Monstrous- The Complete Collection

by Sawyer Black

  He smelled his sweet Amélie before he heard her footsteps echoing on the stairs. She ran up to him, and he swept her up with his right arm, swinging her out and sitting her on the railing. Her giggles worked into his heart, and he was sure that the universe didn’t have a single better sound.

  She kicked her feet as she looked out over the Forgotten and reached her breast pocket. She snatched a flower up like a magic trick and said, “I brought you a flower.”

  “For me?” Henry took it from her fingers and brought it to his nose. “You know, I think this is one of the flowers I planted while you were gone.”

  “No, it’s not, Daddy.”

  “No, really. I put a bunch of ’em by the road coming into Solitude. You know why they smell so good?”

  “Why?”

  “Because fairies pee on ’em.” He took a dramatic sniff, and Amélie giggled again, losing her breath and doubling over. “Ewww!”

  “Hey,” Henry said, sticking the flower behind his ear. “I’m going to the Tree. You wanna be a thorn in my side?”

  “Okay.”

  She held her arms out, and he put her on his hip. He thought of the tree, and time and space twisted away, and they stood at the roots, looking up into branches crackling with green leaves. Stretching into the sky higher than even a giant could climb.

  Next to the Tree was a table big enough for a hundred, where only two people sat. Randall in a white robe. Charlie Mara in a black mechanic’s shirt. The demon turned as Henry appeared, and his face lit with a grin. “Hey, my man. I gotta new job.”

  Henry laughed. “I hear the pay sucks.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t beat the benefits.”

  Randall looked up from the chessboard, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Hello, Henry. Amélie.”

  She waved as Henry put her feet on the ground. “Hi, Randall. Hi, Charlie.”

  Charlie shook his head. “You’re right, Henry. She’s very plain.”

  “I am not!”

  “Yeah,” Henry said. “Let’s just hope she’s smart, right?”

  “Daddy!” She swatted his leg, and he pretended to buckle from the pain.

  “All right, all right. You look okay.”

  “That’s better.”

  Henry laughed as he led his daughter past the table. Around the back of the Tree to the headstone that glittered in the sun. Polished granite sparkled as they neared. Nestled among the roots it was the perfect spot. Henry came here often, and though he asked many questions, he was always on his own for the answers.

  Just like when we first met.

  There was no inscription in the stone. Just two names. Boothe and Maria. A golden ring encircled them. The hoop around the waist of a goddess. The halo over an angel’s head.

  Henry pulled Amélie’s flower from behind his ear and squatted down to set it atop the stone. The surface so shiny, it was like two flowers in an embrace.

  “Is Mom happy?”

  The question surprised him. Amélie had hardly spoken about Samantha since his return. With time moving so much slower in Nowhere, Henry didn’t know if she was happy or not. He’d made a deal with the devil, and he was damn sure going to keep his word on this one.

  “Of course she is, baby girl.”

  “Can I see her ever again?"

  “I don’t think so, honey. We have to stay here in Nowhere.”

  “For how long?”

  “I guess forever. Is that so bad?”

  She shrugged then reached out and touched one of his horns with her index finger. Pushing on it as if making sure it was real. He couldn’t bring himself to take any other form, and he walked around as a demon all the time, now.

  She nodded and drew her hand back. “No, that’s not so bad.”

  “Even if I look like a monster forever?”

  “That doesn’t matter.” His baby girl leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. “Because you’re not a monster on the inside.”

  THE END

  Ready for More?

  When they first met, David Wright set a challenge to Sawyer Black to write something that would out-horror even David’s darkest works. Dark Crossings: Generations was the result.

  Get the FREE story Generations when you sign up to Sawyer Black’s VIP mailing list.

  Click for your Free Download

  Author’s Note

  I sure do want Henry to be happy.

  I don’t know if that’s what he wants, though. He seems to want everybody else to be happy. Or at least, he wants to be recognized for the attempt.

  Why do we do the things we do?

  Is it to feel good? To score points? To get into Heaven? To avoid Hell?

  I wrote this book to make my wife happy. She’s my first reader and my biggest fan. It’s her face that I watch as the pages turn. When she asks for more, I do my best to deliver.

  I also wrote this book to make Henry happy, but as usual, he resists. Maybe someday, after he’s given enough to others, he’ll keep a little for himself and learn what it feels like.

  Mostly, I wrote this book for you.

  There were parts that tore my heart out to write, and others that made me laugh out loud. I imagine you having the same reactions, and it makes me smile.

  I imagined his world as a blur, because that’s how he sees it. Rushing by as he tried to make sense of his place in the universe. Trying to catch anyone who came into his reach. To save them or to save himself? He’s not sure, and I’m not either.

  You get joy out of making other people happy. It feels good to see a grin that you caused.

  Maybe that’s why. Maybe Henry’s right. Making other people happy makes you happy. But...sometimes...it feels good to jab a little. To pinch. To poke.

  Yeah, it’s nice to be nice, but sometimes…

  Thanks for reading,

  SB

  A Special Request

  Thank you for reading Monstrous.

  If you enjoyed this book. would you please consider writing a review of it on your favorite bookseller so other readers might enjoy it too. Just a couple of sentences. That would mean a lot to us.

  Thank you!

  SB & DWW

  About the Authors

  Sawyer Black writes dark and violent fiction for people who secretly love puppies and rainbows. In addition to being a U.S. Army veteran, he’s also a beardsman. In fact, that’s where all his ideas come from. The beard. Speculative stories about struggle and triumph and brutal emotion, written mostly for his ideal reader, his wife of nearly twenty-five years. He’s an independent woman who likes cigars and margaritas, and he holds the deep belief that the earth is round.

  David W. Wright is the co-author of edge-of-your seat thrillers including the best-selling post-apocalyptic series Yesterday’s Gone, the paranoid sci-fi WhiteSpace series, and the vigilante series, No Justice, as well as standalone thrillers 12, and Crash which was recently optioned for a movie.

  David is an accomplished, though intermittent, cartoonist who lives in [LOCATION REDACTED] with his wife and son [NAMES REDACTED.]

  He is not at all paranoid.

  He is “the grumpy one” on the The Story Studio Podcast with fellow Sterling and Stone founders, Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant.

  You can email him at david@sterlingandstone.net

  We swear, he almost never bites. Unless you feed him after midnight.

  For any questions about Sterling & Stone books or products, or help with anything at all, please send an email to help@sterlingandstone.net, or contact us at sterlingandstone.net/contact. Thank you for reading.

 

 

 
filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share