind was trying to tell him. When she had tucked away that stray hair, Mike had realized that the part in her hair was on the wrong side of her head. The Beth on his phone looked correct, a mirror image of the one sitting across from him.

"I wish you hadn't done that," Beth said. She lunged at him, stepping across the table with lightning speed and scattering her files everywhere. Strong hands caught Mike around his throat, yanking him out of his chair. Gasping for air, Mike struggled to free himself, but Beth's grip was impossible to break. She casually lifted him in the air, his legs hanging below him.

The doorbell rang.

"You need to answer the door," Beth told him. "Let him in."

"Let... who..." Mike's dangling feet kicked at Beth, but she ignored him. He swung his legs even harder, planting his foot firmly in her gut, but it was like kicking a brick wall. Beth marched him toward the door, stepping across the fallen folders. What was going on?

Jenny, still on the table, tipped over and crashed to the floor. She ran across the room, disappearing beneath the couch. The couch lifted off the ground, hovering briefly in the air before launching itself across the room at Beth. The couch busted apart on impact, Beth grunting, but ignoring the assault.

His vision going dark, Mike closed his hand around the hilt of the dagger, hoping that he was right. He sliced cleanly through Beth's wrist then fell to the floor, gasping for air. There was no blood. Instead, Beth's hand exploded into a pile of sand upon impact with the floor.

"Fuck!" Mike got to his feet, slashing wildly at Beth's other hand. The small pile of sand rolled across the floor where it merged with her foot. Beth's hand grew back, and she flexed it experimentally, her eyes never leaving Mike's.

"Answer the door, Mr. Radley." She moved toward him, her face expressionless, fingers reaching. Mike slashed with the dagger, spilling sand everywhere. It got in his eyes, and he coughed, stumbling backward and falling on the floor. She grabbed Mike, lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the wall.

Cecilia phased through the front door, hair billowing wildly behind her, white eyes wide with rage. The temperature of the room dropped, frost forming on the walls and floor. Mike placed his fingers in his ears, the dagger clattering to the floor.

The banshee screamed, her voice causing Beth's features to ripple, sand blowing off of her skin and filling the room like a miniature dust storm. Cecilia moved closer to Beth, arms wide and her body aglow with fey magic. Beth's features blurred further, sand now running off her body in torrents. Her arms thinned out, and Mike was able to break free, sliding to the floor. Mike grabbed the knife, the shrill sound sending ice through his entire body and causing his ears to ring. Stumbling to his feet, he made a run for the back door. He wasn't going to win this fight on his own.

"Mike!" Naia stood on the edge of her fountain, lines of worry written on her face. Zel stood at the other edge of the fountain, holding a water skin beneath the water. Several vials had been laid out on the fountain's edge.

"She's made of sand!" Mike shouted, the back door ripping free of its hinges. Beth walked out, a maelstrom of whirring sand following close behind to form up along the back of her body. "How do we stop sand?!?"

"That's a homunculus," Zel stated, quickly packing up her belongings and galloping off. Mike circled around the edge of the fountain, the dagger held before him. He needed a plan, but he couldn't think straight. His ears were still ringing from Cecilia's scream.

"Mike." Naia was by his side, her hand on his wrist. "Get her in the water."

Beth's eyes were focused on Mike, her hands clenching and unclenching. She stepped into the fountain, moving toward Mike and Naia. Tiny spheres of water rose into the air, circling the homunculus like angry birds. Beth swatted them away, causing large chunks of flesh to vanish into the magical swirling orbs.

"Hold on to me," Naia said, throwing her arms around Mike. Already, he could feel the swirling current on his legs, threatening to suck him under. He held her tightly, the waters of the fountain churning around them, forming a large vortex. Beth's body thinned away, the water quickly sucking away her sandy exterior. She fell apart like a sand castle blasted by ocean waves, vanishing beneath the surface. The brackish water swirled violently around them, Beth's hands attempting several times to reform at the edges of the fountain only to be swept up once more.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked, his shoes and socks ripped free of his feet.

"Getting rid of the trash," Naia said, her eyes flashing. A large watery orb began to form at the fountain's edge, the spinning waters pulling the contents of the fountain into the air. A set of hands tried to form again, emerging briefly from the sphere, but they were quickly sucked back in. A large, sandy face formed inside of the water, opening its sandy maw to scream silently at them.

"Holy shit," Mike said, watching the sphere float out over the back porch. A thin stream of water blasted itself into one of the nearby drains, and the high-pressure water forced the remains of the homunculus into the small vent in the ground. The drain backed up, the sand trying once more to form a human, but Naia was ready. She forced even more water down the drain, emptying her fountain and getting rid of the homunculus.

"That should buy us plenty of time," Naia told him, staring at the drain. Zel reappeared, holding a large potted plant she had grabbed from the side of the house. She set it carefully over the drain, plugging it from above.

"Is it gone?" Mike asked.

"Nope. It's in the sewer system now. Will probably clog up a waste treatment plant before coming back later." Naia let out a sigh. "It was the only thing I could think of doing."

"Well, it was better than anything I had planned." He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Thanks for saving me."

Naia beamed. "Of course, lover. But the question you should be asking yourself right now is this: if someone made a homunculus that looks like Beth, what happened to Beth?"