Page 45 of My Monster’s Keeper

Stix

T he man holding her isn’t a man. I mean, he looks like a human, but there are subtle differences, signs that give him away. His eyes are a little too big, his fingers have an extra set of joints. He’s pretty, too pretty.

How did we miss this?

Ah, yes, because they splattered him onto the pavement. We didn’t think to look at the body, and I doubt Puppy counted the corpses before he ate them.

This is the Grant, though, the friend, the brother. Has he always been this? Did she know? No, her shock is real. Becky looks sick. She had no idea.

I want to kill him just for pain he’s put on her face.

“Stix,” Frost murmurs, glancing around us.

I know. I acknowledge the growing crowd with what may very well be the first time I’ve felt fear.

I recognise a lot of these beings from the meeting Diablos held, but I don’t see Diablos or Hartley. That is somewhat of a relief.

“You’re one of them?” Becky asks in a broken whisper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We had reasons,” Grant says with a smirk. “There’s a rumour about the queen of omegas. Have you heard of it?”

Becky nods her head. “Ridiculous nonsense. Humans don’t do queens or kings of entire worlds.”

“Yeah, except we never asked humans what they wanted. We went through, and with my gift at finding omegas, we marked them all in their first few years. We found her, this tiny queen. When she was a baby, we found her.”

Becky blinks, and I have a sinking feeling I know where this is going. Is there some way for one of us to escape? I glance around, but we’re hopelessly outnumbered. We could take them. But we’d lose her in the attempt. We all know it.

It’s why Wilder is still and silent .

It’s why Frost the Unseelie Prince is motionless.

It’s why Puppy hasn’t massacred everyone yet.

We’d lose her. We can’t. Not a single one of us will risk her.

“You found the omega queen? Where is she, then?” She laughs. “Did you misplace her?”

“We did. Some interfering witch hid the child, so we’ve been watching ten thousand babies to see who will bloom into the omega queen because one of you will. It was just a matter of time.”

“Jokes on you.”

Grant just smiles.

She’s so beautiful. I drink her in until she looks at me. She frowns, her eyes growing more desperate and afraid by whatever she sees in my face. She looks at the others until she’s all but stopped moving, her face white.

“I’m not.” Her protest is weak.

“We found you. Tiny, little, squalling pink infant that you are. Here you are blooming at long last,” Grant bursts into hysterical laughter and swipes at his eyes, “sorry, I had so much fun making your life miserable. Little, forgotten, unwanted, spiteful little you. Dumping you in the worst homes. Giving you all the bad luck. I made your life a misery. We worked to ensure that your heart is as dark as we could make it. Becky Dawson, an orphan, with a foster father who hates her, a world that rejects her, who is now the omega who will destroy this realm. Do you like the beauty of it?”

Her eyes are so wide, absorbing blow after blow. I take a step, but the crowd grumbles threateningly. Puppy growls back, baring his teeth.

“You’re helpless and absolutely nothing. Look at you,” Grant mocks. “You hated the world, and now you’re going to see its ruin.”

“You were there with me. We were friends,” Becky says in a strained voice.

“That’s what made it even more delicious. You had no idea.” Grant snickers, but when she pulls away from him, he yanks her back viciously. “Omega queen is a kind of pointless title. You’ll do what I say.”

“Why the fuck would I do that?” She spits.

Good girl, show your teeth.

“Because,” Grant says, slowly lifting his eyes to us. “I have them.”

“They’ll kill you,” Becky says confidently. “They are mine, and they won’t abandon me, and I won’t abandon them. ”

Her eyes meet mine. It’s a promise. One I will do everything in my power to keep.

“No, they won’t. You’ve found a way to neuter the most powerful beings that ever walked any of the three realms. They won’t hurt us at all.

In fact, I think you’ll find they’ll do exactly as I say.

” He grins, and his lips part too far. He’s not one of mine.

This Grant has come from the Fae world, but he’s working with mine. “Kneel, Grim.”

I snap my head towards Puppy and see the rage on his face, the pure, violent, shimmering, incandescent fury.

For a long moment, nothing happens.

But the Grim drops to one knee.

“No,” Becky moans. “Stop this, Grant, don’t do this. You don’t need to. You’re right, I’ll do as you say. Just leave them alone.”

“It’s not enough. They shouldn’t be here. They shouldn’t exist. The worlds would be much better off if we didn’t have such power imbalances,” he mutters with a light of insanity in his eyes.

“So, what is this, a revolution?” she snarls.

“Yes. Of sorts. The haves and the have nots. If we work together, we can overcome them. Humanity taught us that.”

He strokes his fingers over her throat.

“Don’t touch her,” I snarl.

He lifts his head and pins me with a look that makes me feel sick to my stomach and snickers. “Please, I wouldn’t sully my bloodline or body with sticking my dick into this piece of trash.” He hesitates. “But there’s a long line who will.”

