Home for Horny Monsters - Book Five

Visitors

An early dinner had come and gone, and Beth sat in the living room, her eyes fixed on the man in her front yard. Murray was still out there, and every few minutes, someone would crack a window to see if he was still screaming.

Not only was the sound disorienting, but an ominous fact had been revealed later. While the house was closed up, his scream couldn't be heard, but the outside world still could. A disoriented bird had bumped into the glass, and Tink had braved the outside world to go rescue it. A strong breeze could be heard rustling the bushes, but the noise from Murray only penetrated the home when the door or a window was open.

Ratu, through her crystal ball, theorized that the sound's disorienting effect couldn't penetrate the home's exterior due to the geas. The sound didn't carry through the crystal ball either, even when Beth took it outside for a minute with ear plugs in. Without being able to hear it, the naga had little to offer in terms of advice.

With no ideas, the household was busy making preparations for whatever siege was coming their way. Sulyvahn had gone through the greenhouse to coordinate with the centaurs, and Sofia had retreated to the Library in hopes of finding information. Eulalie had gone with her, ecstatic to see such a place.

Cecilia hovered by the window, her hands held over her chest. On occasion, she would flicker and vanish, only to reappear minutes later.

The front door opened and Lily came in. She was wearing Mike's face, and carrying Kisa on her back. When she set the cat girl down, Kisa made a retching noise. "If you cough up a hairball, you'd better clean it up yourself," Lily warned.

"Eat dicks," Kisa hissed, then wandered off toward the kitchen.

"Success?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, we totally pretended to turn our magic sundial which apparently doesn't give two shits about what's happening out there." Lily flopped down on the couch, her body reverting to normal. Her arm was still wrapped in spider silk, the wound reeking of sulfur. "You know, he's giving our resident screamer a run for her money."

Cecilia chuckled, but said nothing.

"Any word from Romeo yet?" Lily shifted uncomfortably on the couch, trying to find somewhere to rest her arm.

Beth picked up her phone and turned it on. "He still hasn't read any of the texts I sent him," she said. She gave it a moment, then turned it off. With no way to charge it, she was only checking every half an hour.

"We might need to find a different way to do it," Lily said, then looked over at Cecilia. "How about you, dream girl? I know you were popping in and out of his head while you were in fairy land."

"Tis true," Cecilia admitted. "But it often took me a long time to connect. I am happy to try, though."

"Get on it then." Lily flopped back on the couch, then looked at Beth. "While I was out there, I tried to get a good look at the edge of the yard."

"And?"

"Nothing. No people, no traffic. It was almost as if—" Lily turned her head toward the office as Death stepped out of it.

"I say," he announced while rubbing the top of his skull. His hood had been pulled down and he was wearing a giant pair of earmuffs. "That racket is even louder here than it was in the Library."

"Excuse me?" Beth stood. "You can hear that?"

"Of course, I can." Death fiddled with his earmuffs. "I was in one of the deeper sections of the Library when I discovered this amazing book about a man named Waldo. It was demanded of me that I find him, and so I got caught up in his many adventures when I heard that ghastly sound."