Lahat ng Kabanata ng Home for Horny Monsters (Book 05): Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

Velvet found Uncle Foot up on the roof of the cabin. He stood next to the chimney, his face fixed in concentration as he surveyed the land. The sun was nearing the treeline, and his features were grim."You okay?" she asked him.He shrugged, an expression that made his fur ripple. There was a scorch mark on his leg where Quetzalli had accidentally tased him. "There has been much change in the last few days," he told her. "And I fear the changes yet to come. Have I ever told you that I can smell the future on the wind?""Only about a million times." She smiled. "But I don't ever get tired of hearing about it."Bigfoot snorted. "I should have been able to sense them," he said. "The Nirumbi and Leeds. The forest should have told me, much in the same way that it tells me where to find game, or if a hunter is lost.""It is winter. The forest is asleep.""Even asleep, the forest always watches." He frowned. "I wonder if what Leeds told me is true. Have I turned my back on the land? It would

As they crunched through the wilderness, he heard snippets of words nearby. They were solitary thoughts, barely audible in the cold, dark of night. It was the spiders of the woods, just trying to survive until daybreak when they could warm back up and hunt for food.But it wasn't just the spiders he sensed. Whenever he moved close to the trees, he was under the impression that they were listening. On a few occasions, he would put his hand out to either steady himself on a trunk or move a branch, and he could have sworn that he felt the tree shift beneath his touch."Are their dryads out here?" he asked, looking at Bigfoot."Nope," Velvet answered. "It's always just been us.""But the trees..." He looked at a nearby pine. Though it looked like an ordinary tree, he could almost feel its presence in his mind. "It almost feels like they're watching me."Bigfoot nodded. "The land watches you, Caretaker, as it watches us all. There are many spirits that reside in nature, many of which canno

I think you've got it. Opal relaxed and slid most of the way back into her tub. Whatever you decide to learn from that book may change you. But you won't know until after it happens. Lily wasn't prepared to learn a Word of Creation and look at what it did to her."You're right." Beth contemplated the book again. It was a decision that warranted some thinking. The spell she had cast in the basement had been easy enough, and she didn't doubt there were hundreds more. It was a book capable of opening right to the spell you needed, the ultimate shortcut. She could see why the Society and the shadow had wanted it. Immense power waited for any who were ready to seek it out.She bit into her frozen Eggo and blanched. Even with peanut butter, it didn't taste great. Contemplating her meal, her gaze slid over to the Grimoire. Would there be a spell that could cook her food? Surely a spell that low-key wouldn't extract too big a toll.Five minutes later, Beth stood over the smouldering remains o

"They want my permission to stay, don't they?"The owl-woman sighed. "They do. We are tired of fleeing from your people, Caretaker. The Order has forced us to remain hidden from your world, which means we cannot retaliate in kind as our homes are bulldozed. This place is a sanctuary, an untouchable piece of paradise where they can live and be free.""I doubt this." Bigfoot sneered at the owl-woman. "Even if the Nirumbi are planning on playing nice from now on, I saw the creatures of the forest you had gathered out there. Some may be happy to piss away their days without bothering anyone, but you have a collective who's-who of man-eating monsters up there.""Really." Mike looked from Bigfoot to the owl-woman. "I'm not keen on hosting creatures that will fight and potentially kill me or my friends."The owl-woman nodded. "And yet you did not see them attack you. But I do not expect that to be the proof you need to change your heart. There is more to see."They followed her through a lar

"I accept," he said, hoping this wasn't a huge mistake.To his relief, Bigfoot grunted in approval. Even if they were both wrong, he at least felt better making a mistake with a friend by his side.No, many friends. He took Velvet's hand and squeezed her fingers. He didn't have a word for their relationship yet, but he looked forward to figuring it out."Let's get out of here," he said, then turned to face the owl-woman. "Do you think the children of the forest will help us with Leeds?"She nodded. "Some will not. They abstain and wait for the victor. Please do not fault them, for it is their way. But you have my vow that I shall not rest until the Devil of Jersey has been captured."Bigfoot held out his hand to the owl-woman, like he was expecting her to slap him five. She timidly placed her claw over his."I misjudged you," he told her. "You see, I used to take my duties to the forest seriously, but was blessed to become part of a family. Instead of wandering the land and fixing its