Текст книги "A Beauty So Beastly"

Автор книги: RaShelle Workman

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

Will’s eyes flickered back and forth between Professor Pops and I.

“One, you can choose to tell me how to find him.” He paused and brushed some of Will’s hair out of his eyes. “Or, you can say nothing and I will kill you.”

From behind, I heard Troy growl and felt the heat of his breath. It singed the walls over my head.

Tears leaked from Will’s eyes. “Then I’m dead either way. So do what you must.” He clamped his mouth shut.

Troy’s large head appeared beside mine. “I can make him talk. Let me do it, Grand Pops.”

The Hunter glanced at Troy. His face changed from scary to calm.

“No, Troy. I want you to go home.” He glanced away, his eyes searching the sky outside. I followed his gaze, wondering what he was looking for. “If your father shows up . . .” Professor Pops didn’t finish his sentence, but I got the feeling he believed there was someone or something scarier than he was out there.

I watched Troy’s face fall. “But I can’t leave. Cole—” his voice broke.

“I know, Troy. I know.”

“Anyway, he can’t be mad. I haven’t seen him in years. You’re more my dad than he is.” Troy shook his head. A thick tendril of smoke escaped his nostrils.

Professor Pops patted Troy’s shoulder, his face filled with tenderness. “You know your dad can’t live in this realm. He doesn’t do well around people. He left you with me so that you wouldn’t be lonely, so you could have a real life.”

“Cole is my best friend. I won’t abandon him.” Troy’s dragon face became even more ferocious.

I watched their interaction with extreme interest. Will continued to cry. I didn’t know what Adam was doing, but I knew he was back there, probably feeling like I was—that it was best to stay out of the way when a dragon and a vampire Hunter were arguing.

Professor Pops nodded. “I understand.” He looked at Will. “We’re doing this the hard way.” He tilted Will’s head out of the way. Then Professor Pops sank his teeth into Will’s shoulder. Will screamed, trying to push him away, but Professor Pops had him in such a grip Will didn’t have a chance.

A minute passed as Will’s face became pale and the life started to go out of his eyes. “There are twelve possible realms. Cole could’ve gone into any one of them. I don’t know which one. No one can know.” His voice came out hoarse, the words almost unrecognizable.

“What are the names of the twelve realms? How can we get there?” Troy asked, blowing smoke in Will’s face.

Will coughed.

Professor Pops withdrew his fangs and wiped his mouth. He seemed surprised by what Will had just said. “There are twelve? That is interesting.” Professor Pops paused as if thinking some things through, a bleeding Will held firmly in his grasp. Will’s eyes fluttered as he tried to keep them open.

At last Professor Pops said, “I know what to do.”

Will flinched at the sound of Professor Pops’ voice, though it wasn’t nearly as chilling as it had been before.

Professor Pops just looked at Will as if he’d forgotten he still gripped the Vaktare. Then Professor Pops stood.

“We are leaving, Beatrice,” Professor Pops said, releasing Will. I watched his body sag to the ground. “My apologies for the abrupt departure, but I know you’ll be in good hands.” Professor Pops glanced behind me and I knew his focus was on Adam.

“If you know, tell me. I want to help,” I said, outraged that he was leaving so soon.

“We both do,” Adam added, coming to stand beside me.

Professor Pops gave us an understanding nod. “I know. And you will. But first I must take care something alone.” He grabbed me in a hug. “Stay safe, Beatrice. I know we’ll see each other again soon.” He released me and shook Adam’s clawed paw-hand. “Be good to her, Adam.” His eyes flashed a bright red.

“I will, sir,” Adam said.

Professor Pops walked toward the door. “Say good-bye, Troy. The faster I get you home, the faster I can get this done.”

“I’m coming,” Troy said, stepping around Will, his wings and tail swishing the air. The tip of his tail found Will’s face and slapped him. Will let out a very girly, very unmanly scream.

I went to Troy. “You are freaking cool,” I said softly, touching his face. His scales seemed to ripple under my skin as though caressing my clawed hand.

