Home for Horny Monsters - Book 8
Copyright© 2024 by Annabelle Hawthorne
Chapter 8: The Castle of Reflections
Action/Adventure Sex Story: Chapter 8: The Castle of Reflections - When the health of a beloved member of the house is threatened, Mike Radley must make difficult choices and embark on a journey that may change him for the worse. Also, there will be butt stuff.
Caution: This Action/Adventure Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Mult Consensual Romantic BiSexual Heterosexual Fiction Fairy Tale Horror Humor Paranormal Ghost Magic Vampires Harem Polygamy/Polyamory Anal Sex Cream Pie Exhibitionism Masturbation Oral Sex Sex Toys Size Violence
Mike stared at Nyx, trying hard not to chew at his lips while contemplating what to do about the fae’s sudden appearance. This castle technically belonged to him, and he wasn’t entirely certain how best to proceed as far as Hospitality was concerned. The princess grinned at him, her eyes both cold and calculating. Their meeting the previous day had not given him good vibes at all. He had sensed her disdain while he was helping Amymone fall asleep, and she had tried to ensorcell him with magic. If her spell hadn’t been part of her natural attributes, much like smell or skin color, he would have openly accused her of an attack.
And now, he had to navigate even trickier terrain: niceties.”Princess Nyx, I—”
“Just call me Nyx,” she said. “Unless you wish me to call you Caretaker Mike.”
“Okay, then. Nyx.” He looked to Cecilia or Sulyvahn for help, but it was clear that he was the man in charge and whatever happened next was up to him. “Before we proceed any further, I must make you aware that I cannot guarantee your safety in this location. Though I own this property, it is mostly unknown to me and the denizens do not care for my presence.”
“Really?” Nyx grinned. “I find this unusual. Are the entities here not aware of your new position?”
Mike shrugged. “I don’t know. This castle is populated with spirits and perhaps creatures unknown to me. I am on a personal mission and do not consider this place my home, nor do I have any power over the property.”
“Hmm.” Nyx circled him, staring at him like a predator. “I do recall you saying you had important business to tend to. So this is where you expect to find a cure for Tinker Radley?”
Mike narrowed his eyes. There was no reason that Nyx should know anything about that. The smug look on her face wasn’t endearing either. “It is,” he admitted.
“I bet you also fear a breach of hospitality.”
“I do.” Mike crossed his arms. “I am uncertain how to proceed in regards to this current situation without committing a breach in etiquette.”
“I could tell you.”
“I’m sure you could,” Mike admitted. “And what would the cost for such knowledge be?”
“I’m sure we could settle on a price.” She reached out as if to touch his shoulder, then playfully withdrew her arm. “Or perhaps you could ... what is the phrase? Wing it?”
“I take no chances with regards to the fae,” Mike replied. “In that case, I do have some rations I brought along for this mission. Do you wish to partake of them? I also have water.”
Nyx chuckled. “I am feeling a bit hungry.”
Mike pulled one of the special granola bars from his pack and handed it to her. “This is a special blend made by the mother of my child. It provides plenty of nutrients and energy for a full-grown human, and—”
Nyx bit into the bar. “How quaint,” she declared. “I can taste the magic that went into these. Were you aware that semen was used in the creation of this bar?”
“Yes. I was just about to inform you that it was present.” Mike felt a chill, but it was only psychological. “I would not give you something to eat that I wouldn’t eat myself,” he added.
“How scandalous.” Nyx shoved the rest of the bar in her mouth. He wasn’t sure if she actually chewed it up or swallowed the snack whole. “I do not currently thirst, so will not be imbibing your water. Unless it contains your blood, perhaps?”
“It does not.” Subterfuge. Whimsy. Both of these floated through Nyx’s soul like a pair of conflicting rivers. “We have come to explore the castle. If you would like to join us, you may, but know that any treasure we find belongs to me and my own. You should also know that entering these premises with us is an acknowledgment that you agree that neither I nor my family shall be held responsible for any harm that may befall you. The Seelie court shall have no claim, either.” Mike thought back over the words, wondering if they closely mimicked typical terms of service.
“Do you really think your words will hold that sort of power over the Seelie?” she asked, leaning toward him. Though her face said she found it amusing, he saw a flicker of concern.