She flinches. The only thing stopping me is the knife at her neck. One single blade. His words are hurting her. I want to hurt him. It’s getting harder and harder to not move.

“It’s time,” a deep voice rumbles. I look up and spot a giant standing at least ten feet tall with a huge barrel-shaped body and long hair that covers his face.

I glance around and spot Song and Pitch crouched down, hidden almost out of sight under the porch. The cat’s eyes blink slowly at me.

I don’t know what message it’s sending, but I’m going to trust the pair of them will help her if they can. She won’t be alone.

They can’t kill us. Not yet. It would be impossible. But they’ll cage us somewhere, and as long as we’re here, we can come back .

“You four have been thorns in my side, and once we take you out, we can take out Diablos and his do-gooders. So, the first thing that needs to happen is you all need to fuck right off back home.”

“NO!” Becky howls.

My blood freezes inside me. No! I can’t get back here.

I won’t be able to help her from there. What if I can’t find my way back?

My eyes find Becky, and I stare at her. She searches our faces, one after the other, searching for hope, something, but the resignation from Frost is thick.

Wilder drops to his knees and bows his head.

“I have failed you,” he murmurs.

“No!” she says.

Puppy shrinks in on himself. The tension in him is growing.

“Throw them through and seal the worlds,” Grant laughs.

“You can’t do that. You don’t have the power,” I snap.

“Oh, yes, we do.” He taps Becky hard on the head. “Right here. All she needs to say is that it’s closed, and it’s done. A queen omega commands all alphas.”

“I won’t say it. I’ll tell you to die first.”

“Oh, no, sadly, you won’t because, the minute anything happens to me…your consorts die. So you, Becky Dawson, you will, and then you’ll die. Your purpose expired.”

I lunge forward, but his fingers encircle her very delicate throat again, and I stop.

“Off you go now.” He waves his fingers.

I feel the darkness of my world and the portal to the Fae worlds open up. A witch stands and strains under the weight of keeping the doors open when they so badly want to close.

“Are they ready for them?”

“Yes. Send the prince to the Infernal Oceans.”

Frost shouts, but they drag him to the portal and throw him in. There’s a splash, and I spot a massive wave, and he’s gone. I thought losing Becky would hurt, but losing part of my murder is agony.

A moment later, another opens. I peer inside and see a beautiful court. I look at Wilder on his knees, willing him to look up, to see me. It’s not over. It’s not ever over.

“A Seelie hostage in an Unseelie palace. I wonder what fun they will have.” Grant snickers and, with a flick of his fingers, gestures for Wilder to stand.

“Your Majesty, as agreed, here is the peace offering. Frost received your gift and is currently enjoying his stay in the Infernal Oceans.”

The queen sitting on her blue throne smiles evilly and inclines her head .

Wilder gazes at Becky for a long moment and inclines his head. “No regrets. Whatever you have to do to survive, just survive, Becks.”

Her eyes are wide, and she fights Grant for all she has. But she’s got no hope of beating his superior strength.

Chains snap out. Chains made of iron, and then Wilder is dragged through the portal. It snaps shut behind him.

“Bring the box!”

A huge metal box is wheeled towards the portal to my world. It’s made of layers and layers of metal and is on huge wheels. At the front are glowing bars.

A cage.

They are putting Puppy in a cage.

I feel sick.

The giant opens the back door and waits.

“Get in, Grim. No one wants to live in a world where you exist.”

Puppy looks up at me, and, I swear, I see fear in his eyes, but the Grim creeps into the cage, his tail between his legs.

“Let him go!” I howl. “You can’t do this!”

The giant slams the door and laughs.

Becky loses her mind. She’s screaming now in a way I’ve never heard before. Bruising herself, fighting her childhood friend. Her sobs are soul deep, and her pain is felt with all of her. I never want to hear her in that kind of pain again.

But I can’t help her.

The only way to help her is to do this. To obey. I watch in helpless fury as Grim in his cage is pushed into Shadow.

“And now for my most anticipated part,” Grant crows. “Put the Shadow King in stone. And take him to Ableth.”

Those creatures with their molten bodies race towards me. I stare at Becky, ignoring them, not moving a muscle as my body is steadily encased in stone. The magic and power that goes into the mud binds it closed and turns it harder than diamond.

Song and Pitch dart away, disappearing in the shadows, unseen. Now she’s going to be alone. I didn’t want that for her.

It creeps up my body, but I ignore it.

All I can see is her .

“Becks, remember who you are. You are a cop, an Earth woman, an omega, a queen, and part of this murder. You can survive this. You are not alone. And…I love you. It has been the joy of my life.”

She sobs, reaching out a hand.

I close my eyes just before it covers my head and succumb to the darkness.

But I can still hear her screams.

All there is to do is wait.

One chance. That’s all I need.

They won’t be able to stop me.