Monster

by Yolanda Olson

  I kept my eyes on him hoping that he'd be able to contain himself. I didn't want him to throw me to the ground because he was jealous. I was in more than enough pain; I didn't need anything additional.

  To my surprise he set me down gently, then he irritably ran his hand through his hair. He stood there quietly for a moment, almost as if he were picking his next words carefully.

  “Alright look. Apparently there's a lot of guys in your life that I don't know about. Just tell me who else is going to show up and how you know them so I can stop getting agitated. I mean it's kind of hard to trust you when crap like that happens.”

  I stood there staring at him. This was the first time we'd had an actual conversation when he was in his demonic state. I knew that one wrong move or word would set him off.

  “That's it. You already know about Kendrick and Maxwell. There aren't going to be any more surprises. But if it makes you feel any better, Brian was a surprise to everyone.”

  He turned his back to me and looked up at the sky. The moon was shining brightly and all the stars in the sky were shining brightly. A cool, crisp breeze swept past us causing me to shiver. That sole motion made me cringe with pain.

  “The sky looked something like this when you were born,” he said softly. “Of course that night I felt something odd. I know I told you this but I don't think you realized how much my life changed then.”

  He turned back to look at me and I saw that his eyes were still snake slits. He took a step toward me and instinctively, I limped back. A grin spread across his face but I was still cautious. Sighing, the grin faded and he looked back up at the sky.

  “It's not fair you know.”

  “What isn't?” I asked tensing up.

  “That you're doing this to me. I already told you that I waited an eternity and nineteen years for you and every time I turn around you're mysteriously coming across another man that seems to have some weird connection to you. I'm just asking that you be honest with me. I don't like surprises, Finnegan.”

  “And I don't like the fact that I'm standing here in pain while you hurl accusations at me,” I retorted.

  “You know it amazes me that you're this weak,” he said. “A little bit of pain and you suddenly need to recover. Do you think that Skiles is going to let you call a time out? Do you think that if Ava finally gets her hands on you she'll stop to let you rest? You have to learn how to fight through the pain.”

  I watched as he pulled his jacket off and tossed it to the side. His face became determined; the anger of seeing Brian did something to him and he was going to take it out on me.

  Fine. If that's what has to be done for him to trust me, then I'll do it. I slowly peeled my jacket off and let it fall to the ground. A sinister smile spread slowly across his face. I took a step back to prepare myself but he was already on me, knocking me to the ground. I grunted as I struggled against him but he used his hands to push me back down to the ground. Cody was a lot stronger than he had let on in any prior scrimmage or attack.

  Somehow I managed to get my legs bent at an angle that would allow me to kick him off of me. I pulled back and with all my might, thrust my feet hard into his stomach. He didn't even budge. Using his legs, he managed to force mine back to the ground as I continued to struggle in our vicious grapple.

  Taking a couple of quick deep breaths, I pushed against him with all my might and managed to move him but only slightly.

  “Get mad, Finnegan,” he said through clenched teeth pushing me back down onto the pavement.

  Finally I understood why he was using his strength now. He had told me that he would help me realize what I was really capable of before, and seeing my interaction earlier was enough for him to finally do it. The only problem I was facing now was how to call up the rage inside of me. I never tried to do it before while engaged in a fight.

  It was no use though. The longer he kept me pinned down, the weaker I felt myself getting. Without a break there was no way I was going to be able to muster up what I needed to get out of this.

  I stopped struggling. It caught him off guard. His look went from surprised, to frustrated, to angry. Then he did something I never thought he'd do. He stood up and with all his might he brought his booted foot down at me as fast and hard as he could. To my surprise I was able to stop him in mid stomp. That was all it took. I shoved with all my might and wound up launching him into the air and onto the ground.

  “Bad move,” I snarled descending on him. I was so furious that my attack on him was faster than anything I had ever done before. I felt him under me as he struggled to protect himself from the vicious blows I was landing but I wasn't going to stop. He tried to kick me when I was down and I was going to make him pay for it.

  “Get him Finn!”

  Drake’s encouragement made me feel stronger somehow. It was good to have one of my friends cheering me on. If he thought I could take on Cody then there was no way I was going to let him down.

  With a surge of power, Cody knocked me off of him and straddled me. I was suddenly struck with fear. He had his hand on either side of my head and his blank eyes told me what he intended to do.

  Oh God, help me! My mind screamed at me to get him off. If he damaged my skull in anyway, my brain would be susceptible and I’d be dead. Permanently.

  The fear turned me into a wild animal. I felt him starting to apply pressure, and in my state of terror, I was able to pull his arms apart and kick him off of me again. I got up and rolled over to my knees.

  I stared at him.

  Please let this be over, you’ve proved your point.

  A smile spread across his face and his eyes turned back to normal. He dipped low in a formal bow to signal the end of our fight then picked up his jacket. Dusting it off, he slid it back onto his body and tilted his head to the side.

  “You okay, Dolly?”

  “Depends. Are you Cody or something else?” I replied panting.

  “It’s me Finnie,” he said holding his arms out.

  Cautiously I stepped forward. His smile got more sincere. I smiled back and ran over to him, collapsing in his arms from exhaustion.

