Home for Horny Monsters

Hi all! Here it is, the finale of Book Three!

If you're new to the story, start at Ch. 1. This is a terrible place to jump in blind.

Returning reader? Welcome back, I hope I did the ending justice! I have already started on Book Four, so no worried emails please :)

As always, thank you for your comments, reviews, etc. This community is amazing, and I couldn't have gotten this far without you. Book Three is currently somewhere around 160 thousand words, and I couldn't have done it without your support. You all rock.

Keeping this brief so that you can hurry up and see how it ends!

The World

Yuki stood by the back door, her eyes on Naia's fountain. The nymph was currently absent, resting in her spring.

Unstoning the others had taken some time. After reviving Beth, the minotaur had been next, and it had taken almost everyone to calm the beast down. Scowling, he had stormed back into the Labyrinth, disappearing behind its thick, metal doors. Beth had been unable to follow, still weak from her transformation. Sofia had simply collapsed, holding her sides tightly.

Naia, after a quick kiss with Mike, turned into water and vanished.

Ashamed, Yuki had spent the next day or so helping Zel make preparations to begin restoring the centaurs. Beth described the ordeal as instantaneous, meaning that the men and women of the herd were frozen in time, and would likely come out swinging. Tink was helping build something similar to what she called a cattle-chute, which would stabilize the centaurs and prevent injuries upon awakening.

Yuki had dedicated a solid chunk of her time to finding the key to the wardrobe. It had been difficult, but she eventually found it buried beneath a portion of the front porch that hadn't collapsed. She had given it back to Mike, who had smiled and simply handed it back.

"You hold onto it," he told her. "We don't really need it anymore, do we?"

The next day, Tink had given her a chain to put it on. Yuki now wore it around her neck, as a memento. She found herself touching it often, thinking about what it must have taken for Emily to find the strength to turn the key, locking Yuki away for good.

However painful those memories were, there was still one more thing to do, and she couldn't quite bring herself to do it yet. Standing at the back door, she took a deep breath and took a step forward. It was a path she had taken many times before, to a place she had spent countless hours. Now, though, she felt like a stranger, and couldn't help but to think back to a better time.

"Hey, Naia?" It was a bright summer day, nearly thirty years ago. Yuki could smell the blossoming flowers in the garden, and was lying on her back on the fountain's edge, watching birds and insects swirl overhead.

"Yes?" Naia was behind her, floating on the water. Ever since Yuki had arrived, the fountain had quickly become her favorite place. The inside of the house was okay, but it was often noisy and she didn't like how confined she felt within the walls of the house.

"I was wondering. Emily asked me if I would be willing to travel with her and find others. Like me."

"And? What's your question?"

"What if I say no?" The world outside of the house was suddenly so scary now that she had somewhere she finally felt safe. Over the last few weeks, her mind had been able to process all of her close calls, the times she had almost been caught. The thought of stepping back out into a world like that was scary, and more than a little intimidating.

"Then say no. She isn't going to make you leave because of it."

"Are you sure?" Yuki rolled over. "I mean, really sure? Because I don't really want to go, but, at the same time, I've noticed that everyone else here contributes." She caught a glimpse of fairy lights as they chased each other through the garden, Cerulea and Olivia giggling before disappearing through an open window of the house. Seconds later, the sound of breaking glass was followed by a stream of goblin curses, which made her laugh. "Well, almost everyone."

"Believe it or not, everyone who lives here has a job that they do. It might not always be obvious, but it's how the house functions." Naia sat up and ran her fingers through the fur between Yuki's ears. "But just because Emily asked doesn't mean that it has to be the job you end up with."

"What's your job? Like, I get that you're the spirit of the fountain, but what is the big thing that you do?"

"Oh, I'm kind of like a guide. When a new Caretaker comes along, I can tell if they'll be a good fit, and then use my magic to bind them here."

"Have you ever screwed up?" Yuki looked into Naia's eyes. "Like, what if someone messes up their job?"

"So far? No." Naia smiled down at her. "It's not a decision I make. It's the house who chooses. Sometimes the Caretaker can hunt around for their successor in advance, but it's ultimately the house's choice."

"Well, then, what's the house's job?"

