In the Arms of the Beast

by K. A. Merikan

  Laurent didn’t dare come any closer with the egg in his arms, so he addressed him from afar. “Gray, please. We can explain. And I’m sure everyone will do whatever they can to help you.”

  He hated to see the sense of betrayal pass over Gray’s features, but there was no right answer. The ring was gone.

  Beast tried to squeeze his friend’s shoulder. “I understand you’re upset, but—”

  Gray stepped back. “You knew. You knew what was at stake for me and Shadow, and you still chose to just use it for some fancy gift for Laurent? Fuck you, Beast.”

  He turned on his heel and walked out despite Beast calling him back.

  Laurent swallowed, feeling his face flush. Was that what Gray thought of them? That they would have gotten something wasteful with a gem so precious?

  They stayed silent until Beast shut the door.

  Laurent huffed. “Well, that was rude.”

  Beast took a deep breath and exhaled when he turned to face Laurent. “Have you actually listened to him?”

  “Y-yes, but he wouldn’t let us speak, and you know what this egg is. It’s not a flight of fancy. There are almost three weeks left until the next new moon. I am sure there are rubies left in the world Magpie hasn’t put his hands on, even if we have to steal them or buy them.”

  Beast’s teeth gritted loudly, as if he were chewing on gravel. “If you were in his place, I’m sure you wouldn’t have listened either. Was this why you haven’t told me about your plans when we were going to Magpie? So that you wouldn’t have to explain yourself or reason with arguments that went against the decision you already made?”

  Guilt froze Laurent on the spot. “No, I… never imagined you would wish to go against my idea. You hadn’t wanted to listen about the ghosts, so I figured it was better to just find out from Magpie if he was capable of the same feat as Baal. Of giving us a child. But yes, you are right. In Gray’s place, I would have most likely also pushed beyond boundaries of manners.”

  Beast spun around and approached the window, looking outside with eyes like stormy clouds. “And that thing he said about Magpie? That he lied? How do we know we haven’t been duped too? Making pacts with those creatures... it is and will always be shady business!”

  Laurent stared at the glinting shell, but no matter how beautiful it was, the dark presence in his chest was growing by the second. “You have to put your trust in something,” he whispered. “You said it yourself when you decided to offer Magpie the Pigeon Heart.”

  Beast clenched his teeth. “And you said we shouldn’t trust him, only to ask him to make a child out of our blood. It’s not the same at all! We have no choice about the ruby.”

  “What kind of choices do you feel we have with the egg, then?” Laurent was trying not to raise his voice, but it was futile. “What if we never had this kind of opportunity again?”

  Beast spread his wide arms in anger. “What then? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. We have each other. Isn’t that enough for you?”

  Something shrank inside Laurent, and he pulled the egg made of their blood closer to his chest. “It is… but… this is important,” he uttered, for once at loss of words. Did Beast truly not care about the kind of life they were to lead together?

  Beast rubbed his face and leaned against the window, his face disappearing in the shadow. “There’s too many uncertainties. We might be dealt a hand we hadn’t expected.”

  Joy was draining out of Laurent like blood from a pierced artery. “I didn’t think I’d ever have a child of my own,” he said, taking a step away.

  Beast rested his forehead against the glass and said nothing. Neither did Laurent, sinking into the dark hole inside his chest. He could only hope for their baby not to feel it.

  Minutes passed without a single word from either of them, and for once Laurent relished the ticking of the clock, because the sound he usually found so aggravating proved he hadn’t gone deaf. Hound must have sensed the tension, because he came up to Beast with a whimper and started licking his master’s hand.

  No such consolation would come Laurent’s way. Had it really been so wrong of Laurent to ask Magpie for the baby? Beast hadn’t opposed it.

  When Beast’s cell phone rang, Laurent was glad for the shrill noise it made, but when he saw Beast’s expression darken, blood drained from his head, leaving it cold with emptiness.

  “Beast? What’s—?”

