Home for Horny Monsters - Book Five

The Devil of the Forest

Velvet cocked her head, then pointed to the West. "He's over there," she said, then spun around just as a trio of Nirumbi appeared at the corner of the cabin. They raised their bows to fire, but their shots went wide when Dana tackled them from behind.

She hit them hard enough that they scattered like bowling pins. Dana let out a growl and sank her teeth into the throat of the one closest to her and ripped. It was like watching a speed eater at a chicken-eating contest, except with far more blood and shrieking.

"Jesus Christ," Mike muttered. He could almost hear Lily chastising him for his language.

"Sword!" Dana whipped her head toward Velvet, her hand outstretched.

"What do you need it for?" asked Velvet as she tossed Dana the blade.

Dana snatched the sword out of the air and beheaded the Nirumbi she had just bitten.

"Zombie birth control." She tore into the other two before they could regain their footing and stabbed them in the head to prevent them from turning. Dana bolted into the woods, leaving a trail of blood behind her footprints.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Mike muttered, then placed a hand to his stomach. He was feeling woozy.

"It's us or them," Velvet told him, then ran back into the cabin. When she emerged, she was carrying her father's pistol. "We didn't start this. Remember that."

The steely glint in her eyes steadied his resolve, and he continued to watch the trees. The snowmen charged into the forest, filling the air with cries of alarm. With her army finished, Yuki returned to Mike's side and summoned tall walls of ice around them while leaving windows for him to shoot through.

Nirumbi charged at them, and he fired. Once they fell to the ground, he tried to ignore their cries while reloading, doing his best to focus on the task of protecting the others. Quetzalli summoned lightning blasts that struck her horn, allowing her to redirect them into small clusters of attackers that died on impact. The metallic smell of ozone filled the air.

"Something feels off about this," Yuki said, after almost ten minutes of killing Nirumbi. "It's clear that the Nirumbi are outmatched, just like before."

"There are way more of them now," Velvet replied, then raised her gun to take down a Nirumbi that had scaled the wall. "Maybe it's a numbers game?"

"No, Yuki is right." Mike scanned the tree line. "What would be the point in sending them in just to die? Why would they do it?"

"Because they are less afraid of you than they are of me." The voice came from behind him, and when he spun in place, he saw Leeds standing on the roof of the cabin.

Both he and Velvet opened fire, but Leeds flickered as the bullets went through him.

"It's a projection," Yuki explained.

"What do you want?" Mike asked.

Leeds chuckled. "That's simple, dear Caretaker. I want this land."

"Why not just ask? Why not find a different way to reach out?" Mike felt his anger growing as his magic roared inside of him. Tiny sparks formed on his fingertips, but he clenched his hands, willing them away. "I feel like you had options."

"Mike, don't." Yuki grabbed him by the shoulder. "Really, don't even talk to him. He's manipulative."

"Oh, I will only be honest with you, Mike Radley." Those crimson eyes glowed, as if burrowing into Mike's soul. "You see, I wanted to do this long before you took notice of this place. It would have been so easy to take this land, to become part of the Great Game before you even knew what was happening."