Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 002

"Jesus fuck!" He nearly dropped his laptop. A stone figure tucked away in an alcove by the back door had startled him. Moving in for a closer look, he saw that it appeared to be a statue of a woman, but other than an ample bust, few details could actually be seen. Covered in creeper vines, he pushed a few of them aside to try and see it better. Failing, he made a mental note to pick up some garden sheers. Kneeling down by her feet, he expected to see a plaque on the pedestal she stood on, but it was blank.

"Damn near gave me a heart attack," he muttered, walking in through the back door. He set his laptop on the kitchen table, listening to the sounds of the house around him. Nothing but silence.

His rental car, a green Kia, was still on the curb where he had left it. Leaves had tumbled down from the trees along the street, creating a blanket for it. Pulling away, they spun in circles behind him, creating little leaf tornados in his rear view mirror.

Pickup at Mel's, the home improvement store, was super quick. Mike grabbed an extra pair of work gloves and some garden shears on the way out. Stopping at the grocery store, he picked up some basics, including coffee and a new coffee maker. He had seen one in the kitchen, but didn't trust it to actually work.

He arrived back at the house, gathering up all of his bags in an attempt to make only one trip. Walking precariously between the stone lions, he made it to the front door, setting the bags down to get his key out of his pocket. The deadbolt clicked open, and he pocketed the key, kneeling down to grab his bags.

The porch swing creaked. Mike stared, the gears of his mind turning. He thought he had disconnected the swing last night. Yet there it was, swaying in a non-existent breeze. He walked over, unhooking the swing and lowering it to the porch.

Shaking his head, he walked inside, putting it from his mind. He stacked his groceries up on the counter and tossed the bag of supplies on the kitchen table. Stocking the fridge, he began organizing the tools from the store. A few scrub brushes, a trowel, and a drain snake were pulled from the bucket he had purchased, as well as a screwdriver.

A knock at the door was followed by the sound of the bell. Mike walked back down the long hall, a shadowy figure visible through the frosted glass of the front door. He opened the door to reveal Beth, his Great Aunt's estate representative, standing on the other side. She was holding a stack of files, but that wasn't what Mike noticed. Her dark hair still in a bun, she was wearing a bright red blouse, the top buttons straining to hold it shut, with a knee length white skirt.

"Mr. Radley," she greeted him, a warm smile on her face. "I thought I would drop by and bring you some paperwork. There are several things the firm needs you to look over before we can finalize a transfer of assets. May I come in?"

"Um, yeah. Certainly." He stepped back, and she stepped past him, the smell of soap and lavender following her in. He shuddered internally, this human woman somehow ten times more daunting than the mystical creature upstairs. "Here, this way." He led her to the kitchen, where she set down the pile of documents.

"It looks like you're getting ready to tackle a project," Beth said, picking up the trowel. "Hopefully nothing the Historical Society would disapprove of."

"Just cleaning some gunk out of the fountain," he told her. "Hoping to see it running soon."

"Those don't sound like the words of a man who is still debating keeping the place."

"You're correct. I've decided to stay."

"In that case," Beth slid one of the folders out, checking its contents. "This was an offer from that group of women I told you about. They call the firm almost every day, they're absolutely in love with this place."

"I hate to disappoint them, but the place is growing on me already." Mike smiled, thinking of Naia. "Not sure why, but I feel like this is where I was meant to be."

"I'm very happy for you Mike." Her smile was genuine, crinkling the skin next to her eyes. "I know what you mean. I've been over here several times to make sure the place is being cared for properly by our interim team, and admit I'm a little sad that I won't get to see it much longer."

"Nonsense." Mike waved a hand dismissively. "You're welcome over here anytime. Besides, you're the only person I even know in this town. My job doesn't offer many opportunities to meet new people, so I'm afraid you are my entire social group."

"I may just take you up on that." Beth sat at the table. "I've been a bit obsessed with this place since I was a little girl. I was convinced a fairy queen lived here, probably until I was thirteen. I used to ride my bike past every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Turns out that it must have been someone who worked for your great aunt, a young woman who I sometimes caught working in the garden. She had this brilliant radiance around her, almost like she was stuck in an old Disney movie. I half expected birds to circle around her as she broke into song or something. I won't lie, I tried to figure out who she was once your aunt passed, but there weren't any records." She chuckled, stroking the files with a finger. This action pressed her breasts together, causing a tiny gap to form between the buttons of her blouse. Mike stared into that dark space, wondering what color her bra was. "It's silly, I know, but I can't help but love this place just a little."

"I've only been here one night. Trust me, I know what you're talking about." Snapping his eyes away from her chest, Mike leaned forward, opening the top file. "Ugh. This looks like a bunch of legalese."

"In triplicate. These are some additional assets, plus some agreements I need you to sign since you are taking ownership of the home. Per the will, there are a few protective clauses, primarily stating that you can never bulldoze the home and start from scratch. This was per your Great Aunt's wishes, but I'm guessing that isn't a problem."