  But Beast already shoved his cell phone into his pocket and made Laurent sit deeper on the sofa with a single aggressive gesture. “Don’t move.”

  “But what is it? Maybe I can help.” Laurent gently put the egg back onto the cushion.

  Beast’s nostrils flared when he inhaled all the air necessary for the barking words that came from him next. “You wanted a child. Now protect it. Do as I say,” he warned before bursting out of the door without offering any explanation.

  Laurent pulled the egg back into his embrace and held back a sob, even though there was no one to judge him for a moment of weakness. The sudden change of energy after he and Beast had been so close confused and saddened him so deeply he couldn’t even put his feelings into words. Didn’t he deserve to be involved in matters that affected him too?

  He was alone with their flesh and blood combined in a fragile shell.

  This wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself or for sulking, Laurent would take in stride whatever came their way and make sure the situation between him and Beast was mended.

  For his entire life, he’d longed for family, and now everything he’d hoped for seemed under threat.

  Just as he was about to get a knife from the kitchenette—in case he wasn’t as safe here as he’d hoped—the lights went off with a loud screech. Not only the lamps, but all the electronics, and even a battery-operated clock.

  It was as if Laurent had been pushed straight into the pit of Hell.

  Chapter 6 - Laurent

  The silence that befell Laurent was so hollow it affected his inner ear. He could hear nothing, but there was an odd vibration in the air, at the very edge of his awareness. The clubhouse wasn’t usually this quiet, even here, in the distant wing situated away from the noise. The eerie dullness surrounding Laurent was thick and impenetrable, as if he were imprisoned in a giant copper vat and about to be cooked alive.

  The hair on his nape bristled when he glanced toward the window in search of moonlight yet found none. He was trapped in darkness that affected him as if he were completely blind.

  His arms tightened around the egg, and for the briefest moment he could have sworn he felt it pulse, as if the shell somehow resonated with the baby’s heartbeat.

  Thud.

  Thud.

  Thud.

  The faint sound transformed into a growl that couldn’t have come from the throat of a living being. It sent tremors down Laurent’s legs and bound his feet to the floor as the wall in front of him cracked open, sending crushed bricks and plaster in all directions. The large antique mirror remained unmoved even as the hole behind it grew larger and revealed a burning pit about to swallow the world whole.

  Fiery breath dried out Laurent’s skin at once, making it tighten on his face as the mirror trembled too, its matte glass rippling like the surface of a lake deep in the woods. When the tips of the long horns pushed through, and Laurent’s knees shook so violently he avoided a fall by sheer luck.

  His legs felt immovable, stiff, calcified, yet the weight of the living being in his arms urged him to fight through the mental paralysis, and he dashed for the door. Each intake of breath created a sense of hollowness in his chest, but he no longer thought of his own safety, focused on getting the baby somewhere where it couldn’t be affected by Baal’s dark magic.

  His feet barely touched the floor on the way to the exit, and he was about to touch the handle, push through to the real world when the massive doors went up in flames so suddenly he couldn’t keep upright. His heel slipped on the wooden surface, and as he fell, the impact pulled the egg
out of his arms. He managed to tighten his grip on the ruby surface and kept it safe as he collapsed.

  His elbow hit the floor first, sending a jolt of pain throughout the left side of his body, but he refused to let go and cradled the baby to his chest, frantically getting to his knees when he spotted the tall figure emerge from the mirror, which at this point levitated above the burning pit of crushed brick and mortar. Baal’s breath was dark fumes, and as he walked Laurent’s way, his lion-like feet leaving behind a path of burning wood, the unreal magnificence of his form rendered Laurent mute.

  Baal’s eyes were completely white and emitted an infernal glow, which also streamed through the cracks in the demon’s charred skin. Each step he took set fire to the life Laurent had made with Beast, and by the time the creature stopped in front of Laurent’s hunched form, blue flames have consumed all the walls and furniture. The only gas left to breathe was the fumes of broken dreams.