Troy tried to smile. “Right back at ya.” He pressed his snout against my furry cheek.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were a dragon,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I’m all about making grand entrances,” Troy snorted, sending smoke against my back.

I leaned away. “Who do you think would win between and dragon and a werecat?”

Troy let out a snicker. It started out small and grew into a full on belly laugh. Fiery sparks flew out of his mouth. I joined in, as did Adam. I could even hear Professor Pops chuckling in the yard as he waited for Troy to finish his good-byes.

“No contest. A dragon,” he said, making his way toward Professor Pops.

“When we get Cole back, you and I will have to give it a try. Deal?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s on, Beatrice.” He smacked me in the back with one of his wings.

Professor Pops waved. Troy pushed through the doorway, ripping a giant hole in the entrance.

“Sorry,” Troy said, even though it was obvious by the snickering that followed that he wasn’t.

Adam and I followed them out. The other two Vaktare were still fighting. Professor Pops and Troy ignored them. So did I. Professor Pops climbed on Troy’s winged back as he beat his amazing wings deftly against the night air and they took flight.

“That’s something you don’t see everyday,” Adam said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“Agreed.” I rested my head against him.

Adam cleared his throat. “You realize when you do shift, you’ll be naked?” He pulled me tighter against him.

I felt my entire body get hot. I glanced away, unexpectedly really, really glad for my fur.

Will ran past Adam and me, surprising us. He ran down the stone steps and toward the fighting werecats. Thankfully he quickly shifted back into his werecat form. The other two Vaktare didn’t seem to notice him. Will let out a roar as he got down on all fours and took off. When he thought he was a safe distance away, he turned back toward Adam and me. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done, Bea. You and the dirty dog!”

“Don’t move,” I whispered, reinforcing the command with my thoughts.

Will froze mid-stride, falling on his side.

“You’re going to have to tell me how you do that,” Adam said.

“I promise, just as soon as I know,” I responded. “But what about the red diamond? Will had it in his hand when he opened the abyss. Do you think he dropped it?”

Adam walked over to the place where Will had been standing before he shifted and began lifting large chunks of debris and furniture out of the way.

I kept my eyes on Will and the other two Vaktare. “What happens to things like jewelry or a wallet when we shift?”

“That’s easy. They fall out.”

“Oh?”

He picked something up and held it out for me to see. “Got it,” he said.

“Good.”

Adam came back over.

“What should we do with Will?” I couldn’t kill him. We’d gone to school together. He’d been my boyfriend. Sure, he deserved to die, and I knew without a doubt Will would’ve had no problem killing me, but I wasn’t Will.

“Whatever you deem worthy, Beatrice.” Adam gave me a look that promised he would support me no matter what.

“Okay.” I knew what I’d do.

Will needs to go back to Hiraken. As soon as the thought passed through my mind, Will was gone.

“Where did he go?” Adam asked.

“Hopefully back to Hiraken,” I said, shrugging.

“Maybe you should’ve killed him. The King will probably torture him for failing.” Adam flinched and I wondered if he was thinking about his sister.

“It’s exactly what he deserves.”

“And what about the others?” Adam asked.

They had both suddenly fallen to the ground.

“Are they dead? They aren’t moving.” I went down the steps, toward them. The bodies changed into what looked like thousands of lightning bugs and dissipated into the air as I watched.

“What was that?” There was nothing left.

“In this realm, that is what happens to the corpse of a dead Vaktare.” Adam took my clawed hand in his. “Let’s go back inside.”

I went with him. Rhem’s body changed into tiny lights and dissipated, the same as the other two. I shivered. Death wasn’t something I would ever get used to.

“It’s okay,” Adam said.

I nodded, kicking at a portion of the ceiling that had fallen to the floor. My house was a mess. It looked like a tornado had blown through it. “Tell me about the diamond. I mean, sure, it’s beautiful, but why did Will want it so badly?” I asked, cupping it in my paw.

