Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 109

As she neared the village, she sifted through the rumors that had been carried along the wind to her little shrine. She had heard stories about distant villages being attacked, sometimes even leveled by troubled spirits, or possibly demons. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence in this part of the world. With so much scientific innovation spreading throughout the mainland, many creatures similar to herself had come here as refugees. The natural pecking order had been disrupted, and trouble often followed.

It was a good thing she was considered the top of the food chain. Her serpentine features curled into a smile as she rode the currents, shifting her coils to act as a rudder. In places, the rocks were sharp, and she'd prefer to keep all her scales intact. Last year, she had been playing in the river and knocked several loose. While the wound had been painful, the smiles of the children who had found her prismatic scales on the bank and used them for tiny hats had somehow been worth it.

She surfaced upstream, just above where the fishermen threw their nets, and shifted back to human form as she stepped ashore. There were rumors about the dragon who lived in the river, and so she avoided letting them ever see her serpentine form on land. Misdirection was easy when it was someone else making all the assumptions.

The path into the village was only a few feet wide. She held her hands out to the side, allowing the foliage to caress her fingertips as she walked. The world above was so soft, a feature she was still getting used to. She had long ago exchanged the glittering of fire-lit gems below for the starry skies above, but had never truly appreciated just how many colors could be seen in the lands of man.

Humming a sweet tune to herself, mostly so that she wouldn't surprise any of the villagers. She stopped when she realized she didn't hear the gentle chatter of the fisherman. This was the first bend in the river where they caught their breakfast, yet nobody was to be seen. Puzzlement became concern when she passed the next two spots and still saw no one. Up ahead, the smoke rose in a giant column. What had looked troublesome from a distance had suddenly become ominous. The wind shifted and she tasted the air, hoping for answers.

It tasted of death.

She broke into a run, her bare feet kicking loose gravel into the tall reeds. Now that she was closer, she could hear the wailing of human misery, their cries shattering the stillness of the woods. She regretted not riding the river all the way to the village now, but what had been done was done. What came next would be up to her.

Bits of hot ash fell from above as she entered the village and paused to stare at the devastation. Villagers milled around in confusion, staring in shock at the massive stones that had spiraled up from beneath the soil, many of them penetrating structures. Based on what she could tell, a cooking fire had likely been overturned, the fire quickly spreading to some of the nearby trees and other buildings. People had been trapped beneath the rubble, many of them perishing in the flames. Gasping for air, she placed a hand over her mouth and wept.

The villagers didn't see her at first, too busy were they with their grief. She moved around the perimeter, sending pulses of magic into the ground in the hopes of finding someone who had survived, somebody that she could save. These people would rebuild, sure, but even a small victory would help them sleep a little bit better tonight.

She used her magic to push aside the stones, the villagers looking to her for guidance. The soul of the village had been broken, but for what purpose? The scent of magic was strong, yet there was no culprit. Mischievous spirits, at best, may claim the life of a human, but there was usually a purpose, even if it was just spur of the moment cruelty.

"Over here!"

The naga paused, her lips thinning out. Who was speaking English? She chanced a glance over her shoulder and saw a group of men emerge from the forest. Some of them wore leather armaments and carried swords at their waists. The others had staffs, and all of them carried backpacks. They were being led by islanders she didn't recognize, likely acting as guides.

"Looks like our quarry has struck again." One of the men carrying a staff knelt down by a woman whose face was covered in burns. His hands filled with soft light as he attempted to heal her. "These people need our help."

Oh. She knew who these men were. Clicking her tongue in disapproval, she started moving toward the outskirts of the village. Though she had never met anyone from the Order in person, it would serve her well to abandon the area for a few days. Technically, she was the village deity, but she didn't feel like enduring their scrutiny. They were outsiders at best, and couldn't be trusted.

Still, their efforts were appreciated. The people of the Order moved quickly, offering support to those in need. It was only by chance that she noticed how intently they searched the faces of those they helped, how they studied the dead as if afraid they would rise. She wanted to flee into the woods, but could sense them hiding in the grass, lying still and waiting. If their hearts hadn't been beating so hard, she never would have sensed the tremors in the earth. There were more of them out there, watching. Waiting. Hunting.

Though the fires were out, water was being hauled up from the river by bucket to make sure the smoldering remains were properly extinguished, and it was there that she found her exit. Kneeling in the cool water of the river, she slid forward into the current, allowing it to pull her under and away. Transforming into a serpent once more, she was about a hundred feet downstream when the trap was sprung.

A massive net engulfed her, ripping her free of the water. She thrashed about, hissing in surprise as a pair of mages levitated her out of the water while knights hauled her onto the shore.

Back in the present, a similar hiss escaped Ratu's lips as she opened her eyes. She forced the memories down into her gut, feeding it to the fire that was building within. The village had been so many decades ago, yet the pain was still fresh. Just like before, Mohan was waiting at the end.

She tapped her foot impatiently. Why was this elevator so slow?

At last, the car stopped and the doors slid open. Ratu stepped forward into the luxurious suite just as a door along the edge of the room clicked shut. She could hear Ingrid's muffled shouts from beyond, but the well-dressed figure standing in the center of the room and staring up at the monitors was all she had eyes for. He studied a replay of her fight with the merfolk in the lobby, watching as she bombarded the royal court with fire that could crack stone.