  Laurent wanted to beg for mercy, feeling humbled by the power on display, but the creature’s single gesture tied his mouth shut. When Baal spoke instead, leaning down so Laurent could smell the sulphur on his breath, his voice was like the sound of nails scraping against dry wood.

  “I will not be deceived, mortal. I hear and see everything.”

  Laurent pulled the egg tighter to his chest, but there were no pretty words to sway the monster. His eyes itched, welling up with tears of… what exactly? Fright or mourning for the future of his child?

  Baal hummed and hovered his huge claws in such proximity to Laurent’s cheek he could practically sense them cutting in already, but Baal withdrew his hand and opened his mouth, uncovering two rows of stalactite-like teeth. “I will crack this egg open and drink its contents. I can feel the taste of blood already.”

  “N-no,” uttered Laurent, but his voice was so small it might have drowned in the noise made by the crackling fire.

  Baal let out a cackle that sounded like glass bottles getting crushed. “Betrayal is in your nature, Laurent Mercier. My wrath will reach you, your man, and your son if you don’t stop interfering with my plans. And once that happens, all those you love will be suffering for an eternity. I will have my hounds devour your innards and my flames burn your extremities, but I will not let you die, so your torment can start anew each day till the end of time.”

  Laurent had no words to respond to such threats, so he remained immobile, arms protecting the most important thing in the world.

  When Baal moved back, his feet remained immobile, as if he were levitating a splinter of an inch above the floor, but all of Laurent’s focus was on the long finger pointed straight at him. “I have warned you, Laurent Mercier. The choice is yours.”

  The demon’s huge form retreated to the mirror, and then, within a single inhale, it folded in two and disappeared.

  In a moment that had Laurent shrieking with fear, all the lights came back on, revealing a room seemingly unaffected by the fire that had been consuming it seconds ago. Only the scent of char and sulphur hanging in the air proved that he hadn’t dreamt it all.

  Hound whined from his bed, his massive body hunched over in fear, but when Laurent called for him, the dog joined him and pushed his head under Laurent’s arm, as if he were seeking protection.

  Laurent gave himself a moment to calm down, petting the shivering dog. But as soon as his breathing was back to normal, he rose to his feet, grabbed an empty backpack, and stuffed a blanket into it before carefully placing the egg inside. He burst through the door without bothering to lock it, with Hound on his heels.

  Laurent's legs burned with each step, as if someone were pressing needles into his muscles. The threats Baal voiced were still a visceral presence in his heart, and he couldn't shed the fear they'd instilled in him. No matter how fast he ran through the corridors, the fear followed, attached to him like a night terror, sitting on his chest and preventing him from breathing.

  He'd grown accustomed to living in a building inhabited by ghosts, a demon, and an unsavory past. The interiors that belonged in a horror movie had become familiar, something he passed every day on his way to the communal kitchen. Even the old medical equipment, left here after the asylum had been closed down, didn't bother him much anymore.

  Yet now, after facing Baal once again, nothing seemed comfortably dusty. Shadows took on shapes he didn't want to notice, and he stopped in the corridor, afraid to pass a room where he knew a leather medical chair stood covered by a sheet. Laurent's imagination told him that some hellish creature released by Baal could be sitting in it, waiting to rise as soon as it spotted Laurent in the doorway.

  The egg was safe in the backpack, and Laurent felt its weight, but it could still be taken from him, and it was up to Laurent to never let that happen, to keep their son close. He needed to be brave.

  Laurent took a deep breath and, in one desperate sprint, dashed forward, ignoring the room with the old chair. It felt like dealing with a basilisk—all would be well if he managed to keep his curiosity in check. So he sped forward, never looking back, half-afraid to face what could be chasing him, half-confident that if he did, it would eat him alive.

