Page 50 of A Mastery of Monsters

The barn we’re supposed to be using for this community dinner needs a lot more work than Mia advertised.

It’s big enough to hold maybe thirty people comfortably, and the ceiling is high, which is great, but it’s also dusty and full of cobwebs, and it smells like it’s recently had animals in it even though Mia insists that it hasn’t for decades.

Mia says, “It had cows when Grandma was a girl, but not since she’s owned it.

And definitely not since we took over the property.

Not yet, anyway. Mom’s going to get chickens soon.

We just have to build the coop. We have a lot of plans for the community.

” She wrinkles her nose. “Even though our plans don’t always match up. ”

“In what way?”

She clears her throat. “Uh, you know, just, like, I’d prefer goats.”

I laugh. “Okay… That’s cool, though. Living here and making plans for the space. I mean, it’s your people’s land to begin with, isn’t it?”

She nods. “We’re back to being its stewards. Protecting the land and taking care of it so that seven generations from now, they have something better. Ideally, everyone would do that.”

“Honestly, I don’t even know if we’ll still be here in seven generations with how things are going.”

“That’s kind of the problem.”

Mia hands me a push broom, and I get to work on sweeping the floor. It’s not my idea of a fun afternoon, but it’s better than dealing with Virgil or Margot. Especially after what went down at McIntosh Castle earlier today.

“I’m gonna get more supplies.” Mia leaves the barn, and I stare around the space.

There’s no way we’re going to be able to clean everything today by ourselves.

When the door opens again fifteen minutes later, I’m ready to tell her that we need to reassess what we can accomplish in an afternoon and evening when Virgil and Isaac walk in.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

Mia pops out behind them. “Virgil said he would help, remember? And Isaac is helping too.” She beams at the younger boy, whose expression becomes so sappy that I have to look away.

“Also, Margot has an evening class, so I said I would drive Isaac,” Virgil adds.

Mia hands him a dustpan. “You and August can work as a team. She sweeps, and you dustpan. Me and Isaac will mop. I think we can clean the floor today, and I have a couple of poles that you can put a cloth on the ends of and extend them to reach the ceiling.

Me and Virgil work in silence while Mia and Isaac talk about some show they both watch.

“Are you worried about the community dinner?” Virgil asks.

“No.”

“Having trouble with schoolwork?”

“No.”

“Family?”

“Stop trying to guess,” I say. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

I take out my phone again, but there’s nothing from Riley.

I texted her to get more information about how Jules acted when he was in QBSS, wondering if that would give me any clues about how he ended up the way he is.

Also, to remind her that I hadn’t forgotten about her shiny chain thing that made Jules revert to human form in the first place.

Obviously, there’s something deeper going on in her organization.

I have to figure out the Jules stuff without letting anyone in the society know, so she’s the only source of information I have. I still think there could be a political component because of the timing of when Sammie was killed, but how is that linked to the QBSS stuff?

Jules must have been so confused and alone. When that invitation came, he would have gone. He couldn’t have known things would go down like this.

“What’s going on?” Virgil asks.

If the society knows about Jules, they’ll put him underground.

They haven’t stopped that other monster yet, so why would they do it now?

Meaning the deranged Easter Bunny and its partner will remain free.

If Jules obeying whoever is controlling him is what’s keeping me, Bailey, and Dad safe, what will happen if Jules is captured?

Will it leave us alone or go after us as some sort of revenge for Jules failing them?

I can take care of me, but I don’t know that I can protect Dad and Bailey at the same time.

It’s not just bad for Jules. This is a shitty situation for us all.

“Please,” Virgil says. “Tell me. I can help.”

“How?! How can you help? You’re part of a society that doesn’t even see you as human. That would chop off little pieces of you to give out so others can test stabbing it.”

He flinches. “They only do it to monsters with regeneration abilities.”

“But it hurts, doesn’t it? Or do they give them anesthesia?”

