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

down and trap her. I haven’t heard so many swear words before.”

“And you didn’t see it coming?”

“It wasn’t my own death or pain. That is part of my issue with you.”

“What did I do?”

“Not just you. Humans. You are obsessed with future sight, magical items, and the like. The main reason I am even in that Library is that your kind wiped out my tribe so many years ago. I thought that I could get past it, but every new Caretaker eventually comes to me wanting to advance themselves, to become stronger. Emily certainly did it toward the end, and I knew you would be no different.”

“Why, because I wanted to help Tink get her goggles back?”

“I caught you fucking in my library. Not the best first impression.”

“So you’re mad at me and not Tink?” Mike cut another vine.

“Tink is a goblin. That’s different.”

“So you’re a racist, then. Racist against humans.”

“Like your kind has any room to talk. You’ve wiped out so many different creatures, magical and otherwise, and you can’t even look past the color of your own skin…hey, why did you stop cutting?” Mike had stepped back, crossing his arms.

“Honestly? Because you’re being a bitch.” Mike stared away from her, trying to ignore the rising heat in his face. “I’m sorry about what happened in the Library. If I had known someone lived there, it wouldn’t have happened. The only reason we were there was because I was trying to help someone else, and I’m not sorry for that.

“And you are right. Humans, as a whole, are giant pieces of shit. We do horrible things, and we probably always will. But you know what? Not everybody is a piece of shit. If I wanted to, I could sell this place, move far, far away, and never have to deal with its problems. But I won’t. Why? Because I actually fucking care.” Sighing, Mike sliced another vine away. “I even care about you, despite your shitty attitude.”

Sofia had gone quiet, her face turning red. Mike could hear her breathing change, a subtle shift that made him think that the vines might be squeezing her too hard. He reached behind her, then carefully slid the dagger beneath a pair of vines that were around her ribs. The moment he sliced them, Sofia’s whole body swung forward, pushing into him.

“Mmm, gah!” His face was not only buried between her breasts, but now the vines clutching her reached for him, pulling him tightly against her. He fought back, shoving hard in an attempt to free himself. He managed to push away, but the only part of Sofia he could press against was her ample chest. The vines tried to yank him off his feet, but he pulled free and stepped a good distance back from Sofia. The vines settled and wrapped once more around her.

Sofia breathed even harder now, her mouth open. Worried, he moved closer, but could tell the vines weren’t restricting her lungs.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked.

Sofia remained silent, so he repeated himself.

“It’s my breasts,” she said.

“What about them?” They were threatening to break free, her flesh overflowing through the split in her shirt.

“They’re really sensitive right now.”

Uh-oh. Mike scanned the sky, half expecting to see a Mandragora pod or something similar. He wasn’t in the mood to fuck himself silly for the next several hours. “Is the plant doing something to you?”

Sofia didn’t say, but she was squirming now.

“Hey! Is the plant doing something to you?” Seeing that she wasn’t paying attention, he grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Fucking human,” she muttered.

“One-eyed bitch.” He looked for somewhere else to cut but noticed that she was rocking herself in a specific pattern. He circled behind her and saw that when her body had swung forward, the only vines keeping her from hanging completely vertical had wrapped themselves between her legs, spreading out over her hips. Every time Sofia swung forward even slightly, most of her weight was concentrated on the thick leafy vegetation that had wedged itself between her legs.

He saw the problem now. Looking at where she was suspended, it occurred to him that he could try and cut that part of her free first. At the same time, she didn’t seem to be complaining, and it would be safer to cut some of the other vines.

“Hey.” Mike looked at Olivia, who was circling overhead. “This may take a bit. Can you go watch the halls and warn us if the Minotaur is coming? And keep an eye out for your sister.”

Olivia hovered in place, transforming into a fairy long enough to give him a salute, then flew away. Mike watched the fairy go, then let out a sigh. If she had been bigger, he would have put her in charge of cutting the cyclops free so he could watch the hall.

Mike sliced one of the other vines, then moved away when it reached for him. Sofia’s body shifted her weight even harder onto the offending vine, and she let out a moan.

“Okay, let me take care of this one,” he told her. He touched the edge of the blade to the vine.

“Wait.”

“Excuse me?” Mike asked. He moved to where he could see her better. Her eye was closed, and she was breathing shallowly through her mouth.

“Don’t. Not yet.” Sofia opened her eye, and he saw that it was shimmering with an inner light. Was she seeing her future? “That one needs to come later.”

“Oh boy,” Cerulea whispered in his ear. Mike startled—he had forgotten the fairy was still on his shoulder. “Can you smell that?”

Mike sniffed the air. It still smelled of smoke and stone. “Nope.”

“Cut them in a certain order,” Sofia told him. “I’ll tell you which.”

“How can you…oh, right. Future sight.” He got ready to cut one of the other vines.

“Not that one.”

Mike moved to a different one. Sofia didn’t say anything, so he pushed the knife against it.

“Nope.”

Mike thought he understood. He couldn’t