K A Knight - [Her Monsters 01] - Rage

by Knight

  She finishes off her drink before placing the glass on the table. “I’m going to chill for a bit before the meeting, then I’ll look through more paperwork. Griffin, make sure you get the girl for tomorrow.” With that order, she gathers the papers and trots away.

  Nos throws back his drink, gives me a smug look, and disappears after her. Bastard.

  After checking that the sheep isn’t dead, I grab my carving gear and go and set up at the table upstairs. I don’t want to work with his eyes on me, and I don’t want to go upstairs and hear whatever the fuck those two are doing. Spreading out my equipment with gentle hands, I run my fingers over my tools before sitting down and preparing.

  I don’t know why carving brings me such peace, but I can lose myself in the wood and designs for hours, in the rhythmic work and the tiny details. For that short period, I forget everything but the piece in my hands. I could do with that clarity and peace right now.

  I left a message for a sheep I trust, so I set my phone on the side in case he rings back. I’m hoping he has a girl we can use, he should if the payout is worth it.

  Gripping the wood, I clear my head as I try to think of what to carve. I sit there for minutes with nothing coming to mind, which is strange. Groaning, I grab my knife and decide to just go with it, hopefully the design will come to me while I work.

  Losing myself in it, I let the space around me go and my mind wanders until a voice has me snapping my head up and blinking at my mate. I’m mad at myself for letting her sneak up on me.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” she asks, nodding at the wood in my still hands.

  “My mother,” I reply without thinking.

  Her eyes widen as she hesitates in the doorway. “I thought you didn’t know your mother.”

  I sneer at her, clutching the wood in my hands. “Just because I was created doesn’t mean I didn’t meet the woman who birthed me,” I snap.

  She holds her hands up but comes farther into the room, ignoring my anger. “Okay, what was she like?” She grabs a chair and sits opposite me.

  I glare at her before I go back to carving, ignoring her questions. It’s better not to drag those memories up, nothing but pain and madness live there now. Obviously realising she won’t get an answer, she reaches across the table and stills my hands.

  “I’m sorry, maybe you could teach me one day.” With that she stands, grabs a bottle of water, and retreats back upstairs.

  Only then do I look down at the carving and swear. It’s of her face. It’s rough and not finished, but even to my eyes I can see her features there.

  I leave Griffin to it, seeing the closed look on his face. He had looked so peaceful, so free when I had found him hunched over his carvings that I couldn’t help it. I’m learning about him slowly. Stopping in the living room, I look across all the photographs on the wall. His perspectives are beautiful, but the black and white makes every scene depressing, and it’s obvious that even in beauty he sees the darkness.

  Not wanting him to get pissed and find me staring, I head back upstairs and to Nos. He is laying back on the bed where I left him with his arm under his head, and his chest bare. He looks beautiful and otherworldly, so much so, that I stop for a moment just to admire him.

  He truly is a piece of art. I can understand why they made him a god and worshipped him. His lips quirk up and I catch my breath. “Are you just going to stare, or are you coming back to bed, Little Monster?” he teases.

  Grinning, I drop the bottle of water on one of the nightstands and climb onto the bed, then snuggle back into his chest. I run my fingers across his bronzed, defined skin and look up at him to see him smiling softly down at me.

  “Tell me more about you,” I urge. I know a lot, and when you spend so much time with someone, when you kill with someone, you learn things that no words could ever explain, but I know he’s old and has lived a long life and I’m curious. What did my mate do before me? Why was he in the forest? Why doesn’t he hate humans like Griffin?

  “What do you want to know, Little Monster?” he murmurs, sounding relaxed as he plays with my hair. It’s the first time we aren’t rushing to do something, we’re just relaxing. There are no dead bodies or kidnapping, just our words. It’s nice.

  “Everything, what was your life like? Where did you grow up? Your family?” I ask, and lean up to see that his face has clouded before he shakes his head.

  He looks at me and strokes my cheek gently. “I have lived a long life, Little Monster, seen the rise and fall of empires, queens and kings, and more…yet, it all felt like I was waiting...waiting for you. It meant nothing, it was...all grey, until you came along. So I have not purposely kept my life from you, I just don’t care about it. I only care about you.”

  “Motherfucker.” I grin and lean down to kiss him. Pulling away, I run my fingers along his face. “I still want to know, talk to me. Tell me some stories.”

  “Anything for you, Little Monster,” he murmurs and we get comfy, his head resting on mine, and our legs entwined as we cuddle.

  “I do not know my family. The first thing I can remember is being in the wilderness, I was around four or five then I think. I grew up in nature, it was just my way of life. I learned to talk to the animals before man, I studied their ways, their hierarchies. My powers grew and grew, but I knew nothing else. Then I met the fae, they took me in and taught me of the world, except I was a man by then and fiercely independent, but I was also curious. I ventured out into the world, but more often than not I would return to the wild. It was my home, it was where I was happiest. Around man I had to hide what I was, I didn’t there.”

  Stroking his chest, I think about how lonely that sounds but I don’t say that out loud.

