A Beauty So Beastly

by RaShelle Workman

  “Figures,” Will said, his voice hard.

  I took the diamond and stood, handing it to him.

  “Let’s make sure you’re telling the truth.” Will lifted the red stone into the light. The diamond sparkled as he turned it back and forth. “Excellent.” He pocketed the diamond and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the closet. I watched his gaze linger on the bed. He licked his lips, glancing from me. “After the hell I put up with playing your boyfriend, I deserve payment.” He hauled me onto the bed.

  Understanding what he intended, I tried to squirm away.

  Will grabbed me by the leg and forced me onto my back, pinning my body with his.

  “Stop, Will. This isn’t you.” I tried to knee him in the groin, but he forced my legs down.

  “You have no idea what I’m like, Bea. You never cared to find out.” His fingers wrapped around my neck, choking the life out of me. “You never gave me a chance.” He licked the side of my face, forcing my legs apart. His hands roamed my body. Tears leaked from my eyes. I wanted strength. I wanted to change, to claw the smile off his awful face.

  “You’re so weak, Beatrice. Nothing but a mewing kitten.” As he spoke, he shoved a hand down my pants.

  “Stop. Stop it,” I cried.

  My tears only made him laugh. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of the situation. I didn’t think it was possible. “If you do this,” I said, forcing myself not to stop fighting, “I’ll kill you.”

  His eyes grew wide. “You th—”

  Will wasn’t able to finish because something crashed through my window and rolled onto the floor. It reminded me of a large boulder.

  The boulder stood and I realized it wasn’t a boulder at all, but Cole.

  “Get off her you filthy cat.” In one breath Cole stood and threw Will into my fireplace. Rock and rubble rained down around Will as he fell to the floor.

  “You okay?” Cole came over and held out his hand for me to take it.

  A sob ripped from my throat as relief washed over me. “Cole,” I said, sitting up. Professor Pops burst through my window in the next second.

  “Stand back,” Professor Pops said, keeping his back to the window and directing Cole and me to move against the wall near my headboard.

  I gave Cole a questioning look just as a massive scaly dragon rammed through my window, taking out half my wall and my window seat in the process.

  I yelped, grabbing hold of Cole’s solid shoulder. “What in the—”

  The dragon shook himself, his large liquid eyes gazing at me. Something about them was familiar. “I can’t believe Rocky gets all the credit for knocking this guy out.” The dragon faced Will, who was on the floor, moaning. “Make a move, pussy cat, I’m begging ya.” The dragon glanced over and winked. I realized the dragon was Troy.

  I covered my mouth, completely surprised.

  “He thinks he’s the shit,” Cole shouted. One look told me Cole thought Troy was the shit too.

  Troy shoved one of his talon-shaped hands against Will. “Come on. I want to fry your insides before your outsides have a chance to feel it.”

  I was in shock. It was a freaking-happy-to-see-them shock, but still.

  Professor Pops came over. “Are you hurt, dear?”

  “No,” I muttered, blown away by Professor Pops. He was dressed in all black, his scholarly sweater and reading glasses replaced with a katana across his back. His eyes glowed red, like Hell fire.

  “Doesn’t Pops look awesome?” Cole said, slapping Professor Pops on the back.

  The Professor grinned.

  “Yes, he does,” I said, trying to smile, but only succeeding in making my lips quiver. “And Troy?” He was a very large, very wicked looking bronze dragon with silver tipped wings that were folded against either shoulder.

  At the mention of his name, he turned and gave me a huge dragon smile. It took my breath away.

  “I’m awesome, right?” Smoke left his nostrils as he spoke. Then he turned back to Will, heckling and prodding his limp body. I kind of felt sorry for Will. Okay, not really.

  “With the three of you here, we might stand a chance.” I pushed myself out of Cole’s hold. “I’m so happy to see all of you. It’s Adam . . .”

  “Where is he?” Professor Pops asked.

  “In the entryway, downstairs.”

  Cole went to my bedroom door and ripped it off its hinges, leaning it against a wall.

  “They’re torturing him. Please.” Thinking about the look of Adam’s face brought tears to my eyes. “Hurry.”

