Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set

by Amy Miles

  “Yes, it does. There’s more, though.” Gabby retrieved several other pictures, some revealing scenes that had already transpired.

  A monster scratching Gabby’s arm.

  A dog barking at a creature in the night.

  “You see the one where the monster scratches me? I didn’t know it at the time I drew this, but I know those eyes now and the darkness that surrounds it. Those are definitely Forras’ distinctive four horns and there’s Alex on the ground.” Gabby trembled at the memory of that night near the pier.

  She shuffled through the pictures, handing each to Sammy as she explained what they detailed.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Sammy said.

  “Well, I couldn’t figure out what it was until after it happened. Since then, I can make out bits and pieces of the pictures. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. In this one, I can make out the form of a demon, but there are no distinctive features to tell which one. And this one is evil fighting light, but I don’t know who represents the evil and who’s the light.” Gabby grasped Sammy’s hand. “You need to convince Alex to leave.”

  “Gabby, I know you blame him for—”

  “My mother’s death? No, he didn’t do it. You can’t tell him though. If he knew the truth, he’d never leave and it might be the only way to save him.”

  “But he’ll be alone again.”

  “I know.” Gabby glanced down at her hands still holding Sammy’s. “My heart aches to be with him, to tell him how much I love him and to beg his forgiveness for ever doubting him. But I still think it’s better if he leaves, just until we can figure something else out.”

  Sammy squeezed Gabby’s hand. “I guess. I just—”

  A twig snapped from behind and they both jumped. Gabby shoved her artwork back into her bag and stood up to face whoever was coming.

  Why didn’t Sammy warn her someone was there? Certainly, she should have felt the presence of a human or animal approaching.

  “Well, well, ladies. I hear there’s cause for celebration.” Forras appeared before them, carrying a long object covered in pine green cloth with a gold braided tie.

  “Where’re the rest of your goons?” Gabby said, forcing her voice to sound casual. Her eyes glanced around the clearing purposefully. “I’m surprised a coward like you would go anywhere without your boys to protect you.” Unable to control her hatred for him, she stepped forward. But Sammy yanked her back. Forras’ demon blood pulsed through her body, provoking her anger and she struggled to keep it in check.

  Forras pulled a long silver object from the cloth.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Forras?” Sammy stood in front of Gabby. “You don’t stand a chance alone. I won’t let you near Gabby and you know it. I’ll fly off with her before you can even get close.”

  “You have it all wrong, sweet, little, innocent Sammy,” Forras chuckled. “I’m not after Gabby.” Forras erupted in dramatic laugh, the trees surrounding them amplifying the sound.

  “Well, I wish I could say I’ll let you live,” Forras continued, “but this is a special sword. I know, because this is the blade that caused my fall.” He paced in front of them, turning the sword around as though admiring it. “You see, a hunter had set a trap for me. He threatened the woman I loved, and when I tried to save her, he speared me…with this,” he lunged forward, thrusting the blade through the air, “ripping my wing and grounding me forever. After that, he killed the woman I love. There was no reason for me to fight to live as a fallen angel any more. What good is an angel that can’t fly? That’s when I discovered the power of Satan and the gifts he could grant me.”

  Could Forras be telling the truth? Did an earthbound hunter cause his fall? Could that sword really harm Sammy?

  Her friend stood frozen beside her, the fear flashing in Sammy’s eyes confirming her suspicions.

  “In a rage, I tried to kill him and instead, the woman I loved died. It’s been lonely around here ever since, so I thought why not get some sisterly company for myself. It seems to work for our pet, Alex.”

  “Go, Sammy! Go, now!” Gabby shoved Sammy away from Forras.

  Sammy’s wings exploded from her body as she grasped Gabby around the waist to take flight. Gabby was barely off the ground when Forras grabbed her ankle. She fell with a thud and looked up to see Sammy circle back for her.

  “No, Sammy. Don’t!” Gabby cried. She waved her arms, trying to ward her friend away, but Sammy wouldn’t listen.

  Sammy swooped back down between the trees as the picture she had drawn that morning flashed through her head.