Virgil runs his hand over his head. “Look, I told you I would help, didn’t I? I know I can’t do anything society-wise right now. But that doesn’t mean we have to do nothing. Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll help.”

“I just want to find him.” It sounds hollow even to my ears.

“We will.”

Yes, we will. I already have. The problem now is how to save him.

Especially since, while in human form, Jules is committed to avoiding help to protect me and our family, and in monster form, he’s under the control of this Master.

The only real solution is finding out who the Master is and dealing with them.

Or Masters , since there are two monsters, and we’ve already decided Wilds are unlikely to be involved.

Unless one Master can be bonded to multiple monsters.

No one’s ever talked about it, and I’ve only ever met pairs, not trios.

“Random question for you,” I say, and Virgil perks up.

I swallow, hoping he won’t read too much into this. “Can one Master ever be bonded to multiple monsters at once?”

His brow furrows. “It’s not impossible, but it is—”

“If you say improbable, I’m going to scream.”

“…Unlikely. Some tests were done to explore that possibility. After all, it would be useful. But it created an imbalance of power. The Master’s body would begin to break down, followed by their minds.

They struggled to manage the abilities of both partners, and the partners in turn tended to have less control of themselves while in monster form.

There have been a couple of rare cases of people who pulled it off, but it’s so risky that it’s not often attempted.

You also need Doctorate approval, and in most situations, they have declined.

It’s why the Doctorate’s ability is so impressive, beyond not having to bond with a monster to share control. ”

The question of why I’m asking this lingers in the air, and I ignore it, returning to sweeping. Thankfully, Virgil doesn’t push me on it. And now I know that we’re looking for two Masters. It’s the more likely scenario.

We’re able to finish cleaning the floors, and Mia sets Virgil and Isaac to using her extender poles to get at the ceiling. They set up a few ladders, with one spotting and holding the base, and the other doing the cobweb cleaning.

“What’s up with you and Virgil?” Mia asks.

“I don’t have the patience for this today.”

“No, I mean, I know you’re not dating or whatever. But you guys are weird today.”

I shrug.

Mia shakes her head before surveying our work. “This is going to be good. It’ll finally feel like this community means something, you know?”

“I guess so.”

“You don’t want to belong to anything, do you?”

I jerk my head toward Mia. “What?”

“I don’t get it.” She tilts her head to the side. “You have a family, and you avoid them. You have friends, and you’re weird with them. Like, do you want to be on your own?”

“Why are you even bringing this up?”

“Because I don’t understand it. And I guess I’m asking if you just don’t think you belong anywhere.” She waves around at the barn. “Because you can belong here, you know? That’s the point of doing this.”

Before, everything was different. I was a different person. I wanted different things. Now, I don’t want to be that person anymore. I don’t want to be anything. I just want to help my brother.

But also… I don’t want to be part of the society. I don’t want to be at Queen’s. I don’t want to be part of QBSS, either. And yeah, maybe I don’t want to be part of my family. Because it’s never just enough to exist. Everything comes with expectations, and rules, and pressure.

Then again, there’s also what Bailey said. That I didn’t have to care about what she expects. That I could just care about what I want. An echo of what Jules has been saying to me for years. And I know so many things that I don’t want, but when it comes to what I do want… that’s a lot harder.

“Isn’t this a little too deep for a fifteen-year-old?” I say instead of answering her question.

Mia rolls her eyes. “Whatever, it’s your life. I don’t get it, but you do you.”

The door to the barn opens, and Jacques enters, eyes darting around and lips pressing into a line. Mia’s dad is huge. Like, he has to be at least 6’5”, and he’s built like a lumberjack and kind of looks like one too, with his brunette beard speckled with gray and ginger hairs.

He clears his throat. “I’m Jacques, Mia’s dad. I thought I saw you kids coming in here.” He looks directly at Mia then, and she hunches her shoulders. Usually, Jacques is laid-back. He’s anything but now, standing stiff in the doorway.

“Yup,” Mia says, without any elaboration.

I look at Jacques and then at Mia, who avoids my gaze, and back again.

