Radley's Labyrinth for Horny Monsters by Annabelle Hawthorne (highly recommended books .txt) 📕

“Okay, then. Remember, you are inside her body long enough to get me to the Labyrinth, and then you have to bring her back and let her go.”

Everyone waited for Jenny’s response. Jenny looked up at the sky, her dark eyes focused on something far away. “Boom,” she whispered moments before the sky above filled with thunder.

Mike flinched, his heart racing. The shock wave rippled across the house, blowing out one of the upstairs windows. Mike ducked, but the glass didn’t travel far, falling in small fragments to the courtyard below.

“Jenny?” Naia asked, a warning in her voice.

“There and back again, a Jenny’s tale.” Jenny smiled. “I am just borrowing her for today. The sun will come out tomorrow.”

Mike sighed. “Okay, then. Show me how to get inside the closet.”

Naia sat on the edge of the fountain, gazing wistfully at the house. During times like these, she wished she could leave her spring, to do more. Unfortunately, that could never be an option, no matter how much she wished it. She was a part of her spring—leaving was a concept as foreign as walking out of her own skin. She could either be in the fountain or the bath but never anywhere else.

“So what now?” Lily asked. She still sat at the edge of the fountain. She had taken off her shoes, her feet soaking in the warm water.

“We wait, I’m afraid.” Naia could sense Mike walking through the home, so close yet so far. As long as he was in the home proper, she could feel his emotions through their bond. However, the farther he traveled from her spring, the harder it was to feel him. Eventually, his life force would feel like a distant flame, bright enough to see but not warm enough to feel.

“You could order me to go with him,” Lily said, her voice soft. When Lily had tried to kill Mike, he had put his soul on the line in order to escape. However, because Naia and Mike were soul-bonded, both of them had become Lily’s new masters, and it wasn’t a role that had been casually accepted.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Naia smiled at the succubus. “You are right. I could make you go, as your master. You would have to protect him, maybe die for him. And you would like that because it would prove that you’re right, that he’s just like your previous master and sees you as nothing better than a tool to be used. It would prove that I value him above you, and by extension of our bond, that he values himself above you.”

Lily didn’t respond, her eyes focused on the water in the fountain. Naia could see the tension in her shoulders, the fear of what was to come next.

“The Caretakers of this home have been many things, but this one is different,” Naia said. “I have loved them all, in my own way, but something about Mike makes my soul sing for him. He doesn’t see us just as objects, or slaves, or even as monsters. He sees all of us for who we are. He respects us. Some of the others haven’t been nearly as kind, barely tolerating some of us to be here.”

“That’s easy to say for someone who will fuck anybody who comes in this place.” Lily’s face reddened as the words left her mouth. “You’re the one who gets to choose, aren’t you? I saw it in his memories. You can drown anyone who isn’t a good fit.”

“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.” Naia lay on her back, floating along the surface of the water. “It’s like a calling. I can tell they will take care of the house but not necessarily love those who dwell here. And things can change over time. It isn’t perfect. No relationship is. There’s a reason Zel hid from Emily. Consider that.”

“So why not make me go help him? He didn’t give Beth a choice. Why give me one?”

“He didn’t give Beth a choice because he doesn’t have one either.” Naia swirled the water with her arms, becoming one with the waves. “And if you think he isn’t beating himself up over it, you are wrong.”

“That’s the worst part,” Lily said. “I can tell that he is. I can feel him as if he stands behind me, his chest pressed against my back. I can feel you in the front, both of you just standing there, waiting to command me. It will happen eventually, you’ll see.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Naia stared at the sky. Storm clouds were forming up above, a result of the magical attack on the geas. “Just remember that he is doing his best to protect the others. Somehow, I feel like that’s the same reason you are here, isn’t it?”

Naia heard Lily pull her feet out of the fountain. The back door slammed shut as Lily went inside the house. A smile crossed Naia’s face, and she became one with the water, melting beneath its surface.

Strong arms gripped Dana, fingers interlaced with her own. She pushed herself farther into those arms, breathing in through her nose and letting out a sigh. She could smell the faint hint of Alex’s deodorant, feel hot breath on the back of her neck. Months of anguish were somehow forgotten, Dana moved to another time and place. Alex must have been working on the motorcycle because the bed smelled faintly of motor oil.

“Alex,” she whispered, squeezing the fingers in her hand. The fingers squeezed back. Memories of the crash and the ensuing months suddenly flooded her mind, the sweet release of sleep now eluding her. She could feel the tears running down her face, hesitant to open her eyes and break the spell, knowing that her true love would vanish in the waking hours of day.

The weight of Alex lifted free of her, those strong arms vanishing into nothing, and she heard the