The Curse of Ormshire (The Beast Within Book 2)

by S. L. Perrine

  “I don’t know what is wrong with her. She just stopped. I screamed at her and she didn’t move.” Ty recalled what happened within the castle walls. “Then she just killed it. Just like that.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.” Tabby held her brother’s hand as they walked behind Renee, who was still carrying her mother with magia alone. Farlow offered to carry the queen home, but Renee declined his offer.

  “We can rest here.” Renee let her mother’s body rest lightly on a pile of straw. “We should be far enough now. If they could follow, they would be here already.” She walked between some trees and out of sight.

  “Something in her has snapped, guys, and I’m not liking it.” Farlow bent over with exhaustion from walking uphill for half a day.

  “Tell me about it.” Ty absentmindedly played with a few pieces of grass he plucked from the ground.

  “Chase, why don’t you go see if she needs a hand. She’s not mad at you for any reason right now. Maybe you can figure out where her mindset is at,” Farlow suggested.

  “I don’t have a problem with that.” Chase headed to the trees where Renee disappeared. “I’ll yell if I need ya.” He ducked into the dense trees and called after the princess.

  “So, we’re going to carry the queen’s body three days to Pylira. Do we think she thought this through?” Nolan lay flat on his back, staring at the sky as the sun fell behind the horizon.

  The days in Pylira were warm, but close to Ormshire, they were worse off than if they were walking uphill in the Sahara Desert. The sun was relentless, and the air was dry. Since the death of the fairy queen, Renal, all of Pylira was dying. As they walked the flatland to the hills, they passed turned-over trees with dry-rotted trunks and upturned roots. For as far as the eye could see, the grass was dried-out straw, yellow and brittle. The streams they remembered were nothing more than dried-up valleys of land between the hills.

  “No, I don’t believe she’s thought about much, except getting her there. We should do something. She’s going to start to smell in this heat.”

  “Tyson!” Sheree scolded as she sat next to her friend’s lifeless body.

  “What, mother? It’s the truth. At best, we have another two and a half days’ walk from here. The heat is worse than it was before the curse. You have no idea. You haven’t been here.” He got up and stormed in the opposite direction of Renee and Chase. It was obvious the temperature was also affecting everyone’s mood.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Present

  “So, what are we looking for?”

  Chase followed behind Renee as she searched for something within the dense trees. They had to crouch and sometimes climb in and out of the fallen branches and brambles of dead wood. The sun had fallen further behind the horizon, which made it difficult for Chase to plan his footing as he stepped between the dips and rises of the ground.

  “I’m looking for flat wood.” She took a few more steps and ducked under a tree limb that was too high to climb over.

  “Using magia to carry her is draining. I was hoping to put together something to carry her, but all of these trees are so brittle.” She circled around and headed in the direction they had started.

  “Everything is dry. I doubt we’re going to find anything that can hold her weight.”

  She stopped moving, causing Chase to bump into her.

  “Sorry.” He stumbled backward and landed against a still-standing tree.

  “Shh.” She held her arm to her side to keep him from moving.

  “What is it?” he whispered closer to her.

  The dry ground snapped and rustled, and Chase held his breath. “Do you see something?”

  “Something over there; not tall enough to be a person.” She pointed at something to their left, where the ground dipped downhill.

  Chase squinted, but he still couldn’t focus his eyes in the dark. He took his cue from her as she moved, being careful to step where she stepped. A low growl made them both freeze in place, and Renee put her hand up to signal that she saw two figures coming uphill, in their direction.

  Chase tried not to move, and they both held their breath. Somewhere in front of them, they heard another snap and the rustling of more dried earth.

  “You got this, right?” Chase whispered in her ear.

  “I don’t know. I’m still drained.”

  She held onto the side of a tree and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the heart stone ring, which should have been replenished by the stone in the keep of Hearthstone, but nothing happened.

  “We may have to make a run for it.” She pulled him down into a crouch. For the moment, it seemed the beasts had not seen them, but she couldn’t be sure what their abilities were.

  Since they returned home, and all the townspeople of Ormshire—who were in Cherry Valley—had their memories, it stood to reason that the curse had been broken. Her power should have been replenished when they returned, unless something was wrong with the stone itself.

  Renee concentrated on Ty and their link, but that too did not help. She could not feel him or make contact as she once had either.

  “Why are there beasts? We haven’t changed back.” Chase leaned back against the tree, waiting for Renee to tell him what they were going to do.

  The noises in front of them stopped, and those to the left sounded like they were heading in the opposite direction. Renee stood, and Chase copied her movements, again moving towards the group.

  “I don’t think they saw us. We need to get back. I have a few questions for Farlow and Ty.” Renee moved faster, ducking and climbing back over the obstacles of trees.

  They walked out of the wood and back into the clearing.

  “Stop!” Renee shouted in a whispered voice.

  Nolan and Chris hunched over a small pile of wood they had collected for a campfire. Since the sun had gone down, it was going to get really cold.

  Nolan stood with a questioning glare. “We need a fire. It’s gonna get—”

  “Shh.” Renee cut him off, but it was too late.

