Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (46 page)

Chapter Two

“Dad says I should be nice to you.”

Artemis looked up from her boxes of art supplies to
find Vincent standing in the doorway.  “Well, that would make life easier.”

Vincent had long jet-black hair like his dad’s, but
that’s where the similarities ended. He was lanky and awkward, and surly as
hell. A teenager if ever there was one.

“Wanna see something?” he asked.

“Okay.” Artemis rose from her fortress of boxes and
followed him into the hallway.  “What is it?”

He opened the door to what she’d thought was a linen
closet, and when she saw what was inside, she recoiled in terror.

Vincent laughed.

“Why wouldn’t you warn me about something like that?” 
Artemis clutched her chest. Her heart beat a million miles an hour, hammering
her ribs like crazy.  “Jeeze, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

When he’d finished laughing at her, he said, “Look, I’m
showing this to you as a sign of trust.  I don’t have papers for this little
guy, so he’s a secret.  You can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t,” she said, and her hammering heart warmed a
touch.  “What do you mean
little guy
?  He looks mighty big to me.”

“Nah.”  Vincent reached into the enclosure and brought
out a massive snake.  “This boy’s not even five feet.”

Artemis backed away, catching her hip on the railing. 
If Vincent came any closer with that thing, she might jump.  “I’m not good
around slithery slimy things.”

“King may slither, but he’s not slimy.”  Vincent held
the snake’s head in one hand while he draped the rest of its body over his
shoulders.  “Here, have a feel.”

“No thanks.”  Jumping over the hall railing and
crashing down on the first floor was looking like a better and better option. 
“Please don’t bring him near me.”

For a moment, Vincent didn’t move.  He held her gaze
with his before finally taking a step back.

“Oh, thank god.”  She clutched her top.  “That’s
better.”

“You don’t like him?” Vincent asked, sounding more than
a little disappointed.

“It’s not that.  I just don’t like snakes in general.”

“You might, if you gave them a chance. Don’t you paint
people’s pets for a living?  What if someone brought in a snake?  You’d need to
keep it together or you’d look unprofessional.”

“That’s true,” Artemis said, though she doubted anyone
would get a snake’s portrait done. “Well, what kind of snake is it?”

“A royal python.”

Artemis went “Eep,” though she didn’t mean to.  “A
python?”

“Also called a ball python, because it curls into a
ball when it’s scared. But I like
royal
.  It’s got a nice ring to it. 
And that’s why I called him King.”

“Cute.”  When Artemis looked into the snake’s tiny
face, it reminded her of a Chihuahua. Maybe snakes weren’t so bad, after all. 
“If I pet it, will it bite me?”

“Nah, this guy’s a wimp.  I’m amazed he hasn’t curled
already.  He must like you.”

That was a comforting thought.  Artemis always believed
pets expressed the values of their owners, so if King liked her, maybe Vincent
did too. 

She traced her finger down the side of the snake’s long
spotted body, and smiled.  “Hey, you’re right. It isn’t slimy at all.  It’s
like… silky, sort of.”

Vincent nodded.  “King’s a nice guy, he’s just here
illegally.”

“What does he eat?”

“Mice and stuff.  I let him run around the basement
sometimes.  Plenty of mice down there.”

Artemis wrinkled her nose.  “I didn’t need to know
that.”

“You’ll hear them in the walls when you’re trying to
sleep,” he said.  “Never a peaceful night, in this house. That’s what my mom
used to say.  That’s what Darla said, too, and she only lived here a couple
weeks.”

When Artemis noted the confusion and pain on Vincent’s
face, she said, “Hey, hey, guy.  I’m sticking around, if you want me here.  I
won’t be running off on your dad.”

He didn’t say anything in response, but he did lift the
python over his head.  “Did you want to hold him?”

“Yikes.”  Artemis took a few steps closer to her new
studio.  “I don’t think so, Vince.  Touching your snake was hard enough.”

