Page 102 of An Inheritance of Monsters

Porter pitched forward, a burst of guffaws tearing out of him. “Everything was a lie! My whole life was wasted on nothing! Look at all of this!”

He flung his arms out wide, a tiny motion that would never encompass the vastness of the Void.

“How far does it go?” He cackled wildly. “Is there an end to it?”

Like many humans who looked upon the Void, his mind was beginning to shatter.

“It goes on forever.” I padded through the sand, circling my mate. “There is no end, and no beginning.”

Juno slowly stood up, watching the human laugh himself sick. “We should bring him back, Rask… this wasn’t a good idea. You said humans go insane, and I think… we might’ve done him a disservice.”

“Yes, beautiful one.”

I did not care about his mind or sanity, but the last thing I wished for was to displease my mate, and she looked distressed over the gasping, shrieking human.

But when I tried to gently wrap my claws around him, he dug his hands into the sand, kicking wildly. “No!No!Let me stay!”

I looked at Juno, wondering what she thought of this. I tried again, being extremely careful not to gut him, but it was like trying to grasp a wriggling fish.

A low growl came out of me, and he slipped from my grasp, clothes shredded, crawling away on all fours. “You can’t make me go!”

“Porter!” Juno strode after him as he flailed, sending clods of sand flying. “You’ve got to come with us.”

The man kicked away even further, then clambered to his feet, holding his hands out to ward her off.

“I’m not insane!” he bellowed, looking quite insane with his torn clothes, hair sticking out in clumps, and eyes bulging through the sand smeared on his face. He heaved for breath, but spoke normally after several fraught moments. “I’m not.”

Juno stopped, watching him with narrowed eyes. “No? Because you’re sure not acting like you’re in your right mind.”

Porter slowly calmed, his hands shaking. “I wish to stay. I could go back, and spend the rest of my life wondering if this was all some fever dream, if I wasted my entire career on a lie… or I could stay here. I could look into the mystery of this place.”

My mate’s lips twisted. “You’re not going to find anything to disprove, you know. It’s as real as you or I.”

He shook his head, scattering clods of wet sand.

“No, no. Ibelieveit.” Another laugh pealed out of him, and he flexed his fingers, pinching the sand between them. “For once in my life, I believe in something.”

Juno pinched the bridge of her nose. I sat behind her, awaiting the word to pin this wriggling man down and haul him out of here.

“Belief aside, there’s danger here,” she said, her voice remarkably even. “The Elder Gods, the cultists… I mean, seriously, Porter, you’re not going to last a day. EvenI’mnot crazy enough to come here by myself if I can help it.”

A small smile had begun to play around the edges of the man’s lips. “I’m willing to risk it. I would risk anything to see more.”

She released her nose, huffing a sigh and gazing at him.

Several long minutes passed. What was my lovely one waiting for?

“Well, you’re a grown man. We both have the right to make our own decisions.” She held out a hand. “If you’re going to stay, I wish you the best of luck. If you ever need help… well, holler and maybe the monsters will answer.”

“And maybe not,” I growled, earning alookfrom Juno.

The man reached out and took her hand firmly, that tiny smile stretching into a wide grin. “Best of luck to you, too. You’ll see! My god, imagine the things here… imagine how far it goes…”

He released her hand, and began to walk down the beach, gaining speed.

As he reached an all-out run, he began peeling his clothes off, bellowing with joy as he jumped naked into the waves and splashed through them.

Juno winced.

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