  “No, Sammy! Please! Get out of here.”

  Ignoring Gabby, Forras climbed into the branches, the blade drawn. Gabby shoved to her feet and raced after him. She reached the tree he’d just climbed, but didn’t see him.

  “Looking for me?” Forras lept from one tree to another, intercepting Sammy’s dive to rescue Gabby. Mid-air, he lifted the sword overhead and plunged it through her wing, pinning her to the trunk of a giant oak tree.

  Sammy’s shrill cry shattered the air. Searing pain shot through Gabby’s skull at the sound. She covered her ears. Stumbling forward she tried to help Sammy, but her legs crumbled beneath her. She fought hard to move, to walk, crawl, shuffle, anything, but she kept falling to the ground.

  When the screeching stopped, she let go of her ears and looked up. Sammy hung limp, still pinned to the tree. Forras sat in his perch, his crude laughter quickly filling the ensuing silence.

  No! Sammy, please be alive!

  Gabby had almost reached Sammy when the underbrush behind her rustled loudly and a massive creature launched into the clearing.

  The most intimidating demon imaginable, with skin black as night, stood snarling only a few feet from her. Cords of muscle intertwined and shot out in all directions. The monster towered over Gabby by more than a body length, snorting steam from its horse-like nostrils. Its razor-sharp teeth dripped saliva as it bellowed ferociously. Claws longer than her arm arched from its fingers, ready to shred her.

  Fear froze her in place for a second before she scurried away, holding her hands up in a feeble attempt to defend herself. Where had this creature come from? It stood taller, wider, and more ominous than Alexander, Forras, or any other earthbound creature she had yet to experience.

  It lunged at her.

  She fell to the ground, covering her head with her arms but nothing happened. No claws tore her flesh. No teeth crushed her bones. Looking up, she saw the demon already half way up Forras’ tree.

  It glanced back at her and opened its mouth. “Get Sammy. I’ll deal with Forras,” it said, its voice powerful and commanding.

  “Boon. You dare betray me?” Forras’ voice rang out from far above her. “I’ll destroy you for this.”

  “Boon?” No way. That massive demon couldn’t be small, pale-skinned Boon. But Boon or not, Gabby had to help Sammy.

  The black walking hell of a being hurtled over a log, smashed through bushes and pounded after Forras.

  Gabby hurried over to the tree. Sammy hung some twenty feet up and she wasn’t sure she could reach her. Even if the branches could support her weight, could she deal with the height?

  Sammy’s moans grew louder.

  She had no choice. No one else was around to help.

  One branch at a time, she scaled the tree. At first, it didn’t terrify her as much as she thought it would, but after she glanced down, terror strangled her muscles into paralysis. She longed to return to the safety of the ground where she belonged.

  Sammy cried out in agony as she struggled weakly to free herself. Charcoaled feathers surrounded the wound. The wind carried ash to the ground below. Her wing reeked of decaying flesh. Forcing her fear from her mind, Gabby urged her body to jolt to life. One hand, one foot at a time, she climbed farther and farther up the old swaying branches.

  Bellows, loud thuds, and the cracks of snapping branches sounded in the woods around her from the ensuing battle between Boon and Forras.
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  When she reached Sammy, she gasped. Her friend’s body had transformed to a human state except for one wing—the one the sword plunged through, keeping her pinned to the trunk. Florescent green oozed from the wound. Layers of dried, bloodied feathers flaked away where the steel punctured it.

  “Forget me. Help, Boon,” Sammy pleaded. “I can’t lose him.”

  Gabby ignored her pleas and reached for the hilt of the sword. She carefully slid the blade from the tree as Sammy wailed in pain. Gabby grabbed Sammy, the additional weight almost knocking her to the ground.

  With no way to hold onto the sword while she descended the tree with Sammy in tow, she looked down and dropped the weapon to the ground. It bounced once before landing against the tree trunk.