  “Did that help?” he asked looking down at me.

  “Yeah a little. I was afraid you weren’t going to stop there for a second,” I said into his chest.

  “Fear is a great motivator,” he replied laughing.

  You got that right, I thought to myself.

  “Fear is what drives everyone in one way or another. I mean think about it; any rich and powerful person has the fear of either losing their wealth or standing in society. Even people that are homeless are driven by fear. Every night when they lay their heads down they are afraid that someone or something might hurt them in their sleep. Animals are driven by fear too. Their will to survive is based on the fear that if they don’t hunt or find somewhere to not be hunted, they’ll die. Yep. Fear sure is the most powerful emotion that exists.”

  I backed up a little from him and looked at his face. He had a smile on his face but I could tell that he was serious. Philosopher Cody was actually pretty deep and pretty smart.

  “How come you guys stopped?”

  I turned slightly. Drake was coming toward us followed by Charlie, Kaeden and Ryker. Behind them I saw Remy sitting in the window watching the scene with Shane.

  “The point wasn’t to kill each other,” Cody said laughing.

  “Then what exactly was the point of that display?” Ryker asked curiously.

  Kaeden raised an eyebrow at him, then turned back to us waiting for an answer.

  “I was just showing her what she could do. That’s all,” he answered casually.

  “For a moment there, it looked like it was more than that,” Kaeden said pushing his glasses up his nose. “For a moment there, I was afraid I was going to have to intervene.”

  “See?” Cody said with a grin. “What did I just say? Fear!”

  “Beg your pardon,” Kaeden said curiously.

  “Nothing. Never mi
nd,” I said pushing myself off of Cody. I walked over to Kaeden and looked up at him. Way, way up and smiled. “So. Did you miss me?”

  His body seemed to relax and he smiled back down at me. Nodding he ruffled my hair, “Like you wouldn’t believe Ms. Sloane. And I wanted to apologize too.”

  “Apologize? For What?” I asked swatting his hand away.

  “Making you think he was dead,” he said quietly, cutting his eyes to Cody.

  “Oh, yeah. Well, don’t worry about it. I found out why you did it so it’s okay. I could never be mad at you for long anyway, Kae. You’re too nice for that.”

  I smiled when he laughed. It was a sound I hadn’t heard in a while and it was good to see that he didn’t seem to be preoccupied with what happened to Chase anymore. I was still going to make very sure that no one mentioned it around him.

  Looping an arm through his, I reached over and grabbed Cody’s hand. “How about you two help a lady into the house. After that tussle I’m in even more pain than I was before and Remy needs to fix my face so Charlie can fix my face.”

  They both laughed and started to walk me back toward the house. Charlie smiled at me when I walked past her and Drake shook his head laughing. The two of them closed up the gap behind the three of us.

  When we reached the stairs, Kae and Cody together, lifted me off the ground and carried me up by my arms. Charlie walked into the house in front of us and I heard her call over to Remy. Kaeden waved Cody inside and instructed him to help

  Shane keep an eye on Brian.

  “This is where you guys have to hand her over,” Charlie said holding out her arms. Cody placed me securely in her grip.

  Kaeden smiled at Charlie and nodded, “If you require assistance holding her down, let me know.”

  Holding me down? I thought as I watched him walk away.

  “Why would you need help holding me down? Why do I need to be held down to begin with?” I asked her curiously.

  “Because I’m pretty sure that whatever it is that Remy is boiling on that stove right now is going to sting,” she said looking toward the kitchen.

  “Maybe I should get my kisses in now while you still have a face,” Cody said rolling his eyes.

  I giggled and looked at him, “I trust her. Whatever she’s going to do has to be way better than this anyway,” I said pointing to the burned flesh.

  “That’s true,” he said shuddering.

  I smacked him in the chest, and he laughed.

  “I’m kidding!” Suddenly he took a step close. “Did you know that you’ve got pieces of that falling off?

  “What?” I shrieked.

  “Well that was tactful,” Charlie said sarcastically.

  “Not that I care,” he said ignoring her comment. “You could be without a head and you’d still be the most beautiful creature in the world,” he continued shyly.

  Charlie made gagging noises but it didn’t stop him from leaning down and giving me one of his soft kisses. I leaned up on my tiptoes and returned it happily.

  “Ahem!”

  I pulled away from him and saw Remy standing there with a rag in one hand and a boiling pot in the other.

  “What is that?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

  “Probably some tree bark,” Cody said sounding bored. I poked him in his chest to get him to quiet down which made him grin.

  “Actually, Bengalo, this is a strong sedative as well as healing serum. I do this as a favor to Finnegan as instructed to me by my King. If you don’t like it, then take it up with him,” she said.

  Cody held up his hands in mock surrender, “Look all I’m asking is that she doesn’t get her head blown off or something. That last thing you did to her knocked her out cold for almost a week.”

  “It was supposed to,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “Whatever you say, Red,” Cody replied shrugging. “I’ll see you in a little while. Hopefully in one piece,” he said kissing me on the top of my head.