  “I loved the languages and cultures, enjoyed watching the world develop, so I stayed in touch with the human world while removing myself from it, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. I helped where I could and I guess people started to notice, they worshiped me and called me a god. Only when I went to a fae learner, which is what they call their teachers, I learned that was exactly what I was. Over the next fifty or so years, I honed my powers and my story became myth.”

  I frown and still my movements, but he continues, “All the humans I knew were dying, plague. It was a sad time, it was also when the council found me. They are always aware of a relic’s birth, but because I was in nature they did not. It angered them and I was kept there for a while so they could understand what I am and what I can do. Eventually, they realised I would not be kept prisoner and they had no choice but to release me. Every now and again they would venture into my land to try and convince me join them.”

  “Why didn’t you?” I ask.

  “I didn’t want that life, I just wanted to be left alone. It always felt like I was searching for something, like no matter what I did it wasn’t enough,” he says sadly, before cupping my chin and raising my head. “That itch went away the night I met you. I finally knew I had found what I had been searching for, for so long. Everything paled in comparison, when you took that first breath it was like I did as well.”

  I smile and kiss him again before settling down. “Anyways, over the years my land, in what you now call Scotland, was diminishing. Humans were getting bolder and bolder, and cutting and destroying it. One day, I went to the cities to meet with the council. It took a couple of days, and when I came back, it was gone.”

  Even now I can hear the desolation and devastation in his voice, and it causes a physical pain in my heart so I snuggle closer.

  “My whole land was destroyed for them to make houses and roads. They demolished the fae’s habitat as well, killing them,” he admits, making me gasp.

  “They killed them?” I growl.

  He sighs, squeezing me closer. “Little Monster, humans are hardwired for it, killing and destroying. They also have love and beauty but I digress, yes, they killed them. They couldn’t see them, didn’t know they were there thanks to the glamour, but the fae could not escape even
if they wanted to, they were surrounded.”

  “Why would they not want to escape?” I question, confused.

  He sighs again, and it hits me just how little I know of this world. “Fae are tied to their land. It is where they get their powers from, and if their land dies then so do they. Many would rather die with it then live without its power or try to recreate it somewhere else.”

  Sitting up, I swing my leg over so I’m straddling him and I brace my hands on his chest. He grips my hips and his eyes show me how much pain it cost him when they died.

  “You loved them?” I ask.

  He nods. “They were the only family I really had. They raised me, many were my friends. I had helped birth children, I had played with them, they were my life, Little Monster, they were gone just like that. I went to the grove where they lived and it was horrible. Their broken bloody bodies littered the ground, still clinging to their land even in death.”

  I part my mouth when he reaches up and captures a tear on his finger, which I didn’t even realise I had shed for him. He kisses it before watching me again.

  “What did you do?” I inquire, knowing my monster wouldn’t let that go and neither would I.

  “I am not proud to say that I let my heartache and pain consume me. It was the first time I changed so completely. The skeleton grew across my face, and for once I felt like the god they called me. I made my way through the remaining forest, calling animals to my side. Wolves, bears, everything you can imagine, and together we attacked the town. It was like I couldn’t stop myself. The hate and pain was too much, everything was red, and only when I stood in the middle of the massacred town did I realise what I had done. My hands were stained, my body too, with their blood. I killed them all, Little Monster, men, women, children. Innocents. I slaughtered them, killed families. I had become the very thing I hated.” He sucks in a breath, his eyes shuttering, and I see the fear there, the fear I will judge him for his actions.

  Leaning down, I grab his cheeks and force him to look at me. “I will not forgive you for your actions. You, and only you, can do that, but I know why you did it. I understand the instincts and I’m betting you atoned for that, did you not?” I growl.

  He nods, swallowing hard. “I tried, I am still not a good man, Little Monster. I have more blood on my hands than I could explain in two lifetimes. I have killed and destroyed, I let power consume me until I could not see past my own instincts. I am a god, I am a monster, and I will never let you go.”

  “Good,” I purr, kissing him hard. He moans, gripping me as his tongue tangles with mine. Before it can go any further, I break our kiss and sit back. “What did you do after?” I ask, tilting my head to see him. His hands stroke my skin, running up and down my body, nearly distracting me.

  “I left. I couldn’t stand to be there anymore, the land was tainted. I came here and have been ever since,” he admits and I nod. I don’t think I could stay either.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I murmur and he grins.

  “Always. I will keep nothing from you. It might not be pretty, but if you ask I will tell,” he promises. Smiling, I slip down and curl up against his side again.

  “Tell me some more stories?” I press and he laughs.

  “What about the time I offended the lord and lady of Herilo and they tried to kill me?” he suggests and I giggle.

  “What did you do?” I ask and he settles back.

  “Well...”

  We spend the next couple of hours laughing and talking. He tells me tales of the world he watches grow, and I gather more information about his life. It seems my god has been alone for a long time. Maybe everything happens for a reason. He clearly needs me and I need him.

