Page 1 of Beauty's Monstrous Demons

PROLOGUE

Today is my eighteenth birthday, and I’m spending it alone the way I have every year that I can remember. No one cares about the foster kid kicked from place to place for a paycheck. I’ve gotten used to it, as much as anyone can at least.

Today is also the day I age out of the system. I get to say goodbye to the group home I’ve been living in as I finish school. I graduated four days ago, and it feels surreal. No more curfews that are a ridiculous dick measuring contest or being told what to do.

So I packed all of my things into the shitty car I saved up for a year to buy, and drove to the state fair. It’s silly, but I’ve always wanted to come here. In my dreams, it always looked different and I had a boyfriend or friend to do it with.

Funny how fantasy can differ so much from the reality of my life.

Walking through the pathways of the fair, I smile at a stall for a corn dog. I’ve always been partial to food that comes on a stick. It’s so silly to me, but also so satisfying.

Getting into the short line, I decide today is a ‘yes’ day, within reason. I have money burning in my pocket from the state formy birthday, a scholarship to a school three hours away, and nothing but time. I deserve a little fun.

Smiling, I order my corn dog and pay for it, doctoring it up with ketchup and mustard before taking a bite. My moan would say that it’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth, and at this moment, it is. Sadly, I haven’t put much thought into moments of joy, solely focused on getting out of this town.

Walking through the fair is fun, and I even get on the Ferris wheel to say goodbye once and for all. After this, I’m getting in my car and driving straight to Charleston. I’ll stay in a hostel, get a job, and work over the summer. I’m a hard fucking worker.

No one can deny that.

At the top, the Ferris wheel stops, and the small bucket I’m in alone swings riotously. Hands squeezing the bar with a gasp, I gaze out at the world.

“Everything looks so tiny,” I breathe, eyes wide. Hell, Ifeellike a speck in the grand scheme of things.

The people down below are muted up here, allowing me to just feel. I want things to be different than they have been. I want friends, a cute boyfriend, maybe even a cat once I’m in the apartment the school is providing.

I’ll have a roommate or three, but I’m used to living with other people in my space. That’s one thing that won’t change.

It’s funny how you can live in a town with four thousand other people, and still feel as if no one knows you. And no one cares to, either.

As the wheel moves again, I sniffle, wiping away the tears that have fallen. No, I can’t abide by that. Tears have their place, and it’s not here.

By the time I reach the bottom and step off quickly for the next people to take my place, I’m back in control. I’m overstimulated, that’s all. Clearly, I’ve reached my limit of peopling for the day.

Winding my way toward the exit, a sign for fortune telling by Madam Sera catches my eye.

I very much doubt you can tell my future.

Snorting, I tell myself I’m being ridiculous. Monsters share the same air I breathe, and I watched a demon catch his son with his tail when he jumped from a chair earlier. Denying that magic doesn’t also exist is like saying the moon doesn’t go dark every thirty days.

Maybe this fortune teller is legit too.

The day of saying ‘yes’ ends when I leave the fair, so instead of shrugging it off, I walk into the tent.

“Hello?” I ask, biting my lip. My blonde curls tumble forward over my shoulder, forcing me to push them back.

“I’m here,” a woman murmurs, walking through the tent toward me.

A curtain falls behind her, cutting off the area she was in. Everything around me is covered in colorful tapestries. It’s beautiful. She’s someone who enjoys life, I’d like to think. Having so much beauty around them would make it impossible not to.

“I was wondering if I could have a reading? The price wasn’t on the sign. It’s late in the day, I understand if you’re packing up,” I say.

Now that I’m here, I’m already having second thoughts. I’m eighteen. Do I really want to know what my future holds?

“For you? I’ll do your reading for free,” she murmurs, gazing at me with her hazel eyes. Her dark hair is pulled back into a long braid, her ears pierced with pretty gold earrings.

“Oh, you deserve to be paid for your time,” I gasp, shaking my head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Consider it your birthday present,” she says, waving my words away. “Come sit.”

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