He laughed in a way that sounded nervous as she
returned to her boxes.  Setting up her studio should have been relaxing, but
ever since she’d heard that strange voice and felt a presence in the room,
she’d never been perfectly at ease.  Someone seemed to be watching her and
that’s why she always left the door open.  She pretended it was just Vincent,
standing outside the room, contemplating the new woman in his father’s house.

Chapter Three

Budd didn’t approve of TV in the bedroom, but when
Artemis pleaded, he conceded.  Good thing, too, because if she had to be alone
without the comforting clatter of canned laughter, she’d probably wet herself.

The boys were out at some sports thing.  It wasn’t
Artemis’s scene, but
God
how she wished she’d gone with them.  Anything
not to be alone in this creaky old house.  She’d brought that little wooden box
from the wardrobe and set it on the bedroom mantle like a talisman, but it
didn’t bring her much comfort.

“What are you afraid of?” the deep voice asked. 

She couldn’t tell if the sentiment came from inside or
outside her mind, but it was enough to make her turn up the television’s volume
a little higher.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” it said, from inside the TV
laughter.  “You know you want it.”

Was the voice coming from the TV?  Were the channels
crossed or something?  It was almost like she was watching a comedy, but
hearing echoes of a horror flick.  She clutched the remote and stared straight
ahead, not wanting to move a muscle.  In fact, her whole body locked with fear.
In her heart, she knew the voice wasn’t coming from television.

It was in the room, in the walls with the mice.  No,
that was wishful thinking.  It was even closer.  She could feel its breath on
her naked shoulder.

“Bare skin,” it said, and traced its invisible tongue
up her neck.

Artemis recoiled on instinct, locking her head against
her shoulder.  “Get away from me!  Get off!  You’re disgusting!”

“Why’s the TV so loud?” Budd asked from the doorway. 
“I could hear it from outside.”

Had he caught sight of her pushing away the invisible
tongue?  She didn’t hear him come in.  Christ, he must think she was crazy.

“Sorry, I…”  Her mind was mush.  She couldn’t come up
with an excuse.

“We don’t want the neighbours complaining.”  Budd
grabbed the remote.  When he turned the TV off, Artemis wanted to cry.  “This
isn’t exactly a motorcycle-friendly area. Neighbours would gladly give us the
boot.”

She’d always thought Budd was an odd fit, but she
didn’t want to sound rude.  “Why’d you move here, then?”

He kicked off his shoes and tore out of his top.  “It
was the only house my wife and I could afford when we first got married.”

“Really?  That’s weird.  It’s so huge, and in such a
fancy neighbourhood.”

He shrugged.  “Motivated seller?  I don’t know.  We
didn’t ask questions.”

When he took off his pants, she wanted to want him, but
she felt so unsettled after sensing that… what was it?  She didn’t even know. 
That ghost? Force? Spirit? Entity?

Demon?

“Hey, what’s wrong?”  Budd sat naked on the bed and
held her hand.  “You look white as a sheet.”

“It’s nothing.  I just got my period.”  Little white
lie.  He’d never check.  “I’m feeling a little gross right now.  Is that okay?”

“Of course.”  He took her in his huge, hulking arms. 
“What do you think I am, some sort of cave man who can’t control his urges?”

She laughed.  “Yeah right.  You’re the best guy I’ve
ever met.”

No lie there.  He really was good to her.

Vincent had gone out with friends and probably wouldn’t
be back until morning.  Budd talked a lot about his evening with his son, and
about parenting in general.  He said some people thought he was too permissive,
but the only way to raise a respectful son was to show his son respect.  Made
sense to Artemis, but what the hell did she know?

Until Budd turned out the lights, the atmosphere in the
bedroom felt safe and protected.  Once darkness had fallen, all bets were off. 
He slept on his side, facing away from her, and she wished he’d roll over, take
her in his arms.

Artemis had never, in her entire life, felt so alone.

On top of the aching loneliness, she knew
it
was
watching.  She didn’t know what it was, but she sensed its presence in the
room, like a haze. Not a visible mist or fog, but dense, hot energy.  The force
made it hard to breathe.  And moving?  That was out of the question.  Its
haunting presence held her down.

In her mind, she asked, “Who are you?  What do you
want?”

