Home for Horny Monsters - Book 3

Royal Pain

Mike, Beth, and the goblin Tink stood at the foot of the stairs, looking upward in awe. Only moments ago, the earth had trembled when Beth had brought in her luggage, the house outwardly expanding. However, it wasn't as simple as that-looking up the stairs, the new second floor started at the landing where the stairs changed direction. In his mind, Mike now had memories of passing by that hall without a second thought. It wasn't only the house that had grown, but his memories as well.

"This is amazing." Beth's voice was just above a whisper. She had set her luggage on the floor.

"You're telling me. Do you remember this at all?"

Beth nodded. "I can't tell you how many times I dropped by to check on the place after your great aunt Emily died. Thinking back on it now, I vividly remember walking past that hallway and never actually checking it out, but I also remember never noticing it." Beth had been the estate agent who had first walked him through the home almost a week ago. Had it really only been that long? "It's so hard to explain."

"It's like the Mandela Effect. People with a collective memory of an event find out they've all been wrong somehow. The big difference here is that we now remember ignoring something we never saw in the first place." Mike walked up the stairs, his left hand on the railing. At the top of the railing was a smooth metal ball. To the left was the new hallway. "I know that I have never seen this ball before, but I have a memory of grabbing onto it every time I come down the stairs. There's a smudge on the other side." He stepped into the hall and looked at the ball. Sure enough, the smudge was there.

"What could cause something like that?" Beth asked.

"There's a spell on the house, a geas. It's a type of powerful enchantment. Until you are invited in, you can't actually see the creatures who live here. It's why you never spotted anything out of the ordinary."

"Then how did I come in? Or the maids to clean it?"

"You were working for my aunt, technically. Logically, you were acting as a temporary Caretaker, so you were allowed entry." He shrugged. "That's my best guess, to be perfectly honest."

"Could we ask Naia about it?"

"Maybe. The geas can alter memories. When I first moved in, Naia had forgotten about the others. They only seem to remember things when I discover them."

"Tink in deep sleep," the goblin said from behind them. She already had a rag in her hand, and had started polishing the smudge off the railing. "When house sleep, everyone sleep. No wake until husband finds."

"That's about right." Mike stepped into the hall. The wooden floor looked like it had been recently waxed, and the hallway made a sharp, ninety-degree turn. Windows along the hall let in plenty of light, and Mike walked up to the first door, grabbing the knob tightly in his hand.

"Ready?" He looked over his shoulder. Beth and Tink nodded, though Mike saw that Tink was holding her wrench tightly in one hand. He held back a laugh and twisted the knob.

It didn't budge.

"Huh." He rattled the knob, then tried to give the door a push. When nothing else happened, he tried knocking.

"So... that was anti-climactic." Beth moved next to him to help. He was suddenly aware of how close she was, and how the curve of her ass pushed into him when she pressed her shoulder into the door. "Is it locked?"

"Must be." Mike crouched down, noticing the keyhole under the knob. Or rather, where the keyhole should have been. A dark grey substance was just past the tiny portal. "Hey Tink, is that what I think it is?"

"Husband move." She swatted Mike on the butt and took his place. She put her magical goggles on, the tiny lenses flicking down to give her a better look. Tink jerked her head back, a look of horror on her face.