“Yes,” he replied. “Though the fae may trick or mislead, they do not lie.”
“Well spoken.” Nyx took a step back. “I will accompany you and understand that my fate is mine alone.”
Mike let out a sigh and looked at the others. “Very well. Shall we?”
Sofia threw Nyx a nasty look, then walked toward the front door of the castle. The wood was thick with rot and mold, splintering apart as she pushed it open. Mike saw the light of over a dozen spirits disappear back into the walls. He shook his head in frustration as the others came in behind him.
“Last time I was here, the spirits waited until I was deep in the building before ambushing me,” he said. “I would expect them to do the same thing here.”
“Perhaps,” said Sulyvahn. “But ye’ve got a couple of helpers that don’t fear the dead.”
“They should fear you,” said Cecilia. “I only guide the willing. You’re the one who drags them kicking and screaming.”
Sulyvahn chuckled. “I’m fer the ones that don’t want to cross over, that’s fer sure and fer certain.”
“I also don’t fear the human dead,” added Nyx. “Nor the living.” Mike ignored her and turned to Cerberus and Sofia.
“Watch my back,” he said. “Cecilia, you can scout ahead. Suly, you’re on evil spirit duty.” The moment the words left his mouth, he felt his stomach freeze over. He moved to the side as a large vase shot past him and shattered on the ground. “Perhaps we should have talked about this in the courtyard,” he added.
“Do you have a job for me, Caretaker?” Nyx grinned.
“No,” he replied. “Any help you offer must be given freely and of your own accord.”
“You are going to be so much fun,” she replied. Mike said nothing, but couldn’t help noticing the guilty look on Suly’s face. He wanted to ask the dullahan what he knew about the princess, but couldn’t do so as long as she was around. At least with the fae, he could go into his house and avoid inviting them inside. Here? She could follow him day and night.
The fae princess wandered through the door ahead of the group. Mike followed right behind her, half convinced she was going to bolt. The first room of the castle, the vestibule, held a chill that immediately seeped through Mike’s shirt. He rubbed his arms just as Sofia handed him a jacket.
“Naga armor not keeping you warm enough?” she asked.
“Not really.” Underneath his clothes, he was wearing special armor made from Ratu’s last shedding. It would protect him from blades and magic, but failed utterly against cold weather. “Thank you.”
Sofia nodded, then cast a look in Nyx’s direction. “What are we going to do about her?”
“Assume she has phenomenal hearing,” he replied.
“That’s because I do,” Nyx replied from the other side of the room.
Sofia harrumphed and walked into the middle of the room. She looked around. There was a table and a few broken chairs, but the room was otherwise empty. When Mike looked up at the ceiling, he instead found a massive hole through which he could see that a few more stars had come out. In the middle of the lake, this would be the perfect place to bring Callisto star gazing. Or maybe an interlude with Zel. When he found a way to calm or banish the spirits here, he planned on bringing them. Hawaii was also good for stargazing, but Maui still had plenty of light pollution that diluted what they could see.
“Not much fer interior decorating.” Suly nudged a table with his foot. “I’m surprised there’s any furniture here at all.”
“When Beth and I came here last time, we dragged that out from a different room and had lunch on it.” It had been their last peaceful meal within the abbey. Mike moved to the table and pulled out his paper map. They also had digital copies on their phones, but he half expected the spirits to drain his devices of electricity. “So, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
“Are we splitting up?” asked Sofia.
“We’re strongest together,” said Mike. “So, no.”
“That’s no fun,” said Nyx. “If we split up, we could search this whole place far faster.” The fae gave him a playful smirk that briefly reminded him of Lily. He wished the succubus was here right now. She’d probably know how to handle their unwanted guest. Or get them killed. It would absolutely be one extreme or the other.
“We’re not here to have fun, Nyx. We’re here for results.” Mike looked past the fae at Cecilia. “Let’s stick with one room roaming for now.”
“It just means I’m closer to you.” Cecilia floated over and hugged his arm. “Just the way I like it.”
Cerberus sniffed the air and growled. “Bad. Smell. Spirits.”
“Yeah, they aren’t friendly. Please don’t torch them unless you have to.” Based on what he knew, these spirits were just ordinary people from when the Abbey was active, trapped for some unknown reason. He would feel terrible if they were harmed as a result. Hellfire was one of the few things that could permanently damage or even destroy a soul.