  Troy tossed Will onto his back and settled him between his shoulder blades.

  “Be careful,” I said. “He can shoot balls of light from his hands.”

  Cole snickered. “Balls, huh?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”

  “Got it,” Troy said, forcing his way through the door and tearing a dragon-shaped hole in the walls. I couldn’t help but be in awe of him. “I’ll try to watch out for flying balls,” he said, hefting his large body down the hall. Either side of his body grazed the walls, causing huge gashes.

  “Flying balls. Duck and cover,” Cole said, snorting. Troy laughed.

  I couldn’t believe they were joking at a time like this.

  As we made our way down the stairs I heard two of the three men talking. They were discussing what they would do with the wealth the King promised them for bringing Adam back and for killing me.

  Professor Pops, Cole and Troy heard them as well.

  Troy quit laughing. So did Cole. His hair changed from black to white and his skin pulsed with black veins. “Allow me to clean up the mess, Beatrice,” he said.

  Troy followed, trying to shove past Cole on the stairs. His scales scraped against the metal railing. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Leave some for me. Dude, you can’t always be the hero.”

  If I hadn’t been so worried about Adam I would’ve laughed at the two of them.

  “How many are there?” Troy asked.

  “Three,” I said, “and one can bind your abilities.” That thought made me worried for them.

  Cole laughed, slapping Troy’s scaled body. “No one is going to bind our abilities, right Smoky.”

  “Best two out of three cleans the other’s bathroom for a month,” Troy offered.

  Professor Pops chuckled. “I debated whether to bring them.”

  “How did you even know where I was? What made you decide . . .”

  Professor Pops patted my arm. “I have my ways, Beatrice dear.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here, but how?”

  “First class ride on the Boeing Troy-Seven-Seven,” Professor Pops grinned. He was a little disconcerting with his red eyes and I had to look away. “Troy can fly like nobody’s business,” Professor Pops went on.

  Roars of pain interrupted our conversation. I rushed down the remaining stairs. The three Vaktare had changed into their werecat forms and were on top of the dragon and the gargoyle, snarling as they fought and trying to destroy them with their teeth and claws. The Vaktare didn’t seem to be making much headway. Rhem kept using his abilities against them and his powers did seem to slow Cole and Troy down, though not completely.

  Will was on the floor surrounded by broken glass. He was coming to. Adam was still bound with ropes, but he no longer writhed in pain. I ran to him.

  “I’ve just got to get you out of this rope,” I said, pulling on it to no avail.

  Another roar. Professor Pops was on top of Rhem, his teeth buried in the Vaktare’s neck. The sight sickened me, and truth be told, scared the crap out of me as well. Professor Pops might look sweet when he wore his khaki pants and sweaters, but he was really, really terrifying. At the moment, he scared me even more than Rhem.

  It seemed Rhem felt the same way. The Vaktare was writhing and clawing, trying to push Professor Pops off him. It wasn’t doing any good. I watched Rhem’s eyes flicker. Even Troy, Cole and the other two Vaktare stopped momentarily, watching what Profess
or Pops was doing. The Vaktare in Professor Pops’ grasp looked like a kitty cat next to the menacing Hunter. I guessed by the looks on Cole and Troy’s faces that it was their first time seeing Professor Pops as the Hunter too.

  When Rhem’s eyes rolled back in his head, Professor Pops pushed the lifeless body away. His fangs dripped with blood. His eyes flashed bright blood red and he smacked his lips. “Vaktare are delicious,” he said, his voice deep and dark and unlike anything I’d ever heard.

  I shuddered.

  Adam scooted closer, pressing his front against my back. Even bound he was still trying to protect me. Since Adam was still bound and unable to speak I realized that although Rhem looked dead, he couldn’t be. Otherwise Adam would be free.

  “What have you done?” Will shouted. He stood, looking around the room. “What the hell are they?” he asked, pointing at Troy and Cole. When he saw Professor Pops, he automatically took a step back. The vampire Hunter really was the most frightening creature in the room.

  Then Will roared, running like lightning past Troy, Cole and Professor Pops. He grabbed me by the neck and lifted me off the ground. Troy, Cole, and Professor Pops moved as one toward Will and me.

