Page 27 of Monster's Obsession

“Of course, they blame me,” I blurted out, my breath catching in my throat. “Maybe it’s a temporary glitch, and I just need to do more.”

The corner of his mouth curled upward. “Yes, you need to be fucked more.”

Narrowing my eyes on him, I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or playful. But when he returned to his work, I guessed he was being serious. Monsters in Wyld fed on the energy created by Creed, Aspen, Seven, and Tempest when they had sex with me. I didn’t fully understand the mechanics of it, and sure, the whole thing was strange, but so was a different realm where creatures of nightmares lived in a city built over a lava pit. There was no such thing as normal in this world.

The skeletal monster suddenly brought the knife down hard, carving halfway down the snail, and I flinched at the slurping sounds. The thing fell apart in half, more slime pouring out of it. I kept swallowing back the gagging reflex pushing forward.

“Give me a moment to finish this dish, then I’ll show you something that might help.”

I nodded, my heart hammering as fast as the monster was chopping that snail until all that remained were tiny cubes of the grey gelatinous thing. Which in turn reminded me of Freddy, and I was left feeling like crap that he was dead…or probably dead. You couldn’t be sure of anything in Wyld I supposed.

Grabbing an empty plate from the shelves, he swept the cubes into it with his hand. Setting the plate down, he wiped his hands on a filthy dish rag, then offered me a smile, full of blunt teeth and a pale gray tongue.

When he stretched his back, he stood at least seven feet, not counting the horns, and I blinked up at him, feeling tiny in comparison.

“Bane is my name,” he stated proudly, grabbing the dish and patting my back.

Already I felt the sticky slime seep through my shirt where he touched me, and I shivered. I’d have to burn the top.

“Nice to meet you, Bane,” I finally said. “It’s good to talk to someone new in the castle. So, you’re a chef? What’s with the dish of…” I wasn’t sure what to call it. “I thought your kind didn’t need physical food?”

“They’re called vexlings. These pests are all over the city, chewing through everything–cords, walls, clothes, even our ears when we sleep–so we eat them as a delicacy. There’s no nutritional value to them for us, but we love the sticky texture.” He made a slurping sound with his tongue, which wasn’t helping my revolting stomach.

“This way,” he muttered, lifting his chin toward the other end of the long kitchen.

I followed him, shadows gathering around us to the point where, for a few seconds, everything went dark, then we emerged into another room, which surprisingly wasn’t half bad. Gone was the filthy kitchen and slime, replaced with what I could only describe as a monster cafe.

Tables and stools littered the oversized room with vibrant green shrubs and tangled vines covering the walls. In the middle of the room stood a spiral metal staircase which ascended to a small platform where half a dozen monsters were talking and drinking something out of long horn-like cups.

Overhead, more greenery spread over the ceiling along with huge globe lights that lit up the room. I’d never seen anything like it, but it would make a good spot to enjoy reading a book while sipping on hot chocolate. As long as there was no snail slime in my drink.

A strange humming song played in the room, soothing the atmosphere, and there were fluorescent green moths fluttering around the place. I batted one out of my face when I caught a man with two heads staring at me, all four eyes blinking at the same time. Was he judging me for not feeding them enough?

“This way,” Bane said to me, and I stayed close.

“What is this place?” I asked, moving fast to keep up with his long strides.

“An escape for everyone who works at the castle to catch up with colleagues, to enjoy a small treat, or simply to get away from their boss.” He made that teeth-chattering sound again…laughing at his own joke, I assumed.

I decided then I liked Bane. Just because he appeared terrifying, didn’t mean he couldn’t be nice too.

He set the plate of snail cubes in front of a young couple who at first glance could be mistaken for humans, with green hair and bright emerald eyes, but the moment the plate slid onto their table, thin, long tongues jutted out of their mouths and snatched up a morsel, reminding me of lizards.

Loud chewing and lips smacking was kind of revolting, so I was glad when Bane moved on quickly. I followed him up a set of steps at the back of the room and came to an area tucked away in the corner. I gasped at the sight because the little section was encased by a massive birdcage. We stepped in through the open door, the space taken up by two leather sofas with a round table in the middle. Vines grew all over the birdcage, entwined around the metal bars. Across from the doorway stood a circular window that overlooked the city.

Bright light spilled into the cage, its warmth relaxing.

Something giddy rose through me at this little hideaway.

“This spot is gorgeous. I could see myself hiding up here,” I admitted, rather liking the vibe.

"Good, and now that you know the location, I recommend making use of it with the king and his men.”

I kept turning the words over in my head, ‘make use of it.’ Surely, he didn’t mean having sex in the birdcage?

“This seating is reserved for our king and his royal party only. No one else is permitted to use it, so it’s yours, and you also have privacy from the rest of the room.” He was folding his long arms around his middle, which looped all the way around and back again, his weird version of folding his arms.

“Another reason for this escape room is to let those working at the castle also experience a powerful feeding when the king and queen visit this Cage Room.”

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