Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

  Nick laughed, it was a sound that I really did miss. “Baby, we wouldn't miss it for the world. Better start puckering those lips cuz I am going to…”

  “Hey.” Marty crooned down the phone. “Don't listen to the pervert, he'll behave himself, won't you?”

  “Nuh.” I heard from the background. “Fair game now.”

  “Yeah and what happens when he gets his memory back and finds out you've been kissing his girlfriend?”

  “Ex.” I whispered down the phone.

  “No Eliria, he loves you, I swear it.”

  Her voice was filled with pain as she begged down the phone line. “Please don't give up on him.”

  “I have.” I responded. “It hurt Marty, he knew what the flowers on the vine meant and still he broke it, accusing me of tempting him into my bed. I'm moving on, I'm sorry but I can't live my days waiting for him to realise his mistake.”

  “Is there someone else?”

  My silence didn't help, it wasn't as if James could be considered someone else considering I hadn't even talked to him in great depth but I suppose for a momentary fling he might be alright.

  “Please don't.” She whispered so sad. “I beg you to just be a little patient. Nick is almost there, he's found some books to read. William didn't mean it, the statue had the chant… it's a spell that Eliandra used to make him obsess about Carmella. Please…”

  Her voice was so raw, I was in tears from the second she asked if there was someone else. “Just give us until your birthday, he can do it, he can fix things. Just a little time, that's all we ask.”

  “Alright, you can have this time but I cannot make any promises that it will fix what has happened.”

  After the conversation about birthdays and what William was or wasn't doing, I readied for bed. The curtains were open, the view of the city lights was incredible and I looked at them, feeling a slight increase of happiness. Things weren't completely right in my world but it was getting better. I had my parents now and if William didn't want to get in the memory pool then there wasn't a thing I could do about it. With that thought I slipped under the sheets and slowly drifted off to sleep.

  I woke with a fright, another dream of the snake only this time it looked wider and a little longer too. As I sat up on the bed and looked out at the rising sun I wondered if the dream was an omen of things to come. Was there something that I needed to fear? It couldn't be possible, Eliandra was dead, the lycans had retreated because of my mother and William wanted nothing to do with me. The only issue that I could think of was the civil unrest in my parents home world. Not that there was any. I decided that I would remain here until they were certain that things were good again. There was a soft tap on my door, it slowly opened to a pair of gleaming green eyes and a happy smile.

  “Good morning, I didn't think you would be awake so early.”

  “I had a bad dream.” I shrugged.

  My father walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning on one arm. “Nightmares are just your fears, what is it that you are dreaming of?”

  “A snake slithering through the grass, when it reaches me it rears up to strike but I wake before it happens.”

  He nodded and said nothing, instead he gestured to the bed. “Lay down.”

  “Uh okay.”

  I scrambled out from under the sheet and laid on the bed, he laid onto it as well in the opposite direction, only our heads were beside each other. He grinned broadly at me as he turned his head, his eyes started to colour that bright green.

  “You are young and yet to obtain your full powers but this….” His fingers waived in the air as strands of silver dust swirled above us.

  “This you will be able to do now. Right before bed would be the best time, lay on the bed and swirl it above you and then let it drop when it turns gold.”

  I watched as the dust danced in the air above him, twirling around and making a whooshing sound. When it turned into gold dust his fingers stopped moving and the dust fell onto him and the bed, some of it even fell onto me.

  “If you don't fall asleep it won't have any affect but if you fear bad dreams, then this is your answer.”

  He turned his head to me, the gleaming smile was infectious, I smiled back at him.

  “Okay your turn. Hands up, twinkle those fingers and think happy thoughts.”

  I was about to give it a go when his face turned a little serious.

  “Happy thoughts Eliria, I know your heart yearns for the vampire but I would suggest that you not pick him as your selection. Your mind may linger to the darker side of the relationship or even the ending of it. The mind must stay positive or the enchantment will back fire and your dream will be worse than any nightmare could ever conjure. I've seen the tears you try to hide my darling child, the vampire is not a happy thought for you right now. Find something else, what makes you happy?”

