Page 32 of Becoming Monsterous

"Of course." The Magistrate's smile is razor sharp and completely hollow. "I wouldn't expect it any other way."

"Can I ask for a date when a quorum will be declared?"

"Two weeks from today," the Magistrate says with a smile. "Plenty of time."

Two weeks. That's no time at all.

Looking over at Ellie, I feel my heart squeeze. I can smell her anxiety and fear. She's afraid that the summoners are going to kill her—and that us monsters will let them. I don't blame her. The decision the houses just made to keep her alive was a tenuous one, built on the desire for Aphrodite's power more than anything.

That power could free them entirely. But it's not a guarantee that Ellie will do it. I believe that she will; I know she's seen how we suffer, and she feels for us.

Not everyone trusts her like I do.

Maybe they'd rather have crumbs.

All of it makes me wonder: why don't we just kill Aphrodite? I know that Morpheus wants Ellie to get her powers. Maybe the Madame is right, and there's a requirement to receiving them. But it seems losing out on those powers would be better than risking them in the hands of the summoners.

"Well, I suppose we should leave you all to discuss things." Another razor sharp smile from the Magistrate. "Come, let's go."

He turns with a flourish and heads towards the doors, leaving us in yet another lurch, not knowing what will happen next.

I feel the protective instincts inside me rise. The bull in me wants to gore the Magistrate. Hell, so does the man.

I'd do anything to protect Ellie.

If only I were free.

I watch him go, trailed by his people. All of them are mortal. They don't have our strength or our lifespans. The gods didn't bless them, as they weren't their First Children, the favored ones. That was us—once, long before our time.

They don't deserve to inherit the Earth.

Yet somehow, they still have power over us.

The doors close behind them. Lise, Jean Kincaide, and Madame Renoire are all that remains of the summoners. I stare at Jean warily, but she looks just as shocked at the proposal as the others.

"I didn't know he was going to do that—I promise," Lise says, sounding shaken. "A renegotiation... it opens everything up to instability."

Ellie looks over at Morpheus, confused. "Why would it?"

"The Accords," Morpheus says bitterly. "Every time the summoners propose renegotiating our contracts, they force an Accord. Either we accept the new terms, or we go to war. And so far we've lost those wars."

That's one way of putting it. Another way is that we got our asses handed to us. We may have slaughtered and overwhelmed the summoners time and again, but they still slipped out of our grasp. There are so many more of them than there are of us—and each time they wind a victory, they tighten their fist around us, controlling more and more.

It's come to the point where some monsters would rather ally with them and risk being enslaved than wind up on the losing side. After all, that means banishment to the Shadow World for who knows how long.

They've never offered usbetterterms before. So there's no reason to trust them this time. But as Dorian raises his hands to calm the crowd and draw eyes towards him, I get the sinking feeling that there are those whowouldtrust the summoners.

Especially the houses that don't know any freedom at all. Our situation, where we get to walk on Earth and come and go as we please as long as we agree to do the summoners' bidding when asked, must seem appealing to the other houses.

Crumbs tend to make the starving salivate.

"We have a debate on our hands," Dorian declares. "A question looms: is it worth it to risk renegotiating the contracts in bad faith?"

A Colossus shouts, "It's a damn sight better than nothing!"

"Giving them the power of Aphrodite means we'll never win against them again," one of the shifters points out. "They'll be able to force us to our knees whenever they need to."

"All the powers they have is already more than enough for them to win against us," says one of the Occult House members, a woman with horns like me and two small, leathery wings. "What does more power matter? I say we take the deal before they change their minds."

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