The House on the Beach and The Unicorn

By Cassandra Daucus

Rob nodded. “Yeah, that’s Latin. I’ll need to do a search to figure out what it means, though, my Latin’s no good. Too bad we don’t get cell service here.” He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and waved it with a rueful laugh before setting it on the edge of the desk.

Ann stepped around a pile of papers on the floor and reached for a book perched at the edge of one of the tables that lined the room. “Here’s a Latin dictionary, maybe this will help.” She reached past Guy to place it into Rob’s waiting hands, and without a second thought Guy passed her the whistle so she could have a look.

Guy watched Rob search the dictionary, flipping the pages while mumbling quietly under his breath, and he thought about what they were doing, him and Rob and Ann. It had been a small moment, the trading of the objects, but it was moments like those that made Guy feel like maybe they really did belong together; the three of them, a well-oiled machine.
~Rob, Ann, and Guy in The House on The Beach

Rob has inherited his great-uncle's beach house. The old man was a serious scholar of early American cults, and Rob hopes the study in the old house's basement will contain what he needs to complete his PhD. He brings along his partners, former students Guy and Ann, for a little vacation so they can all get to know each other better without the day to day worries of work and city life. Of course, the holiday doesn't go as planned: Rob spends too much time in the basement, Ann becomes fascinated with the stones that litter the beach, and Guy slowly becomes unmoored.

Will Rob find what he needs to finish his dissertation? Will Ann figure out what's up with the stones? Will Guy remember his dreams? Inspired by Lovecraft and M. R. James with a heavy splash of queerness, The House on the Beach is a slow creep that will keep you on the edge of your seat up until the end.

Also included in this book is The Unicorn, a shorter, darker story about a couple and their third who come upon what may or may not be a unicorn. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't go well for them.

Content warnings: Both stories feature polyamorous triads in more or less toxic relationships. Both include sex scenes although the scenes aren't particularly graphic and all are consensual. There is a mention of BDSM in The House on The Beach. There is a mention of past murder in The Unicorn.

The cover photo is "Ocean storm near Cape Lookout - Dee Brausch," by the Oregon Department of Transportation, 29 September 2019. Released under CC:BY 2.0 License.

If you enjoy these stories, please visit the author online: Twitter @residualdreamin and residualdreams on Tumblr.

What people are saying about The House on the Beach:

"Incredible, and scary, and creepy"
"Chilling and haunting"
"The creepy vibe, the sense that we're almost, but not quite, understanding what is going on...and the ending fits perfectly."
"I'll need to read it again in the day light..."
"Unsettling and full of dread, building in a subtle pace until it's all too late and nothing can be undone."
"Surreal and heartbreakingly tragic."
"The darkness, the clacking of stones, the slow-building dread.... Loved it!!!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassandra Daucus
• Release date: Oct 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005371449

Cassandra Daucus

Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, M. R. James, Shirley Jackson, Robert Aickman, and a ton of fan fiction, Cassandra Daucus writes soft horror and dark romance. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her family and three cats.

Book preview

The House on The Beach

and

The Unicorn

by

Cassandra Daucus

Smashwords Edition

copyright 2022 Cassandra Daucus

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table Of Contents

Welcome

The House on The Beach

The Unicorn

Acknowledgments

Thank You

Welcome

A few years ago, I was given a prompt in which a character inherits a beach house, and they see someone in the surf at night. My mind immediately went to M. R. James's classic short story Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad, but then it whispered, what about Cthulhu? and very soon after that it whispered again, what if the main characters are a polyamorous triad? So that's what I wrote. This story has been through several iterations over the years, but I think this is the best it's been. I hope you enjoy it.

Synopsis:

Rob has inherited his great-uncle's beach house. The old man was a serious scholar of early American cults, and Rob hopes the study in the old house's basement will contain what he needs to complete his PhD. He brings along his partners, former students Guy and Ann, for a little vacation so they can all get to know each other better without the day to day worries of work and city life. Of course, the holiday doesn't go as planned: Rob spends too much time in the basement, Ann becomes fascinated with the stones that litter the beach, and Guy slowly becomes unmoored.

Snippet

Rob nodded. Yeah, that’s Latin. I’ll need to do a search to figure out what it means, though, my Latin’s no good. Too bad we don’t get cell service here. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and waved it with a rueful laugh before setting it on the edge of the desk.

Ann stepped around a pile of papers on the floor and reached for a book perched at the edge of one of the tables that lined the room. Here’s a Latin dictionary, maybe this will help. She reached past Guy to place it into Rob’s waiting hands, and without a second thought Guy passed her the whistle so she could have a look.

Guy watched Rob search the dictionary, flipping the pages while mumbling quietly under his breath, and he thought about what they were doing, him and Rob and Ann. It had been a small moment, the trading of the objects, but it was moments like those that made Guy feel like maybe they really did belong together; the three of them, a well-oiled machine.

~Rob, Ann, and Guy in The House on The Beach

Will Rob find what he needs to finish his dissertation? Will Ann figure out what's up with the stones? Will Guy remember his dreams? Read on to find out!

Also included in this book is The Unicorn, a shorter, darker story about a couple and their third who come upon what may or may not be a unicorn. Unfortunately, it doesn't go well for them.

Content warnings: Both stories feature polyamorous triads in more or less toxic relationships. Both include sex scenes although the scenes aren't particularly graphic and all are consensual. There is a mention of BDSM in The House on The Beach. There is a mention of past murder in The Unicorn.

If you enjoy these stories, please visit me online! I'm on Twitter @residualdreamin and I'm residualdreams on Tumblr.

The House on The Beach

You’ve got the map. You tell me.

A scoff. It’s your uncle’s house, you know where it is. You don’t need me.

Great-uncle’s, and it’s been years, and besides I’ve never driven here myself. And of course, I need you. Come on, Ann.

Guy shifted in the back seat but kept his eyes closed, listening to the other two banter and flirt.

Okay, Rob. Fine. The turn-off should be about a quarter mile further, on the left.

On the left? You sure? Not on the right?

A few more words were exchanged, followed by the thump of a gentle smack, and Guy couldn’t help but smile at that.

Ow! Rob exclaimed, That hurt! But his teasing protest was clearly overkill for the strength of the blow. Rob was big and Ann was small, and the contrast was a source of constant amusement in all sorts of situations. Ann liked to joke that together the three of them were like the three bears: too big, too small, and just right. The implicit praise of Guy coming from her