  “Do not take another step, or I’ll kill her.”

  “We aren’t scared of you and your balls of light, kitty cat,” Troy said, smoke curling from his lips as he spoke.

  Professor Pops released his fangs again.

  Will pulled the diamond from his pocket. It started to pulse in his fingers. “You should be,” Will said, his eyes gleaming with an almost crazed expression.

  “What is that?” Cole asked. His hair was still white, and his black veins pulsed dangerously.

  Will whispered some words that made so sense to me. A vortex began to spin in the air directly in front of him and me. “Come any closer and I’ll send her into the abyss.”

  That slowed the three of them. Adam let out a strangled cry. The other two Vaktare stood, shaking out their fur.

  Will laughed mirthlessly. “That’s what I thought.” He eyed Rhem and then Adam. My Locanis still lay on the floor, his eyes large with fear and fury.

  I wished I could do something to help.

  “Time to finish this.” Will roared, changing into his werecat form. His clawed fingers dug into my skin. Blood pooled in the spots where his claws touched and I felt it drip down my chest.

  Will stared into my eyes, an eerie smile twisting his face. He glanced back at Adam. “Having fun, Locanis?”

  I wanted to tell Adam it would be okay. That my dying would ensure his sister received her freedom. Instead I closed my eyes, trying not to feel, not to have any emotions, to go back to the way I was before the curse, or the damned reverse curse, as Greg and Fizban called it.

  In the distance I heard a phone ring. A female voice addressed me. “Beatrice, are you just going to give up? Allow these disgusting Vaktare to defeat you?”

  I searched for the source of the voice. It was Fizban. It had to be. “Fizban,” I whispered.

  Will laughed louder. “Now she’s talking to herself.”

  Rhem sat up, already recovering from the loss of blood. Will lowered me so that we were face to face. “It was nice knowing you, Beatrice.” He released my neck and threw something in my face. It smacked me in the forehead before falling to the ground.

  I closed my eyes briefly, trying to stop the dizziness and catch my breath. When I opened them, I caught hold of what Will had thrown at me. It was the bee I’d thrown in the pool. The one he’d given me for my birthday. Will must’ve secretly come back and fished it out. It was facing down so I could read the inscription: You’ll always be my Bea. Love, Will.

  I stepped back, tripping over something and falling. Will caught me around the neck and lifted me off my feet. He walked toward the vortex. As I got closer to it, I felt my body being pulled inside. The tips of my feet were suddenly cold.

  Roar Of Fury

  Twenty

  “Don’t do this, Will. Please, don’t.”

  Will laughed. “Manners, it’s nice to know you have them, you cold, unfeeling bitch.” He bent his legs slightly, preparing to launch me.

  “You are a beautiful beast, Beatrice.” Fizban’s voice resounded in my ears, loud and clear. “You are destined to return the Locanis and the Vaktare into the allies they once were. Fight back. Become the Vaktare you are meant to be.”

  I twisted my neck, ignoring the pain as Will’s claws tore into my throat. I needed to see Professor Pops, to see Troy, to see Cole. I hardly knew them but I would die for them. They’d come to mean that much to me in such a short time. And Adam, my gorgeous Adam. I tried to smile. My feelings for him went against the laws of our realm, yet I couldn’t stop them. They burned through me, filling me in ways I’d never imagined possible.

  “You can save them all, Beatrice. You have the power. Use it.” That was Fizban again, or Greg.

  I felt Will’s claws loosen as he began to let go. The vortex was bigger than my body. And I had a fleeting thought. If I allowed Will to toss me in, that would save Adam’s sister. But Adam’s eyes bore into mine. I could almost hear him shouting that he loved me, and that he wanted me to live, to fight. He shook his head.

  “Here we go, boys,” Will said with a cruel laugh.

  “Now, Beatrice!” Fizban shouted.

  Up until the very second Fizban spoke, I had no idea if I would be able to change, if I would be able to do anything except allow Will to kill me, or throw me into the abyss, as he called it. But like when Cole and I had been fighting, instinct suddenly took over. It was stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. Shifting forms, I let out a roar of fury and grabbed hold of Will’s hairy arm with my claws.