  “You do and my mother, but what if my mind thinks back to the past?”

  He shrugged and turned back to face the ceiling, green puffs of air wafted into the ceiling as his fingers poked the air in front of him. “What we did, we did to protect you. If we had known it would end the way that it did, then we would have done things differently. We cannot change the past.”

  I sniffed the air, crinkling my nose at it. “What's that?”

  “The bayalan flower, it will help with the dreams. Though it's not as effective as the sandman enchantment.”

  He turned and looked at me, rising off the bed. “Eliria, are you alright? You've gone pale.”

  “The smell…”

  Then suddenly the largest waft of the smell hit me and in a flash I was running for the bathroom. I emerged from the bathroom after upending the contents of my stomach to find that my father was gone, replaced by my mother who was with an unknown woman. She was fussing over my bed while my mother was at the window gazing at the view. The woman finished making my bed and curtsied then scuttled out of the room.

  “What on earth was that about?” I groaned.

  “You are the heir to the throne of the elven world Eliria, she is a maid from your grandfather's residence and as such, she knows her duties. Please, sit and rest.”

  The door pushed open as I sat along the length of the lounge, my mother pulled the rug over my legs as my father made his way over with a cup of something.

  “Sorry.” He murmured. “Not everyone likes the bayalan flower and of course you haven't been to our world so you aren't used to its strong scent. Here, drink this.”

  “Is this more of your magic?” I cheekily grinned.

  “No, it's ginger. Calms the stomach.”

  My mother had resumed her position at the window, watching the land before her. I wondered if she was watching something or just mindlessly gazing outside. Her eyes darted in short sharp movements and her eyebrows pressed together as she frowned. I looked at my father who sat by my feet, I pointed at her as he looked at me.

  “The guard always watches her post.” He grinned.

  “Lycans.” She hissed. “This city is infested with them.”

  Sipping the hot brew I watched her with serious interest now that she had changed direction and was searching again.

  “How can you see so far up?”

  “Because I am fae and I can see beyond what the average person can see. With time you will learn to use your senses to their full potential.”

  She turned and looked at me, her eyes were pure white that quickly flushed with the blue that returned them to normal. It was creepy and weird.

  “And when that happens, you too will be able to see from great distances.”

  I wasn't allowed off the lounge unless I was going to the bathroom or the bed, my father said that because I had reacted negatively to the bayalan flower, the effects were brutal. I might get head spins, fatigue, I might throw up more and worse yet, it might take a few days to wear off. He kept apologising, stating that he should have known better, I wasn't from their world and of course I wouldn't be used to it. I w
aived him off, telling him it was okay that I didn't mind laying around and doing nothing after the arduous day of shopping yesterday. Momentarily I was alone, the maid had just brought in a clear chicken soup, my parents were doing something in the lounge. I could hear them talking but what they were saying wasn't audible to me. It was unlikely to be interesting anyway, so I didn't concern myself with it. My phone pipped from the bedside, a text had arrived for me. I set aside the soup and darted my eyes to the door, quickly retrieving the phone. It wasn't the greatest of ideas, the world around me spun. Gripping the back of the lounge I slowly made my way back to it and waited for the world to stop turning. I sighed at my father and his good intentions, opening the message from an unknown number.

  Hi, it's James. I wanted to say thanks for not getting me into trouble, Porter can be a stickler for the rules. I don't usually dip into people's files, it's just that I thought about you after seeing you again and thought that you looked like you needed a friend. I know that you've only just ended things with him and that you might not be in a good place right now, but I'd like to be there for you. That is if you want me to of course. Hope to hear from you, J.