  “Sammy? You have to help me get you down. Try to stay conscious, hold onto my back and I’ll do the climbing. If you pass out, we’ll both fall.” For once, Gabby was thankful for her oversized gymnast shoulders. Without that upper body strength, they both would have plummeted to the ground. It didn’t hurt that Sammy was the size of a child and weighed no more than ninety pounds.

  Concentrating on each move, Gabby traversed the tree, branch by branch. The smell of blood and decay made her gag several times, but she forced herself to focus on the task.

  When they finally reached the bottom, she gently leaned Sammy against the trunk, discovering where the rotting smell came from. Sammy’s pink-hued, ultra-soft feathers. She touched the edge of the blackening wound and ash crumbled on her fingertips.

  Boon raced into the clearing, transforming back into his meek, bony human form, clutching ripped clothes against his middle.

  “Boon?” Sammy cried out. “Thank God!”

  He ran over, taking her into his arms. They held each other for a moment, and then he released her and assessed the damage. His face contorted with grief, his eyes confirming Gabby’s worst fear. Sammy would never recover. Not if her wing continued to disintegrate.

  Boon took Sammy’s face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “Everything is going to be okay. Grace will know what to do.” He rested his forehead against hers. “No matter what happens, remember how much I love you.” He planted a firm kiss on her trembling lips. When he leaned back, Gabby saw Sammy’s eyes roll back into her head.

  “I’ll meet you at her house.” Boon swept Sammy up into his arms. “If I’m going to get her there in time, I’ve got to go now.” He turned and bolted across the clearing, transforming mid-stride. He vanished within seconds, though his enormous frame knocked over several pine trees, leaving a path for her to follow.

  Gabby, still in shock over what had happened, dropped to the ground, staring in disbelief at the debris around her. The wake of air Boon created with his hasty departure had stirred up leaves and rustled the pictures that had fallen from her bag.

  One picture floated down next to her leg. Lifting it, she saw a perfect visual replica of what just happened. It wasn’t Alexander she had painted, but Sammy. She wanted to shred the picture into a thousand pieces in her frustration. What was the point of sketching her dreams if it didn’t help?

  How could she use these to protect the ones she loved? She stared at the picture, trying to find a detail she’d missed, something that would’ve clued her in that the angel was Sammy, not Alexander. But what if she missed other details, and someone else gets hurt because of her?

  She gathered all the pictures up, deciding she just needed to spend more time analyzing them. She was given this ability for a reason, and that had to be so she could keep her loved ones safe.

  For now, she had to get to Sammy, if for no other reason than moral support. After all Gabby had gone through in the last few weeks, she knew what kind of battle Sammy was in for.

  “Alex, where are you?” she whispered into the wind. She reached for the sword she’d dropped to the ground, but it was gone.

  ****

  Alexander swooped down into the clearing and crouched next to Gabby.

  Startled, she flinched and scooted away from him against a tree.

  His eyes watered at the rancid stench of demonic poison, a smell he knew all too well. Images of Gabby being sliced by Forras’ claws haunted him. Something horrific had just happened here. He’d sensed someone was injured, fatally injured, and had flown here as fast as he could.

  How could he have trusted Boon to protect Gabby? He should’ve known to never accept that demon’s help.

  He knelt down on the ground in front of her and grasped her arms, analyzing them for any marks.

  “I’m fine…it…it wasn’t me.” Gabby’s voice broke, her eyes vacant and distant. Then she reached up, her hand caressing his face. The touch sent a charge of electricity through his body. He quaked with pleasure until she pulled away, her face contorting. How he longed to make the memories of his mistakes vanish from her life. Hold her in his arms and kiss the tears away.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who…” Gabby looked at the ground. He could sense guilt eating at her.

  Did she still hate him so much she couldn’t even look at him?

  “I-it’s my fault,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “All of it.” She collapsed into his arms.

  “What’s your fault? You’re not making sense.” Alexander instinctively kissed her forehead and stroked her hair and she leaned further into him. He held his breath, hoping she’d stay in his arms just a little longer.

  “I-I’m s-so sorry. I know it wasn’t you. You didn’t cause my mother’s…accident,” she finished, breaking into sobs.

