In the Arms of the Beast

by K. A. Merikan

  Knight snorted. “Oh no, I’m so hurt! Good that I’m not the time traveler.”

  Beast petted Laurent’s hair, which was still messy after the night in bed, but smelled so beautifully of pine. “I think it’s best if Xavier breathes as little of this as possible.”

  Knight rolled his eyes. “You’re one to talk. Remove your two kids from here.”

  “I am not fond of your attitude today,” Laurent said, entwining his fingers with Beast.

  Only then recognition kicked in on Knight’s face. “Oh! Right. Pancakes. Kisses. You two made up. Thank fuck.” He gave a deep sigh of relief. “You quitting your job then?” he teased Laurent.

  “No. Never too much additional income.”

  Knight winked at Beast. “Got yourself a gold digger.”

  Beast chewed on his lip but rubbed Laurent’s back, marveling at the ease with which they slotted back together. “I think we’ll just have Pop Tarts after all.”

  Laurent pressed his forehead against Beast’s pec. “I do like them very much. Do you think Marcel will?”

  Knight shrugged. “It’s basically kid crack, so I’m guessing he will.”

  Beast tried to push down the uneasy feeling he got watching handsome, charismatic Knight with a baby. Would this be him? Was he about to lose his claws in favor of being a daddy? “Babysitting?”

  Knight looked at his nephew and shrugged. “Lana had something to do. But she promised she’ll be back by the time I need to leave.”

  Good. Knight did the smart thing and didn’t reveal in front of Laurent that the club had grand plans. It was better he didn’t know. If anything, this whole pancake fiasco reminded Beast of how reckless and over-confident Laurent could be.

  “Will Elliot drive me?” Laurent asked, pulling away from Beast, but not letting go of his hand. His soft touch was so soothing Beast would savor it as long as he could.

  Knight nodded. “He’s already complaining about having to get up early, but he’ll be there.”

  Beast smirked and, at an impulse, kissed Laurent’s fingers. He wasn’t much into PDA, but having Laurent back filled him with such joy he didn’t want to keep it confined to their bedroom. “I think you might want to change. I’ll fix us breakfast.”

  Laurent glanced at the kitchen with a worried expression. “Thank you. But please take note that I tried.”

  Beast had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I’m sure you’ll succeed next time. It’s the thought that counts.”

  Laurent pulled Beast down for one more kiss, but then he was off. At least Knight had no stupid comment on hand this time.

  “It’s good to see you two back together,” Knight said and patted Beast’s arm as soon as they were on their own, since the baby didn’t count.

  Beast hummed and glanced at Knight with a peacockish smile. “Worth missing out on all that concrete action you messaged me about at night.”

  The kitchen was airing fast, so Knight opened the door and sat on the floor next to Xavier. Beast wondered if such things would come to him with experience, or if his friend was just a natural with babies. “Oh, man… That hole is endless, the cement did absolutely nothing. I have high hopes for today, though.”

  Beast scowled. “Yeah. I’m glad we didn’t tell Magpie what we were doing down there. He would have mocked us forever.”

  “And I’m glad you didn’t get yourself arrested. You can’t be a good example for Marcel from behind bars.” Knight grinned at Xavier who woke up again. “No, no, no, your cousin would be so upset, right?”

  Beast swallowed hard, watching Knight’s large hands touch the baby with incredible gentleness. “You’re so good at this. We might require your services, uncle.”

  When Knight looked up, there was no more mockery in his smile. “You’ll be great too, Beast, I’m sure about it. You know who’s shit with babies? Elliot. He’s so freaked out. Won’t even touch Xavier. It’s so funny.”

  Beast smirked. “Good thing he won’t have to face the dreadful fate of being a father then.”

  But if Beast wanted to have a chance at fatherhood, they needed to bring down those trees.

  Chapter 21 - Beast

  Beast couldn’t have denied Magpie’s request to be present at the tree cutting, but perhaps having Gray and Shadow come too had been a mistake.