"That's a very good question." Amymone had chimed in, her back against the fountain wall. The dryad was leaning against the opposite wall of the fountain, which was right at the edge of her tree's roots. Her head was still buried in the book that she was reading, her long, green and brown hair cascading over her shoulders. "I think the house is up to something, personally, but my sister would tell you that it's to protect the others who live here."

Naia threw the dryad a dirty look. "Ignore her. She's just being snotty."

"Why do you think it's up to something?"

Amymone chuckled. "Just a feeling I get. I wish I could go inside and see for myself what the fuss is about. Do you know that it's impossible to count all the rooms? Try it sometime. Just go through and count them. You'll always find that you forgot about one, or somehow counted one twice."

"That's not true," Yuki said. "I can easily count them all."

"Can you?"

"Stop it, Amy, you're scaring her."

"I'm not scared." At least, she didn't think she was.

Amymone let out a sigh and set her book down on the edge of the fountain. She turned around and looked at Yuki. "I finished another one. Do you suppose you could grab me another? A random one from the garage will do."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Yuki picked up the paperback and looked at it. "You sure do like to read, don't you?"

"I don't get around much." Amymone stood and stretched, her dark limbs cracking. "Though holding the processed carcasses of my siblings is still a little disturbing."

"Processed... carcasses..." Yuki looked at the book in her hand.

"She's just fucking with you," Naia told her. "Not every tree has a dryad."

"Not anymore," Amymone grumped.

The nymph rolled her eyes. "She's being dramatic on purpose. It's a bad habit she picked up from her books, I'm sure." She splashed her sister. "Her job is to help maintain the plant life. Did you know she helped grow some of the stuff in the greenhouse?"

"Really?" Yuki asked. The greenhouse had fascinated her, but Emily had made it off-limits to the others. Apparently some of the flora was dangerous, not least of all the Mandragora. Even while docile, the tendrils of the plants liked to grab at Yuki's feet when she wasn't paying attention.

"Yeah. Sometime after the house was built, but..." Amymone went blank for a second. "Apparently that's all I'm allowed to remember on the subject."

"Is it weird? Forgetting things you've known forever?"

Naia nodded. "It is, but it makes it that much more fun when you get to remember them!"

"Okay, Pollyanna, settle down." Amymone put a hand on her hip, cocking her head impatiently.. "If you don't mind? A new book?"

"Oh, right." Yuki held the old book to her chest. "Do you care which one?"

"Nah. Put that one in the box by the door and just grab one out of another box. Emily keeps plenty of spares in there for me to read, so as long as it isn't part two in a series or whatever, it's fine."

"Sure, okay." Yuki walked into the garage, following Amymone's instructions. She picked a book at random with a strange ship on the front and returned it to the dryad. Yuki sat on the edge of the fountain.

"Thanks," Amymone said, then walked back to her tree and sat at the base. Within a few minutes, the ground near the dryad had sprouted clumps of wildflowers.

"Ooh, you picked her a good one," Naia told her. "My sister is a sucker for science fiction, by the way. She likes reading about the stars and other planets and stuff. Helps make her feel like the world is a lot bigger than it really is. She never did take to being stuck in one place very well.."

"I see. So Emily brings her books?"

"That's Emily's job. To take care of us, meet our needs, maybe even make us happy." Naia patted Yuki between the ears. "Has anyone ever told you how soft your fur is right here?"

"No. No they haven't." Yuki watched the dryad for several more minutes, contemplating. How many other creatures were like her, hiding yet hoping? When brought here, would they see the love and care that the others had? It was a lot to think about, but now she wondered if it was something she wanted to help others find, too. "Maybe I will travel with Emily. Help keep her safe. That's something I could do."

"Only if you wish it." Naia planted a kiss on her forehead, the first of many. How many days and nights had Yuki sat out here, lying on the grass between the two of them? Amymone spent several hours helping Yuki learn to read english, and even do some basic earth magic. Naia had been her confidante, with Amymone always willing to toss in her two cents worth. Did Naia feel that loss? Was she even aware of what it was she was missing?

What would it have been like if Yuki could forget Emily? Back in the present, she held up one of her tarot cards, wiping away the tears that blurred her vision.

