American Monsters

  “I could be lying,” Amber said. “This all might be part of Lord Astaroth’s plan. He likes his games, as you know.”

  Bill stopped walking.

  “You’re aware that the mayor of Desolation Hill trapped his brother, right? But you don’t know how he did it. See, Naberius plotted with the mayor to trap Lord Astaroth, but Lord Astaroth is no fool, and he played along. And at the last moment, just when Naberius thought he’d succeeded … the tables were turned.”

  “Is that what you’re doing now, Amber?” Bill asked, his voice quiet. “Are you playing along?”

  “There’s only one way you’re going to find out,” Amber told him, and pulled the hood off the Shining Demon.

  Beneath, he wore an iron mask that wrapped around his head and clamped over his jaws. His eyes, though calm, betrayed an endless reservoir of rage at his indignities. A Demon, a Duke of Hell, one of the Blood-dimmed King’s most loyal subjects, on his knees before three of Hell’s mongrels and a mortal girl.

  Bill smiled down at him. “You can’t even curse us, can you?”

  The Shining Demon glared.

  “I’ve done my part,” said Amber. “Let Kelly go.”

  “Do it,” said Bill, not taking his eyes off his prey. “We have what we want.”

  Betty released her hold and moved, like she was sleepwalking, to her husband while Kelly rushed to Amber’s side. They started backing out.

  “Oh, Bill,” Betty said. “I’ve never been so happy.”

  Amber’s parents turned to each other, and kissed with a love so deep it made Amber uncomfortable just to look at it.

  Then Bill and Betty fell upon the Shining Demon, fangs tearing through his flesh, his screams caught by the mask he wore and whittled to mere murmurs of pain as they began to devour him.

  Kelly took Amber’s hand and they ran outside.

  “Move it!” Amber shouted to Milo and Glen. “Let’s go!”

  “That might be a problem,” Milo said.

  Stromquist stood between them and the Charger.

  “MR STROMQUIST,” AMBER SAID. “I would really appreciate it if you’d step aside.”

  Stromquist sneered. It was an expression his face was obviously accustomed to. “You’re not leaving, I’m afraid.”

  “I’ve given my parents what they want,” Amber said.

  “Nevertheless, they asked me to make sure you stay.”

  “I’ll take care of this guy,” said Glen, striding up to him. “Move aside, old man, or I’ll move you aside.”

  Stromquist arched an eyebrow. “You, boy?”

  “I’m no boy, old man. I’ve been touched by darkness. I’m the undead. I’m a vampire.”

  “As am I,” Stromquist said, smiling.

  Glen faltered. “Seriously?”

  Stromquist swung his arm lazily outwards, caught Glen in the face and launched him back off his feet.

  Milo watched Glen land and roll and groan, then he took out his gun and aimed. “Vampire, huh?”

  “Indeed,” said Stromquist.

  Milo fired, the bullet entering Stromquist’s chest. Stromquist didn’t fall, and no blood stained his white shirt.

  Milo nodded. “He’s a vampire, all right.” He held up the crucifix. “This do anything?”

  “Hardly,” Stromquist said.

  Milo sighed and put it away. “Watch out for him. He’s a tricky one.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Amber. “I’ve seen him in action.” She shifted, and turned to Kelly. “Sorry.”

  Kelly shook her head. “You do what you gotta do.”

  Amber gave her a smile, turned back to Stromquist.

  “You’ve seen me kill?” Stromquist asked as she closed in.

  “In my dreams,” she said. “I know you snatched Molly Harper.”

  “I snatched a lot of people,” Stromquist said.

  “Molly was a friend of my brother’s.”

  “Ah,” said Stromquist. “Her. Yes, your brother interfered and she escaped my grasp. If only he had not. If only he had walked away, then I would never have discovered him, and I would never have had to contact your parents.”

  Amber nodded. “So it’s his own fault he’s dead?”

  “Oh no,” said Stromquist, smiling. “It is entirely mine.”

  “Yeah, it is,” she said.