"You would be correct." Mike slid open a drawer looking for a pen, but Beth had one ready.

"You can have an attorney read these over first. I prefer that you would, actually. There isn't any hurry-now that we have an heir, the clock sort of resets for a bit." She set the pen on the table. "However, I am just on delivery duty today. I need to get in to the office to begin processing some additional documents. Today is Tuesday. I would be happy to drop by on Friday to pick these up, if you have them done. Otherwise, I can just drop by to make certain you are getting settled. That is part of the provisions as well."

"Um, yeah. Sure. Thank you." Mike followed her outside. He walked behind her, watching the gentle sway of her ass until they arrived at her car, a cute little convertible he didn't recognize. Beth gave him a wave and a smile before driving away. He walked back up the walk, stopping to pat one of the lion's paws for luck. In his mind, he was planning to take the bucket straight out back and see what he could do about that pesky fountain.

He was up the stairs, his hand on the door when he heard the swing next to him squeak. Turning his head, he saw her sitting there, kicking her legs gently as she stared across the front yard, her eyes distant.

"Hey." Mike said, moving to get a better view of her. Her skin was unnaturally pale, her hair white. She was wearing a simple white dress with a thick, black belt around her waist. The skirt stopped just above her knees, white stockings visible above a black pair of shoes. The swing creaked as she swayed, coming close to the siding of the house. She ignored him.

"Hello? Hey?" He stood in front of her, waving his hand in front of her face. Her slightly milky eyes stared forward. Maybe she's blind, Mike thought, staring at her now. Her skin was paper white, but her facial features made Mike think of a mixed European heritage. Small breasts pushed against the front of her dress, filling out the top as if it had been custom made for her. Her eyes didn't budge, her dark eyed gaze settled on eternity.

"Now look..." Mike grabbed the chain of the swing, halting its forward motion.

The change was immediate. She was suddenly standing, her whole body lurching forward as if a movie had skipped several frames. A blast of cold air assailed Mike as her wild face was suddenly inches from his own, her feet hovering inches above the ground. She let out a blistering screech, her hair fanning out wildly behind her as she raised her hands, fingers curled into claws. Mike, panicking, stumbled backwards, the railing hitting him in his lower back. The icy blast of air pushed him over the edge, where he fell into the scratchy bushes below. Wide eyed, he stared into the sky as the specter leaned over the rail, floating upward.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he muttered struggling to fight his way free of the bushes. She let out another shriek, her suddenly darkened features stretched until her face was a nightmarish mask.

"Stop unhooking my swing, fucker!" She cried, poofing out of existence. Mike scrambled to his feet, rolling free of the bushes covered in bloody scratches. Standing in the warm light of day, his heart pounding a mile a minute, Mike stared up at the porch where he had fallen from. The railing was cracked, and behind it, the porch swing swayed gently in the breeze.

Mike ran up the stairs, his eyes on the empty swing. He shoved the door open, slamming it shut behind him. "Naia!" He hollered, running up the stairs. "Naia, what the fuck was that?" He shouted, running into the bathroom.

The tub's faucet opened up, pouring a thin layer of water on the bottom. Her head and shoulders emerged as if she was in a lake rather than an inch of water.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Some woman on the porch. On the swing. Screamed at me. I fell into the bushes." Mike gasped for air, inspecting the cuts on his arm.

"Oh. Oh!" Naia's eyes flashed. "I remember! That's Cecilia!"

"Who is Cecilia?" Mike sat on the side of the tub, rubbing his eyes.

"She's a banshee. She lives on the porch. She really likes the swing." Naia sunk even lower, her lips just above the surface of the water. "I'm sorry Mike. I wish I could have told you."

"Is that the important thing? The one you wanted to say but couldn't?"

Naia shook her head, her face moving even lower. Just her eyes were visible above the water.

"Naia, what aren't you telling me?" Mike crossed his arms. The nymph blushed, her words muffled by the water. "What did you say?"

Naia rose up out of the water until her lips were visible. "I said that there are others."

"Others? Others like who?"

Naia shook her head. "I can't remember. I'm sorry Mike, but I really can't. Now that you've met Cecilia, I can remember her very well, or at least what Emily told me about her. She almost never came inside. But there are others."

"If you can't remember them, than how do you know there are others?"

"It's the important thing, the one I couldn't remember." Naia slumped. "I think you're going to be mad."

"I'll do my best. What is it?"

"Remember earlier, when I told you that the man who built this house collected magical artifacts?"

"Yes?"

"It's part of the Geas. It's a fail-safe, a half-truth. He did collect artifacts, yes. But he came across most of those on accident."

"How do you accidentally come across artifacts?"

Naia put on her best, fake smile. "You see a lot of them when you decide to start your own monster collection."

*****

*That's Chapter 2, I hope you liked it! Check my bio to see my current progress on this story, as well as my side projects. Feedback and comments are still greatly appreciated!*