Page 11 of Monsters in My Bed
“It takes a lot of energy to be a shadow—energy the baby doesn’t have because he used it to form into existence.”
Panic spikes through me, and I rush over to my son. He snarls at my closeness, but I ignore it. “It’s ok. I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I love you so very much. It doesn’t matter which form you take—human or Vasura—but I need you to shift until you’re strong enough to become a cute little wisp again.”
Weariness seeps into his face, and my heart squeezes, but still he doesn’t budge. With a sigh, I reach out, hoping he doesn’t shred me with his claws as I take his arm and gently tug him forward. He tumbles out of the air with a wail, changing completely into a human baby. I catch him, hugging my little monster close while he cries, unsure why he’s so upset until Vizruk tells me to look up.
When I do, my gaze snags on a smoky wisp still floating in the air. I stare at it in confusion, wondering what I’m seeing. The baby in my arms tries to reach out to it, and I wonder in horror if maybe it’s a piece ofhim.Oh god, I ripped my child apart.Bile rises at the back of my throat at the thought, but Osz steps up to rub my lower back, helping me keep it at bay.
“You didn’t hurt the baby. That wisp, as you call it, is just another one.”
My mind blanks. “Another what?”
“Another baby.”
“T-t-two babies?!” Vizruk and Osz nod, staring in the same bewildered wonderment as me, before a new thought strikes. “I am definitely not having any more orgasms!”
My mates bust up laughing, and of course, the mini monster in my arms follows suit until I can’t help but join in. The sound swells around us and bounces off the walls. As we grow louder, the small spec of smoke grows bigger. I gasp when the middle part swirls to reveal another face, one that’s like looking at my baby photos, minus the glowing orange eyes. And unlike the child in my arms, this one has blond curls. Within seconds, it’s shifted completely into human form, and my mates lunge to catch the baby.
I glance down at my son with adoration, cooing to him softly. “What a good big brother you are, protecting your twin. What should we call you both? Osz, Viz, what are some good boy names?”
Osz grunts at my question. “I don’t think you need two boy names.”
“Whaddya mean?” He holds the baby out to me, revealing that she’sa girl. My eyes bulge. “A girl?! How is that even possible?”
My mates shrug as Viz cuddles her cheek. “She’s the first female Vasura and the first one to be born of something good—humor.”
As if to punctuate his words, my daughter giggles and claps her hands as I groan. Two kids, one born of desire, one born of humor with someone like Nerazi as a role model. Beside me, Osz and Vizruk snicker, reading my mind. The whole lot of them are going to be a bundle of trouble with a capital T.
But only if we can save everyone first.
five
ALEXIS
IfIthoughtmybabies and mates are trouble, it's nothing compared to the problem I have now. Someone needs to go back to make sure that Mark, Roxy, and Rastorj are alright, and someone else needs to stay with the babies. The logical choice is that Vizruk and Osz go back while I stay with the twins, but I don't want to be separated again. Moreover, they refuse to leave me, nor would they willingly let me go out on my own.
The Tivoli Mountains are far from the False King’s palace. I wouldn't be able to get back without their help anyway, so I'm stuck trying to convince them to take us all back because I know the hidden passageways are a safe place for my babies. Roxy and Rastorj can look after them while my twin monstersand Igo help Mark.
And then the rest of my trium.
We go round and round until I point out that Roxy will not make it if she's not taken to the sinqol pools. This draws my mates up short. They would sooner cut off a limb than do anything to hurt me, and knowing that something happened to Roxy would absolutely kill me. We need to go back together to save her. Muttering under his breath, Osz picks up the babies while Viz reaches to cradle me against his chest. With one last stern look at me, they dissolve into shadows and blast out of the grotto.
It's not until we're out of the volcano that I remember how dark this realm really is, but my eyes easily pierce the dimness thanks to my time in the sinqol pools. In fact, my entire body has a subtle glow, as if my very flesh is infused with the glowing liquid. Unfortunately, it does nothing to shield me from the bleak coldness, and I shiver in Vizruk’s arms.
He tightens his hold on me as I lean forward to check on the babies. Both are sound asleep, clearly not affected by the chill in the air like I am even though they're in their human form. Questions swirl in my mind.Do they only shift into their monster form when angry or affected by the emotion that created them? Or can they change at will between their three forms, like Mark?
A spark of heat flares in my core at the remembrance of Mark, half-human and half-bogeyman, before I remember that he's in grave danger. Now’s not the time to be fantasizing about him. The twins told me long ago that Mark left to face his destiny, which can only mean The Fallacious. But the False King is cunning as they come and knows more about this world than Mark ever will. This is a huge disadvantage to my mate, making him the weaker opponent, and I fear what Zuriv will do to him regardless that Mark's his son.
The land below us looks even more desolate than before. Osz and Vizruk told me what The Fallacious did to the rest of the Vasura, manipulating them into thinking they would never find mates and tricking them into joining The Revenant Swarm. Now his massive army is unleashed on Earth, where helpless humans won't be able to fight them. And I have no way of getting back home or to my trium because that bastard, Zuriv, closed all the portals.
A scowl twists my lips when I think of how weak the False King really is, leaving his people to do his dirty work. The Revenant Swarm is a mindless mass of emotions that Zuriv controls. It will consume Earth and all its occupants, and when it's too bloated to move, The Fallacious will consume it, becoming all powerful.
I push my face against Vizruk’s neck, inhaling his scent to dispel the thought. Zuriv cannot be the victor in this war. The very idea makes me physically ill. The False King simplycan'twin. We have to stop him—Ihave to stop him. The question is how. I'm the Pharos, the beacon of light. There must be something foretold that helps me know how I can defeat him.
The pinkish glow of Vizruk’s eyes suddenly lands on me, and I know he's reading my thoughts, but neither he nor Osz says anything. This gives me pause, and I wonder if it's because they know something that I don't—something about the prophecy that they're keeping from me—because at the end of the day, they'll always put me first. They’ll always protect me, even if the world around us burns to the ground, because I'm their sole purpose.
Aside from the babies.
I sneak a quick peek at them again, still slumbering sweetly, completely unaware of the danger they were born into, before I relax back into my mate’s chest. Time passes slowly for me as I’m overly anxious to get back to everyone, but eventually I spy the towering silhouette of The Palasseum.
