He couldn't “help” her blood sugars if she didn't need it, so there was no more lying to himself about his good-natured efforts if she stuck to being healthier. All he’d done was for his own selfish, cruel reasons.
With his eyes closed, his brain began to drift in and out of consciousness, tempting him to sleep. He hadn't slept in days. One of the most imposing parts of the curse were the nightmares. They were frequent and they made him loathe sleep.
His nightmares blurred the line between reality and dreams—a side effect of the curse from the Mare. Mares were the beings that originated the nightmare, and the living nightmare—himself. Vampires. The Mare, though unpopular through mythology, was one of the few tales he knew with utmost certainty to be real. He knew because he was one of few who were unfortunate enough to meet one.
Sleep came suddenly, and the memory returned. It wasn't the worst of the dreams that plagued his sleep, but it was vivid and painful to remember.
It was also what led him to Anna.
The woods were quiet except for the sound of an animal in the night crunching on the bones of its prey. It was an eerie sound and it kept Leon awake.
“Will?”
The young man who was his tent mate rolled over lazily. “What?”
“Do you hear that?”
“Nein. Go to sleep. We have to be up in a few hours.” He rolled back over.
“It's distracting. You must hear the bones.” Will continued to ignore him and Leon picked up his shoe and tossed it at him. “Will Klein!”
“Au! What was that for?” Will rubbed his back and knocked the shoe away.
“I won't be able to sleep until it's gone.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Let's go see what it is, maybe scare it off.” Leon got to his feet and pulled his jacket and boots on.
Will rubbed his eyes and pushed himself up to a sitting position. “It better be something good. Like the local beast they talk about.”
The two men left their tent and went out into the night. They followed the sounds of crunching bones until they came to a large tree.
“There!” Leon pointed up to a branch.
“A turkey vulture? This was not worth it.” Will smacked him on the arm and leaned against the tree.
The creature looked down and flew off at the sight of them.
“Why don't we look for the cave? They said the beast's lair is nearby,” Will said eagerly.
“No. That's a terrible idea. You just said that we need to be up soon, and I just wanted to get some sleep.”
“All right, fine.” Will marched back towards the camp with Leon in tow—and without the sounds of crunching bones looming in the background.
The next morning, Leon woke to an empty tent.
“Will?” He looked around and then peeked out of the tent. Will was nowhere in sight. In the other tents, Leon saw that the other men were beginning to wake as well—they hadn't anything to do for a few days and were simply waiting for orders to move.
Shit, Leon thought. He had an idea. He threw on his boots, grabbed his sword, and ran out in the woods.
He did not have to search long before he found Will’s body, dead in the middle of the forest with puncture wounds on his neck.
He went to find the beast on his own.
There was no one else around, aside from the turkey vulture from the night before. It sat back in the same tree, watching.
“Get out of here,” he yelled but the creature squawked back rebelliously. He glared and turned his attention toward the ground, where his friend lie motionless. His mind was reeling.
What will I tell his family? He has a son—David.
There were marks beside Will’s body that looked like he had been dragged. The path led away from the camp and Leon followed it to a nearby cave.
He heard something moving inside as he inched closer. The beast.
Leon felt around his waist and pulled out his sword before advancing into the cave. The moment he stepped in, the air grew colder. He moved quickly to hide behind a large rock that grew out of the wall. He watched the creature as it moved through the cave tunnels, occasionally coming back towards the entrance, but not close enough to detect Leon.
Despite the cold, sweat was forming on Leon’s forehead and he could feel his heart beat faster every time the creature came near. He was set to kill the creature that killed his friend, but he was also curious to see what it was—to know that it was real. He wondered if there were others, if they would find him there and attack from behind.
His paranoia took over and Leon began looking over his shoulder more frequently. He was only human, and these things were spawns of demonic beings. He reminded himself that he needed to avenge his friend, so he continued to watch and wait for the right opportunity to strike. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but his legs began to cramp from squatting down for so long.
Finally, the creature came toward the entrance, but closer this time. It sniffed the air and cocked it’s head to the side. The creature stepped near the rock and Leon froze. He could see it better now. There was fresh blood dripping down the creature's mouth, but aside from that it looked entirely human, though animalistic.
Leon raised his sword and stood swiftly but the creature grabbed his arm and twisted. He looked at him in the eyes and smiled cruelly as Leon grimaced in pain. He fell to the floor when his arm was released, and dropped his weapon.
“Are you—?” Leon began through gritted teeth as he reached for his sword once more.
The man-creature cocked his head to the side. “Yes,” he hissed and crept forward until he was close enough to lunge at Leon.
It happened faster than he expected, but he was ready for it. He grabbed onto the sword just in time, despite the pain in his hand. He could feel the cold teeth against his neck, but before they could sink in, something drew the creature’s attention away. It sounded like a cry of a woman. Regardless, it gave Leon the chance he needed to swing his sword and slice his head clean off his neck.
