Theo
I woke early; it was still dark outside. There was nothing I wanted more than to stay in bed with Vivian—holding her against me and breathing her in—but she needed a fresh start to wake to. A reset. I needed to undo all the carnage tainting her home while she was still unconscious.
Were they looking at me? Her house? What the fuck did they want?
When I’d finished vigorously cleaning, I stepped back and nodded at the scrubbed wall with approval. Now to clear the wooden stakes, then I could get to work inside.
Frankly, I didn’t have a plan for these disembodied heads. Not to mention their bodies around the corner of the cabin. Bury them? No. I couldn’t stand the thought of letting their evil decay into the sacred land of my goddess.
Tapping a knuckle on my chin as I contemplated a solution, my eyes flickered between the looming wildlife and the morbidly decorated stakes. Realization dawned over me.
Blood attracts the beasts.
“Is this what you want?” I asked, yanking a skull free, the bone cracking loudly.
I chucked the head towards the horde. It disappeared behind the wall of wheat.
The creatures plunged into their own dark cloud to feast. Wet gnashing sounds came through the strange opaque fog.
As I quickly cleared the next three stakes, I considered how Vivian had done the meal prep for the hungry locals. No need to suck the life force out of something already dead. Straight to eating. A mutually beneficial solution for disposing of the remains.
The rolling mist grew. Either more creatures had joined the fray, or the horde was becoming frenzied. With a huff, I threw the discarded bodies into the feasting concealed by feathery wheat and dark fog.
“That’ll do,” I muttered, wiping my hands on my pants.
I didn’t want to risk Vivian waking up to this noise alone. The sounds were horrific, even to me. I’d start on my inside chores while the beasts did what beasts do. Eat.
The floorboards weren’t as bad as the cabin wall; it was nothing a little elbow grease on my hands and knees couldn’t fix.
I took periodic breaks from scrubbing to check the frenzy outside.
The grove beasts rose to their two feet, their skulls tilted to watch the other creatures finishing up.
Feeding had mostly stilled. The ravenous noises quieted.
The mist thinned. They really had just wanted the dead inside of Vivian’s field.
“Better?” I asked, watching as their heads raised to stare at me, several cocking to the side curiously. “Protect this field, and I’ll feed you whenever I have the means.”
And “means” we would have. There was no way Gable would give up anytime soon. More were coming.
Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought the beasts understood me.
Had an antlered skull nodded? It was over in a moment.
They turned as a group and drifted slowly towards what must be the direction of their respective territories.
The rest of the creatures cleared shortly after.
And then everything was silent. Peaceful. A well-fed forest.
I stepped into the border of wheat and examined the area. Not a single bone of the assholes who’d attacked my mate remained.
We were about to have a lot of very strange—very grotesque—pets if I had anything to say about it. Guard beasts would solve one problem, and be a partial solution to another. Dispose of the bodies. Make it harder to get to us.
I never liked the idea of these predators being anywhere near Vivian…
But the devourer of my enemy is my friend.