  The low growl came from behind me, and a hot breath touched the back of my neck. The beast snuck close enough to have attacked before I saw it, but it toyed with me.

  I pushed Chase towards Nolan and Chris and turned around.

  “What’s the matter? Was that a friend of yours?” I asked as it glared and moved inches from my face.

  Two more stepped out of the wood line and stood on either side of the first one. Their heads lowered and growled in tune, baring their huge white teeth, but they didn’t attack. I guessed the one in front was calling the shots. It snorted, and steam came out of its nostrils. I laughed at it, and the growl grew louder.

  “I’m sorry; I don’t…speak…mutt!”

  On the last word, I spun around. My head dipped down and my leg came up, connecting with its wide head, and I jerked upright, waiting for the beast to advance.

  It snorted and growled before letting out a loud howl. The whites of its eyes turned to flames, and all three advanced.

  I turned and ran. Chase, Nolan, and Sheree ran towards the hillside.

  Chris sprinted towards the beast to my left. Tabby ran to the one on the right, grabbing a branch from the fire pit as she went.

  Tabby pushed the end of the thick branch into the beast’s mouth as it opened to snap at her, then she jumped up and punched down on the bridge of its nose, so it’s mouth clamped down on the wood. The branch was so dry, it splintered as the underside of the beast’s mouth hit the ground.

  With a run and jump, Chris stepped on top of the animal as it lowered its head to charge her. She removed the blade from her boot and slid it into the animal’s hide, between its shoulder blades.

  I ran straight for the bigger one and dove underneath as it lunged. I was back on my feet before it had a chance to turn around.

  Chris withdrew the knife and spun around. From on top of its back, she reached around its throat and slid it quickly and effortlessly from one side to the other
. She pulled the head backward and tossed it aside. Its body slumped to the ground and a green light withered out of it, into the night sky, and Chris ran to Tabby.

  Tabby stumbled backward as her attacker spit and chewed the broken wood in its mouth. With each piece that broke free, it advanced on her. Chris ran behind it, intending to decapitate it as she had done to its companion, but it saw her coming and swiped at her with its massive claws, tearing clothes and skin.

  “Chris!” Tabby yelled and tripped over the make-shift fire pit, landing on her back. The beast advanced on her, leaving Chris clutching her hip as she bled into the grass.

  I looked to my friend and stumbled on bits of wood scattered on the ground. The beast was quickly advancing, then slowed. I was sure it toyed with me; allowing me to watch as my friends were killed before making its move.

  One beast moved over Tabby as she tried to get up. Chris tossed the blade, but it landed just out of reach. The animal made a noise as something hard struck it. Nolan had taken a chance and hurled a large rock, striking it on the side of the head. It stared at him and let out a low growl of warning. Just as it turned its attention back to Tabby, she had the knife in hand and jabbed it into the animal’s throat, but the beast moved backward, preventing the knife from doing its job. Tabby pulled her knees to her chest and kicked the knife, plunging it deeper to the hilt. With another kick, she managed to push the blade sideways, slicing the beast open and knocking it back on its hind legs. She jumped and slid the blade in the opposite direction, grabbing its head by the horns to remove it completely.

  Green light escaped its body as it dropped to the ground, and the last remaining animal howled, standing on two legs. It advanced on me, thrashing its head from side to side, with horns pointing at my midsection.

  “Stop!” I yelled as loudly as I could, and the animal stopped in its tracks.

  I stood, holding my hands out as if I to protect myself. It exhaled steam once more through his nostrils. I looked at Chris as she clutched her side, bleeding profusely from her wound.

  “We’ve killed three of you today. You’ve only managed to injure one of us. Do you think this will end in your favor?” I asked the animal. It tilted its head, dropped back onto all fours, and charged.

  I held up my hand, and when its throat was close enough, I clutched it as tightly as I could. Using my magia, I picked the beast from the ground and flung him through the air, as if he weighed no more than a brick. The beast landed with a thud, skidding across the dried earth, and the ground burst around us like a cloud. I stood and waited for the earth to settle as the animal pawed and clamored to stand once again. It limped towards me, and it was my turn to advance. I flexed my hand, loosening the joints as it raised its head to howl.

  “Get them outta here.” I pointed to Chase and Nolan, who ran to Tabby and Chris.

  The beast stopped, but I kept walking, staring it down. My vision glowed as red as my hair.

  “Renee!”

  Somewhere in the distance, I heard Ty shout, but I couldn’t stop myself. I felt my temperature rising, even though my skin was cool from the night’s air. I stopped next to the fire pit and picked up the knife Tabby dropped.

  “Renee, stop please. We can do this together!” Ty shouted.

  “No.” I spun around on him.

  “Renee, something is not right. You need to stop using magia.”

  His concern was lost to me. I turned my attention back to the animal, lying in wait. It dropped its head and pawed the ground, sending more dry sand to fly around him like smoke. With each pull through the earth, the cloud grew larger until it consumed us both.

  “Renee!” voices shouted. I was too far away, and I couldn’t hear them any longer.