It was the Lovers card. Depicting a couple standing across from each other with eyes locked, it was a card containing enough magic to make two people fall in love, or at least think they were. After she had created the Death card, Yuki had spent months working on this one. At the time, she didn't know which one she was planning to use, but that desperate part of her had wanted Emily back so badly that she felt it had been a worthwhile investment, an opportunity to reclaim what had been lost.

Naia seemed blissfully ignorant of her loss. Yuki wondered what her life would be like if Emily could be erased in such a manner from her own mind, a mysterious gap between then and now that her brain filled in with fiction and anecdotes.

Tucking the card away in her sleeve, Yuki rubbed the tears from her eyes once more and looked into the sky. Distant clouds had built into dark thunderheads, and a storm threatened to break in a couple of hours. Maybe she would climb the house later and watch it from the roof, if Abella was willing to share some space.

In a lot of ways, she wished she could forget about Emily, but she knew that doing so would change who she had become. And while it was likely that Naia would be happy to continue on with no knowledge of her lost sister, she owed it to the nymph to make certain that she remembered.

"Naia." Yuki poked her finger in the fountain. The water moved sluggishly, slowly forming into the nymph. Her hair was disheveled, and she let out a large yawn.

"Sorry, I'm not quite myself quite yet." Smacking her lips, she leaned over the water to see her reflection. "Gods damn it." She shook her head a few times, her hair shifting into different styles before tumbling down her back in a smooth cascade. Looking at her reflection again, she gave a nod of approval, and then turned her attention to Yuki. "Yes?"

The kitsune sat on the edge of the wall and told her everything, starting from the beginning. Several tears were shed, and by the time she was done, Naia cried too, her entire body covered in tiny streams of water that ran into the fountain. The distant storm had now broken overhead, and Naia held Yuki in her arms, letting the rain wash over them both.

--

"Those two seem to be getting along." Mike stood at the kitchen table, looking through the back window at Yuki and Naia.

"I guess." Beth swallowed a couple more tylenol with a glass of water. Ever since her unfreezing, she had felt like she had come down with a case of the flu. "It'll be a road to recovery for all of us, I'm afraid."

"How have you been feeling? Any stray thoughts?"

Beth shook her head. "Not that I can tell. I haven't been sleeping very well, but I think it's because I hurt so bad." She turned to Jenny, her constant companion. The doll stuck with her now, ready to alert anyone in the house if Oliver took back over. However, she was no longer missing any time, and she hadn't seen a trace of Oliver anywhere. "Naia checked and said that the piece of him is still attached to my soul, but it's just sitting there, like it's sleeping."

"Well, hopefully, you won't have to worry about it for long." He sat across from her. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Anything." She couldn't help but notice how much he had changed recently. In some ways, he still seemed like the man she had met almost a month ago, but the way he stood and spoke elicited those odd feelings once more. She was attracted to him, that was for certain, but she also worried that she was being manipulated by Oliver somehow in an attempt to get closer to him. She hadn't mentioned this to Mike, but had made sure to keep her distance just in case.

"They're going to start waking up the centaurs soon. I was wondering, as my attorney, if you could help me broker a deal with the ones moving here and the ones staying behind."

"Like a treaty?" Her heart leaped at the idea of putting together a treaty for an entire centaur herd. She wondered what the men looked like. "Anything specific you want?"

"Not to fight with Zel's tribe would be a good starting point. Orion needs to relinquish his claim on Zel. I probably need to apologize for antagonizing them." His forehead scrunched up as he thought on it some more. "At worst, peaceful co-existence. At best... having a centaur army on hand might not be a bad idea."

"I'll see what I can do. What about the exiles? The ones coming here?"

"They're gonna live in the greenhouse. Gonna need something that says they'll take care of the land and become part of the house, in a way. Zel has assured me that the greenhouse will be able to provide for them, so we won't have dozens of mouths to feed, but I want something in writing to prevent them from creating any unsafe situation."

"Like what?"

He smiled. "You're my attorney. You tell me."

Beth smirked. "Okay, I think I can write something up. Do you want a fancy title, too? I mean, it's almost like you're creating your own fiefdom here. Master of Monsters? Lord of the Land? We could poll the others, see what they like."

Mike made a face. "They can call me the Caretaker. I'm not their boss of anything. I just want them to have somewhere safe to stay."

