Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

  “You said you were staying, what happened?”

  Something sharp dug into my back, piercing through the flesh. I tried to say something but my mouth wouldn't work, my voice had gone. My legs were slowly buckling to the weight of my body as William paced back and forth ranting about something I could no longer hear. The burn in my back intensified, sharply taking all faculties away from me. William was a blur as I slowly crumbled to the ground, being dragged from the doorway. I could barely feel the wood planks that made the front deck, my body thumped down the few steps to the ground. Finally the blur that was William stopped moving and stood at the doorway, now he panicked.

  The sun burned against my skin as I was dragged through the frozen yard. My body had been dragged over the driveway and was now being snaked through the garden beds, etching my way to the fence line. Momentarily I gained strength to turn my head, once where there was nothing, now there was a man. Or at least, I thought he was a man. Considering that most things were a blur, it was hard to tell. The image was long and dark, hardly moving. I wanted to cry at the pain but the tears wouldn't flow. I wanted to scream out, but there was no voice to be had. Everything that was me had been disabled and I was being dragged to a dark figure. My stamina was fading, I turned my head back to the blur of William's house. It was lit bright, the morning sun was probably still facing straight to it, which meant that there would not be any vampires coming to my rescue. I was done for.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  I woke feeling the damp of forest scrub, tall trees loomed over me as I stared straight up into the red sky. A caw of a crow echoed around me, then another, several more of them joining the first. I could hear again and I could see, but could I move? It hurt to wiggle my toes and fingers but I did so, just to check. With each little movement more sensations came back to me. I could move my feet and hands, then my legs and arms. The flutter of dozens of wings and the cawing of the crows made me turn my head. As I watched a young man walk closer to me, I realised that my neck was working, it was a good sign that I would be fully functioning again. The man drew closer, when I saw the long jacket I began to worry that this was the figure at the fence line. A crow settled onto his shoulder as he held out his hand to me with a soft smile.

  “Fear not Mary, no harm will come to you here.”

  I took the offered hand, he lifted me so that I was sitting upright. He stooped onto his haunches with a smirk, he flicked the soft brown hair out of his eyes.

  “Where am I? Were you the figure at the fence line?”

  He chuckled softly, settling onto the ground in front of me. The crow didn't seem at all fazed by it.

  “No, I was not the figure. This?” He gestured to the tall trees around us. “Well this is limbo. This is where everyone comes and waits for death to find them and decide what is going to happen to them.”

  “I'm dead?” I panicked. “Oh my god, what happened?”

  The man laughed, brilliant and perfect white teeth shone out. “Not god sweetheart, just the master of the after life. I think if I were to parade around as the big man I might find myself in a spot of bother. As to what happened?” He shrugged and lifted his hand to the crow.

  It hopped onto his hand and looked at me, tilting his head to one side. His feathers ruffled and then he flew to a nearby branch.

  “Your soul was collected by my little friend here. All of them are soul collectors, when it comes time for death they are there waiting. He brought you here and called for me to come quickly because he knew that something was wrong. Ordinarily I don't come here so soon, the soul needs time to adjust to the concept of being dead.” He rolled his eyes with a slight grin. “That and the fact that I don't like the abuse that I sometimes cop from people who think that their death was wrong. Or the tears, begging for another chance at life, bargaining with offers of riches. There is nothing that I can do for any of those that are truly meant to be dead. Once death has been and made it's decision about where the soul will reside for eternity, I come and collect them and take them to where they need to be. But you, not you little lady. Death refused you. So your little collector called for me to come here urgently. When a soul arrives in limbo and death refuses to acknowledge it, there is a reason for it. No one wants a soul sitting in limbo so it's my job to come here and find out why death has refused the soul. With you it's because your death was unjust and far too early. It also didn't help that someone altered things above ground. Something happened when you were dying that has made death realise that your time on earth wasn't ready to be ended. Maybe something like this?”

  He held up an odd piece of metal on a chain, it was like a spike and when he pushed on it, more little spikes sprung out of it.

  “Nasty, isn't it?”

  I nodded swiftly.

  “This is a dremalian spike, primarily used by fae mercenaries. The primary spike goes into the target and then the secondary spikes sink into the target to create a stronger grip. When the target is secured, they can then be dragged anywhere. There is of course little holes in it where they fill it with any number of different potions depending on what they want to happen to the target.”

  He sniffed it, screwing his face up.

  “Not a death potion, just immobilising all functions. It should not have harmed you but clearly it has. I'm thinking that the potion mixed with blood loss might be your problem. This might be a nasty weapon but it shouldn't cause death.” His fingers flicked the chain out. “Of course it has a much longer chain than this. Remember I said something altered?”

  I nodded again, feeling rather stunned at the whole conversation.

  “I suspect that someone tried to save you, cutting the chain. Hopefully for you, they got you somewhere safe.”

  Tears slowly slipped from my eyes as I shook my head sadly.

  “I was living with vampires, the sun was out. No one could have saved me.”