  A loud howl came from the beast. Something dug into the earth and the ground shook. The dust cloud grew larger and thicker until we were no longer visible to anyone around us. Another growl and a thud shook the ground. As the dust settled, green light streamed from the lifeless form on the ground. I was left standing there, knife in one hand; the head of the beast I held by its horn in the other.

  Ty placed a hand on my shoulder to turn me. I could see the red in my eyes fading back to green. He took the head by the horn and I dropped the knife, slumping next to it. Ty looked around at the result of the attack. Chase used his shirt to control Chris’s bleeding. Farlow ran to her and placed his hand over her wound to heal it, but it only scabbed over. Tabby and Nolan removed bits of wood from her backside, and Lady Sheree sat hovering over Queen Karen’s body.

  Ty crouched next to me and held my hands in his. I stared, blank-faced, and he kissed the hand that held his engagement ring before looking at the other.

  “Renee…look.” He held my hand up to show me the finger that held the heart stone ring; the ring of my family. The heart-shaped stone that had once been a bright red, signifying the magia of the land, was now half black.

  Chapter Twenty

  Present

  When Ty ran off after the outburst with his mother, Farlow had run to keep an eye on him. They found an old wagon, abandoned on the side of a road that led to Corinthia. One of the wheels had broken and the tongue was missing, but it had a bonnet, which would come in handy. They fixed the wheel and decided that using magia to pull the wagon was going to be the only way they would get it all the way to the palace.

  When they returned to the rest of the group, Ty heard Tabby’s screams and saw his mother trying to move Karen’s body closer to the hillside. He remembered how Renee had looked with her eyes glowing red. His heart dropped in his chest at the realization that he couldn’t feel her struggles from within him. Their link should have told him something was wrong, but when he yelled and she didn’t even flinch, he tried to get to her through the link. It was as if a wall had been put between them. He couldn’t sense her or the link their power shared.

  Ty sat by Renee’s side after the last beast was put down. Farlow and Chase acted quickly to remove the bodies from the vicinity by throwing them deep within the trees. Sheree saw to Chris’s wound. Tabby and Nolan moved Karen’s body to the back of the wagon, covering her with cloth found inside an abandoned, nearby trunk.

  I lay down next to the makeshift fire pit that was never lit and tried to fall asleep. Stars twinkled in the distance, and I listened to the sounds of night as the cool breeze washed over me. The breeze felt good against my bare skin, which still burned with fire. I felt like I burned from the inside out and it scared me to death. I hadn’t been able to use magia when Chase and I were away from the group. I thought I’d lost it.

  I held up my right hand and tried to see the stone of my family ring in the moonlight. Half of the heart was still the bright vibrant red it had always been; the other half was dark and looked dead. I looked at the wagon, my mother lifeless under the cloth, and I thought my ring must look the same as my heart; half red and alive, pumping life to the rest of my body, and the other half dead with grief.

  “Has she spoken to you yet?” I heard a voice on the far side of the clearing, where the rest of my traveling companions sat huddled together.

  I would have joined them, but I feared the looks they would give. I remembered the look in Ty’s eyes when I killed the beast within the walls of Ormshire, and then as he watched in horror at the scene he’d stumbled into within the clearing.

  “No, she hasn’t said a word,” Ty answered.

  “I can’t help but wonder why the men of Ormshire are mietitore. It doesn’t make sense,” Sheree said.

  “That’s something I’ve needed to tell you, but with what happened this morning—Karen and coming home—I haven’t had a chance.” Farlow stood to pace around the others.

  “What do you know?” Sheree asked him.

  I lifted my head from my arm to hear him better, though only enough that my ear was no longer pressed against my arm.

  “I was with Calipee after I was attacked. She informed me that she had made a few alterations. She said they would help us. I don’t know if
those things were a product of her alterations, or a gift from Ourobus,” the fae prince told them.

  “The one in Ormshire acted as if he was chasing us out, before…” Tabby spoke.

  I heard her stumble with her words, but I didn’t make out the rest of what she said. I could figure that much out. I readjusted, lying on my back, and decided not to pay attention to the group. I just focused all my energy on the stars. My eyelids became very heavy as I finally fell asleep.

  “Renella…” a voice called to her, and she rolled to her side to see who it was. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Had she slept the night through?

  “Renella, there you are.”

  Renee looked up. The sunlight was behind the figure in front of her, making it hard to see who it was.

  “What?” she called out.

  “Renella, you need to wake up.”

  “I am awake.” She sat upright as the figure before her crouched down to her level.

  “No, you need to wake up. Look around you. You’re in the middle of a war and you’re falling apart. The people need their leader.”

  Renee couldn’t believe her eyes. As the figure came closer, she could make out the long, dark auburn hair and striking blue eyes. She lifted her hand to touch the dimple in her little sister’s cheek.

  “What!” Renee screamed and lurched backwards. Her hands pushed through the lush green grass that once covered her home. She looked up and saw the dark wood trees, covered in bright green leaves. Flowers bloomed, birds chirped, and off in the distance, children chased a ball back and forth.

  “Where am I? Did I…die?” she asked her sister.

  “No. Not yet.”

  “What— What do you mean, not yet? Am I going to die?” Renee stood and looked around more.

  “Not unless you abandon this idea that everything who kills must be killed.”