  She hit him and he grabbed for her and she hit him again and put him on his ass. Stromquist got up, already annoyed. He lunged at her, the teeth in his palms snapping, but she ducked and swayed back out of his reach.

  “You think you know me,” he said.

  “I know enough to kill you.”

  He smiled, and raised his right hand. The mouth in his palm grinned at her – and then shot out from his hand on a tendril of flesh, and Amber jerked back just in time to avoid those teeth.

  The mouth, the tentacle, the whatever it was, coiled and sprang at her again, and she stumbled, rolled, slashing at it as it got too close. The second mouth shot out from his left hand now, and he advanced, twin tentacles swaying like snakes.

  Amber backed off, just enough to allow Stromquist to smile in triumph. Then she let the black scales cover her, from head to foot.

  His smile faltered.

  The tentacles came at her. She ducked one of them. Grabbed the other. Squeezed. Stromquist gasped, fell to one knee.

  Amber slashed at the tentacle, severing that nasty little mouth from the rest of him.

  Stromquist cried out, the tentacles retracting into his palms. Amber was on him before he had a chance to recover. She stomped on his knee, bending it sideways, and Stromquist grunted and fell.

  He glared up at her. “Your brother put up a fight, too.”

  “I heard.”

  “But, when he died, he died begging for mercy.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “I can still hear his screams, even now.”

  “That might be tinnitus,” said Amber. “And y’know what? Even if he did die begging, so what? The point is he fought back. He did his best. Makes me proud to be his baby sister.”

  “You would not be so proud if you had heard his pathetic squealing.”

  “We’ve just established that I don’t give a damn about that stuff. Pay attention. We’ve moved on. We are now at the point where I destroy you.”

  His gaze flickered behind her. “I doubt that very much.”

  She turned. Bill and Betty walked into the open, holding hands. They were taller, stronger, even more beautiful, and their antlers scraped the lintel as they passed underneath.

  Stromquist laughed. It was both booming and hollow at the same time. “Our time here is over,” he said to Amber. “Your parents have come to punish you for your wicked ways.”

  Bill and Betty looked over, and said nothing.

  “I don’t think they care,” Amber told him. Her fingers grew to claws.

  Stromquist frowned. “We had a deal!” he bellowed to Amber’s parents. “I delivered your son to you! I have been your ally for a century!”

  Amber grabbed him. “They’ve just eaten a Duke of Hell,” she whispered into his ear. “They don’t need you anymore.”

  “Unhand me!” Stromquist shouted. “Unhand me at once!”

  “Ha,” she said. “I bet when my brother died, he didn’t sound half as pathetic as you.”

  Stromquist roared and she swiped her claws across his throat, dug her fingertips into the wound, and tore his head from his shoulders.

  His chest turned to dust beneath his clothes and it spread outwards quickly, until his hands and feet and head were crumbling and the warm breeze swept him away.

  Amber turned to face her parents. “Nice meal?” she asked.

  Betty smiled. “Intoxicating. This level of power is … something to behold.”

  Amber nodded, waited for them to say something else. When they didn’t, she filled the silence. “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

  Betty laughed. Bill smiled.

  “Why would we do that?” he
asked. “What a waste that would be. No, no, sweetheart, you have it all wrong. We’ve all come this far, we’ve grown so close as a family – why would we want any of that to end? Besides, we’re going to need our very own representative, aren’t we?”

  Amber stared. “What?”

  “We have consumed the Shining Demon. The logical next step is to take his place as the brand-new Duke and Duchess of Hell.”

  “And you can come with us,” said Betty. “We can be Hell’s first Royal Family. Would you like that?”

  Amber shook her head in disbelief. “You think you’ll just be able to take over? You think that’ll be allowed?”

  “We think the Blood-dimmed King will recognise our potential,” said Bill. “We’re going to walk in there, take over Astaroth’s castle, and begin our negotiations from a position of power. He’d be a fool to say no.”

  “You’re taking a huge risk.”

  “Life without risk is life without worth,” said Betty. “We taught you that.” She held out her hand. “Come with us.”

  “No.”

  “Come with us or we’ll kill everyone here.”

