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Chapter 3

MONSTERS ARE REAL

T he fractured world reformed, and I found myself on a forest floor. My chest hurt, my heart ached, and that sound…that awful crunching sound resonated in my head.

It ate her.

The shadow ate my?—

A manic laugh bubbled up my throat, and I swallowed it. Now wasn’t the time to go into shock.

Focus.

Breathe.

You can fall apart later, Leela.

Get to the tree house.

I scrambled to my feet, turning this way and that to get my bearings. I was in the woods behind the cottage. The tree house wasn’t far.

I broke into a jog, trying valiantly not to think about what had just happened or the implications, because if I did that, I’d lose my shit, and Nani’s last order had been to get to the treehouse, and damn it to hell, I’d do it. I’d get there, and then… then I’d fall apart.

I felt them before I saw them, loping creatures running behind me, low to the ground. Dogs? No. Not dogs, humanoid looking. Oh god, they were small men with mishappen heads.

They’re coming for you. Nani’s panicked face filled my vision. Get to the tree house. You’ll be safe there.

Dead now. Gone now.

Run. Just fucking keep running.

Their screeches rose above the thunder of blood in my head, getting closer.

I pushed harder, running faster, making all those hours on the treadmill mean something.

Where was the tree house? It should be up ahead. I’d played in it often enough as a child.

Dammit!

The road shimmered, then grew longer, trees bowing low to block out the moon.

This was crazy. This couldn’t be happening. But it was.

The tree house came into view.

“Aiiieeee!”

Something slammed into my back, knocking me off balance and onto my knees.

Oh god! “Gerroff! Gerroff me!” Survival instinct blocked out my fear as I grabbed at it, trying to tear it off. My fingers tangled in coarse hair, and I pulled.

“Shamala Tayuit tu!” the thing yelled.

“Fuck you, fuck you, you crazy fucker!’ I pulled it lose with a bellow and threw it across the forest floor, already scrambling to stand. But hot needles pierced my calf, bringing me back to my knees. Another weight hit my back, and my face met earth.

“Shila tayatui, fremu, figa!” the thing on my back said.

It was too heavy to throw off, and tears of impotence blurred my vision.

I managed to get my head up in time to see the other thing loping back toward me. Green face, wide, red mouth. Eyes like coal. Definitely a monster.

It leaned close, peering at me with empty black eyes. “Susgmath fragalisth,” it said softly, and something inside me stilled at its tone.

What the hell?

But then a black slug slipped out of its mouth and swept over its lips. Oh…Oh god, it was licking its lips. It was going to eat me.

No, no, no!

Terror squeezed my lungs, and a shrill scream worthy of a horror movie heroine tore from my throat.

A hand slapped over my mouth, and the scent of earth, moss, and something coppery filled my nose.

Hands on my ankles .

Hands on my calves.

Climbing my leg to slip under my skirt.

A bubble expanded in my chest, the horror loaning me a fresh wave of strength. I bucked and rolled, squashing the creature on my back against the ground with a roar before kicking out at the one who was groping my legs. Fear whited out my mind, and somehow, I was on my feet, running once more.

If they caught me, then Nani’s sacrifice would have been in vain. I couldn’t let that happen, wouldn’t let them have me.

A man appeared on the road ahead. Shrouded in shadow, he walked head bowed.

“Help! Help me!”

He looked up, and moonlight kissed his face. A face that was all wrong—too thin, too sharp—the eyes gleaming like rubies. He flicked his wrist, and something wrapped around my ankle. My foot was pulled out from beneath me. The world tipped. I threw up my hands, the action futile as I fell backwards. Sharp pain lanced through my skull, a loud pop filled my ears, and my vision blacked out.

“Check her, do it quickly,” a male voice said.

I groaned, desperate to open eyelids that refused to cooperate.

“She’s a fighter,” a scratchy voice said breathlessly.

Their hands were on me again, pinching and moving my limbs, and oh god, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight back .

“Can’t find it,” another voice said. Softer. The creature with coal eyes?

“It must be there,” the man said. “We would not have been drawn here otherwise.”

Rough hands on my knees, and something slipped between my legs. Adrenaline burned a path through me, and my eyes snapped open to find the man crouched between my thighs. He looked up, ruby eyes glinting in the moonlight and bared needle-sharp teeth in a hiss that turned my blood to ice.

A wave of dizziness assaulted me as my heart raced too hard, too fast. “Don’t…please…don’t.”

A semblance of comprehension swept over his awful features.

“Your virtue is safe, mortal. It is your soul that we come for.” He broke eye contact and looked down at the mark on my inner thigh.

Where the fuck had that come from?

“We were not steered wrong,” he said.

“We did good?” one of the smaller monsters asked, hopping from foot to foot.

“Yes, Sprigg, you did good.”

The fact that I could understand these creatures should have surprised me, but the fact that I had a monster man between my thighs took up all my focus. Pleading to be set free was pointless, I knew this with a gut deep intuition, so instead, my mind scrolled through a series of questions begging to be asked. Why were they after me? What did they want with me? “What are you?”

He smiled, thin and wicked. “My name is Rathor, and I’ve come to take you to your new home.”

He blew a warm, fragrant breath at my face.

“Wha—what did you dooo…?”

The sky rushed down to swallow me.