“And she’s the only one they want to be with for the rest of their lives,” V’rone added in a low growl.
“Exactly.” Rive and Tem nodded.
At that moment, the servant came back. He was carrying a velvet cushion with something that looked like a clear bowling ball perched on it. Through the thick outer casing, Terra could see a fuzzy pinkish blob in the center of the ball.
That’s it? she thought, feeling disappointed. That’s the Heart-finder?
After hearing Rive describe it with such reverence she’d expected something prettier and more delicate and rare looking. Still, maybe this was just the way it looked.
“Here you are, Mistress.” The servant bowed, holding out the bowling-ball looking thing to Mistress Bodikin.
“You may hand it to the Monstrum—they’re the ones who want it,” Mistress Bodikin said, shrugging.
“Wait, Mamma—let me give it to them!” Dahlia exclaimed.
Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the servant and plucked the Heart-finder from its velvet cushion. She was in the act of turning to Terra when the thing in her hands whirred into action.
First, a buzzing, tinny alarm started sounding and then the pinkish blob in the center started blinking on and off like a strobe light at a nightclub.
“Oh, my!” Dahlia’s eyes widened in apparent shock. “Oh my goodness—is it going off for me?”
Before Terra could protest, Dahlia had shoved her aside and was cozying up to V’rone and Tem and Rive.
“My goodness!” she purred, looking up at them. “It seems that this little Heart-finder from your universe thinks I ought to be your Queen and Mistress! Imagine that!”
“Hey, wait!” Terra began to protest.
“I don’t think—” Tem began.
“There’s no fuckin’ way in the Seven Hells,” V’rone growled.
“That doesn’t look like—” Rive started.
And then suddenly, all three of the Monstrum fell quiet at once and just stood there with blank looks on their faces.
“My goodness, Dahlia!” Mistress Bodikin exclaimed. “So you’re the Mistress these Monstrum have been looking for all this time?”
“I suppose I must be, Mamma—since the Heart-finder says so.” Dahlia opened her eyes wide in innocent surprise. “It’s remarkable, isn’t it? They went on that long journey for you when I was here, right under their noses, all the time!”
“Absolutely extraordinary, my pet,” her mother agreed. “Well, I suppose you’d best take them up to your rooms and get them broken in.”
“Now, wait a minute!” Terra exclaimed angrily. “You can’t just take my guys—I mean, my bodyslaves—from me! They don’t belong to you!”
“This says they do.” Dahlia motioned with the thick, heavy crystal ball which was still blatting an alarm and strobing so brightly it would give you a headache to look at it for too long.
“Oh, don’t worry—you’ll be compensated for your bodyslaves,” Mistress Bodikin said dismissively. “And you should be happy—didn’t you want them to find the Queen of their hearts? The one woman fit to rule their colony?”
“Well, yes…” Terra admitted. “But I’m sure it can’t be her,” she added, glaring at the spoiled, self-centered Dahlia.
“Why ever not?” Mistress Bodikin snapped. “My Dahlia will make an excellent Mistress for the Monstrum bodyslaves.”
“But…but they don’t want to be with her!” Terra protested desperately. “They want to be with me.”
“Maybe they did before the Heart-finder pointed out their true Mistress,” Dahlia purred. “But now they all want me. Don’t you, my sweet babies?” she cooed at the three Monstrum.
“You are our Queen,” Rive said woodenly.
“You are the only one we can follow,” Tem said.
“We bow before you, oh Queen,” V’rone added. And all three of them bowed their heads to Dahlia at the same time, like three puppets whose strings have all been pulled by the same hand.
“See?” Dahlia smirked at Terra like the cat that ate the canary. “They’re mine now—they belong to me.”
“Well, then—I guess that’s all settled.” Mistress Bodikin dusted her hands together, like someone who had finished a project and now wanted to move on with their life.
“But…but wait!” Terra protested. “Something isn’t right here! I know it’s not! It can’t be!”
“I’m afraid our business here is concluded,” Mistress Bodikin said briskly. “The price for the bodyslaves will be transferred to any account you choose, but for now I must ask you to leave. It’s been a tiring day and I find myself in need of some spa therapy.”
“But…but you can’t just take them like that—V’rone is my pilot and Rive is my navigator!” Terra protested, grasping at any reason to keep her guys. “And Tem is…well, he does maintenance on the engine of my ship.” She had no idea if this was true, but she was desperate to keep all three of her Monstrum.
“I’ll send a servant who can program your ship to go back to the original coordinates you came from,” Mistress Bodikin snapped. “All you’ll have to do is push a button to get back home. But I’m afraid I can’t do anything more for you. Guards!” she called in a loud voice.