  He almost cried with relief when he heard voices ahead, close to the area for common use and the new club meetings room. Regardless of their little spat before, hearing Beast's voice somewhere in the far-off distance made Laurent's heart beat faster. He considered himself independent and brave, but he couldn't deny that in this moment of terror he yearned for nothing more than the safety of Beast's arms.

  When they were close, no demons could reach him, and even the concept of fear itself became obsolete.

  "Beast!" he yelled before even spotting any of the men he’d grown to consider family.

  "Laurent?" came the hesitant voice from just beyond the corner, and Laurent collided with Beast’s firm chest the moment he took the turn.

  But while he hoped to see a smile, Beast offered him a deep frown. The other club members were already packed inside the room behind him, but their silence was unnerving. What could have happened to cause this upset?

  Beast put his hands on Laurent's shoulders, ignoring Hound, who tapped his paws against the floor impatiently. "What are you doing here? Go back to our apartment right now."

  In other circumstances, Laurent would have been hurt by Beast's tone, offended even. But this wasn't a time for petty arguments.

  "I can't. Beast, Baal paid me a visit. He threatened us, threatened our child," Laurent didn't even know why he was whispering, but his voice wouldn't get any louder.

  Beast's blue eyes burned, and the grip of his fingers on Laurent's shoulders tightened. "Are you hurt?"

  "No, but—"

  "We've got urgent business. Remember Baal can't physically influence our world. He can only frighten us with illusions. If you're not hurt, I need you to go back and wait for me."

  Laurent's heart beat faster, and despite annoyance bubbling up inside him, he still put his forehead against Beast's chest, hugging the backpack. "I'm afraid to go back. Afraid of what I might find there." Shame flooded him at this admission, but who could he be honest with if not with Beast?

  "You've got… the egg, right?"

  Laurent looked up at Beast in frustration. "Of course I've got the egg. It is my first priority. You think I would just run off—"

  Beast cupped his face. "Laurent. Please. If you don’t want to be alone, go to the common room and wait for me. Someone will be there to keep you company."

  Laurent stepped back. "Don't speak to me as if I were a child."

  Beast closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath through his nose. "I'm not. I just don't have time to deal with this right now. We have a meeting."

  "Can't I join you? Whatever you are discussing, these matters affect me too." Laurent stepped forward, intending to pass Beast and enter, but his husband's strong arm blocked his way.

  "No."

  "Why not?"

  Beast pushed forward, forcing Laurent away from the door. There was
no violence in his movements, but his body language still told Laurent that he had no means to force his way through. Dumbfounded, he took a step back.

  "Because I say so. Go and wait in the common room. I've got a lot of shit on my plate, and I can't deal with you on top of it."

  Laurent wanted to yell at him, tell Beast what he thought about such manners, such indignity thrust upon a husband, but he'd only embarrass himself further by doing so. He chose the high road instead and turned on his heel without a word. He would not stoop to this level of brute discussion. Once Beast was ready to talk man to man, they would do so. And that conversation would start with Beast's apology, because Laurent wouldn’t accept anything else.

  He couldn't believe Beast's audacity when he heard the door to the meetings room slam behind him. As if it was Beast who had reason for fury. As if it was Beast who was being left out of matters that most definitely concerned all of them, not just club members.

  It brought back the bitter memory of being forced aside during Elliot’s ordeal with the ghost of William Fane. All Laurent had wanted was to save Elliot from torment and to help forever dispose of the threat Fane posed, yet in a misguided bid at protection, Beast had removed Laurent from the scene by force. Laurent would never forget the indignity of being picked up and taken away like some damsel. So maybe he was small, physically weaker than the club members, but not incapable. From what he’d later gathered, it had been his action that pulled Fane out of Elliot and allowed Knight to finally crush the ghost. It had been his risk to take and should have been his choice, no matter what Beast thought.

  “Laurent? You need to come back later. They’re having a members meeting.”

  His anger cooled down somewhat when he spotted the tall, slender figure approaching from the other end of the corridor. It happened to be Elliot, of all people.