Radley's Labyrinth for Horny Monsters, Annabelle Hawthorne [smart ebook reader TXT] 📗

While Emily had been alive, any attempt to come near the house had ended in death for society members after the fiasco with Garrett. After Emily had died, Kali and the others had tried to break in, but the geas had had a failsafe for even that occasion, incinerating one of their newest members on the spot.

No, the time to strike was now before Mike knew how to make the house defend itself. For whatever reason, he was holed up inside, doing nothing at all. Kali wondered how such a man had defeated Sarah. Her best guess was that the creatures inside had helped him, which made plenty of sense.

Coiled around her feet, her familiar, a twenty-two-foot-long python, lifted its head and let out a quiet hiss at someone approaching. Kali looked through the beast’s eyes to see a figure all in white limping toward her.

“Any luck?” Sebastien came up from behind her, a cup of coffee in one hand and his cane in the other. He leaned on it dramatically, holding the cup out for Kali to take.

“I have made some progress.” Kali took the coffee from Sebastien. “But not enough.”

Sebastien grinned. “I’m afraid all your hard work will be for naught. Right now, my homunculus is on its way over.”

“The agent?” Kali asked.

“Yes.” Sebastien pulled a small flask from his jacket. He poured a little in Kali’s coffee, then took a swig himself. “I’m surprised nobody else thought of it.”

“Nobody has quite the gift for artificial life that you do. What is Daryl up to? Since we were supposed to be working together, I figured he would check in first.”

Sebastien shook his head. “I’m not sure. He thinks he has a lead on a third party who has been inside the house. Such a simple spell, no? One cannot go inside without being invited.”

“It worked on vampires and some of the fae for centuries,” Kali noted. “I’m more interested in who was able to cast such a spell and have it apply to everyone who has never set foot inside.”

“We all have our theories.” Sebastien sipped from his flask, letting out a sigh. “Each theory has its own subtheories, and those theories are full of myths. It’s why I am so eager to crack the mystery of the house. Even the weakest of our theories guarantees that the house has powerful magic, ripe for the taking.”

“Which theory are you a fan of?” Kali asked. “Currently.”

“I was a pretty big advocate for the Fountain of Youth theory, but the fact that Caretakers keep dying says otherwise. I’m leaning more toward the Garden of Eden theory myself but am also a fan of the theory that an Ancient One is chained up beneath the house.”

“Do you really think that an Ancient One could be held against their will?” Kali pursed her lips, blowing across the top of her coffee before taking a sip. It was good.

“Not really. It would, however, explain why this place is impenetrable. A single drop of blood from an Ancient One would contain the magic necessary to cast a spell as powerful as the geas, and it would certainly fit why the house itself is full of so many strange creatures.” Sebastien chuckled. “How long have we been trying to crack the mystery of this place? I can’t remember the last time we had so much fun.”

Kali scowled. “Not long enough. If Garrett hadn’t stumbled upon us, we would never have even known this home was here.” That, too, was a function of the geas. The house did nothing to stand out. Earlier, she had done a blood ritual naked on the front lawn, summoning twenty-foot-tall pyres of fire to dance around the edges of the magical border. People walking on the sidewalk hadn’t given her a second look. The society had once spent several months interviewing locals, but nobody seemed to give the place a second thought other than rumors about it being mysterious and haunted. Despite their presence in the same city for several decades, it had taken a desperate man who had been kicked out of the home to bring it to their attention in the first place.

“Yes, well, if he hadn’t had such a hard-on for the last Caretaker, we could have all come here together. I hope the demon he sold his soul to for that magic wand reminds him of that on a daily basis while fucking him up the ass with a club.”

“You could contact that demon and make sure of it.” Kali grinned. “If you haven’t already.”

“Let’s just say the club is black, spiked with nails, and has my name carved into the handle.” Sebastien put away his flask. Golden rays were creeping across the sky from behind the house. “In just a few hours, we’ll be inside. I am sure of it.”

“I hope so.” Kali, however, was doubtful. She turned her attention back to the geas, probing it gently with her magic. Sebastien was far more confident in his plan than she was, and she intended to keep trying it her way in the meantime. Down by her feet, the python flicked its tongue, wondering when it would be fed.

“So what do you think of my plan?” Mike asked. He was lying in the tub, his head nestled perfectly between Naia’s breasts and his body soaking up the heated water from her spring. Pipes from the spring allowed her to manifest in his bathtub, which was where they had first met. The sun was just starting to come up, casting crimson rays through the window of his bedroom that caused the master bathroom to take on a rosy hue.

“I think it’s terrible, actually.” Naia was working the shaft of his cock with her hand, tendrils of water wrapped around his balls. She wasn’t trying to get him off. Rather, she was trying to assess the damage that the Mandragora had caused, but since her power was largely derived from sexual energy, this was the fastest