Page 3 of Becoming Monsterous

Vulnerable, soft, that's what I can never be, I think to myself as they press kisses to my arms and legs, as they look at me with the kind of love that is real. They kneel at my feet, swords laid over their knees, and profess that they'll always be mine—my advisors, my comrades, my equals.

My lovers, who are not weak to my charms, because I've let them in, allowed them to truly know me. So the magic does not work on them, the power does not—

"Hush." A harsh voice; sharp fingernails that dig into my esophagus, bony fingers that tear apart tender flesh. "Let's go somewhere that I'd prefer to go, and finally get this done with. The last thing I want is a remnant ofyouinside my new body."

My mind swerves, and I let it, because the pain subsides as I'm forced down memory lane again.

This time, my fingers dive into cheeks and rip out tongues.

My heels dig into the backs of the kneeling, the prostrate, and press down until whimpers of pain begin.

I take a sickle-shaped blade, smile down at a young boy who stares at me in devotion, then begin to slowly carve the flesh from his arms.

Skin, I discover with a sick kind of fascination, is thicker than I expected.

My stomach flips.

No, my mouth turns up in a smile.

I open my eyes, staring down at Aleron, who basks at my feet. He looks up at me with that perfect green gaze, swirling with specks of red. His wings glow with power, running down each of his shoulder blades, all the way to his wrists.

With power like that—power over time and space—he could do so much more than simply flit about and cause superstitious rumors. Obviously he's been limiting himself. The stupid girl doesn't know that, but I do.

I bring my fingers up to my face and smile.

No.I'mnot the one who does that. Aphrodite is.

The me that remains—the tiny piece of Ellie Blackburn curled up in the corner of her mind—flinches at the expression.

Aphrodite looks down at my hand, turning it back and forth, curling the fingers up.

And she throws back my head to laugh, her voice filled with glee.

While at her feet, the remains of her decrepit body go limp, the soul, consciousness, and memories all flowing out of her physical form at once.

Because they're inside me now, and she's in complete control.

Chapter3

Ellie

This is a nightmare.

No, it's worse than a nightmare. It's reality—my reality, shrinking by the second.

As Aphrodite unfurls her will and takes over my body completely, my vision narrows. The memories she put in my head turn my stomach, and I'm glad to have them flit from my mind as darkness descends—until I realize that this darkness might be death.

I try to push against her will. To shove her out and do something, anything, withmybody. But she has complete control of it.

I hear my voice as if through cotton as she says to Aleron, "Get up. I want you to get me out of this place and bring me to Earth—my dutiful worshippers will be waiting for my return."

Her worshippers have been dead for centuries, as far as I know. Though—given that Aaron and his band of idiotic fraternity brothers tried to summon Aphrodite, maybe I'm wrong about that. Someone guided them, gave them the spells, taught them summoner magic that they weren't supposed to know. Maybe therearepeople out there who actually worship the old gods, know how the world works, and wanted Aphrodite back.

Well, they're about to get what they've dreamed of. Too bad I won't be around to see it. I can feel my consciousness fading, my memories slipping away, as Aphrodite steers my body. Aleron says something to her, but I hear only the faint murmur of his voice. I'm nearly gone.

I wish I'd done more while I was in my body.

Like maybe slap the Mothman a little, tell him what's good for him, and convince him to stop being such a little jerk.

---