“Cerberus. Obeys. Master.” The last head that spoke smirked at him.
“Your hellhound is a fascinating pet,” said Nyx. “Some in the court have spoken at length about obtaining one.”
“She’s not a pet,” said Mike. “Cerberus is a member of the family. Anyway, let’s continue further in. There are plenty of rooms to explore and we won’t get that done from here.” What he didn’t say out loud was that he wondered if the spirits were potentially guarding whatever he was looking for. If they followed the path of most resistance, it could take them directly to what he wanted. Speaking this out loud may cause the spirits to adjust their strategy. There was also the possibility that the spirits were just dicks. He didn’t have a plan for that potential outcome.
The next room still had a ceiling and was far smaller. It was more of a small hallway than anything else, but did have the remains of some sort of cabinet. It actually rattled at them threateningly, but Suly gave it a kick.
“Quiet in there,” he said. “Or I’ll take ye out and give you a thrashing.”
Sofia grabbed Mike by the back of the neck and forced him down just as the cabinet launched itself at both of them. It shattered against the far wall, showering them with splinters.
“Ah, okay, then.” Sulyvahn, who stood next to where the cabinet had been, looked sheepish. “I guess I kin track ‘em down for ye and make good on my word.”
“Don’t bother,” said Mike. “It’ll just waste our time. Besides, there’s only so much furniture they can break.” He noticed that Nyx had picked up a large splinter and was inspecting it. With a frown, he turned his attention away from her and toward the others. “Is everyone else okay?”
Cerberus joined Nyx, and were picking up pieces to sniff them. Cecilia nodded from her corner of the room.
“Then let’s press forward.” Mike gestured for Cecilia to check out the next room and waited. She came back thirty seconds later and gave him a thumbs up. He moved to the doorway and was about to pass through when he looked over and saw that Nyx had reassembled the shattered cabinet. There were faint cracks in the structure where it had been bound together by mana. “How ... how did you do that?”
Nyx grinned. “It was just a simple matter of reminding all the pieces how they used to get along.” She held out a hand for the remaining piece, which was still in Cerberus’ hands. The hellhound handed it over reluctantly and Nyx stuck it back into place. “There. Now it’s complete.”
Mike studied the cabinet for a moment, then nodded. What the hell else was there to say?
The group walked through the next three rooms without incident. Cecilia scouted ahead and declared the way clear each time, and the others would enter afterward. Mike noticed that Nyx was hanging back, and didn’t know if it was from a sense of self preservation or if the fae princess was planning to sneak off. He had no way to ask anyone to keep an eye on her, either.
After checking the map, Mike announced that they needed to get to the great hall. From there, they would have access to a bunch of rooms that they could check all at once, and maybe even set up some kind of informal camp. Taking the direct route, they discovered that part of the roof had collapsed, leaving behind a pile of rubble that blocked their path. It was now raining outside, causing pools of water to form on the stone floor. They would have to take a detour to get there.
“Alright, everybody, hold up,” Mike called out, pulling out the map to double check their route. Something felt off. They had stepped into a side hallway that may have been a servant’s corridor. The narrow hallway was lined with shattered windows. In a couple of places, people had left graffiti. Mike had no idea if Seamus still loved Morrigan, but the giant X through “Liam loves Quinn” implied that the relationship had fallen apart.
“Why do humans do this?” Nyx traced the letters of Liam’s declaration with a finger. There was a small flash of light, followed by a silvery, spectral figure of a young man angrily X’ing out the declaration of love. “Of what use is leaving your mark on things that do not belong to you?”
“Part of it is foolishness.” Mike studied the spectral figure for a moment. To his soul sight, he could actually see a small remnant left behind. Could heartbreak shatter a soul and cause it to leave behind a piece? Or was this strictly a result of fae magic? “Another part is the realization that we’re on a rock screaming through the void of space and nothing we do actually matters. So why shouldn’t we write our names on stuff?”
“Is that what you do, Mike? Do you claim things?” Nyx smirked in his direction.
“Not in this manner.” Mike put a hand on the wall. “In a way, this is both a declaration of love and of existence. For all we know, this is all that will remain of these people in a hundred years.”
