Page 43 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

“Ivy is downstairs waiting. Are you coming, or what?”

The damn cat keeps hissing at me and tries to scratch me. I sigh.

Does Ivy have a cat carrier? I know she does, but I can’t find it and time is not on my side. As soon as someone discovers Pegg or the dead doctor, this area will be filled with police.

I stand in front of the damned cat and show my jagged teeth. “Are you coming willingly, or do I have to make you?”

Powder hisses again.

I have no time for this shit. I pick up took Ivy’s blanket and throw it over the cat, wrap it up, and leave. Once at the car, I signal for Mrez to open the hatch. As quickly as possible, I threw the cat inside, turn back into a Shadow, and slip next to Ivy.

“Did you just put the cat in back next to the dead guy?” Draw asks.

“Yeah, why?”

He shrugs and pulls Ivy closer. “Let’s get going.”

Mrez is a better driver than I imagined. Maybe because, of the three of us, he’s the one most preoccupied with human things like cars, phones, the Internet, and such. One of his tentacles holds the phone and searches for something while the other drives. We both watch him type with the tentacle on the surface of the phone.

“What are you looking for?”

“I’ll know it when I find it. This guy was possessed, right? Even if he was possessed, he was still human, and they tend to keep everything on their phones.”

Mrez keeps speeding while scrolling through the phone, yet somehow manages not to lose control. After a few minutes, he mumbles, mostly to himself.

“Why was he willing to do this? He had a good life and a hot lady.”

“Find something?” asks Draw.

“Not yet. Still looking.”

Mrez leaves the city and picks up a less-travelled side road leading to the cabin. As soon as we’re closer to nature, I feel stronger. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m with Ivy again. Or maybe because we’re creatures of darkness and darkness is a part of nature. Or maybe because we’re close to Ivy’s house, so I feel as if I’m returning home myself.

“Ivy?”

I nudge her softly as we approach the small side road we need to take to get to her family’s mansion. Generations of humans gifted with the sight lived there. Sadly, now it’s just an empty house.

8

Ivy

I wake up from another dream, only this time I feel deeply satisfied.

As I open my eyes, I glance to the left and right. Two men sat on either side of me, men I’d recognize even if a thousand lives had passed, and no matter what face they chose.

“Draw, Khal? You’re real?”

“Ivy.” Khal says my name the way you would say a prayer. He claims my mouth with his. Heat fills me. My insides clench with lust.

“Take a break you two,” a familiar voice from the driver’s seat cautions us.

“Mrez?”

“Good morning, Ivy. We’re close to your childhood home.”

“What? Where?”

Draw leans his mouth close to my ear and whispers. “You’re the owner of your family’s estate. We thought we could protect you here better than anywhere else.”

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