  Amber glanced at Kelly, then at Milo and Glen, and she sagged. “Why can’t you leave me alone? Why can’t all this just be over? I did what you said – I brought you Astaroth. You don’t need me anymore. Why can’t you just stop, and let me have a normal life?”

  “Because you’re our daughter,” said Betty, walking over. “You’re the first child we’ve had that has survived this long. You’re the first to have surpassed our expectations. You changed everything. Because of you, our friends are dead. Because of you, we’ve had to evolve. At first, we wanted to kill you for the trouble you’ve caused, but we’ve realised that what you’ve done is a wonderful thing. Without you, we’d have stagnated. You gave us the shove we needed.”

  Betty extended her arms and Amber tensed, but all she was doing was hugging her.

  “My child,” Betty said softly. “My sweet, beautiful child.”

  AMBER MADE A HALF-CIRCLE of her blood, and her parents joined her inside it, and when the circle was complete it caught fire and they were inside Astaroth’s castle.

  Bill and Betty looked around the chamber, examining the atrocities depicted in the tapestries and the stained-glass windows. They’d been here before, but had been robbed of the chance to fully appreciate their surroundings. Amber waited for them to finish their inspection.

  “What is this?” said a soft voice from the shadows.

  Fool emerged into the light. It had removed the glass shards from its eyes and scooped out the mess within. It had two new eyes now, eyes that dangled from their sockets on frayed strings and tapped its cheeks when it moved. It took hold of those eyes, lifting and pointing them at Amber and her parents. “What is this?” it asked again.

  Amber frowned at it. “Where’d you get those eyes, Fool?”

  “Do you like them?” Fool giggled. “They’re Bigmouth’s. He didn’t need them anymore.”

  Amber felt herself deflate slightly.

  Fool angled the eyes towards Bill and Betty. “I don’t understand.”

  Bill walked over to it, looked down and smiled. “We’ve killed your Master. We ate him. Ate every last bit.”

  Fool’s mouth fell open. “No. No. Why would you do that? Why would you say that?”

  “We’re in charge now,” Bill said. “And I don’t see why we would need something like you.”

  His hand closed around Fool’s throat and Amber hurried over.

  “Bill, wait, Fool can be useful.”

  Bill looked at her. “You think I should spare its life?”

  “You’re going to need help getting to know how things work around here, right? Fool can help you with that. You’d help, wouldn’t you, Fool?”

  “I’d help,” Fool gurgled.

  Bill thought for a moment. “Betty, what do you think?”

  “Our daughter may have a point,” Betty said, walking over to join them. “She is a smart girl, after all.”

  “That’s true,” Bill murmured. “Very well. I’ll let you live, Fool, providing that Amber refers to us by our titles from now.”

  Amber frowned. “Duke and Duchess?”

  Betty laughed. “Heavens, no, sweetie. Mom and Dad.”

  Something recoiled deep within Amber’s chest, but she forced herself to nod.

  “Sure,” she said. “I can do that. Mom. Dad.”

  Bill released Fool, and smiled broadly. “We’re becoming a family for the first time,” he said. “I have truly never been happier.”

  Amber took Fool by the shoulders and pointed it in another direction. “I’ll take them to the throne, Fool. You go somewhere and stay out of our way.”

  Fool nodded and walked off, confusion on its painted face, and Amber looked at her parents.

  “This way,” she said.

  She led them through the corridor with the windows. They gazed outside, enraptured by the palace of the Blood-dimmed King.

  “Magnificent,” said Betty.

  “One day,” Bill said, squeezing his wife’s hand.

  “Is that it?” Amber asked. “That’s your goal?”

  Betty smiled at her. “Why not? We’ve just taken over a castle. Taking over a palace shouldn’t be much harder.”

  “We’ll get in the good graces of the King,” said Bill, “we’ll get him to trust us … and then we’ll kill him. We’ll feast on his flesh and absorb his strength, just like we did with Astaroth.”