“Humans are notorious for their brevity and lack of accomplishments.”
“And what of you, Nyx?” Sofia was sitting on a windowsill. “Do you have any accomplishments?”
“Plenty,” Nyx grinned. “I once tied two nights together to make a day. I taught the moon how to dance in the sky. I was even there when Atlantis fell, disappearing forevermore beneath the waves.”
“Anything we would have heard of?” asked Sofia.
“Hard to say. What have you heard of?” Nyx sashayed down the hallway, and the shadows cast by the flashlight beams seemed to chase her feet as she walked.
“Try me,” said Sofia.
“Perhaps I will.” Nyx made it to the end of the hallway and pushed the door open. She turned around and backed through it. “But not today,” she called.
Sofia grimaced at Mike and he just shook his head. Cerberus had stuck their heads out one of the windows and was sniffing at the air. The hellhound growled at something in the darkness, but said nothing when they turned toward the conversation.
“I’ve watched the rise and fall of empires and have personally blessed commoners who would become kings. I could list my accomplishments until the rising of the sun, but impressing a one-eyed half-giant would bring me no satisfaction.” Nyx licked her lips as Sofia’s cheeks burned. “Are not the books you keep little more than these declarations of love and existence? Semi-profound musings captured in ink and bark for others to see? You are naught but the keeper of vanities.”
Mike moved between Nyx and Sofia in time to grab her wrist before she could swing at the fae.
“Let’s move on,” he said, stepping forward to wrap his hand around Sofia’s waist. She threw Nyx a dirty look, but softened when Mike gave her a squeeze. “She’s right about staying here. Unless someone wrote a recipe for restoring life on these walls, there is no use remaining.”
“I dinnae know about that.” Suly looked out the window and grinned. “The view is quite beautiful. I can see why lovers enjoy it.”
“People. Fuck. Here.” Cerberus sniffed at the air, then crouched down and pointed at something. Mike moved to see what it was and groaned.
“Someone is leaving condoms in my magic castle.” He summoned a lightning spider and used it to ferry the trash outside. The electrostatic manifestation managed to drag the desiccated thing up the wall and out the window.
“And what use is that?” Nyx laughed. “All you’ve done is move it outside.”
“The spirits here are angry. Maybe they’ll see this and know I mean them no harm.”
“Yet you could harm them if you chose.”
Mike stared hard at the fae. Nyx somehow seemed innocent and malevolent all at once. The fae played by rules of their own, regardless of whether you wanted to play along or not. Truth and tradition were their weapons, each one a sharp blade hidden in plain sight.
He took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he felt like he had to guard his interactions with others. Even though Titania was an ally, he was eternally wary. “None among us would be safe from me,” he said.
Nyx’s smile faltered as if she had been physically struck. “Truly?” she asked.
Mike thought back to the entity he had torn apart. The only reason he didn’t know his own limitations was his refusal to fully explore them. Pulling the entity apart had taken little effort and felt justified. It had never been truly alive. In hindsight, it bothered him a bit that he never thought twice about its destruction. The mere act of touching Ratu’s soul had caused her harm. If he were to reach into Nyx, could he tug at the threads that held her together until she, too, fell apart?
“Truly.” His magic pulsed on its own, and the temperature in the room dropped. He cleared his throat, hoping that he wouldn’t shift back into his daddy voice. “Though I wish no harm upon those who currently travel with me.”
Nyx had no clever response to that. Instead, she just nodded and walked past the group as if they hadn’t been talking. At the end of the hallway, she stepped through the door and vanished.
“Now that was intense.” Suly chuckled and looked at his sister. “Yer man reminded me of Her Majesty for a moment.”
Cecilia didn’t reply. Instead, she winked at Mike, then faded from view.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Mike muttered. He patted Sofia on the butt and moved to follow Nyx.
“Really? An ass pat?” Sofia sighed with exasperation.
Mike shrugged. “I was aiming for your back, but you’re built like a goddess.”
Sofia chuckled, and shook her head. “You think you’re such a smooth talker.”
“Is it working?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
Nyx walked right through the grand hall, ignoring the spirits watching her passage, then turned a corner and found herself in another hallway. The world tilted briefly, the result of a dimensional rift. This place didn’t fit entirely in the mortal realm, and she had just discovered a room placed elsewhere.
