Heiresses of Russ 2015 by Steve Berman (ed) & Jean Roberta (ed)

Author:Steve Berman (ed) & Jean Roberta (ed) [Berman, Steve & Roberta, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: A&A, adult, anthology, f/f, fantasy, gay, horror, lesbian, SF
ISBN: 1590215702
Amazon: B0170TD460
Publisher: Lethe Press
Published: 2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

Real

Monsters

B R Sanders

Now, while it’s true that Charybdis and I eat passing sailors for fun, it’s also true that no one’s ever thought to ask us why we do it. Partly we do it because we are hungry. I’m always hungry: I have, like, ten heads. There’s the six of them up front on snake’s necks, and then there’s the dogs’ heads down below (all of those heads have very pretty faces, though, according to Chary). Partly it’s because there’s really not all that much to do here on either side of the Strait of Messina. We get bored. You would get bored, too, if you were stuck here. Bored and hungry, and then a ship full of brawny men slides by and what else are we supposed to do? What would you do? You would let your six strong, prehensile snake’s necks dart forward, let your jaws full of three rows of sharks’ teeth bite into those mens’ arms or chests or legs, and swoop them off their ship and into your belly. If you had as many heads configured the way my many heads are that’s what you’d do. Don’t lie to yourself.

You know what else is true? Divine beings are gossips, down to the last. The humans who try to sail past me and Charybdis don’t care all that much how we got here or why we do what we do. They’re used to unimaginable things. They’re used to enduring senseless things at the hands of creatures larger and smarter and more vicious than themselves. But the gods—the gods sometimes come to the bluffs and point first at me and my ten heads, and then down into the whirlpool prison Chary’s trapped in, and they gossip. Rumors are born and thrive on those bluffs. Rumors find their way back to Olympus where I doubt anyone really remembers what’s true and what isn’t anymore. Depending on who you ask, I was born monstrous. I don’t think so—I don’t even think I’m monstrous now, even with my serpentine faces and canine fore-parts. I wouldn’t say I was ever monstrous, but the stories spread around Olympus tell a different story.

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Here’s the thing you need to know about Olympus: the ones who have the power get to make the rules, but they don’t have to follow the rules they set down for the rest of us. Zeus is the biggest of the big shots; surely you already know that. Zeus can do and does do whatever he wants. Zeus turned himself into an eagle and plucked Ganymede off a mountainside. Zeus whisked the poor kid away from his friends and family (who all thought he was dead, by the way) to serve as his “cup-bearer”. Whatever. We’ve all seen the way Zeus ogles Ganymede at the divine feasts. We’ve all seen the way Zeus watches and licks his lips at the way that poor boy’s terrified arms shake as he decants wine into mighty Zeus’ waiting cup. We’ve all seen the

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