  I put the phone by my side and ate my soup, thinking about James. My agreement to wait for Nick to figure out the chant was in the back of my mind as I thought about what I would text to James. I would give them until my birthday and I hoped that by then I would know where my life was going to lead me. If nothing eventuated from Nick's efforts, I thought that maybe going to my parents world would be ideal. Of course I would have to warn James that our time together would be short and to not hold hope for anything more than a short friendship. I wanted to be free of this place and its efforts to drown me in a sea of despair.

  Hi, I'd like a friend that’s not of the nocturnal variety. E.

  Almost instantly he responded, like he had two responses waiting to go, one happy, one sad. I got the happy one I guess.

  Maybe we could do lunch? When did you want?

  I grinned, I had started something that I was sure I was going to regret but I couldn't help but smile.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  My mother swanned into the room and saw the phone in my hands, her eyes narrowed at me. “Off the lounge were we Eliria?”

  “It was a few steps and don't worry, I suffered for it.”

  She nodded with a knowing smile and sat by my feet, nodding at the phone. “Well, is there news from camp blood suckers?”

  “No.” I sighed. “Just the cop from yesterday.”

  “Oh?”

  She feigned polite curiosity though I knew she was hiding the smugness. I passed the phone over to her and she looked at me like I had just handed her the map to hell.

  “Just slide your finger over the screen, it will move up and down.”

  Her frown deepened as she read the texts. “Well.” She sighed. “Lunch today is out of the question, unless you want him to come here. Do you want him to come here?”

  “No, I don't feel well.”

  She passed the phone back to me with a soft smile. Gone was the smug attitude and replaced with the woman that was my sweet mother. “Tell him you are unwell and ask that he consider another day. You may feel better tomorrow. That is, of course if your father stops waggling his fingers in the air.” She rolled her eyes with a grin. “And when you are done, into bed for some rest, alright?”

  “Sure.”

  She wafted out of the room like a woman who had everything.

  Lunch sounds good, though I don't feel so good today. Maybe tomorrow if I am better?

  Again his response came so fast, it almost seemed desperate.

  Sure, text me in the morning and tell me how you feel. You can text any time you want, okay? Feel better soon. J.

  I tapped out a thanks and slowly took myself off to bed, waving my fingers in the air as I thought about James. At the moment, he was the most positive thing in my life that I could find. Everything else had strings of negativity attached to them. They might only be small, but they were there. Waiting to tug at my heart and remind me of all the things wrong with my life.

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  For the past nineteen years, I had woken to a myriad of sounds. In my early years it was of other children whispering, giggles and gasps when they knew they were about to be caught out of bed. Sometimes one of them might get into trouble but in those first few years life at the orphanage was reasonable and being in trouble wasn't anything more than a scolding and a minor punishment. One director liked to take our play time away from us if we misbehaved. Another made us do extra chores. Then came the tyrannical rule of Adrian. The sounds of laughter and whispers died away fast and were replaced with tears and sobs of please don't. I was his favourite, I could see that now that I was older and could understand things better. Of course I wasn't the only one, he just seemed to like subduing me. I was a menace to him, I was the runaway and the troublemaker and therefore I was a challenge. The others were compliant and gave him what he wanted in the hope that they would come away relatively unscathed. As I woke, I laid in bed and listened to the sounds, they were so different to what I was used to. This was the sound of a happy home. The maid, Willa I think her name is, she was across the hall fussing around in the bedroom and she was humming. I could hear my parents talking and the occasional laugh. Willa had been baking, the smell of pastries wafted through to me making my stomach protest at my laziness. It was a war between my stomach and my body, get up and feed the grumbling stomach or be the slacker and lay in bed until noon. I knew what I wanted, as much as I knew I should remain in bed, I wanted to walk around and not be trapped on the lounge or the bed. Surely by now the bayalan flower was out of my system.

  I sat up on the bed, testing how I was. So far, so good. My phone pipped with a text, I found myself grinning as I wondered who it would be. I think that my heart sunk deep into the bottom of my chest as I opened the text from James.

  How are you today?