  Holding a sleeping Dawn in my arms, I smile into the darkening room. Night is descending, I can feel it. Happiness is like a living creature inside my chest. It felt good to share my life and stories with my mate. She’s listening to them all, asking questions here and there, and never once judging me for my choices or lifestyle. I have not told her everything, not yet, but we have plenty of time—a million lifetimes to be exact, if she keeps feeding from me.

  Gods are immortal, so therefore their mates are. I probably should tell her that little tidbit at some point. Smelling her scent in the air, I close my eyes and inhale deeply. My heart bursts and there is a smile on my face. That soon melts away at the bad feeling taking up residence in my bones.

  Fluttering open my lashes, I search the room before closing my eyes and sinking inside of myself, allowing my power to reach out. As far as I know, no one else can do this, but with my blood sacrifice to my land and the animals there, I have a connection. It allows me to keep watch when I venture into the human world and right now it is tingling in danger.

  Following it along, I check my land and search for any invaders, but I can’t see anything. Grasping at more connections, I connect with a local wolf pack and whisper in their head. It is more images than anything since they can’t understand my words, but it gets my point across. They split up, spreading out over my land, searching for the threat. Even now, their hair stands on end and their howls split the night—a warning.

  Pulling back from the pack, I turn to the birds. They are smart creatures and see far more than people give them credit for. I whisper a warning to them and they take flight. Checking the area from the sky. When they find nothing, I whisper to them to keep watch before pulling back and warning the other animals.

  With that, I venture deeper into my land, paying close attention this time. It’s faint, but I find it. A disturbance, someone has been there, someone looking for something.

  Looking for me or my mate.

  I growl and pull back on the connections, returning to my body in the city. Sitting up, I meet Dawn’s startled gaze. She is sitting at the end of the bed, crossed-legged, watching me in confusion.

  “Where did you go?” She shivers. “I couldn’t feel you.”

  I open my arms to her and sigh when she clambers into my lap, all is right again.

  “I am sorry, Little Monster, someone trespassed on my land. Someone with great power. I must return to my land and find out who and what they want. I fear we are not safe there any more than we are here.”

  I’m not sleeping, but my eyes are closed to deter the questions from the nosey flight attendant, so when the lights flicker and the bing sounds, I crack them open. Leaning out into the aisle, I see the pilots panicking slightly just as the air masks drop from above. Groaning, I get to my feet and make my way to the cockpit—what now?

  Bracing myself with hands on either side of the door, I huff, “What?”

  The co-pilot glances back at me before concentrating on the sky in front of him again. “Sir, please take your seat,” he grits out, while flicking switches.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I growl, impatient now.

  He doesn’t glance over at me again, but he does force out the next sentence between clenched teeth. “A storm, sir, a bad fucking storm. We have no chance but to land if we can find ground.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, because that doesn’t seem normal.

  He looks over at me then, letting me see the fear and confusion in his face as it pales. “This isn’t a normal storm, we—our equipment is malfunctioning, like it can’t find its way out of the storm, like something is blocking it and it came out of nowhere. One minute clear night sky, the next, one of the biggest, most aggressive storms I’ve ever seen!” he yells, before turning back around. I tune him and his pilot’s conversation out as I peer through the front window to the sky.

  Clouds are rolling with lightning and thunder is humming through the plane. I watch the storm, unblinking, and if I look close enough I can almost see outside of it to the clear night sky. It is only surrounding the plane. This isn’t a normal storm, it’s fucking magic.

  Witches. “Take us down, take us down now!” I yell.

  They look over at me, confused.

  “If you don’t, they are going t
o rip this plane apart and fry us all. Down. Now,” I order.

  The pilot nods as they both turn back to the controls in front of them, flicking switches and talking into their headsets as I turn back into the aisle. The flight attendant is sitting in the first seat, clutching his seat belt for dear life.

  Moving to the seat on the other side, I grab my bag and hold it on my lap as I buckle in. I turn my head and stare out of the window as the clouds boil over. The plane dips and beeps come from the cockpit. Holding on to the seat, I slow my breathing, watching until I see the shimmer of magic.

  Above the shouts and beeping in the plane—I hear it.

  The chanting of the coven doing this, their voices rising like they are here. Their words are not in any tongue I know while they chant and scream. It all blurs together until I hear an explosion. Turning my head toward the sound, I groan when the door to the plane rips open. The flight attendant screams, looking over at me for help before he is sucked from his seat.

  He is suspended there for a moment, his fingers clutching desperately at his chair, his face pale as his eyes meet mine, and then he is gone. Out through the gap where the door once was and flying backwards. I hear the moment he hits the engine of the plane and wince, then we tilt dangerously.

  Watching the hole, I know we are fucked. The wall is cracking and ripping away with the pressure, and if we don’t land soon, we are all going to be airborne. I don’t think even I could survive that sort of drop.

  The air masks are down but I don’t need it. I just sit and wait, hoping I get to hold my mate once, just once, before I die.

  We are dropping steadily now, I can feel it, but the hole the plane is getting wider and wider.

  “We are landing now!” screams the pilot over the sound of the air rushing through the cabin.