  “You are wrong Mary, this chain says that someone has saved you but who? Who knew what was happening to you?”

  He sighed as he tossed the weapon aside, leaning back to look at the sky. “Just because there was only vampires, doesn't mean they wouldn't risk the sun for you.”

  “He once said it would be foolish to risk the sun for someone. I don't think it would be the man that was at the door.”

  The man looked at me plainly and then burst out laughing. “How crazy is it that I think I know who you are talking about?”

  I snorted with a mock laugh as I rolled my eyes. “He is a real catch, one in a million.”

  “Mary.” He softly chastised. “To love an elder and to have them return the love, it is a one in a million. This break in the chain tells me that it is there, you just have to open your eyes and see it.”

  Something hit me out of the blue, it was like a sudden wave of realisation. “You're the master of the after life?”

  He nodded rather smugly.

  “And William was here, you called for him?”

  “I did. I suppose you are wondering why.”

  No, I thought I'd say it for the fun of it.

  “When he first came to see me about his wife, he asked that papers be readied for him to ensure that things were made permanent. It isn't a quick process but he was rather insistent that things were done quickly out of necessity for a dire situation that he was faced with. I take it that you are the dire situation?”

  I nodded. “Half fae, half human. Lycans wanted me dead now it's the fae apparently.”

  “The fae can be placated easily Mary, you just have to find their weak spot. Anyway, William's urgency meant that some things were missed and of course I received word that there were more documents arriving for my completion.” He grinned at me, wickedly with a glint of delight. “I am the master of all of the after life, once a being is in my care I own them. William knew this when he approached me with a request of doing things a little differently. How do you think his wife would have reacted if he arrived one day and said that he didn't want her to return?”
r />   “I never knew her.” I shrugged.

  “Okay, so having known her for forty odd years, I can say that she would be extremely annoyed. He arrived, he asked for her to remain in my care, therefore she was unable to ask to return to the land of the living. I was made aware that she had somehow managed to create a presence in William's house and subsequently, he had her banished. That basically means that I control her body and her mind. There is a certain element of free will in the after life, just because the soul is no longer in a body it doesn't mean that they aren't able to control themselves. When a person is placed into my care, their body is forfeited but they still control their own mind. Once a banishment happens, I own the mind as well. Once that was done and she was unable to return to the land of the living, I completed all the paperwork he needed.”

  I frowned at him, his grin widened.

  “Such as?”

  “I agreed to her permanent residence in the underworld. It means that she is tied to it forever, there is no escape from where she has gone. That's why I called for him to come and see me, I had the papers all ready and done, thus freeing the poor sod from that terrible woman. He's spent far too long wrapped up in her and her death, the poor thing came into my office completely freaked out that she was causing problems for me. I deal with a lot of miscreants and I tried to tell him that she was nothing compared to some that I have had come through my world but he was still worried that she was being difficult.”

  “He was gone for several days, I know he was feeding. I have the cuffs.” I rubbed the dragon which was still, perched on the shield. “I know what their movements mean, I know that he was enjoying his feeding.”

  The man frowned slightly as he looked down at the dragon and the back up to me. His deep brown eyes flickered with amusement. “Just because the dragon shows movements of enjoyment, does not mean that it's owner is misbehaving. Time passes differently in this world Mary. What would seem several days for you is several hours for us. If you saw the dragon being happy it meant that William was happy.” He chuckled. “I wonder what William found that made him happy. Maybe the brilliant shine of the ink on the placement papers? Maybe it was the burden of a great weight finally being lifted from his shoulders? Or quite possibly it was the thought of returning to the woman that he truly loved, one that made his time on earth worthwhile?”

  He smiled as he reached forward and tucked a stray clump of hair behind my ear, removing a leaf. That's great. Not only was I realising how stupid I had been, now I was having leaves picked out of my hair by the master of the afterlife. Embarrassing.

  “I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, he goes running to her, he doesn't love me but you're wrong. Yes he came running here but it wasn't to her, it was because of her. It may not make any difference to you but I can see the difference. The anger in his eyes at her behaviour, there was no love in those eyes. Well, not for her at least. He loves you, but do you love him?”

  “Of course I do.” I snapped and then looked up at him with a sombre gaze. “Sorry.”

  He shrugged with a lazy grin. “You're little snap is nothing to what I have copped over the years. Master of the after life, remember? People are pretty annoyed when they turn up here and realise they're dead.”

  I giggled at the thought, I guess I had probably been the mildest person he had ever dealt with.

  “Question is Mary, what are you going to do now?”

  “What do you mean?” I frowned.

  “Well you can't stay here, death doesn't want you. Do you want to go back to William?”

  I nodded, feeling my body sigh with the pain of the last few minutes with him.