“And you are?” Jacques asks Isaac, who spends about a minute stumbling over his words to introduce himself, followed by a handshake in which Jacques’s hand basically engulfs the boy’s.

“Isaac works at that antiques place downtown,” Mia supplies.

“The fancy one?”

“No, the cheap one.”

Jacques nods in a sort of approval, then turns to Virgil. His gaze is somehow more intense for him than Isaac. There’s a sort of sizing up.

Mia says, “That’s Virgil. He’s August’s—” I give her a pointed look. She better not say some bullshit. “ Friend ,” she finishes with a grin.

Jacques offers Virgil a handshake that goes on a touch too long.

Even Virgil notices, from the quick what the fuck glance he throws my way.

Like I know. Jacques never struck me as the sort of alpha male type who would be aggro with his daughter’s male friends, but I guess I don’t know him that well.

“And what are you kids doing in the barn?” Jacques asks.

“Just cleaning up,” Mia says.

“That’s thoughtful.” Jacques’s smile is tight. “And altruistic. I didn’t know you cared that much about the barn.”

My mouth drops open. “Does he not know what we’re cleaning the barn for?”

Mia makes a sound in the back of her throat.

I’m starting to think that when she discussed her parents’ plans not matching up with hers, she didn’t mean goats vs. chickens like she said.

Isaac’s and Virgil’s eyes dart from her to her dad, to me, and then start the cycle again.

Jacques blows a breath out of his nose. “Your mom and I spoke to you about this. We don’t want to force people to—”

“Okay! But they might be into it, and we’re not even using the barn for anything! And I’ve already started planning about furniture and stuff. I have allowance saved, and Grandad gave me birthday money. I can do it.”

“That’s not the point!” Jacques says, and I jump from the bass in his voice. “We said no.”

The skin around Mia’s eyes is tight. Shit, I hope she doesn’t cry right now.

I should say nothing. Don’t get involved. It’s better for me anyway. This event will get canceled, and I already have my sharp knives.

Keep quiet, August.

Don’t say a fucking word.

“We’re just going to ask people if they want to participate,” I tell Jacques.

“Isn’t it good if everyone who lives here gets to know each other better?

” I feel Mia’s gaze on me, which I ignore.

“Mia’s already done a bunch of work and even spent her own money.

I don’t see the harm in it. It could be nice.

And if they say no, they say no. But I think a lot of people will like it. ”

Jacques regards me for a moment like he’s only just meeting me. “Izzy and I—”

“Izzy’s always trying to get me and Bailey to do stuff with her. It kind of seems like maybe she’d like this too. If the only hesitation is bugging people, we won’t. We’ll just see what they think. You two haven’t even asked around. Maybe the community wants this too.”

Jacques scratches his beard and then looks at his daughter’s face. This girl pops out her lower lip without an ounce of shame. I have to respect it. Her dad groans. “Okay, okay. You can ask, but if people say no, I don’t want to hear about you pestering them.”

“We won’t!” Mia is positively beaming.

Jacques nods, throwing one last searching look at all of us before he leaves.

Mia turns to me. “You were actually helpful!”

“Wow, thanks.”

“August Black,” Virgil says, a grin spreading across his lips. “Secret softie.”

I hold up a hand. “Okay, no.”

I resent the idea of being secretly soft, but I can be nice sometimes. Especially to the girl who sharpens my knives.

We finish cleaning and I get a ride from Virgil. I slouch in the back while Isaac asks for advice. Apparently, he saw them setting up a corn maze on the island, and he wants to ask Mia to go with him. I tune them out and only tune back in when Virgil’s dropping me off at Victoria Hall.

“I mean it,” he says as I go for the door. “I want to help.”

It’s reminiscent of Bailey dropping me off at the dock, and again in my dorm room with her box of pictures, and plant, and spirit wear.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know when I figure out what I want to do.”

It’s a lie, but he doesn’t know that.

Secret softie. Yeah, right.