  Betty wrapped an arm round Amber’s shoulders. “And then you can take over this place,” she said. “Would you like that? To be a fully-fledged Demon? Think of the strength, Amber. Think of the power.”

  Amber frowned. “I’d be in charge?”

  “Of your own little corner of Hell,” Betty said, and laughed. “This is more than a dream come true. This is everything we never dared dream. You’ve turned our lives around, Amber.”

  “You have,” said Bill. “Before you, we were limited. We shared our power with others. We lived our lives sixteen years at a time. We were content with the morsels we were fed, with the terms of our contract … And then you shook us free of our mooring, and allowed us to think bigger.”

  They turned the corner to the giant doors of the throne room. Amber didn’t need to tell them what lay beyond. They knew.

  “We owe you so much, sweetie,” Betty said.

  Amber managed a smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Betty laughed. “No, no, thank you, sweetheart! Thank you! We finally have a family. Isn’t that amazing? For so long it’s just been Bill and I … and now we have you.” Betty hugged her. “I love you so much, my beautiful girl.”

  Betty stepped away and Bill came in for a hug next. Amber remained frozen in place. A tear trickled down her cheek.

  Bill laughed at her reaction. “It’s going to take a little while to get used to this, isn’t it? That’s okay, kiddo, we’ve got an eternity to make up for lost time. Come on, let’s get in there.”

  Her parents walked over to the door. Amber reverted, and hurried to catch up.

  Right before they pushed the door open, Bill smiled at her, and the smile faded a little. “Sweetheart?”

  “Yes, Dad?”

  “Why are you, uh, why are you like that?”

  Amber smiled back, a little confused. “Like what, Dad?”

  “Like your old self, sweetie,” said Betty. “That girl’s gone. You don’t have to wear her face anymore.”

  “But … but I like her face. It’s not perfect, and I haven’t always liked it, but it’s … comfortable.”

  Her parents glanced at each other.

  “But wouldn’t you prefer to be beautiful?” her mom asked. “Don’t you feel better when you’re tall and strong and beautiful? You never have to wear this face again. That’s why we’re doing this. We are royalty here. And, as royalty, we must be our true selves at all times.”

  “But I feel more like me when I’m like this,” Am
ber said. “Does it matter? We’re a family now, right? You love me. You said so.”

  “We do love you,” said Betty. “But we love you when you’re like us. So, for one last time, shift into your true self, and never look back.”

  “But … but Mom … this is my true self.”

  “Amber,” Bill said, his voice tight, “you will not ruin this for us. Shift this instant.”

  “I … I don’t want to, Dad.”

  “Bill, it’s okay,” Betty said. “We need to give her a little more time, that’s all. It’s a lot to adjust to. It’s a big decision.”

  “It isn’t any kind of decision,” Bill replied, his narrowed eyes still on Amber. “There’s only one choice to make when offered something like this, and that’s to say yes, immediately and without equivocation.”

  She gazed up at her father. “But you said you loved me, Dad.”

  “Give her some time,” said Betty, laying her hand on his arm.

  Her touch calmed him, and his eyes moved from Amber to Betty. He even managed a smile. “She gets it from your side of the family.”

  “I know, dear,” Betty said, and they laughed and pushed open the giant doors.

  The Hall of a Thousand Mirrors reflected her parents’ beauty back at them, and it was a wondrous sight. They held hands as they climbed the steps to the throne. Amber stayed down below.

  Betty sat first. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back like she was lying out in the sun. “Glorious,” she said. “But it could be better.” Then she stood up, and it was Bill’s turn.

  He took a seat, and smiled. “I think you’re right,” he said. “We should get new thrones. I want mine made from the bones of my enemies.”

  Betty kissed him. “And I want mine made from the blades that slew them.”

  And then came the moment Amber had been waiting for.

  A click from the corridor, a shushing of bare feet against stone.

  And then Astaroth strode into the room, the orange light blazing beneath his skin, power in his every move, his face twisting in something far beyond anger.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  BILL LEAPED FROM THE throne, and Betty shot a glare at Amber.

  “What did you do?” she demanded. “What did you do, you treacherous little witch?”