Making Monster Girls 3: For Science! Page 22

  “Can you repeat that one more time?” Rian cupped her ear.

  “She… she… s-she what?” Valerie cried.

  “All of you heard me right,” I nodded. “Edony confessed her love for me under the influence of the truth serum.”

  “You can’t be serious,” the brunette gasped. “There’s… there’s no way that can be true. I’ve seen the way she treats and speaks to you, Charles. Tell me this is a joke. It has to be a joke…”

  “It’s not,” I grunted. “There’s no way she could’ve lied…”

  “How is this possible, Charles?” the imp-woman asked. “How can she fall in love with you despite the way she feels about men?”

  “I don’t know,” I shook my head. “That’s all she said. She confessed to me, and I was in absolute shock.”

  “What did you say to her after?” the bear-girl asked. “Did you say anything back? Do you think she’ll remember?”

  “I doubt she’ll remember,” I chuckled. “With a big enough dose, the truth serum won’t leave any memories. If they do, it’ll be like the faded image of a dream. I told her… I didn’t care. She tried to ruin my life, she tried to take our home, and after all of that… she was moments away from killing me. How could I ever love a woman like that? How could I bring myself to even look at her with even a smidgen of that emotion? I told her I hated her with every fiber of my being, and I wished that she would drop dead. I even told her that I’d kill her, not that she’ll recall it, but I meant it, I will kill her. It might not be today or tomorrow, or even in this near future, but I will be the one to end her life.”

  “I’m sure she was happy about that,” Rian giggled. “What did she say?”

  “The usual,” I grunted. “That she would kill me, that her love would be the one to kill me. She said something like, ‘if she couldn’t be the one to love me, she would be the one to kill me,’ We won’t let that happen. Edony will never lay a hand on me or any of you.”

  “Right,” the feline-woman nodded. “She won’t dare come near us, and if she does, she’s going straight into compartment B! And then, zap! New sister!”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but a distant sound caught my attention. My hands curled into fists at my sides, I stepped to the window, gazed down toward the drive, and then growled deep under my breath.

  “Charles?” Daisy called. “What is it? Did you hear something?”

  “I heard it, too,” Valerie nodded. “It sounded like the… alarm bell to the gate.”

  “Down in the basement?” the imp-woman asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I hissed. “Someone’s here. Their carriage is coming up the drive right now.”

  “What should we do?” the brunette gasped. “Charles?”

  “We see who it is first,” I breathed. “And… if it’s the aristocrats come to take me away, we fight for our lives.”

  Below me, a dark carriage rolled to a stop in front of the stairs, the door slammed open, and a hooded figure scurried out. I couldn’t see who it was, or tell from the carriage, but whoever they were, they were in for a rude awakening. My women and I weren’t going down without a fight, and we were prepared for anything.

  A loud knock came from downstairs at the front door, I turned, headed for the bedroom door, and then glanced over my shoulder.

  “Let’s go greet our unexpected guest,” I growled. “I’m sure they’re eagerly waiting for us.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I stepped down the stairs slowly. I could barely make out the silhouette on the other side of the front door, and then glanced over my shoulder at the three monster-women behind me, poised for attack. Valerie’s chocolate brown ears were high and alert, Daisy’s fuzzy, brown ears laid flat against her head, and Rian lifted up her taloned hands in front of her. They were fully prepared to fight whoever was outside the door, but when we reached the bottom of the stairs, I turned toward them.

  “Hide in the doorway of the drawing-room,” I whispered. “Stay out of sight until I give the signal, do you understand? It could be anyone out there. A constable, an aristocrat, or even the Duchess, we don’t know, but I have to act naturally for the time being.”

  “Yes, Charles,” Valerie murmured, shuffled backward, and stepped into the drawing-room.

  “Should I answer the door with you, Charles?” the gorgeous brunette asked. “I am your Mistress. If someone came visiting, you’d expect me to be there with you.”

  A louder knock came at the door, I wouldn’t even call it a knock anymore, the person outside was pounding on the wood with both of their fists desperately.