She knelt down by the wall and placed one hand on her chest. Her heart was racing like a hummingbird’s and making a staccato rhythm behind her sternum.
The Caretaker had done this. When he had answered her question, the mortal had spoken with far more than just confidence. It had been Authority, the kind granted only to those who had collected sufficient divinity. Did this man have believers? Was he planning to become a god?
Nyx didn’t have any answers, but one thing was clear. Whatever power he possessed was enough to tear her apart, should he choose to do so. Would it be death by fire? Or perhaps he could stop her heart with a thought?
The princess opened her mouth and cackled. How unexpectedly terrifying and thrilling, all at once! She skipped through the castle, feeling the spirits come to life as she traveled their halls. The transitions between realms were barely noticeable, even by her, as the architecture wrapped in on itself like a snail’s shell.
On occasion, she could hear the Caretaker calling her name. She smirked in response, wondering if he was worried for or about her. The spirits, emboldened by her mad behavior, came out and attacked her. It was easy enough to dodge the furnishings thrown her way. The few times they manifested before her, she sent them packing with the sting of her magic.
The more she traveled, the sooner she realized that the castle was twisting itself into a pretzel to keep her from finding something. But what could that be? Was it the mythical cure that Mike was seeking? Or something far more exciting?
Nyx liked puzzles. Most fae did. It wasn’t just the joy of solving something difficult that made her giddy, but the idea that she could take the puzzle itself and expand on the original idea, perhaps even confounding the creator. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. What sort of puzzle was this place?
The fae princess stopped to study the long hallway that she was in. This one had wooden floors that had partially rotted to reveal the stone packed beneath them. The spirits were angry, but they now knew better than to mess with her. Most of their ire was focused on the Caretaker’s group, anyway.
Still, Nyx knew for a fact that the Caretaker was better prepared this time. The banshee and the dullahan alone were more than a match for the spirits. How were these mere ghosts supposed to present any real kind of challenge?
The fae princess laughed, causing the spirits to move away from her in terror. It hardly seemed like a fair fight. What could she do to balance the odds, to make things more interesting?
As she skipped from one room to another, she paused when a suit of armor twisted its head to watch her passage. The spirit inside fled at her approach, and she cautiously inspected the steel armor. The leather was worn and weak in places and the armor had rusted in a couple of parts.
Nyx ran her fingertips along the breastplate, her skin sizzling on contact. Though the armor was a display piece now, it had once seen battle. She could almost smell the blood that had been splashed across it centuries ago.
“Hmm.” She mulled over the armor for a minute, then laughed. The spirit who had possessed the armor had been able to move the helmet, but what of the whole body?
Cackling, Nyx ran her fingers across the metal, leaving bloody streaks of her own. She whispered words of remembrance, and the armor suddenly remembered. It shuddered and raised its arms, then studied its empty hands.
“That’s right,” she whispered. “The enemy walks among us once again. Go forth and protect your kingdom, brave knight.”
The living armor walked to the other side of the room where weapons had been bolted to the wall. It pulled down a mace and then wandered through an empty doorway.
What else could Nyx animate? The armor was easy enough, she just had to remind it what it had been built for. But what of the tables, or chairs?
What had started as a game for the Caretaker became a game for herself. Breathing life into the furniture of the castle wasn’t an easy task, and she took pride in every creation she managed to bring to life. Chairs in the dining hall crept low to hide beneath the table. An old bed creaked and cracked as it moved into the corner of the room. A pair of decorative statues shaped like star-struck maidens went stomping off, their feet splintering the dusty wooden floor.
She had far less success in the library when some of the books fell apart, the air now filled with the smell of mold.
She heard yelling from below and grinned. It sounded like the others had finally come across some of her creations.
Dancing in the middle of the library, she sent her magic into the shelves, bidding the intact books to live. As more shouts came from below, Nyx beckoned to the spirits watching her.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. “It’s time to play!”
The spirits studied her silently, then disappeared through the floor in the direction of Mike and the others. Nyx licked her lips in anticipation, then pressed her fingers against the stone floor. What else was this place capable of?
Deep beneath the stone, she discovered the undercurrent of the leyline that lay beneath this entire place. Giggling madly, she stroked the magic of the castle with her own, and commanded it to live.