The body collapsed immediately, knocking Leon to the ground. He pushed the body off his own and it flopped onto the ground beside him. Leon breathed heavily. The body was still—no longer a threat.
Quickly, he heaved himself up, and ran from the woods onto a nearby dirt road.
The sun was in a different position than when he’d left camp to look for Will. He didn’t quite know his way back to the camp, nor how long he had been out in the woods, but he took a guess. He wanted to get to Will’s body before the turkey vulture did.
On his way, he noticed a woman on the side of the road. She looked to be about thirty, though her small frame made her look childlike from far away. Her dress was torn, and her hands were dirty. She walked fast and looked around frantically. He stopped to ask her what was wrong and to his surprise she looked at him accusingly.
“You killed him.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Her eyes swept over him, observing the blood on his shirt.
He began to speak of his achievement, but the woman scowled.
“I killed the beast. I avenged my friend—and saved you!” he told her. “You could be the one dead in the woods right now!”
“He was my son! My lover!” she shrieked.
“You—what—?” He was taken aback.
“Do you know what I am?” she asked.
“No, I—“
“I am a Mare—a mistress of death.” She grinned, her demeanor suddenly calmer. “Since you killed my beloved, there is only one way to repent. You must take his place.” She held out her hand.
“What? No. Absolutely not. You are insane.” He stepped backward, ready to run.
“I admit, my dear, the first vampires were an accident, but I gave my children a purpose at my side. This time, it will be no accident, and you will suffer.” She paused. “You have sealed your fate. You crossed me and refused my proposal. Do not expect me to be kind. You will know a lonely life, a cursed life, for eternity. I am th
e only one who could love a beast like you. And the wounds of the thorns cast by a lover is the only way to break the curse.”
Leon turned and ran blindly through the woods, hoping he was going in the right direction; the woman still cackling like mad behind him. He wasn’t sure if she had followed him or not, but the sound echoed in his ears all the way to Will’s body.
He finally made his way back to camp, bloody and confused and immediately buried Will’s body nearby. All the time, the vulture watching. He dragged himself in the tent and collapsed on the floor. The best thing to do was to get some sleep.
In the middle of the night, he woke up to the sound of something outside his tent. Crackling leaves gave away its presence—that damn vulture.
Leon sat up, grabbing the sword that he had left beside him. A sense of dread and the figure of a man came into the tent and before he knew it, the sword was on the ground.
This vampire was different from the one in the forest—much older and much more powerful. It held him down without much effort and bit his neck. All Leon felt was a pinch, and then everything went black.
His body slept ... and remade itself into something new.
When he awoke, he awoke to a new world … and a black rose next to his head. As he left his tent, he saw that the rest of the camp had moved on, leaving him behind. He got dressed and immediately noticed something strange on his chest. Right below the hollow of his neck was a crescent moon turned sideways, with the points up. It was black as night, as if the mark was a hole through which he could poke his finger. When he touched it, it throbbed, and small black lines like veins ebbed around its edges.
Suddenly, it all came to him. Will was gone, he’d killed a vampire, the camp had moved, and he had changed.
Not knowing what to do or what it meant, he packed up his things and headed home.
Leon woke with a start and ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He was sweating and breathing heavy, always unable to truly rest. Just as every time he had that dream, that memory, it caused his conscious mind to relive the memories that followed. It was impossible to forget the tragedy that plagued his family, and he was forever racked with guilt over it.
Upon his return, his family suffered from a disease—the disease that had spread through their very small town of Essen—but they also suffered from the disease of him.
The family couldn’t even recognize him. His sister Sophia cried every night, and the monster within him took hold. He took their lives, justifying it as giving them peace. They had no quality of life, and ending it was the kind thing to do, or so he told himself. But he wasn’t even sure that had been his motivation, and that was what drove him mad and into isolation, closing their home to anyone nearby.
He buried all of them in the graveyard outside the gardens and he even crafted a headstone for himself—a symbolic end of his human life. He needed closure.
One night, Sophia’s boyfriend Adam came to him. He had asked about her, and cried when he heard the news, not that Leon had told him the whole truth. Adam left with him a ring with which he had planned to propose. Sophia had only been sixteen, but Leon knew as well as anyone that the two were in love. Lying to Adam had pained him the most; he was Sophia’s future, and he had been compelled to rob her of that future in the hope that he was sparing her.
Leon had taken the black rose that he’d woken up to—he couldn’t seem to be away from it, it drew him in like it was a life force and it pained him to be near—and planted it at Sophia’s gravesite. He’d wanted to give her something beautiful. The flower grew immensely, spreading bushes throughout the graveyard and it still continued to spread like a weed over the entire grounds.
The castle itself changed over time, it too seemed to be cursed. Everything within his vicinity was grim and even the skies seemed to change with his moods but the gardens were never affected—aside from the black roses. Something kept them alive and blossoming, like a beacon of hope in a pit of despair.