  Remy was so infuriated she was shaking. It looked like she wanted to attack Cody for doubting her but I think she knew that Ryker wouldn’t approve. So instead she took a couple of steadying breaths and walked briskly past the three of us into a room down the hall, slamming the door behind her.

  Ryker, who had been watching quietly the whole time from the shadows, stepped forward shaking his head.

  “I apologize about that,” he said looking at Cody. “She’s a very strong and powerful gypsy. Her potions always work, even with the occasional side effect. Then again, she’s never had to use her potions on anything other than humans before,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Wait. So she’s experimenting on Finn?” Cody asked in shock.

  “It’s not an experiment really. Kaeden has faith in her, as do I. I ask that you trust our judgment. Finnegan will be fine,” he said smiling at me.

  “I know I’ll be fine. Cody’s just the nervous type,” I said in a loud stage whisper.

  “No I’m more the ‘nervous she’s going to blow up my gal’ type. But what can I do? Kaeden and King Ryker here trust her. You seem to trust her. I guess I’ll trust her too,” he said shrugging.

  “Great. Now can I take her back there and fix her up?” Charlie asked in exasperation.

  “Ha! I forgot you were here,” Cody said looking at her. “Good luck kid,” he said giving me a playful punch on the shoulder. He turned to Ryker, “Any chance you can get your people to stop calling me Bengalo? I mean that’s only half right.”

  Ryker laughed as they disappeared down to the other end of the house. I assumed they were heading to where Brian was being kept but of course, I couldn’t be sure.

  “Ready?” Charlie asked with a smile.

  “I guess so,” I said shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

  “Then let’s go,” she said looping her arm through mine and walking me down to the room where Remy was waiting. We entered the room and Remy instructed me to lay down on an old stretcher that came with restraints.

  “Kind of feels like I’m in a loony bin,” I said laughing nervously.

  “The restraints are only to help us hold you down. If you’d feel more comfortable without them, I can definitely have Kaeden help us,” Charlie said holding one of the straps in her hand.

  “No. Let’s just get this over with,” I said forcing myself to relax. Once Charlie had securely strapped me down, Remy stood up. She came over and smiled at me running a hand over my forehead.

  “I’m not going to lie, because of the heat of this serum it’s going to hurt like holy hell,” she said.

  I smiled quickly. Around Ryker, her tone was proper and her words were well thought out. Around the rest of us, she relaxed and talked normally.

  “Let’s do it,” I said staring straight at the ceiling.

  Nodding at me she leaned down. I heard her as she soaked the rag in the boiled liquid and forced myself not to watch it as she lowered it to my face. Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and tried not to scream.

  15. Unleashed

  (Day 19)

  I opened my eyes and felt my face stinging. Remy had been right about one thing; that serum stung like hell. The pain itself would’ve been enough to drive me crazy if she hadn’t mixed a sedative in.

  I blinked a couple of times. Weird, my face feels kind of tight. Then it dawned on me why. Charlie must’ve done to my face what she had done to my leg. I lifted my hand to up to feel my face, but it didn’t budge. I pulled again; nothing. Frustrated I gave a couple of tugs and then started to laugh. Either they had forgotten to undo the restraints or they did it on purpose.

  “Hello?” I called out hoarsely. I cleared my throat and tried again. “HELLO!” I said louder.

  “Hey,” came the reply in the doorway. The sound of footsteps came rapidly toward me and then Cody leaned his face down over mine.

  “How do I look?” I asked him timidly.

  “Beautiful,” he said with a smile. “And kind of hot all strapped down. I do
n’t know if I should let you out or carry this entire thing into our room.” He grinned that familiar grin and I couldn’t help but giggle.

  I cleared my throat again and shook my head, “Kaeden!”

  I started to laugh when I saw Cody’s face fall. He moodily kicked the bottom of the stretcher and looked out the window.

  “Sorry Cody, but I’m a mess right now.”

  “Look I’m not saying it has to happen. It doesn’t. But I would really like it too. I just want to show you how I feel about you,” he said looking back at me.

  “You already have. A million times over,” I said smiling at him.

  “Forget it,” he said sighing. “You don’t understand what I’m talking about. I’ll let the vamp in before he knocks the door down.”

  I listened as Cody walked over to the door and swung it open. When it closed I only heard one set of footsteps coming toward me.

  “And how do we feel Ms. Finnegan?” Kaeden asked undoing the straps.

  “Okay I guess. How long was I out this time?” I asked sitting up and rubbing my wrists.

  “Only a half an hour. They did remarkable work though,” he said inspecting my face.

  “Really? I can’t wait to see,” I said eagerly.

  “Drake also fixed your arm piece while you were sleeping,” he said with a smile.

  I looked down but it was too dark to see. I walked over to the window and held my arm under the moonlight and smiled when I saw that my right arm was one piece again and the tattoo was fixed as if it were never marred to begin with.

  “Like it?”

  I turned and nodded at Drake who was standing in the doorway. He grinned at Kaeden and crossed his arms over his chest proudly. Kae waved him into the room.

  In a weird way it seemed to me like Drake had been standing there waiting for his permission to enter the room.

  “Thanks Drake. You’re the best,” I said giving him a hug.