  “What? I don’t…” Alexander’s mind reeled as a faint glimmer of hope welled up inside.

  Gabby pulled back and looked into his eyes. Tears poured down her face, dampening the golden strands cascading around her cheeks. “I love you.”

  She spoke the words so quietly, he wasn’t sure he heard her right. Had she really just told him she loved him? He brushed the hair from her face, her full luscious lips mere inches away. She wasn’t pulling from his embrace. “What did you say?”

  “I love you, with all my heart. I’m so…”

  He slipped his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her face to his. Their lips joined, his tongue caressing hers as the sweet cherry taste vanquished all the evil around him.

  The world slowed and spun around them. His heart thumped in rhythm to his lips sweeping against hers. A sweet floral scent made his pulse quicken. He pulled her to her knees, their hearts beating in unison as their chests pressed together.

  Time stood still and he prayed it would never start again. Her touch made the hairs on his arms dance in response. He longed to be one with her, to experience their human frames joining.

  She pulled away, gasping. “Wait. I have to tell you—”

  “It can wait.” He took her arm and pulled her close again, craving the heat, not wanting it to fade.

  “Sammy…she’s hurt,” she managed breathlessly.

  His blood ran cold. “What? Is she—”

  “No, at least I don’t think she’s dead. I-it’s her wing.”

  His heart raced, even quicker than it had at Gabby’s touch.

  Gabby took his hand in hers. “I didn’t know what to do. She was pinned to the tree, so I pulled the sword out. But her wing was disintegrating around the wound and…”

  The knot in his stomach tightened, cutting off any remote sensation of calm. Was it a fatal wound to her wing? Was she cursed never to fly again? “How? Who?” Alexander’s eyes burned, his heart weighing him down and crushing his insides like a boulder would a leaf.

  Gabby’s eyes widened at the sight of him. “You okay?”

  Calm. Stay calm. He repeated the words in his head until he could force the muscles in his face to relax, until the burning in his eyes ceased. A long deep breath helped still his emotions. “I’m fine. Continue.”

  Gabby pointed to a tree. “I dropped the sword to the ground so I could get Sammy down, but when I went to retrieve it, the sword was gone.”


  “Maybe Boon took it,” Alexander said, hopefully. Wait…he hoped a demon took it?

  “No. He didn’t. I watched him carry Sammy toward your house.” She pointed to a path of twisted and fallen trees.

  “It’s not your fault.” He wished he could have been here to help. If he hadn’t been so distracted about Eliana, he would have sensed what was going on. He brushed his lips across her cheek then gently kissed her eyelid. “We’ll worry about the sword later. Right now, we need to get out of here and help Sammy.”

  “Boon took her to Grace.”

  Alexander nodded then kissed her hand. “We have to go.” He pulled her close and took to the air, racing to his sister’s side.

  ****

  Gabby clung to him as the wind whipped through her hair. She wanted to hold him close and never let go. Strangely, the height wasn’t even a concern as he flew with her in his arms.

  He’d been so gentle and kind, yet strong. Had he really forgiven her that easily? She’d been scared to beg his forgiveness for blaming him for her mother’s death. Yet, he’d dismissed it as if it were old news.

  After everything that had happened, should she have told him she loved him? She couldn’t help it, though. The words spilled from her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. She did love him, in a way she never thought possible. An ache pulsed deep in her soul at the thought he didn’t feel the same. He didn’t tell her he loved her back, but certainly his response spoke volumes.

  When he’d pulled her close, their hearts beat as one and she’d nearly gone mad with the passion of his kiss. It took everything to pull away, to let him know about Sammy, but she’d never forgive herself if she kept him from his sister’s side when she needed him the most.

  At least they didn’t have to live in secret any more. Her father swore Alexander would be welcome in their home, even encouraged her to spend time with him.

  While she was relieved, it was one thing to accept a boy into his house, but a fallen angel? That posed its own set of worries.

  Her father? She looked out at the darkening horizon. He’d be back by now. She’d have to get home soon, but she couldn’t leave Sammy.