“Do you mind?” Adam took the diamond from my clawed hand. “It possesses very strong magic. It’s one of two diamonds in existence that can be used to jump realms. I believed there was only one—until I saw yours.” He smiled sadly. “Obviously, you have no need for such trivial magic, but for most Vaktare, it’s a much desired stone that makes up a very powerful charm. I recommend keeping it close.”

“I will,” I said, taking it back. Then I really thought about what he said. “Where’s the other diamond?” I remembered he’d said he took it and my dad’s powers. That meant he still had the other one.

Adam glanced down. “It’s safe,” he finally said. “And that diamond? I thought Celeste stole it.”

“I lied. I wanted to make her suffer.” I turned away, disgusted by the guilt.

Adam shook his head. “So you had it all this time?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“It’s a good thing I believed your lie, otherwise I might not have had the opportunity to get to know the real you.”

An electric bolt of anxiety shot down my spine at his words. There it was again, the reminder that he’d been sent to kill me.

“So what next?” Adam asked.

I glanced around the entryway. Thoughts of my parents, the new king of Hiraken and those Vaktare who wanted me dead, worry over my new friend Cole and even my friends Eva, Ashley, and Cassidy swirled through my mind. Life was going to get even more complicated. Of that I was sure. “I should probably have this mess cleaned up. Bring Mrs. Dotts and Isaac back, and . . .” I looked down at myself, at the thick fur, and my hands that were more beastly than human. “I guess first I’d better figure out how to shift out of this form. As soon as I do, I’m going to take a shower.”

“Maybe you should get to your room right away just in case you shift sooner rather than later.” Adam hugged me. “Not that I’d mind.” He winked.

I snuggled into his shoulder.

“Your fur is so soft, Beatrice.”

Heat burned my cheeks. “So is yours.” I ran my hands up and down his back. Embarrassment gave way to desire. Sexual tension snapped the air around and between us. But kissing in our were-forms, at least kissing the way I liked to kiss, wasn’t possible. It seemed my body understood. I felt my skin tingle and immediately I shifted.

Adam quickly turned away.

“Humiliating,” I said, feeling my whole body heat with mortification as I carefully picked my way through the debris and made my way upstairs.

Twenty-One
See Me Naked

Fizban appeared as soon as I walked into my room, or what was left of it. “That was awkward,” she said, glancing with distain around my room.

I let out a belated scream, covering my girly parts. “You scared the freaking daylights out of me.”

Fizban laughed, picking up and tossing large chucks of plaster off my bed and onto the floor. “Nothing wrong with a little nakedness.” After brushing off a portion of my bedspread, she sat, crossing one leg over the other and began to pick at one of her long nails. “You are rather jumpy though.”

I thought about everything I’d just been through. Being a little jumpy seemed appropriate, considering. Before I could express such thoughts, I heard Adam yell.

“Beatrice!” The sound of claws scraped against marble stairs and then Adam crashed through the door, teeth bared, and growling.

Fizban tutted him. “Calm down, Adam. I just surprised our Beatrice.”

I yelped. I didn’t want Adam to see me naked, even though I knew he had before, mostly, when he ran me up to the house after the first time I changed.

Fizban laughed as I jumped over broken furniture and pieces of the wall, climbing into my closet. Surprisingly, it was still in tact.

I pulled a silk robe in the darkest blue off a hanger and tied it. When I came back into the room, it was to see Adam pacing, his body between Fizban and the closet, protecting me. “Adam, meet Fizban, the . . . What are you exactly?”

She smiled. And then Greg appeared on the bed next to her. Adam growled again, preparing to attack.

Greg sat beside Fizban. “Relax, Locanis. No harm will come to you or Beatrice on this day.”

The hair on Adam’s back stood on end. “That does nothing to comfort me.”

Standing beside him, I stroked his fur, trying to help him relax.

Fizban and Greg exchanged a look.

“We are called the Unknowns. We are the creators of your realm, of your magic, and of your species,” Greg said.

Fizban met my gaze. “I wasn’t too happy about how things were going, what with what a jackass your grandfather became, so Greg and I decided on one last hurrah.” Fizban winked. “It was either that or destroy all of you.”

