Page 13 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Underworld

“Hello. I enjoyed that very much.” Sheisflushed, I can actually see it now, the apples of her pale cheeks slightly darkened.

“Same. You’re beautiful, and perfect, and I was right, you have a very pretty pussy.”

“You have a very big penis,” she grins with all her teeth, “and my god, a lot came out of it.”

We laugh together, and I reach up to her face without thinking, trying to tuck the hair back behind her ear. It sobers the moment a little when I realise it’s a futile task. “I forgot to warn you about how much orcs come. It’s athing.”

“I wish I could —” She chokes off suddenly, her entire figure growing faint in an instant.

“Hey, no, stay with me,” I say, panic lacing my voice. She fades away every night, but it’s not normally so sudden. “Rose —”

“I’m sorry!”

She’s gone in an instant, winking out of existence like she was never even here, leaving me alone with my mess of cold cum and my phone playing the familiar beats of a song about sex.

My first soloperformance goes well. I knew it would; I’ve never had any trouble putting my own worries aside when it comes to acting, and this is no different. It’s easy to step into the role of a character and pretend that everything is fine, and I have to admit, the motorcycle helmet is a fucking good prop. When I wear it, I’m not Zak at all, just the man on stage, the fantasy for the crowd, and I’m fine with that.

“You gonna stay for a beer to celebrate?” Leigh asks as the final audience members make their way out the door, giggling over the photos on their phones that we posed for.

I shake my head. “Nah, I’ve gotta get back. I’m knackered. That was good, though.”

She grins, her small tusks adorned with pink tips tonight, matching her neon-coloured outfit. “It really was. You were perfect. Now we just need you to work out what you want to do foryoursolo. Thank you for stepping in tonight, you’re a life-saver.”

“It’s fine. I’m gonna grab my stuff. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

It feels weird being called a life-saver for a situation as simple as this when I know Rose is back home at her house,dead, being pulledsomewherethat she doesn’t know. It’s her life that I want to save, and that’s all I can think about as I drive home, skipping my usual Maccas meal in favour of getting back faster. I park in her driveway and jump out, my heart already in my throat at the lack of her green glow in the doorway.

“Rose?”

I jump up the stairs and onto the porch, stepping inside. I cleaned up last night after she disappeared but the faint smell of jizz still lingers in the room. “Rose?” I repeat, switching on my phone torch as I step further inside.

It’s completely silent.

“Rose?!”

I stomp through the house, checking in every room, calling her name, louder and louder over the thunder of my heartbeat in my ears. “Rose!”

It’s as if she was never here.

The back door swings open with a creak, and I walk through the weeds and overgrown grass, breathing heavily, tears burning at the back of my eyes. I’m here later tonight,yes, but she’s still always here at this time. It’s not even midnight yet.

“Rose?”

A light switches on next door — it’s Josh’s room — and I swear under my breath, running back inside, the sound of a window opening following me. There’s no wind tonight, the moon bright in a cloudless sky, and Josh’s muttered, “Fucking psycho,” carries in the still night air.

I know it must look bad. No one has said anything about me coming over here, but they’re not idiots, either. Vellar is a moth, for fuck’s sake; his kind are naturally up half the night, and I’ve bumped into him before, after visiting Rose.

It doesn’t matter. I don’tcare,I just care about finding Rose, and saving her, because she’s the only woman who has ever made me feel this way — I could see us together forever — and nowshe’s not hereand —

I sink to the floor, biting down on my fist, my tusks digging into my flesh as I try and fail not to cry because the woman I love is dead. She’sdead, and I’m no wizard, but I know there’s no magic in the world that can fix that.

“Rose?” I whisper into the empty house, but there’s no reply, no cool breeze, no pretty smile and soft green glow. I wait, my head nodding every now and then, forcing myself to stay awake, to hold out hope for her.

She doesn’t appear.

When the birds begin to sing and the world outside regains its colour, I rise, my limbs stiff, my body cold, feeling like a shell of a person.

The loud knockon my door wakes me, and I’ve barely managed to sit up when it swings open, Josh stepping through the doorway uninvited. The mid-afternoon sun streaming through my window is blinding.

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