Page 38 of Demon: Monsterverse
Issa’s eyebrows lifted, and she shook her head slowly.
“This dimension is too big to fit all monsters into one category.” She brushed her fingers through her hair. “You’re from a human village on the other side of the Rift, aren’t you?” I nodded slowly. “That’s where most of our girls started off.” She tsked and shook her head. “I forget how closed off some human villages can be. There are many that live in the ‘old way.’ They kill everything and anything that crosses their paths. But here, within the limits of this city, there are agreements of any who cross into it. Nikita owns this place, and she’s built up her power and allies to do as she pleases. A key way she’s done it is by offering humans.”
I scrubbed my palms onto my eyes.
“It’s just all too much.”
“When monsters lived in their dimension before the Rift, they weren’t cognizant. They were primitive and instinctual. But after the Rift, they gained self-awareness. All of this was a gradual shift. There are some monsters that want to be more civilized, and there are some that prefer being wild.”
Tenebrous was the latter. He enjoyed his cave and being around no one and nothing.
“Coexisting didn’t happen on a whim. It was a gradual process. It first came with the realization that monsters enjoyed how humans taste.”
“I thoughtweneeded their, uh, essence to survive on this side.”
“Yes.” A smile tipped up the corners of her lips. “Andmonsters crave us.” Her face pinkened.
Tene’s reaction told me as much.
“Then what is this place?” I struggled to wrap my head around the new information.
“Monster pleasure services would be the best way to describe it.” She tied the sash at her waist. “It’s up to you to which level you’d like to work in. There are dancers, servers like me, feeders, milkers, companions—”
“Whoa. Companions?”
“Sometimes monsters get lonely.” She shrugged.
Baffling. This was all so baffling, but at least now I understood why Tene seemed to enjoy eating me out.
“So I assume feeders, uh, feed the monsters.”
“Yep.” The red on her cheeks flooded down her neck. “It’s not the worst. I did it once for a bit more currency. I wanted to get a nice outfit.”
“What are milkers?”
“Slang we use for milking-humans. You know how we survive off cum?”
Holy fuck. I pressed my palms to my face.
“Humans have to ingest cum once every few rotations. Female monsters provide it as well, if you’re curious.”
Couldn’t say I wasn’t, but the throb at my temple was only worsening.
“I can’t leave?”
Issa pursed her lips and frowned as she rubbed her neck.
“Right now, you are under Nikita’s protection. She purchased you, right?” At my nod, she continued. “Without protection, you’ll be snatched up and they can do whatever they want to you.” She fiddled with the ends of her hair. “I’m telling you, it’s not so bad here. Nikita isn’t too hard on us. She just expects us to work for her protection. Your best bet with leaving is finding an owner, but many of us want to be here.” She whispered the last bit. “It’s not that bad here and you have more options than out there.” She shrugged. “Anyway, let me take you to your bedroom upstairs.”
I trailed after her, my brain too crowded to think logically. “I remember when I first arrived here. The first thing I wanted was to bathe and to change clothes. We have a private bathing pool for female humans.”
She went the other direction where black stairs started instead of where we’d entered.
God, I missed Tene.
TWENTY-ONE
BRIDGET