  On one side of their gathering, on a throne underneath a large parasol, sat Magpie, blatantly avoiding any contact with the men who’d taken the Pigeon Heart for themselves. Laurent’s brooch was displayed on his clothes, glinting in the sun as if to remind Beast of the demon’s importance.

  On the other side, Gray wouldn’t stop playing with his sunglasses, as if he needed an excuse to pretend his enemy number one wasn’t there. And then there was Shadow, whose bulky form was tucked under Gray’s arm, as if he needed protection from a bully.

  It was middle school all over again.

  Magpie had enough money and influence to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed by an amateur environmentalist again. And if someone appeared to question their presence by the tree, they had the necessary documents. But while Beast was unwilling to hurt innocent locals for no reason, he would if push came to shove. It was the tree itself, and it corrosive sap, that posed a real threat.

  The two machines Magpie had shipped here cast long shadows with their house-sized forms, and while they were the much-needed solution, Beast couldn’t help feeling like the two steel behemoths might come to life when touched by the demonic juices.

  Gray cleared his throat, drawing Beast’s attention. He was frowning even as he patted Shadow’s head. “Are you absolutely certain we shouldn’t have a professional operating this? I’m not saying Knight can’t learn to do it, but this thing’s massive, and the saw’s bigger than a king-size bed.”

  Knight stood close to the smaller piece of equipment, a huge harvester meant to hold the tree in place while the other vehicle’s chainsaw dove underground and cut the roots. He had the console used for remotely operating the thing in one hand and spoke about it to Joker.

  “Would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Beast said, rubbing his forehead. “But we can’t exactly have some poor lumber worker see what this thing can do, can we?”

  “Maybe I could do it?” Shadow offered, but Beast shook his head.

  “You can’t even drive a car.”

  Jake approached them with a beer in hand, nodding toward a large barbeque Fox, the resident grill master, had stacked with meats. A little outdoor party would improve everyone's morale, Beast supposed, even though his own thoughts kept hovering back to Laurent and Marcel.

  Magpie had assured them the method would be safe, since the sap did not react with inorganic matter, but Beast still decided to start with the smallest of Baal’s trees. Once they were successful, the machines would have to move to one of the other locations, but he was positive the loss of even this one monster would be a blow to Baal’s cause.

  The sun shone into Beast’s face from the cloudless sky, and its heat loaded his batteries, bright like Laurent’s smiles. There was a bit of dampness on some of the weeds, and it glinted in the golden light so beautifully that for a moment Beast felt regretful over Laurent being stuck at work. There couldn’t have been a better day for this job.

  “It’s best that no one goes near. The remote control was a splendid idea,” Magpie said, relaxing while Malachite cooled him down with an enormous fan like a servant eager to please the pharaoh, but despite having shade and all other comforts, Magpie still wore a scowl when he looked toward the barbeque with a theatrical cough. “Does this thing have to send smoke my way? It’ll soak into all my things. And worst of all, my hair.”

  “Did you hear, brother? The king of New York City wants you to move shop whenever the breeze changes,” Gray said, glaring Magpie’s way.

  The demon raised his nose and didn’t even bother answering, so Gray raised his voice. “Hey, your majesty! Is that what you want? We are at your command.”

  Magpie
groaned and turned his head toward him “I don’t appreciate the smell of burnt meat.”

  Vars, who stood behind Magpie’s back, rolled his eyes so obviously it was meant to be noticed, but Fox had heard the conversation and put down his tongs. “You have staff for that. Have them blow away the smoke or something. Ridiculous.”

  “Maybe his majesty should go back to his carriage,” Gray said in a biting tone, though whether he meant the helicopter or the golden Hummer, Beast wasn’t sure.

  At this point, Beast really wished Magpie wasn’t there. His presence at the clubhouse was enough of a nuisance, but to criticize a man for cooking a meal for everyone was a borderline crime. “How about some beer?” he proposed to mend the atmosphere, but Magpie picked up a little glass of brandy and showed it to him.

  “I’m good, thank you,” he said in a tone that suggested he considered their beverage of choice beneath him.