  “Yes,” I breathed. “But stay behind me for now, alright? If there’s any sign of danger…”

  “I will protect you,” the bear-girl vowed. “Rian, you go with Valerie. Listen for our signal.”

  The red-skinned imp-woman nodded, stepped toward the doorway, slipped her hand into her feline sister’s, and pulled her deeper into the darkened room. My eyes connected with Daisy’s, her expression was serious, but fear twinkled in their golden depths. How many times had we done this before? We were always prepared for the worst, and this time was exactly like all of the others. We never knew when someone was going to waltz onto our property and threaten our lives. This time was no different than all of the others.

  “Ready?” I grunted.

  “Yes,” Daisy breathed. “As I’ll ever be.”

  I breathed a heavy sigh, shook out my hands, rolled my shoulders, and took a step toward the front door. The person outside didn’t speak, but their gasping breaths were so loud it sounded as if they were in the same room as us. My hand reached out for the door handle, gripped it tightly in my fist, and I took a deep breath. I turned the knob, opened the door, and stared out into the darkness for a moment.

  The person outside fell forward with both of their hands raised, staggered a few steps, Daisy immediately took a step toward them with her hands raised, but I placed a hand out in front of her. I recognized the person outside our door even if the light from the overhead lamp didn’t illuminate their face. The beautifully dressed aristocrat gasped for air, raised her head, and gazed at me with reproach.

  “Josephine,” I grunted. “What are you doing here? How… How did you get here so fast?”

  “I… I took my carriage,” the blonde heiress gasped. “But Charles, that’s not what matters right now… I need you… I-I need you to explain yourself. What was it that I saw back at the lake? How were Valerie’s tail and ears real? How did they move like that? You told me they were steam-powered inventions, but they certainly didn’t look fake to me, Charles, what were they? You need to tell me what was wrong with Valerie?”

  “It was just part of the costume,” I lied. “We attached it with some powerful glue.”

  Josephine’s orange, cat-like eyes examined my face, her lips twisted, and tears filled the corners of her eyes.

  “You’re lying,” the heiress urged. “I can tell… I know you, Charles. You’ve never spoken to me in such a tone and it’s almost as if you’re condescending to me right now. As if you’re trying to placate me into believing your lies and getting me to leave. I demand to know what you’re doing, what is happening, and why that woman had cat ears and a tail... Please, I beg of you, tell me what I saw, so that I can understand.”

  This wasn’t the Josephine I knew, this was the aristocratic side of her that I’d never seen before, but even with her tone, she had the kindness to treat me with respect. If this had been the Duchess on my doorstep, Edony would’ve grabbed me with the crook of her cane, brought me to my knees, and threatened me until I told her what was happening. Josephine wasn’t like that, I already knew that, and even from the way she treated me now, I couldn’t help but respect her.

  Josephine was my ally, I knew that, and my women did, too, but could I tell her? From the look in her eyes, the blonde heiress wasn’t going to leave without an explanation, but could I trust her with this information? Would she run to the other aristocrats or t
he constables the second the words left my lips? I had no idea how she would react to all of this, and that’s what scared me the most. Yes, the blonde had been kind to us and shared some of the same views as us, but… if I told her, it could possibly put my women and me in the direct path of danger.

  “Charles,” Josephine urged. “I’m here. I’m your friend… or at least, I thought I was. I just want to know what I saw, and if there’s a reasonable explanation for it… Please, don’t shut me out, I want… I want to be included in your world.”

  A tender hand rested on my shoulder, but it wasn’t Josephine’s, it came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at Daisy, the bear-girl’s golden eyes stared into mine, and she took a step closer.

  “Should we tell her?” the brunette whispered. “I think… I think we should tell her…”

  “What?” I muttered. “Why would you think that?”

  “If we tell her,” Daisy breathed. “Either she is on our side or against us, and we have options for both...”

  “Are you suggesting that this will turn hostile?” the blonde aristocrat gasped. “I-I… I would never. I told you I don’t like using my ability. It makes me sick to my stomach. I told you that, Charles.”