  I could sense that this was turning out to be something that I wasn't ready for. But how to answer him? I hadn't heard from William, not that I expected to. Anger filled me, for what reason I couldn't say but it did. I tapped out the text and hit send before I had even begun to think about it.

  Better. Thanks for asking.

  What else could I say? Willa entered the room with a curtsy and made a beeline straight to the curtains. The sun blared into the room as she dragged the heavy things over the rod. Maybe the life of a vampire wasn't so bad, if only the bastard would call me. I sighed as I flopped back onto the bed, looking up I saw my mother looking down at me.

  “What are your plans for today?”

  My phone pipped, almost like it was answering for me. Hmm, I'll bet I can guess what the text says without even looking at it. Maybe something along the lines of, do you want to do lunch today? My mother smiled at me as her eyes flicked between me and the phone.

  “Go to lunch, have a nice day out, do something.”

  “But my safety?”

  “Ahh yes. I believe that your father had dealt with that matter. Dress quickly now.”

  When I had dressed into a dress that was not something that looked like it was from half a century ago, I found my parents in the lounge room talking to a man. He was all muscles, wrapped in casual clothing with what looked like an army regulation haircut. He bowed at me as I approached, my father turned to me with a smile.

  “Eliria, this is Lonna and he will be your protection. He is a valued member of your grandfathers personal protection team and one that has served him for many years.”

  I politely smiled with my hello as I sat down beside my mother.

  “Will you be meeting with your friend for lunch?”

  “S'pose.” I shrugged.

  They all stared at me until I sighed in a rather extravagant way and pulled the phone out, responding to James. With no surprise at all, he responded quickly. It was almost like he was holding the phone in his hand waiting for me to text
him. Desperate? Yep. I could hear the alarm bells ringing already. The idea of having Lonna around was beginning to grow on me.

  Lunch plans had been made and unfortunately, I was on my way to the little café that James and I had agreed to meet at. I liked James, he seemed like a nice guy but I wasn't in the mood for anything. But everyone was insistent that I stopped walking around the place like I had just watched the most saddest movie ever. So that's why I was in the elevator with my own personal body guard, Lonna. Deep brown eyes stared at me, they were like two little chocolates. Lonna was well tanned with black hair. The clothes as casual as they were, I knew they were picked with intention. He would blend into the crowd so that I could give the appearance that I was on my own but still have my safety net. Though I don't know how anyone would think that a man following a young woman would blend into any crowd. Discreetly I tried to check him out, not to perv but to see what weapons he was carrying. He had a jacket on now, under it I could see a gun but I figured he was carrying a whole lot more. He grinned at me, almost reading my mind.

  “Gun.” He tapped the side. “For the average crack pot.”

  The jacket flicked open slightly, revealing the end of something odd looking. “Taser, works great on the lycans.”

  I wondered why Porter didn't carry a taser. Or maybe he did. Maybe they tasered them until they were on the ground and then shot them until they were dead. The lift came to a stop with a ping as we reached the ground floor. This was a big step for me, I was going to have lunch with someone. Someone of the male variety. Someone that wasn't William. It was painful, I wanted desperately to go to him, to make him remember me so that things would go back to the way they were but I couldn't. I wouldn't. I was not going to appear desperate, I was not going to beg. Not only was it unfitting of my new found status in the elven world but I was the product of one of the faes most bad assed warriors and to be seen grovelling to a vampire, well that was never going to happen. So with a deep breath I ignored the gun and the taser and stepped out into the lobby, followed by my shadow called Lonna. We walked to the café, it was only a block from the apartment and a great suggestion in my opinion. I was still a little woozy and had to take things easy. The sun was warm, the wind was gently blowing down the street and there were a few people going about their lives as if everything was normal. I smiled to myself, thinking it was normal. This was life and this was what I missed. William would never get to see this and I found pity for him, for all vampires. They would never know the sweet kiss of the sun, they could never walk in its glowing glory.