She heard him laughing.  He was inside her head,
hearing her thoughts and feeling her fear.  Never in her life had she felt so
invaded.

“Get out of me,” she said, panicking, struggling to
move. “Get out!”

The laughter grew more resonant, until it vibrated in
her belly.  It wasn’t just an impression on her mind anymore.  He’d found a way
inside her body.

“Get out!”

This time, instead of laughing, the creature spoke from
deep inside her. “Darling, I’m just getting started.”

Just getting started?  What was that supposed to mean?

Before the monstrous entity could offer any clue, it
rose from her body like morning mist burning off an open field.

And then the room went quiet.

Not an eerie quiet.  Not a scary quiet.  Just a silent
night beside her boyfriend quiet.  No suggestion of anything malevolent.  The
air cleared so thoroughly she wondered if she’d imagined it all.  Really, she
had no reasonable proof the creature existed.  Maybe she was scared of life
with Budd and Vincent, and fear created monsters in her mind.

Artemis sat up, feeling more than a little proud of
herself.  She’d defeated a psychological demon.  Good for her! 

Hopping out of bed, she tossed Budd’s T-shirt over her
head and went to the bathroom for a midnight pee.  Mmm… his top smelled like
him, and she savoured the scent as she grabbed a wad of toilet paper.  When she
wiped… well, that was weird.  Why was she so wet down there?  And not pee-wet. 
Arousal wet.  It just kept coming.

Artemis gave up and walked back to the bedroom, feeling
slick between the thighs.  Very weird.  Not that she had trouble getting turned
on, just that her arousal was usually inspired by… well,
something
.

When she arrived at the bedroom door, Budd sat up
against the headboard.

“Sorry,” Artemis said.  “Did I wake you?”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.  An intense dread
knotted in the pit of her stomach.  The bedroom made her dizzy, like if she
stepped inside she’d get swept into a vortex.

“Budd?” she called to the shadow in bed.  “Are you
okay, babe?”

His eyes flashed a venomous red, and Artemis shrieked. 
Her impulse was to run far, far away, but her feet wouldn’t move.  They were
like blocks of concrete, trapping her in the doorway. Her heart refused to
beat.  If she could just keep quiet, maybe she’d become invisible. 

Maybe…

The dark form leapt from their bed, and she tried to
see Budd beyond it, but no… the creature closing in on her
was
Budd.  He
heaved his huge arms around her and lifted her off the ground.

“Budd? What are you doing?”  Artemis wouldn’t normally
have been afraid of her boyfriend, but this wasn’t her boyfriend. “Put me
down.”

The breath on her neck blazed hot as hell.  It smelled
like decomposition. Artemis kicked her feet, but no use.  Her toes didn’t even
touch the floor.  This thing, whatever it was, had gotten inside Budd. It was
using his massive strength against her, and she had a terrifying feeling she
knew what came next.

“Stop struggling,” said a voice that wasn’t Budd’s. 
Its depths resonated inside her belly, and she tried not to feel that feeling,
but she couldn’t help it.  She couldn’t keep him out.  “Hold still.”

He tossed her on the bed, which should have spelled
escape, but once she was facedown on the crumpled comforter, she couldn’t
move.  Her muscles froze, hands on either side of her head, legs off the bed,
feet on the floor.  Her ass stuck straight up in the air…

“Stop it,” she said in her mind, because the words
wouldn’t come out her mouth.  “Let me go.  Let Budd go.”

She didn’t know what kind of force she was
communicating with, but she knew it wasn’t good. It disregarded her plea and
pulled up the hem of Budd’s T-shirt.  “Let’s get a look at your pussy.”

Budd pushed her legs so far apart her hips popped.  The
hands were Budd’s, but the touch wasn’t.  She knew what it felt like when he
stroked her, when he caressed her.  And it wasn’t this.

When his fingers entered her from behind, her pussy
clamped.  He was rough with her.  The way he jammed those fingers—how
many, two?—in her cunt made her feel like her body was public property. 
It wasn’t hers anymore.  She had no say over what happened to it, what entered
it.  The monster made that decision.