  “He needs you Mary, more than you can understand at this moment. Will you go back to him?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I woke with a great gasp, bolting upright. The air could not be sucked into my lungs fast enough. My eyes were still blurry as I blinked hard, trying to look around the room. I was on the lounge in the parlour, I could hear the soft sounds of Nick talking to someone, Marty sounded like she was crying. Getting up from the lounge was painful but I did so, wanting to investigate what was going on. I looked to the doors to the entry, the edge of Marty's skirt was splayed out over the floor. She must have seen me move, turning to me she got up with a strained smile and hugged me.

  “Oh my god.” She sobbed. “You're alive, we thought you were dead.”

  “I was but death didn't want me.”

  Marty wiped the tears from her eyes as she pulled away from the embrace.

  “What happened, what's going on?”

  “Uh, well... there was a mercenary at the fence line. He dragged you out of the house because he couldn't enter the property. William cut the chain and brought you back in.”

  I frowned as I shook my head, tears began to break free. “He couldn't have, it was full morning sun.”

  Marty nodded morosely.

  “That's why we're trying to save him.”

  William was laying on the floor surrounded by blood. It was a sickly red sheen across the floor that looked like a massacre had gone on. He was still wearing a black hooded cloak, cast off to one side was a nasty looking axe. William looked so serene as he laid there, not a flinch made and barely any movement from his chest. He seemed like he was asleep and nothing more. His skin was normal, not a burn nor even a single mark. I wanted to cry, to fall into a heap on the floor beside him, sobbing at how sorry I was that I did this to him. He had risked his life for me and now he was suffering for it. The man that had said it would be foolish to risk the sun for someone had done just that, he had stepped out into the sun for me. Even after finding me at the door with a bag in my hand, readying to leave him, he still risked death for me. I was a fool and he deserved better.

  Nick was leaning against the closed front door, a drip line ran from his body through a bag that was hooked to the door handle and then to William. He looked pale and haggard, in fact they both looked like they could do with a few more hours sleep. Marty's eyes were red, she looked like she was ready to start crying at any second. She took a deep breath and offered a soft but pained smile. The blood was almost touching the edge of my shoes, it was a terrible sight.

  “It's yours.” Marty raised an eyebrow as she watched me gape at the blood. “When the dremalian punctured your back, it must have hit a vein or something because you bled everywhere. We're trying to return blood to him so that he wakes up. Venturing out into the sun has done a lot of damage but it's repairable, we just have to get it into him.”

  “Is there going to be enough?”

  Marty shrugged, her eyes downcast.

  “Hook me up.”

  Nick looked up at me with shock. “You can't, you've just been on a return trip to the after life, you've bled out on the floor. He will kick our arses into the next century if we allow it.”

  “Would you rather he die? If it were me, I'd rather he was around to kick my arse. I will sit there and do nothing, if you don't mind fetching food for me then I won't need to move.”

  Marty and Nick looked at each other, Marty was the first to submit to my demands.

  “Alright but we're blaming you.”

  “So he'll be angry at me, what else is new?” I grinned as I sat to the floor beside Nick.

  As Nick set up the new line, Marty rushed off to the kitchen to get me lots of food. I looked at Nick who seemed rather pale.

  “What about you, are you going out to feed soon?”

  “We can't.” His worried eyes looked up into mine from the vein he was trying to find. “The mercenary is still out there.”

  “You can't not feed Nick, what are you going to do?”

  He shrugged and said nothing, leaving me to worry about his situation. Our situation. I had caused this mess. William was in serious trouble, Nick was about to be in trouble and if Marty didn't feed soon, she would be too. We were all stuck in this house with a nightmare at the gate, watching us, waiting for us to slip up. My
eyes widened as I grinned, turning to Nick.

  “I have an idea.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Nick looked up from William's body where he had been checking his vitals, frowning at me as if I had said something bizarre.

  “Pardon?”

  “I said, go through the underworld and come up somewhere else. Was I speaking another language or something?”

  He shook his head with a frown and huffed. “Firstly, you are half human. We don't know how your body would react to walking through the gate to the underworld. Secondly, the fae would expect that. I wouldn't walk in there so blind as to think that there may not be spies in the masters office. He may not be aware of it but I can guarantee it’s a possibility.”

  “Well then you come up with a better idea.” I snapped, feeling oddly irritated.

  I knew why, I was blaming myself and rightly so. My fault, my mess, I did this. Over and over again it bit through my mind causing the anguish over William's state to worsen.

  “How about all guns blazing?” Marty grinned as she passed a tin of food.

  She dumped a bag onto the ground, clearly she thought we were about to make some kind of a road trip.

  “Are you kidding? We won't last five seconds outside this house.”

  Nick held the length of my arm searching for a vein. I was waiting for him to smack his lips, teasing me that he was going to sink his fangs in but sadly he didn't. It was a shame, I could have done with a bit of happiness. Not that I deserved it.

  “Did you check what blood she is?”

  “Nah, what's the chance that she's not an A?”

  Marty and Nick looked at me, it was crazy but I did know my blood type.

  “B.” I whispered warily.

  “Crap.” Marty hissed. “Don't bother Nick, she can't help him.”