34. A Sacrifice Fit for a Monster
A Sacrifice Fit for a Monster
Prism Malefic
“Does he bite?”
“What if his saliva gets on you? It will burn terribly.”
“I worry he will grow to eat the goats.”
“Are you sure Vore approved this? Is this safe?”
The town square washed in orange as the sun began its descent. As surely as the light sank, the ladies emerged, curious and horrified by the furry fearkitten that chased after my every step.
I put a hand on my hip. “Are you all aware that you’re basically married to monsters?
” The crowd of women stared back at me. “Withers,” I continued.
“The most dangerous beings in all the realms—are your mates—and you’re aghast at the presence of a tiny, sweet, fluffy boy like this?
” Scooping up the object of speculation, I held him like a baby.
His whiskers twitched. “ Mwaw! ”
Fable joined my side and gave my kitten a pet on the nose. “Okay, I’ll admit it. He’s pretty cute.”
The women remained skeptical.
“Look,” Fable continued. “If Vore sensed he’s no risk, baby or adult, then it will be no problem. Though… there’s never been a time that a strange beast has made it past a hoard of withers and into our midst… it must just mean he’s a very special guy and Prism is a very special lady.”
I picked up my fearkitten’s paw and made him wave cutely. “Dats wight,” I said in a baby voice. “He is vewy special.”
A few ladies giggled, joining me in petting my new friend. Petrichor rubbed his white belly. “What’s his name?”
Lonesome, a quiet girl taken from Boar’s Hollow, perked up. “I love names. Can I help?”
“Sure.” I smiled, sitting on the ground as my fearkitten sniffed everyone’s ankles. “It should be something ferocious but wise.”
“Hmm…” Lonesome considered. “Zenith, it means the peak of a mountain… or Ephemeral, which means something that doesn’t last very long.”
“I like both of those. Perhaps I’ll think on it a while and something will come to me.”
Lonesome dragged a long blade of grass along the ground, and my fearkitten leapt, gnawing the grass between his fangs. “Such a handsome fellow. It’s a shame he’s the runt of the litter. I’ve always thought it terrible that some younglings get left behind.”
I guessed I was the runt of my family, too. Not fierce and industrious like Rumor. Not magical like my mother. Not strong like my matri. Here I was, wandering into Nisse alone and outcasted, too. Maybe that’s why this kitten found me and we’d bonded so quickly.
We were the same.
As twilight bled onto the land, withers emerged from their caves like spirits appearing from hidden portals. Enormous but hidden and concealed, their skin blended into their environment, and their smoke blurred their sharp edges. Would their magnificence ever cease to amaze me?
Omen joined Petrichor and Devour joined Locket.
Cadaver soon joined Fable, handing her a messy bouquet of wildflowers.
Meanwhile, the other withers found their mates, each either swooping them into their embrace or offering them everything from meat to flowers or baskets of fruit.
It really did seem as if the monsters served the women here, and they did so happily.
Apparently, they even battled for the honor to be in service of a maiden.
Wraith, the dark crimson wither, sulked from the shadows like a red nightmare, his horns curved at the top of his head. His gaze found mine immediately, and I looked away, not wanting to engage with the monster that could have been my wither if Vore had lost the duel.
I was thankful to have Vore… Wraith seemed a shade grumpier than the wither who’d stolen me. Or perhaps he was just a sore loser. Even still, the sullen glances he passed me sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine.
Gazing around the crowd, Vore was nowhere to be found.
Cadaver, a ghostly gray wither, knelt and wiggled his fingers in play with my new fearcat.
When he noticed me watching, he quirked a pointed, sideways smile.
“Vore told us of this new addition to Nisse. I believe you have found another guardian now in this beast. My senses tell me he is very protective of you.”
With a smile, I stroked the nameless fearkitten’s tail. “Thank you. He’s brought me a lot of joy already. Um, do you mind pointing me in the direction of Vore’s cave?” I asked hesitantly.
Cadaver’s eyebrows rose, but whatever seemed to surprise him didn’t deter his answer. “Yes, if you follow the path south, the trail curves up the mountain. It is a short hike. Vore’s dwelling is the first cave at the end of the way, the one beneath the hanging wisteria.”
“Thank you. Do you and Fable mind keeping an eye on my little troublemaker for a while?”