In her mind, he said, “You must have been waiting for
me.  I’ve never felt such a wet and ready pussy.”

“Stop touching me,” she pleaded, though she still
couldn’t speak.

“Why?”  The demonic voice echoed not only through her
body, but around the room.  “Your nasty little snatch is begging for it.”

“Who are you?” she asked, desperately.

“Me?”  He feigned innocence.  “Why, I’m your loving
boyfriend, Budd.  Don’t you recognize me, Artemis?”

“You’re not Budd,” she growled.  Why couldn’t she
move?  Why couldn’t she raise her foot off the ground and kick him in the
balls?  “Budd would never treat me this way.”

“No?”  The creature cackled as it removed Budd’s big
fingers from between her legs.  “And I’m sure you’d never lie to your loving
boyfriend.”

“Of course I wouldn’t lie to him.”  Artemis tried with
all her might to escape the monster’s mental clutches, but she couldn’t move a
muscle.  She couldn’t even cry.  “Let me go.  Let me move!”

The nameless monster found her pussy with… what was
that?  Budd’s cock.  Yes, she recognized the sensation.  He slid Budd’s
cockhead the length of her slick, wet pussy lips.  When it connected with her
clit, she gasped.  She didn’t want to feel good at a time like this, but her
body insisted.

“Oh god!”  She tried to bite her bottom lip, but she
couldn’t even do that. “Stop it.”

“You said you were ragging,” the monster chuckled.  “I
don’t see any blood between your legs.”

Artemis felt her cheeks prickle.

“You lied to your boyfriend.”

What could she say?  The monster was right.  “I didn’t
want to hurt his feelings.”

“And you had to lie?”

Rage surged through Artemis’s chest.  “It’s your damn
fault.  You licked me!  You made me feel gross.  So don’t go blaming me, you
bastard.  You fearful, cowardly bastard who won’t even tell me your goddamn
name!”

“My name?”  He spoke gently, but grabbed her hips,
rough as a lumberjack.  “My name is Budd.  I’m your boyfriend.”

“No you’re not!”

His cockhead throbbed at the entrance to her cunt, and
the longer he waited to fuck her, the more her engorged pussy grasped it.  Her
cunt couldn’t distinguish between the real Budd and this disgusting creature
pretending to be him. 

“Your pussy is drooling for cock,” the monster said,
mocking her.

“That’s not my fault,” she begged.  “It thinks you’re
Budd.  It doesn’t know the difference.”

“But, Artemis…”  One hand trailed slowly across her
back, sending shivers down her spine.  “I
am
Budd.”

He didn’t hesitate after that.  Lurching between her
legs, he thrust Budd’s cock inside her waiting cunt. Her traitorous body
accepted him with open arms.

“Oh, you like this.  I can tell.”  The creature
controlling her boyfriend dipped his swollen tip inside her, dabbling in the
shallows, teasing.  “Ooh, your pussy’s grasping for more, sucking me in.  And
you said you didn’t want me tonight.”

“I don’t want you,” Artemis screamed, in her head.  “I
don’t want
you
ever.  Let go of me and let go of my boyfriend.”

“That’s not what you want,” the monster said, in almost
a soothing tone. “You want more.”

He slammed Budd’s cock in her cunt so hard she found
her voice—her real voice—and screamed loud enough that it echoed
through the house.

“Now, now.  Don’t wake the neighbours.”

The monster bashed Budd’s body into hers again, jerking
her thighs against the side of the mattress.  “Oww, stop!  It hurts!”

This time, the words came out of her mouth. Actual,
real words!  She could speak!

“Pain is just the beginning.”  The creature controlling
her boyfriend punished her pussy with that hard-to-handle cock.  Budd’s front
bashed against her butt so hard she’d be bruised inside and out, come morning. 
“Well, now, look at this gaping asshole.”

“No,” she said, desperately.  “No, no, no.  I mean it.”

Didn’t matter what she said.  He wasn’t about to stop. 
Drawing pussy juice up from below, he shoved Budd’s thumb in her ass.

“Don’t!” she screamed, but her body was saying
something different.