Over the years, he had forgotten how to be with people. He lived alone in the castle and wouldn’t venture into the village. His appearance was often grotesque, from what he could see. He had learned to hate himself and he had become the creature he despised.
He had killed his family.
He would lure people into the woods in the night to feed. Eventually, he realized he only needed to feed about twice a month to keep his body from pain and decay, without killing anyone. He became a client to a variety of businesses, simply requiring them to come to the castle, and he would stay in the shadows until they fell asleep. Upon their wakening, they would find immense gold and not question anything.
Chapter 30
Anna
As usual, there was no knock on the door when Leon entered the room, but Anna could feel his presence. Over the past few days, it had begun to anger her. She didn’t have school that week, it was Christmas break. Instead of window shopping and planning with her sisters, Anna’s days had been spent avoiding Leon, to no avail. He watched her like a silent hawk, never talking, but making it impossible to escape.
“Can I help you?” she asked, though she refused to turn around. She sat on her bed facing towards the large window and the rain outside. She knew what it meant, he was sad, to put it plainly. But she didn’t care. He had taken her in, she had trusted him, she had become his friend, and she hated to admit it now, but she had become even more than that. His lie was no small lie; he wasn’t human, and he was literally stealing her life.
“I just have one question.” He stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him with a quiet click.
“Ask.” She turned around to face him. He met her eyes with his own golden ones. They weren’t dancing as they usually did when he was feeling well, they were somber.
“How did you find out?”
“The book you left in the library. The book about beasts, about ... vampires,” she said stiffly.
“The what—?” His eyes widened.
“The one you left on the table, The Book of Norse Folklore & Mythology.” She pulled out the piece of paper she had been keeping in her pocket ever since.
“I didn’t leave that there. Why on earth would I leave that there?” He paused. “I may be a monster, but I am not a stupid monster.”
She had to admit he had a point. But how else would it have gotten there? Did it just fly off the shelves and open itself? She knew the castle was enchanted, but still.
“If you say so,” she muttered. “Though I think you are a stupid monster,” she finished with a glare. She meant that with anger, but it came out as a jest, summoning a subtle smile from Leon.
He sighed and sat on the opposite side of the bed. He reached out to her, but she only inched away. “You’re impossible you know; I can’t figure you out. You are an enigma…” He tried to look her in the eyes, but she wouldn’t look back. Gently, but without yield, he grabbed her chin and turned her face to his. “I don’t blame you for being angry with me, nor do I expect you to forgive me. I admit I hid it from you, but how could I not? Would you have trusted me if I told you what I was from the beginning?” She knew he had a point, again. But that didn’t make the whole thing okay.
“And since you stay here with me at the castle, you don't forget while your here. Didn't you ever wonder why your father was so okay with this? His memory is tampered with from the castle. It’s how I’ve stayed hidden so long.” She remained silent and he sighed. He let go of her chin and dropped his hands in his lap. “All right, well, you must be curious at least about me. I know I was when I met a vampire.”
“A little,” she admitted.
“I was a soldier... I killed the beast who attacked my friend, but it was his creator who cursed me.” He recounted the story as she sat in awe.
“So, Will Klein …”
“Was your grandfather yes. He was my best friend. I have small business owners that I ask to stay here, and I only take what I need. I sought to help his family, and I found your father lo
oking for clients.” He pulled a rose from the pocket inside his jacket. “I think about Will every day when I see these roses. This is the rose the Mare left ... It has remained blossomed to this day and has infested the gardens outside. It’s spell affects the garden, the castle, which in addition to the sky, reflects what I feel.” Anna didn’t respond, so he continued. “It is all a constant, and growing reminder … I have been alone since then. The skies shift with my moods, the garden never dies, and the castle, it changes. All the things that haunted me in my sleep used to appear when I was awake—all my bad memories, and my sour moods, put forth before me. Though it has gotten better, and the dreariness has left.”
“But I’ve been going through the castle. I know it’s enchanted, but I’m the reason the rooms are clean, and it feels better,” she said matter-of-factly.
“But don’t you feel it? The difference?”
“The only difference I feel is in you.”
“You’ve changed me.”
“That’s what I thought, at first. I thought we were getting closer and that you were opening up to me. Now I realize it was you feeding off me like a delicacy. I hope you enjoyed it because as soon as I find a permanent way out of this, I’m leaving.”
“No, Anna I—“
“You tricked me. How much of it was even real?” Anna huffed and moved to the edge of the bed so that she wasn’t looking at him. “I miss my family.” She stood before he could respond and left the room in a whirlwind.
Anna returned much later when she thought he would be gone. There was a note on the table beside her bed. She turned away from it at first, but her curiosity got the best of her.
You can find them in the gallery, behind the gold curtain. Don't get lost in its images; I know it can be tempting.
-Leon
She wondered what that could mean and it piqued her interest. It dawned on her that it might mean her family, as that was the last thing she mentioned to him before disappearing. Perhaps he did care, in his own twisted way.
A Beauty Among Beasts Page 14