Cadaver rubbed the fearkitten’s belly as it flopped over and wiggled in the dirt. “Of course. It will be good practice for when our little one arrives.”
With an awkward wave, I wished him goodbye.
Thoughts of a wither and human baby had haunted me since I’d arrived.
What sort of being would that be? More human or more monster?
How was it even possible? I’d noticed no little ones running around, so it seemed a rarity for the town, at least. Though Fable was quite round and would surely be giving birth in the near future.
I guessed I’d find out then what happened when a monster and a maiden reproduced.
Leaving the bustle of laughter and music behind, I ventured down past the grove trees and began my trek along the mountainside.
The lights of Nisse were beautiful from a distance, sparkling with firelight and women playing instruments as others twirled for their adoring monsters.
My heart warmed in fondness of the life that had swiftly found me here.
A life I’d never sought out or asked for.
A life I never could have imagined. Back in Willowspire, I couldn’t hope for more than a solitary horse farm and a husband who would hopefully ignore me as I tended the equine.
Here… I’d already discovered passion, friendship, a garden that needed me, a new furry friend that delighted me, and a monster who’d swiftly earned my affections.
My affections for Vore were burning so deeply, I couldn’t sit by and wait for him to come to me. The overwhelming urge to find him in his cave lured me up a lonely trail and into the cave of a vicious wither.
How many men had done the same with shaking hands wrapped around spears? Now, I did so freely, with my pulse racing not from fear but with longing. As the sun sank further, small yellow lights flickered along the cliffside.
Lightning bugs.
Rumor and I used to catch them when we were children.
These were just the same as the insects of my youth.
Well, they’d always appeared as insects to me.
For my special witch sister, they were tiny fairy maidens, at least that’s what she told me.
Something strange happened, though, as I playfully cupped my palms around one of the flickering, flying lights.
When I opened my hold, a two-legged, short-blonde-haired maiden in a tiny, shimmering green dress walked lightly on her tiptoes across my hand.
A gasp of delight left my throat as I awed at her delicate elegance. “Hello, you are beautiful.” I smiled as she walked up to the tip of my thumb and fluttered her wings.
The fairy’s giggle was lithe and echoey as she shimmered in the dark. Before she floated from my fingernail, she bid me a strange farewell. “Fair winds to you, enchantress.”
Her yellow light blinked twice in succession as she fluttered after the other floating lights.
“How remarkable,” I whispered in astonishment.
Clearly the land here was magical in and of itself.
Perhaps possessing the ability to see the light-up fairies, instead of lightning bugs, was different here than in Willowspire.
Regardless, I was certainly not an enchantress but having the privilege of encountering such a rare and beautiful being was indeed enchanting.
With fairy light illuminating my path and their echoey giggles sounding in my ears, I reached a large, domed cave.
Long vines of purple blooming wisteria hung over the entrance like a curtain of flora.
Anxiety stalled my steps. What was I supposed to do?
Knock on the stone? Walk right in? Call for him?
None of those seemed right. Was coming up here even permitted in Nisse?
Cadaver hadn’t tried to dissuade my quest—yet my sudden worry told me I should have asked Fable if it was okay to do so.
Well, it was too late now. Inching forward, I took a deep breath, and parted the wisteria, stepping into my wither’s cave.
My pounding heart and ragged breath alone could have announced my presence.
Maybe it was the desire pooling between my thighs or the emotion hitting his tastebuds—but a growl sounded from deep within the darkness—though, somehow, I did not feel afraid.
In an instant, with my vision only catching the slight ripple of shadow in the darkness, Vore was upon me.
His arms wrapped around me as he pulled me into his embrace.
His lips found mine as I gasped in surprise, moaning into his kiss.
A low growl rumbled in his throat as his hold on my hips and waist tightened.
The timbre of his voice deepened into something rough and seductive when he asked, “Why did you come?”
Breathless, I answered honestly, “Because I wanted to see you… do you not want to see me?”
Moonlight filtered into the cave, highlighting sections of my wither’s ferocious, muscular form.
Letting out a breath, Vore eyed me gruffly.
“I always want to see you, Prism. However, I don’t think you know what one’s chosen coming into their cave means.
You cannot comprehend my level of restraint in this moment.
” My lower belly warmed, and his head twitched.
With a growl he added, “Stop… tasting… like… that… or I will lose all control.”