I rocked back on my heels, astounded. “Creators? Like Gods?”

“Something like that,” Fizban said with false modesty.

“The legend of the Unduyee was our creation and we brought you, Beatrice, in to being.” Greg smiled, his turquoise eyes dancing with happiness.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to live up to your potential, but you came through.” Fizban’s eyes locked on Adam. “Didn’t she?”

Adam—who was still in his werewolf form—growled.

“And you weren’t so bad yourself,” she went on.

Greg’s gaze never left Adam as he spoke. “We were worried when you first showed up, especially when the two of you seemed to have feelings for each other.” Greg tsked. “You know better.” Adam gave a low snarl. “Beatrice, now you know better as well.” He stood. “So, let’s put this craziness behind us and get you to Hiraken where you can become Queen and begin working on your destiny.”

I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t ready to begin working on my destiny. I didn’t even know how control my ability to shift. “Fizban. Greg. I really appreciate what you’ve done.” That was a large overstatement. But I was at least glad to be alive. Since they were Gods of some sort I felt obligated to lay the graciousness on thick. “The curse, reverse curse thing you did has helped me become a better person.” I gave Fizban a pointed glance. “I think I understand what you meant when you said sometimes those that appear the most beastly are the most beautiful.”

Fizban smiled. “Of course you do.”

“But I’m not ready to be Queen. I don’t even know how to control the were part of myself, or my abilities, for that matter.”

The Unknowns turned to each other. They seemed to be communicating without talking. And then their bodies started to change, to shimmer, and become like mist or ghosts.

Adam hadn’t seen them change before and I was worried how he’d react. But when I glanced over I saw he was no longer in the room. It was probably for the best. The Unknowns and I had come to know each other slightly.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. How dare you question those more powerful than you?” The voice sounded like Greg even though I couldn’t see his mouth anymore.

“If you wish to see your parents again, you will obey our commands and go to Hiraken and take back the kingdom that is rightfully yours.” That was Fizban’s voice.

The mists hovered in the air, their scent like that of a rain shower. I stepped backward, trying to keep my distance, but I’d run into what was left the wall next to my bathroom.

My parents, I thought. It sounded as though they knew where my parents were.

Adam came back. “Hold on, Fizban and Greg.” He was in his human form and dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved black tee shirt. “The curse . . .” He paused, shaking his head. “Or the reverse curse you put on Beatrice gave her a year, right?”

The mists both changed direction and headed toward Adam.

“Perhaps.” Fizban said, floating around him.

“What business is it of yours?” Greg hissed.

“Well, right now she’s way ahead of schedule. So what if you allowed her to train?” Adam glanced at me. I nodded. I liked the idea. “I will teach her to control her werecat form and assist her in learning how to use all of the abilities she’s been given. Then, when the year’s up, she’ll be more prepared to fulfill her destiny.”

Fizban and Greg’s misty forms gathered. I heard whispering in a language I couldn’t comprehend.

Adam came to stand beside me. He took my hand and squeezed it.

After several seconds, the mists reassembled into Greg and Fizban.

Fizban came forward and held out her hand, indicating I should take it.

Hesitant, I reached out and grabbed hold. She grinned. “We will give you the remainder of your year. We’ve decided you’ve earned it.”

“Thank you,” I said, pulling her close and hugging her. She returned my hug carefully.

“There are conditions,” Greg added.

I nodded. “I’m listening.”

Fizban locked her hands behind her back and began to pace. “Number one: You will keep your promise to Professor Pops and help him find Cole.”

“Agreed,” I said. I would’ve done that with or without their conditions. “Do you know where he is?”

Greg snorted. “We do.”

“Are you going to tell me how to find him?” I hated that they were acting coy. Why would they do that?

“In time, Beatrice. First you must consider our remaining conditions.” Fizban wrapped a piece of red hair around her finger.

“Fine.” As I watched the Unknowns, the way the moved, the secret smiles they gave each other, the strangest feeling came over me. Was my life even my own? Even though I believed I controlled my own fate, the Unknowns seemed to create problems and then demand I fix them while they just sat back and watched. Like a character in a TV show doing what the directors ordered.