A smile crossed her lips. "I think that can be arranged. Anything else?"

Mike shook his head. "No. Nothing that I can think of. You'll probably need an escort. The centaurs are super grumpy with me right now and likely to crucify you on sight, but I imagine returning their missing warriors will soften them up a bit. I'm sure you'll be far more diplomatic than I was." He let out a sigh. "While you're working on that, I'll just be here trying to figure out how to clean up the front yard."

"Sounds good." She turned her attention to the women outside, then back to Mike. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"Negotiating peace between a magic house and a centaur herd not enough for you?" He lifted an eyebrow and grinned. "I can't think of anything, but—"

He was interrupted by the slamming of a door and a litany of shrieks in goblin.

"I should probably go see what that's about." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen, leaving her behind.

She sat alone for several minutes, her thoughts suddenly slippery. At first, she worried that there was a more sinister explanation, but she realized that she was most likely under caffeinated. She put on a fresh pot of coffee and waited for it to brew, the warm, earthy scent flooding through the kitchen. Taking a quick trip to the office, she returned to the kitchen with her laptop to discover Daisy gazing at the coffee pot with interest.

"Hey there. Would you like some?"

Daisy spun around, clearly startled, then made a couple of signs with her hand.

Yes, please.

"If you help me find something you can drink from, I'll pour." Beth started to sign back, but then remembered that Daisy could hear through the vibrations in her wings. Her ASL was super rusty, a leftover from her college education, but she could understand the fairy just fine. "So you got trapped on the other side with Yuki, right?"

Yes.Daisy lifted off the ground, fluttering near one of the cabinets.Open this, please.

Beth opened it up and saw that it was full of food. The fairy darted in, rummaging around in the back. Eventually she emerged with what looked to be a child's teacup, which looked more like a bowl in her hands.

"This is yours?" It must have gone unnoticed when the cabinet had been filled. She poured out some coffee for the fairy. "Room for cream?"

The fairy nodded, then sat down on the table to wait. Beth poured herself a cup first, and then Daisy, then sat down with the half and half. She topped off Daisy's cup and held back a laugh when Daisy wrapped her arms around the cup, clearly enjoying the warmth.

"Would you be able to help me with the centaurs? I need someone familiar with the area who can tell me about them and their culture." She had heard a bit from Zel, but figured it would be good to hear it from an outside perspective.

Daisy nodded, then took a sip of coffee, her wings fluttering in delight.

"Wonderful, I appreciate that." She held a finger out and the fairy gave it a shake, as if sealing a deal. With a grin on her face, she opened up a new document and started going through her templates. Daisy kept her company as she drafted out some ideas, speaking at length with the fairy. Her aches and pains eased up over the next couple of hours, and she looked over what she had, a broad smile on her face.

Taking her laptop and Jenny with her, she walked to the stairs, Daisy sitting on her shoulder. She paused by the stairs, looking through the open front door. Abella was holding part of the roof of the porch in place while Mike pushed a piece of wood beneath it. Tink sat on his shoulders, ready with a hammer to shore it up. She smiled at them, though they didn't see her. By this time tomorrow, the front porch would be usable once again.

Once in her room, she put her laptop on the bed and opened her closet, revealing her clothes. Daisy helped her dig through her outfits, picking the one that would look best. She settled on a low cut blouse with black lace around the edges, and then found a matching red skirt that went down to her knees. Stripping down, she tried the outfit on, then piled her hair up on top of her head.

"What do you think?" She stood in front of her mirror, turning back and forth.

You look great.Daisy sat on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the space below.

"I look better than I feel." She released her hair, letting it fall past her shoulders. For several moments, she was caught by her own reflection, her eyes darting around the corners of the room. Suspended in death, was it possible Oliver could still see her? What dark corners of her mind could he still be in?

"Are you in there, you bastard?" Leaning toward the mirror, she stopped just short of her nose touching it. She half expected to see his grinning face in the pupils of her eyes, but all she saw was how tired she was. Though she had escaped his wrath, she had still fallen prey to him, had nearly become the victim. Though her body hurt, her heart hurt even more as a result, her pride damaged. He had tried to take everything from her for no reason other than he could. She had been absolutely powerless, and had the implications not been so severe, she would have been thrilled at the idea.