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

like the idea of becoming vulnerable, but she liked the idea of other members of the society showing up to lay claim to what she may discover even less.

She started casting, her fingers weaving one spell while her lips uttered another. Several of the spirits she had formed pacts with drained away her life force in trade, but she had centuries to spare. No, the big issue right now was to carefully balance her attention. What she was trying to do was akin to plucking a hot coal from a fire without getting burned.

A loud wailing carried across the front yard. Kali ignored it. The banshee didn’t dare approach and had managed to distract her only once. The creature could do little to harm her, and a simple spell dampening her shrieks had been enough to protect her ears from further damage.

The wailing persisted. Kali barely notice, thoughts focused on the magical crack up above. Channeling her energy, she grabbed at both sides of the crack, ready to strike it once more. The front door of the house opened, and a woman stepped out onto the porch. Kali opened her eyes to see who the newcomer was and had to hold in a laugh.

The woman on the porch wore a rain jacket and a fireman’s helmet. She tightly clutched what appeared to be a regular garden hose. The snakes emerged from the ground, venomous fangs bared, daring the newcomer to attempt to cross the yard.

Satisfied that the firefighter had been thwarted, Kali turned her attention back to the sky.

The banshee wailed even louder, her voice like a small bomb.

“NOW!” the banshee screamed, and the firefighter braced herself against one of the pillars.

Kali had no idea how they were able to raise the pressure in the hose high enough to cross the length of the yard and strike her in the face. The spray was hardly powerful enough to harm her, but the ice-cold water was a shock. She faltered, her mouth and fingers frozen in place, just as her magic struck the crack.

Lightning arced from the crack, striking her and blowing her off her feet. Shrieking, she tumbled across the yard, smoke rising from her damaged flesh. Her snakes hissed in fury, swarming toward the porch, but they couldn’t cross the barrier. Swearing, Kali tried to rise only to discover that she couldn’t move.

“Go eat a dick!” the firefighter hollered, a helmet pulled low over her face. But it didn’t do any good because when she tried to back into the house, she tripped on the hose, and Kali was able to see through her poor attempt at a disguise.

“Lily,” she hissed under her breath. Her wounds were already beginning to knit, but it would take some time. She concentrated the healing along her right arm, clumsily pulling her smoldering phone out of her breast pocket. She dropped it on the ground, letting out a small laugh. The high priest would have to wait even longer. The python wrapped itself around her, cradling her in its warm coils and carrying her away from danger.

Above her, the crack in the sky glowed blood red, slowly shrinking away.

Sweat poured down Mike’s back, his breath ragged. Jenny, who had been singing nonsense, was now silent. They ran along the stones, the air of the Labyrinth suddenly hot and stifling.

The Minotaur had found them. Mike didn’t bother looking over his shoulder, for he could hear its heavy footfalls behind them. The creature was huge, built like a linebacker with the head of a fearsome bull and the horns to match. Wearing nothing but a loincloth, the creature had bellowed upon seeing them and charged, his enormous weapon, an ax, held tightly in one hand. If not for the weight of the ax, Mike wondered if they would have been caught already. Even so, the beast apparently had impossible stamina, and Mike knew that he would tire long before the Minotaur did.

“Jenny?!” The path split before them, and Mike didn’t know which way to go.

Jenny ran ahead of him. Her movements were fluid, but her whole body was shimmering. Jenny was struggling to hold on to her vessel, her soul billowing out behind her. In her backpack, Mike saw that the doll was surrounded by a haze—Beth’s soul ready to return to her body. Jenny took a left at the split, and Mike followed.

“How much farther?” Mike called. He could hear the Minotaur’s breath, hot and labored.

“Up ahead!” They turned a corner and burst into a small clearing. There was a large patch of grass leading up to the remains of a stone bridge. The bridge had long ago collapsed, and the rapidly flowing river beneath it was about fifteen feet across. Jenny slowed, and they were running side by side.

“Jenny?” Her whole body was covered in a mist, as was her backpack. Her breathing was ragged, and her dark eyes were flickering, the light returning to them.

“Jump, jump, jump!” Jenny accelerated ahead of him onto the stone bridge. A small lip went out over the water, like a makeshift diving board.

Mike took a deep breath, pushing his muscles to the absolute limit, feet slapping against the hard stone.

Just as Jenny reached the edge, it happened. With a blast of light, she lost control of Beth’s body, and the swirling mists exchanged places, Beth’s spirit flowing back into her own body. Beth cried out in alarm, sliding to a halt, but Mike was too close behind. He crashed into her, sending both of them falling into the river below.

Dana fought the urge to call out, the hairs on her arms rising. Her landlord’s house held an odd stillness, and the air was impossibly cold. She walked carefully across the faded carpet, stepping around the coffee table, which held a cold plate of eggs and toast.

Voices from the kitchen caused her to creep softly along the wall, her head tilted as she tried to hear. Her landlady’s soft voice reached her, followed