  One of Will’s lackeys stumbled back, surprised. The stand-off was broken as everyone moved at once and the fight began again. I went after the Will, taking his neck in my mouth.

  “Bind her, Rhem,” Will choked.

  At Will’s words, pain touched my body. My instincts immediately knew what to do with the pain. I took it, formed and folded it into a sphere. This pain must be sent back to Rhem. It must hurt Rhem. As soon as I thought the words, the sphere filled with pain left my body and went into Rhem. I released Will’s neck so I could focus on Rhem. I heard Will coughing.

  Shock filled Rhem’s features and he doubled over. He roared, falling to his knees.

  “Stop her!” Will screamed, a ball of white light soaring from his hand.

  Cole jumped in front of me. The ball of light struck him square in the chest and he fell backward toward the abyss.

  “Cole!” I reached for him. My claws caught the tips of his fingers. But his skin was like rock and he continued backward. The opening to the abyss was directly behind him. The top part of his body fell through. I roared.

  I dove after him, this time with both hands and grabbed his feet. “No!” I screamed, holding fast. Professor Pops grabbed hold of his calves and pulled. With the two of us pulling, more of Cole’s body appeared. I got a better grip on his thigh above the knee. But there was a sound like rock breaking. I heard Cole scream in agony. Professor Pops and I shared a look. He let go and then placed his hands over mine.

  “Let him go. If you don’t he’ll die for sure.”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Beatrice,” his voice was soft, his features twisted in pain. “Let go.”

  I let go and Cole’s body disappeared. Angry sadness took over, seeming to swallow me whole. “No. No. No. We could’ve saved him.” I went to go in after him but Adam grabbed onto me and pulled me away. They abyss had already started to close. “You can’t, Beatrice. We don’t know where he went or even if you’ll end up in the same place.”

  Growling, I braced my feet as I threw my elbow into Adam’s stomach. He flew backward, hitting the wall. The abyss closed. My heart sank. “Cole.”

  In the same moment, I realized what I’d done and ran after Adam. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Get her!” Will screamed
as Professor Pops lunged for his throat, ready to take his blood the way he’d done with Rhem.

  From behind I heard a loud roar and felt the heat of fire. I turned back and saw that despite the pain he was in Rhem had finally succeeded in binding Troy with his rope. It tightened around his body, pushing his wings down in an awkward angle.

  Rhem’s body and abilities must be bound, I thought, seeing the ropes surround him instead of Troy my mind. Immediately, the ropes left Troy, and tightened themselves around Rhem. He gasped in astonishment.

  Tighter. Tighter, I thought. The ropes continued to squeeze him until his eyes rolled back and he stopped moving.

  Troy stumbled, fighting to regain his balance. Then he let out a roar so full of anguish I could tell he was devastated by what’d happened to Cole.

  The other two Vaktare came forward.

  One of them must have had the ability to conjure my worst fears because suddenly I saw myself hunting. The vision was so real I smelled the mountain air, the scent of their fear. I heard the leaves rustling in the breeze. The scene changed and I was feasting on a body, the insides torn out. A quick look at his face told me it was Adam, his eyes open and staring blankly at nothing. His hair wet with blood.

  If I hadn’t had my primal instinct, I would’ve fallen victim. Instead I took his ability, pushed it into a compact little box and sent it back. Show him his worst fear.

  Immediately, the Vaktare on the right started screaming, shifting as he ran out of the house. He stomped through the landscaping, tearing up flowers and trees, fighting invisible enemies that only he could see.

  The other man’s ability slammed into me and I felt him try to take control of my body. I reversed it, compiled it, and sent him out to battle the Vaktare ruining the front yard. To the death, I thought.

  Adam was at my shoulder. I glanced at him. “Are you okay?” I asked, feeling terrible that I’d hurt him.

  “I’m fine. The bigger question is are you okay?”

  “No, actually, I’m not. I’m super pissed off.” I pushed past Adam and shoved Professor Pops off Will. “Where the hell is he? Where did you send Cole?”

  I grabbed Will by the fur at his neck and shook him. Hard. He glanced away, swallowing, one hand clamped over his bleeding throat. I smelled his fear.