“Number two: You will train with Adam and learn to control your beast and your abilities,” Greg said.

So far, the conditions were easy. “I understand,” I said, solemnly.

“Number three: You will memorize the laws of your species, including no cross-species procreating.” Fizban’s scrutiny roamed between Adam and me.

My heart fell. It wasn’t like I wanted to do that now, but I did like Adam. Like a whole freaking lot.

“Did you hear me?” Fizban asked.

“Yes.” I picked at some dead skin on my hand.

“Adam?”

He gritted his teeth. “I understand.”

“Excellent,” Greg said.

“The final condition: You must go to Hiraken and rescue Adam’s sister.”

I heard Adam suck in a breath.

“This last is of the utmost urgency. The vicious Vaktare king ruling the land has been torturing her.” Fizban’s features softened. “She’ll be dead within the month.”

I took hold of Adam’s arm. “We’ll go immediately.”

He nodded.

“The sooner the better, Beatrice, but make sure you have a plan. Adam is an enemy to those in control now, just as you are. Remember that.”

“I will.”

“You’d better,” Fizban and Greg said together. Their bodies started to shimmer and I knew they would evaporate shortly.

“Wait,” I said. There was one more thing I needed to know.

“Yes,” they said together.

“My parents? Do you know where they are?”

“Of course we do, Beatrice. We’re the ones who took them.”

It was hard to tell if the Unknowns were good or bad. Maybe they were neither. Maybe they were both. Or maybe those words, good and bad, meant nothing to such creatures.

“What? Why? To keep them safe?” I hoped that had been the reason, but the look on Fizban’s iridescent face told me otherwise.

“We took them to keep them away from you.” Their forms were almost transparent.

I knew they’d vanish any second. “Wait.”

“We grow weary of you, Beatrice. Ask your question so that we may go.”

I swallowed. “Did you . . . kill my parents?”

The Unknowns laughed. The sound echoed off the walls.

“They are alive. Perhaps you’ll see them again,” Greg said.

“If you do as we say,” Fizban added.

“Of course I will, just bring them back.” I spoke the words to empty air. They were gone.

“Why would they do that?” I asked Adam, taking a shuddering breath, relieved they were gone but still upset by what they’d done.

Adam’s shoulders sagged. He sank onto my bed. I knew his heart was as heavy as mine.

I sat beside him. At least I knew my parents were alive. Adam’s sister was being tortured. “We will get her out. We have to.”

Adam ran a hand over my cheek, causing my whole body to quiver. It was great to have him close. I wrapped my hand over his, pressing my face into his touch.

“Adam.” My emotions were overflowing with need.

“I’m here.” Adam scooted closer. His lips were inches from mine.

I sighed. “You heard what the Unknowns said.” I felt I should at least state the obvious, even though I wanted him to kiss me with every ounce of my being.

Adam’s lips tilted in a smile and he leaned in, kissing my cheek. “I did hear what they said.” He kissed my other cheek.

My breathing increased, and the fireworks that lit up every time he was near exploded into the softest rose petals. They fluttered around inside my lower belly. “Yeah.” I couldn’t even think. Every nerve was sparking with need.

Adam kissed my forehead. “They said we couldn’t procreate.” His lips kissed the tip of my nose. “There are ways to ensure we don’t make any babies.”

“You’re right,” I whispered. Hope beat through my heart.

Adam’s lips claimed mine. He lay back on the bed, pulling me with him. Adam and I had a lot to think about, a lot to deal with. My parents. His sister. Finding Cole. But for right now, it was just the two of us.

“You’re bad, Adam Haddox. So, so bad,” I said against his mouth.

Adam smiled, nibbling on my lower lip. “What can I say, you accomplished your goal.” He growled, rolling on top of me.

“I did?” I asked, breathlessly. I had no idea what he meant.

“I am more beastly than you are.” With those words, he covered my mouth with his, taking his kisses to a whole new level of passion.

End of book one.