  “Keep at a distance and look out for anything unusual,” Shadow said to Gray. “If anything happens, stay back, and I will deal with it,” he said as if he were a knight protecting his princess.

  Beast ran his hand down his face and turned away when Gray leaned into Shadow, his eyes glistening as if he’d been hypnotized.

  “Knight? What’s taking so long? I came here for a show,” Magpie called out. “It’s very hot here, so perhaps the performers should start their dance.”

  The performers being two giant harvesters capable of cutting grown trees into planks in a matter of seconds. It was beyond ridiculous.

  “Look at his majesty. He thinks we’re his jumping monkeys,” Joker snorted. He widened his mouth in a predatory grin and ran up to the harvester, climbing on top of the cab with the ease of an animal used to such stunts. Jake whistled his appreciation and sipped his beer, leaning against Vars.

  Beast was too preoccupied with the spectacle of monkey sounds Joker put on to notice Knight approach until his friend sat on a foldable camping stool with both consoles.

  “Wait, man! Stay where you are,” Knight yelled and pressed a button.

  Something beeped, a light on the side of the harvester went on, and the beast of a machine rolled forward, squashing a tiny tree with its tracks. For a moment, Joker was wobbly on his feet but then widened his stance and pretended to look ahead like a captain at the helm of his ship.

  Knight laughed. “Here he is. Hannibal leading his army through the Alps on the back of the biggest of elephants.”

  Fox frowned. “As in, the cannibal murderer? I don’t get it.”

  “Is this a spoiler?” Jake asked. “‘Cause I’m only done with season one.”

  “Pretty sure he means the ancient general. It’s been too long to consider it a spoiler,” Vars said, grinning.

  The stench of sulphur in the air reminded Beast of his past encounters with Baal, but the casual atmosphere made him relax. Even Magpie’s nosy behavior was reassuring in a way. He still wondered how much time the half-measure of cutting down the trees would give them, especially since Marcel could become the target of Baal’s revenge. A permanent solution was needed, regardless of how effective their plan would turn out. Beast tried to avoid thinking about it and focused on the task at hand, but the doom ahead and what it could mean for his son kept niggling at the back of his mind.

  Knight drove the harvester in a large circle, but in the end the fun got old, and he decided to deal with the job at hand first. They could all party later, even if Fox was already calling the guys for the first steaks of the day.

  Beast trusted Knight, he really did, but that trust came with the addendum of knowing that Knight charged into things sometimes, so he stepped closer and squatted down next to him. “Easy. We don’t want to frighten our grand guest,” he whispered.

  Knight shrugged. “Everyone’s eating it up. Even Magpie. I think after three hundred years, he’s looking for excitement wherever he can get it.”

  He didn’t manage to approach the tree correctly with the machine the first time, which made Beast so apprehensive his stomach tied into knots, but on the second try, the two feed rollers grabbed the trunk in a secure grip. The vehicle dwarfed the demonic creation, and regardless of the smell the tree emitted and the ungodly dark color of both the bark and leaves, it seemed harmless in comparison to the horsepower of the giant piece of machinery.

  “That’s it… you’re doing well,” Beast whispered with a frown.

  Knight snorted. “That’s what you’ll look like during Marcel’s first school play.”

  Jake laughed and had some more beer. “I bet Laurent will be one of those show parents, taking their kid to competitions and pageants.”

  Beast scowled, though he could see that happening. Laurent was always very proud of his accomplishments and wanted to show them off. And what greater accomplishment was there than a well-raised kid?

  Joker, who returned from the barbecue site with his paper plate full, grinned, not bothering to hide the pieces of food in his teeth. “He’s not denying it.”

  With machine number one in place, Knight switched to the other console, moving one of the levers again and again without any effect. “Gimmie a sec. I don’t know how it could be out of juice, I checked the battery this morning.”

  Jake let out a frustrated moan, his gaze fixed on the mayhem machine with a giant circular saw at the end of its arm. “No! I was looking forward to this.”

