Home for Horny Monsters - Book 3

Nine of Wands

Mike wasn't sure what he expected to see once inside the tower, but it certainly wasn't this.

What he had thought was the entrance to the tower was in fact an outer wall. A large courtyard full of flowers and creeper vines would have been impressive enough, but the sheer number of butterflies, bees, and even birds had him staring in awe. An entire ecosystem had been formed inside these walls, complete with a small waterfall that flowed out of the cliff itself and fed into an irrigation canal. The water eventually filled a fountain in the middle of the yard that was an exact replica of Naia's fountain back home.

At the back of the courtyard, rising ominously into the sky, was the actual entrance to the tower. The top of it was higher than the nearby peak that the tower seemed to grow from.

"This place is surprisingly peaceful." Zel approached one of the garden beds to inspect it. "Hey, most of these are vegetables!"

"I found some strawberries over here." Ratu plucked a few of them and tossed them in her mouth. "Mmm, they're good."

Salivating, Mike approached the bushes and the three of them picked the fruit. Daisy seemed content to watch the group, occasionally moving away from a bee or butterfly determined to interact with her. In the distance, they could hear the trumpeting of horns.

"Should we worry about that?" Mike asked.

"Nah. The only way the centaurs have ever gotten in was if the drawbridge was down." Zel said. "Well, at least that I know of."

"Is that true?" he asked Daisy. The fairy nodded and made some hand signs.

"I honestly don't understand you."

"But I might." Ratu licked the juices of a blackberry off of her finger and held her hand up with the same finger outstretched. "Come here."

Daisy seemed nervous, but with a glance at Mike, landed on the naga's finger.

"When you sign something, I want you to visualize the word. Try to keep it simple though." Ratu closed her eyes and made a Y with the thumb and pinky of her free hand. She moved Daisy close to her forehead, placing her thumb on her own forehead and her pinky on Daisy's.

Daisy made a couple of signs and Ratu's face scrunched up.

"Yuki... gone," Ratu said. "Tower... safe from... outsiders."

"Are you reading her mind?" Zel asked.

"Kind of. Now be quiet, unless you have a question for her. Keep them simple, I can only pick up bits of it, fairies think differently than mortals do."

"Is there a way to get home?" Mike asked.

"Only... portal. Guarded by... Jabberwock." Ratu winced between words, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"What the fuck is a... oh shit." The word came to him from out of a memory of a movie he had seen. "Are we in Wonderland?"

"Not... Wonderland. Yuki... lonely and... scared. Make Jabberwock... for protection."

"From who?"

"Emily... ah shit." Ratu moved the fairy away from her face and wiped blood away from her nose. "Yeah, I'm done doing that. It was a stupid idea anyway. Reading a fairy's mind is like trying to read a newspaper using a strobe light. Damn." She found a stone bench to sit on and lay down on her back. "Try not to bother me for a bit, my head is pounding."

"She was afraid of Emily." He held his finger out for Daisy and she landed on it. "Did she have a good reason to be afraid of her?"

Daisy nodded and pointed to the tower door.