  Daisy was right, I knew that deep in the pit of my stomach, and once we told her, Josephine had the choice to turn against us or join us… But as I said before, it pained me to think of Josephine going into my machine and coming out an entirely different person. I would do it if I had to, but it wasn’t like the three other times.

  “Tell me what?” Josephine pleaded. “Please, I need to know… I need to prove to myself that I’m not crazy and I didn’t imagine everything I saw back at the lake. I’m begging you, Charles, tell me before I go insane.”

  I made the decision. There was no going back after this, I cleared my throat, glanced over my shoulder toward the darkened drawing-room, and cleared my throat.

  “Rian, Valerie,” I called. “Come on out.”

  Josephine took a step closer underneath the lamp, peered into the doorway, and waited as the two other women emerged from the drawing-room. The heiress’ eyes swiveled between the two of them, wandered over their ears, horns, twitching tails, and then turned her attention back to me.

  “What is this?” the blonde aristocrat breathed. “What does all of this mean, Charles? Their costumes are gone, but why are all the accessories still there? Please… I just want to know what’s happening. I don’t understand, and I feel as if I’m about to go mad.”

  “Why don’t you come inside?” I offered. “We can sit down, and I can explain everything.”

  Josephine glanced between me, Daisy, and then examined Rian and Valerie for a second time. The heiress gulped, parted her lips to speak, shook her head, lowered it, and then tiptoed inside of the door.

  I held the door open for her, peeked out into the darkness beyond the porch, cleared my throat, and then shut the door with a soft click.

  “Sooo…” Josephine stood in the lit foyer awkwardly, her gloved hands held stiffly in front of her, and her head bowed slightly at an angle. The heiress looked almost like a lost child, just as she had before on the drive of her manor, I reached for her, placed a hand in the middle of her back, and guided her into the drawing-room.

  “Would you like some tea? Coffee?” Daisy asked. “I can make it for you if you’d like. You know, to calm your nerves.”

  “N-No, thank you,” Josephine stammered. “I’m fine. I would just like an explanation for all of this and for what I saw by the lake.”

  “Alright,” I breathed. “Here, sit.”

  I guided Josephine to the nearest couch, helped her down onto the plush cushions, and then stepped back to my other three women. Rian, Valerie, and Daisy glanced at me nervously, but I shook my head, gestured to the couch opposite the blonde aristocrat, and smiled at them confidently. This was the moment of truth, either Josephine would listen to what I was about to tell her and accept us for what we were, or the heiress would turn her back on us, and ultimately lose her life.

  Rian was the first to step forward, the red-skinned imp-woman smiled at Josephine, lowered herself onto the couch, and then motioned her sisters over. Valerie giggled, despite the current situation, skipped over, and flopped down beside Rian. Daisy turned, tilted her head, and gazed nervously up into my eyes. I sighed softly, rested my hand on her shoulder, and then gave her a slight push toward the couch. The bear-girl obeyed, stepped over, and then lowered herself gracefully down onto the seat with her sisters.

  Josephine’s orange eyes rested on my face for a second, flitted to the three women in front of her, and then her lips parted as if she were about to speak, but hastily closed.

  “We discussed this. You showing up on our doorstep, but I never expected it to happen,” I stated. “But we did talk about what we should do if this happened…”

  “Charles, please,” Josephine murmured. “Don’t patronize me. I’m not a child, I’m a grown woman, and I can handle whatever you’re going to tell me, so please, do so.”

  “I guess I should start at the beginning, then,” I admitted. “As you know, I worked for the Duchess for about a year. She found me on the streets of Edenhart when I was nothing more than a poor alchemist peddling my wares. The Duchess hired me to create something for her because I’m a self-taught doctor and scientist.”

  “What does this have to do with these three women?” Josephine asked.

  “Please let me explain,” I smiled. “It will all make sense in the end. Edony hired me to build a machine; a monstrous contraption composed entirely of copper and newly discovered technology.”