"I remember the first time I saw you summon fire, back when we were young." Mohan's voice was wistful, nostalgic, and clearly rehearsed. "It's a special moment in every naga's life, when we first resonate with magic. For you, it was always fire. I'll never forget how your eyes sparkled like emeralds, wide with wonder as you held that ball of flame in your hands. That afternoon, we sat at your father's feet and you spoke for hours about how it felt, being so close to a power that could bring comfort, yet also destroy. It was in those moments that I first found my feelings for you." Mohan straightened his suit and turned in place. The scales on his face rippled as he adjusted his cufflinks. "Surely you remember--"

Ratu hit him with a fireball that caused the monitors behind him to spark and melt, the swirling torrent of fire cracking the marble beneath Mohan's feet as the impurities crackled and burned. Both hands extended, she demanded nothing less than for his entire body to turn to ash before he could do any more harm.

"I see you're still impulsive." Mohan tsked her from within the fire. Even now, she could feel the swirling barrier of air he had summoned. "And here I thought we could at least be cordial."

"I have nothing to say to you." Ratu twisted the fingers of her left hand, commanding the marble at his feet to break. Once it had done so, she clapped her hands together, causing the shattered masonry to collapse inward on top of Mohan with the intent of crushing the life from him.

"And yet, I have plenty to say to you." Mohan the Director snapped his fingers and the marble shattered into dust, which got caught up in the swirling vortex around him. He blasted the remnants of the floor outward, and Ratu summoned a wall of fire to drive them into the air. The air conditioning system kicked on, the air return rattling as it sucked up marble dust. "So perhaps you can stop trying to kill me for a minute and hear me out."

"No." Ratu remembered the last time she attempted to hear him out, her thoughts going back in time once more to the village.

Mohan stood at the edge of the village, a triumphant glare in his eyes. He was dressed as a guide and leaning against a tree. He spoke to her through the wind blowing across her ears, meaning the Order couldn't hear.

"One last chance," he said. "If you come home with me, all will be forgiven. But if I have to drag you home, these villagers will pay."

"NEVER!" she shouted through her serpentine lips, causing the villagers and Order to recoil in shock. Flames licked at her eyes and nose as she attempted to burn away the protective runes of the net.

"So be it." Mohan's body began to melt as he moved toward the villagers, his body stretching out as scales sprouted across his flesh. By the time someone saw the massive snake and screamed, Mohan was already slamming his jaws shut around them.

Mohan sighed in disgust. "I went through a lot of work for this, you know." He gestured at the broken monitors behind him. "I thought you'd appreciate all I did to find you."

"All these years, and yet you still don't understand." Ratu channeled the fire, the temperature of her skin heating up. "You still think of me as a lost belonging, or worse, an escaped slave."

Mohan waved dismissively. "I had hoped your time with the mortals would have tempered your hysterics, but that was wishful thinking on my part." He loosened his tie and then shrugged out of his jacket. "You're a lot like fire, you know? Wild, powerful, capable of great things. But just like fire, you lack discipline." He undid the cufflinks on his sleeves and then rolled them up. "Imagine how strong you would have been if we had been together all this time. I didn't waste all these years obeying the whims of mortals, my dearest. It was time spent honing my abilities, learning to better channel my strength, to become one with the wind, all those things we spoke of when we were children."

"I want you to imagine how happy we could have been if you would have just trusted me!" Ratu's eyes were now brimming with tears. "I was prepared to spend my entire life by your side, but then I saw how ugly you truly were beneath those scales. If your jealousy hadn't claimed you, if you hadn't lashed out at me, struck me with your fists, we could have been together! I was in love with you once, Mohan, I truly was. You were the center of my world, and then you fell out from beneath me. You broke my heart!"

Mohan cracked his knuckles. "You were the one who left. If anyone is allowed to complain, it is me. I am the one who suffered, after all. That man you adore, your Caretaker, he will blame you for what is about to transpire, you'll see."

"That man is everything you are not." The air around Ratu ignited.

Mohan snorted. "Oh really? If that's true, then why have you given him a false name? What is wrong with your true name, hm?"

"I hate that name," she hissed. "But only because I heard it spill from your lips so often."

He chuckled, the air around his body now circulating so fiercely that the fabric of his pants made a flapping sound. "You're coming home," he said. "Whether you like it or not, my precious Upala."

"My name is Ratu!" The air exploded, and Ratu threw herself forward, her body changing as fire spiraled around her. Mohan rose to face her, transforming into his serpentine form as well. They were nearly full sized by the time she struck, her fangs seeking his flesh, and the two of them crashed against the closest wall, causing the building to groan and shudder beneath their combined weight. The storm of fire raged inside the penthouse suite, melting everything that didn't simply ignite, and the two of them crashed together into an exterior wall. It collapsed, and they tumbled together through the open air to the ground below.

We've officially entered the third act of Book 7! I'm going for the record on property destruction in a single novel, so be ready for it. Surprises, spells, and shenanigans await in the days ahead!

Thank you so much for reading, don't forget to leave a rating and feel free to send me feedback. My spam filter eats some of them, so apologies if I never responded, but I do try to hunt them down every few months!

Last but not least, make sure you're drinking plenty of water. It's good for your skin and helps balance your mood. Do something kind for yourself today, and I'll see you in the year ahead!

~Annabelle