“Nyx?” Mike scowled as he glanced into the next room. It was yet another hallway, but this was a magical one that existed between the rooms that could be found on the survey. He pulled out a copy of the map and studied it for a second. “She’s not in here, either.”
“Should we even be looking for her?” asked Sofia.
“Yes.” Mike didn’t care that Nyx had wandered off, nor was he worried she would get hurt. He was far more concerned with the fact that a fae princess was now wandering around his haunted castle, most likely stirring up trouble. The fae saw the world and life in a completely different way than anyone else he knew, and he now wondered if she had managed to punch a hole in their prior agreement that she wouldn’t lay claim to anything she found.
Naturally, the fact that he couldn’t even convey these thoughts to Sofia also pissed him off. After studying the map for a moment, he just shook his head.
“This room is in the wrong place,” he said. “If we go to the other end of the hall, we should be near the dining room, which is fixed.”
“Unless it isn’t,” said Sulyvahn. The dullahan was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “While we’re in there, we might be gettin’ a turn o’ our own, comin’ out in all sorts of places.” The dullahan chuckled. “I’ve a sixth sense about these things. The spirits, they’re full o’ rage.”
“They are quite angry.” Cecilia appeared, her form translucent. She studied the nearest wall with concern. “But they are also afraid.”
“They shouldn’t be.” Mike moved to the closest wall and put his hand on it. He sent his magic outward to explore, but felt nothing. If any spirits lingered there, he didn’t see them. “I’m not here to hurt them.”
“Huh.” Sulyvahn leaned away from the wall and cocked his head. “I’m not one to be payin’ much mind to their feelings, but even I kin sense it.”
“Well, I can only put so much time into finding Nyx. Let’s focus on some other stuff.” Mike’s hand was still on the wall. He closed his eyes and sent his thoughts outward.
“What are you doing?” asked Sofia.
“Calling. The. Spiders,” replied Cerberus.
Mike grinned at the hellhound’s response, but it soon faded. Puzzled, he stretched his magic, sending it further out. The others waited in silence as he did this for several minutes, then let go of the wall abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Cecilia.
“There aren’t any.” Mike looked in the corners of the hallway. There was dust and grit, but nary a single cobweb. “Not a single spider in this place.”
“We are on an island,” said Suly.
“We’re not that far out,” said Sofia. “There are over a thousand species of spiders in Ireland, and some of them can pump out their webs to balloon across large distances.”
“They make a balloon from their bums?” Sulyvahn was incredulous. “Is that something Eulalie or the wee Grace could do?”
“Gods, I hope not.” Mike shivered. He really didn’t want his daughter somehow hot-air ballooning away from his property on a large thread of spider silk. “Even if she could, I’m guessing she’s too heavy.”
“Ye’ve got a lass here with three heads, friend.” Suly pointed at Cerberus. “We passed logic a long time back.”
“Do you ever get tired of your brother being right?” Mike asked Cecilia.
“It’s a recent development.” She stuck out her tongue at Sulyvahn. “If Grace floated away, Abella would catch her.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the last thing I need is somebody snapping a pic of my gargoyle retrieving a spider child who got caught up in a tree.” Ever since the events in Maui, the internet was all fired up for cryptid-type sightings. Eulalie had done what she could to mitigate the damage, but the whole affair was now just considered the mother of all government cover ups.
Which was kind of funny, because it was. The US government had utilized every trick in the book to gaslight, obfuscate, and outright lie about what had happened. Huge amounts of money had exchanged hands and locals had been paid off to take down their posted videos. Mike was still fuzzy on the details, but supposedly his fight with the kraken had been interpreted as a viral marketing campaign for an unreleased Godzilla movie. It was hard to keep up with everybody who had gotten involved.
Of course, the Order also had a hand in keeping things quiet. They had sent him a registered letter about two weeks later that said if he kept his mouth shut about what happened, there wouldn’t be any problems. It was clear that they weren’t entirely certain what to do with him, but they were definitely giving him all the space he desired. Naturally, Mike had ignored them. They hadn’t been worth his time.
Back to the matter at hand, the castle was somehow completely devoid of arachnids. Had the spirits kept them out? It couldn’t be a maintenance thing. The keep was little more than ruins in a lot of places.
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