  Knight grunted and walked off to check something in the cab when Beast was presented with a steak and potato salad.

  “How long are we to wait?” Magpie moaned, checking his watch. He was one to talk—sprawled in his golden chair and fanned like royalty by poor Malachite, who wore his trademark suit and sweated so profusely his bald head could have been a pebble taken out of the water. And nobody even knew if he really was a bodyguard, since for all they knew he could as well be a sex slave and maid. Who knew with Magpie? Just because Beast now knew his name, didn’t mean they were ‘friends’.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Beast refused the plate and started walking toward the machine, which stood so unnaturally high it gave him a sense of mild vertigo. “You checked the sap sample against metal, right?” he asked Magpie.

  “Yes, it won’t be affected.”

  That was all Beast needed to know. It was about time they stopped dicking around and got on with the job. Since most of the other MC members had already had a beer or two, he took matters into his own hands. It did help that he’d learned how to use that monstrous thing along with Knight, and while manual precision wasn’t his strongest skill, he was positive the technique was straightforward enough. It wasn’t like he was supposed to take up knitting.

  Knight sighed when Beast walked past him. “The console is on, and I put in new batteries. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  “It’s fine. My turn,” Beast said, eager to finish the job in time to pick Laurent up from work. The last thing he wanted was for his man to be upset with him again. He would be anyway, once he found out they’d hidden this operation from him, but Beast hoped he could kiss anger out of him.

  He climbed the ladder leading to the cab and slammed the door behind him, not wanting to risk further damage to his skin if the sap did splash around, despite all the precautions they’d taken. It was only once he was seated inside the box atop the huge vehicle that stage fright tickled the back of his neck. He glanced at his friends, who were having the time of their lives out there over steak and beer, and even at Magpie’s regal presence, but this procrastination needed to stop.

  He would deal with the tree and then take a few hours off. Maybe prepare a nice surprise for Laurent to celebrate them getting back together?

  He did have to remind himself what some of the buttons were for but eventually started the engine and drove closer to the tree. He stopped and moved the lever that operated the arm downward, and watched the blade of the saw lower over the mossy ground.

  “Take that, you fucker,” he whispered to himself, thinking back to all the mayhem Baal had caus
ed in his life. The demon might have brought Laurent to Beast, but it hadn’t been out of good intentions. And if King hadn’t made a deal with Baal in the first place, Beast’s whole life could have looked different. His skin would have stayed smooth and beautiful, and he wouldn’t have recklessly hidden his face behind tattoos.

  But even when he thought of all the pain and disappointment he’d lived through, his mind still circled back to the possibility that Laurent wouldn’t have been at his side if King hadn’t made that deal, so what would a handsome face have been for?

  He hissed out a curse word when one of the levers got stuck, so he dislodged it within two attempts. What next? The saw. It still wasn’t moving.

  He couldn’t deny there being a bit of stress related to the burning sap, but the materials that made up the machine had been tested, and they shouldn’t react with the acid. He was fine.

  The switch that operated the circular blade worked. As in, it wasn’t stuck like the lever, but it also did nothing, and Beast looked Magpie’s way, spreading his arms wide. This really wasn’t his day. Like that one time his doctor decided he needed a ECG after getting shocked by electricity, and the machine wouldn’t work for ages.

  He cleared his throat, focused on dealing with this obstruction. He and Laurent only had so much time as a child-free couple, and he refused to waste it on this shit.

  Beast moved the switch back and forth when a strange smell filled his nose. I was like hot metal and sugar, but then sparks erupted from the console, and he shut his eyes, nudging the door.

  Only it wouldn’t open.

  A cold sensation trailed down Beast’s back before clawing itself into his flesh when he pressed the handle down and shoved, just to find his way out jammed.

  Beast’s anger was replaced by a freezing sensation in his limbs when the heat inside the cab grew at an alarming rate. With his head empty, he glanced at the console and spotted blue flames licking the surface so close to his flesh he climbed on the seat, overcome with the need to be away from the fire.