  “What did she want it for?” the heiress urged. “What was she going to use it for?”

  “The Duchess has a plot,” I explained. “One that she’s continuing even at this moment, but that’s unrelated… Edony wants to kill the Queen and take control over the country. Something she said her family has deserved. I don’t know anything about that. At the time, she barely told me why she wanted the machine or the things we would later attempt to create.”

  “So, what did she want you to create?” Josephine probed.

  “Edony wanted what she called ‘super-soldiers,’” I told her. “Men combined with crystals and stones. I didn’t know why she wanted them until tonight, but that’s not what matters right now. I worked for almost a year, building the machine, and experimenting with prisoners she sent to me from the ducal prison. All of the experiments failed, every single one and all of the patients she sent to me died horrible deaths in my machine.”

  “But what does this have to do with them?” Josephine asked. “What does this have to do with Valerie, Rian, and Ms. Browning?”

  “None of my experiments worked,” I repeated. “Until the Duchess accidentally sent me a female prisoner. I didn’t know she was female until I lifted her up and moved her into one of the compartments of my machine. A little bit of my blood got into my machine, too, which is also an integral part of the transformation.”

  “None of this makes sense, Charles,” the heiress bleated. “I… I don’t understand.”

  “In my panic, I threw the female prisoner into the compartment, turned on my machine, and went through with the experiment as if nothing had happened,” I went on. “A stray cat had gotten into my laboratory a few days prior, and it accidentally crawled into the first compartment of my machine where I kept the crystals. I didn’t have time to save it, or get it out of the compartment, so its life was also lost.”

  “This… this sounds like madness, Charles,” Josephine whispered. “Please, I don’t… I don’t understand.”

  “The experiment worked,” I smiled. “For the first time, it worked. Instead of just taking a life, it birthed something new and never before seen. I entered into the third compartment, and that’s when I found--”

  “Meeee!” Valerie cried, threw her hands up into the air, and wiggled. “I was the first monster-girl born!”

  “M-Monster-girl?” Jos
ephine echoed. “What? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Valerie is a monster-girl,” I smiled. “She is the combination of the female prisoner and the cat that crawled into my machine. Through science, and my hard work, I brought her to life.”

  “But…” the heiress murmured. “What about…?”

  “Rian and Daisy?” I asked.

  “Yes…” Josephine muttered. “Are they… monster-girls, too?”

  I rested on the arm of the couch, leaned a little to my right, grabbed the edge of Daisy’s bonnet, and lifted it from her head. Josephine’s orange, cat-like eyes examined the tufts of brown fur on the surface of the bear-girl’s small, round ears, and then swiveled back to me.

  “Daisy was the next,” I stated. “I brought her to life in my machine just as I had with Valerie. Daisy is not a Browning, that was a lie, and I apologize for deceiving you. She is a combination of a bear we trapped on the outside of Edony’s estate.”

  “And another prisoner?” Josephine gasped. “You received a second one?”

  “Ahem… well, no,” I shook my head. “This one… might be a little more difficult to explain. Daisy is a combination of a wild bear and… Delphine Vallantine.”

  “W-What?” the blonde aristocrat gasped. “How? Delphine was murdered… how can this be, Charles?”

  “Delphine Vallantine and the warden, Milton,” I began. “Were threats to my family. I killed both of them. Delphine, first in my machine, and Milton… well, he was our alibi.”

  “That can’t be…” Josephine gasped. “Charles, they proved that Milton killed Delphine. I heard all about it from Lilliana and Adelia. We all know what happened. Milton killed her because he couldn’t be with her.”

  “All of it was fabricated,” I explained. “By us. We set all of it up.”

  “A-And Rian?” Josephine cried. “W-Who was she?”

  “Rian is an imp that I found while fixing your elevator,” I chuckled. “And none other than the Chief Constable, Ortensia Payne.”

  “No… it can’t be true,” the blonde aristocrat bleated. “It can’t be. Ortensia hung herself in her chambers… it was a suicide.”