Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

“William, Carmella is a soul. She is bound to a tree, if you want to go walking in the field to find her, then by all means knock yourself out.”

  He looked at me, waiting for me to give up but I couldn't. Anton sighed and tapped on the keyboard, scribbling something onto a piece of paper. “Come on.” He groaned.

  After walking some considerable distance, I stood before a tree that was thick and black. The bark was rough and like the other trees around it, there were no leaves on the branches. Inscribed on a plaque at the bottom of the tree was a series of numbers that matched the numbers on the piece of paper that Anton held. He gestured to the tree in a grand fashion and then stood back, allowing me privacy. I looked at the tree, wondering if I was of sound mind. Was I actually going to speak to a tree? Could she hear me or was I wasting my time? I turned to Anton, his face was plain as he watched me.

  “Will she hear me?”

  “No. She is a bound soul William, not a being. No ears, no mouth, no body. I understand you want for this curse to be lifted but this is not the path my friend, you will find no help here.”

  I stepped away from the tree, thinking that all hope was lost now. I feared that there would be no breaking of the curse now that Carmella was permanently gone. Was it possible that she held vital information?

  “Could she have spoken to me if she weren't bound?”

  “William, why are you torturing yourself like this? Would she have been able to help you? I doubt it.”

  “But she might know something, if I ask for her forgiveness then maybe she might want to help me.”

  “Why do you think that you have done something wrong, for what do you seek forgiveness for?”

  “Banishment.” I said simply.

  He shook his head with a slow huff, leaning on a tree. “She deserved it William, she was trying to attack Mary and you know that even if you hadn't banished her, I would have come for her.”

  “Fine, never becoming a vampire.”

  “She died in child birth, you had every intention of turning her. Forgive me for saying it but you could not have saved her and she did not deserve to be saved. I know the curse William, I know that until it is broken you cannot have children and if she had not cheated on you, she would not have been pregnant. Believe what you will about her William but I believe that you are better off without her. She will not help you, even if it were possible.”

  I paced back and forth, his words were swirling through my head, taunting me.

  “Sorry old friend, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree. No pun intended.”

  Nodding as I sighed, I turned to follow him back to the building. Demons lingered between the trees, watching and whispering. I thought this was the answer but clearly I was wrong.

  “Go back to Mary, she is a light being who cannot be harmed by your dark nature. Live your life and bask in her love. Do not darken this doorstep with thoughts of Carmella. She is your past and she should remain there. Mary is your future, do not lose the light that is a wonderful woman for the dark thoughts of the devil.”

  He paused for a moment as he looked away with a smile. I knew he was talking to someone, who it was I do not know and I dare not ask.

  “Banishment and permanent residence is approved, she can never escape the tree. You are free from her forever William, enjoy your life.”

  His attention turned back to me. “Smile my friend, lift the burden from your shoulders. Tell me what you have that makes you grateful for your life?”

  “Mary.” I smiled. “And of course the terrible two-some. My father chose well when he approached them, did he not?”

  “He did.” Anton said as he smiled. “Credits for their return can be earned if you wish William, would you like to see them again? A few years of work and you could have both of them back, easy as.”

  I nodded, though it filled my heart with pain. There was no buying the return of a life nor was there a chance for bribery, there was nothing that Anton wanted. He could snap his fingers and it would rain gold coins if he wanted. In this world there was only one currency, work. The return of a life was a difficult task. There were so many rules and things to be done, each cause of death had a different payment to be made if the life was allowed to return. If a loved one was murdered then their life could be returned with the payment of a few years of work. Death through natural causes was a lot more different, that was pure paperwork and had to be approved by beings that were beyond this man's understanding. Demons and angels, higher powers that worked in their own way that suited their own greedy need. I did not want to know about it, instead choosing the bliss of ignorance.

  “My father will never forgive me for what I did, as much as it pains me, I know it is best that they remain here.”

  “As you wish. I do agree with you though, I could not imagine your father being too accepting of it even if you were lured into the trap. Never mind, moving onwards. Bright future and all that, right?”

  His head flicked to the side in a snap, his frown pressing deep. “William.” He gripped my shoulders, turning to me. “Go back to your home, do not linger here for a moment more.”

  “What is going on Anton, what do you know?”

  “Trouble is brewing my friend, hasten home.”

  I expected to find Nick in the study searching through the texts for something when I returned. He was always in there, on a few occasions I had thought of putting a bed in there because he spent so much time in the room. More so when I found him sleeping on a chair with books piled on the floor around him. It might be possible that Martine would be on the lounge, looking at her phone with a sulky, sad face. I dare not ask when she is like that, I know that her past is one that is complicated and I always tread carefully when speaking of it. If she wanted to say something, she would. There was an unspoken understanding, one that allowed me to the master that didn't bother with such matters unless she needed me to be the friend, then she would open up and tell me what was going on in her world. I was in was in dire need of rest and forgoing sleep to deal with Anton calling me to the underworld wasn't ideal. When I pushed through the fireplace I noted that the house was eerily quiet, something that I was not expecting. There was a note on the table, as I read it, it felt like my world was shattering apart. Mary thought wrong of my departure into the underworld, she thought that I was chasing after Carmella. Light lit up the entry, the shadow of a figure stretched across the floor. I rushed to her, finding Mary standing upon the threshold looking out to the world. And in her hand was a bag, she was leaving even though she said she would not, that she wanted to stay with me. I could feel the anger swell in me but my mind was thinking of Anton's warning. Was this the trouble he spoke of? She backed away from the door and hit my body, swinging around with a frightened gasp.

  “Where are you going Mary?”

  She shook her head frantically, as she stepped back she tripped on the edge. With a swift movement I caught her and pulled her back before she could fall and hurt herself. I could not understand how she could leave like this. Did I not offer enough to her?

  “You said you were staying, what happened?” I asked, hoping that I could relieve the tension with a softer tone.

  But her reluctance to say anything had me frazzled, all I got was her tears. I paced back and forth as she stood there, not saying a thing.

  “I don't understand Mary, I offer you all that I have and I asked you to remain here with me, is this not enough for you? Tell me what you want. Tell me what I can offer to make you want to stay.”

  Pain filled my body, soaking around my heart as I paced back and forth, rubbing at my chest with this unknown feeling. I had never felt such heartache, how was it that one person could affect me so? She was far greater than Carmella, even in her death I did not feel such pain. Yet Mary stands at my door with a bag in her hand readying to leave me and I want to crumble into pieces upon the floor.

  “You have my love, I have offered it for an eternity. What did I do that made you think otherwise?”


  I looked up to her and saw that she was no longer there, her body was being dragged down the stairs. Large metal spikes dug into her body around her waist, blood had spilled everywhere over the floor and the front deck. Her sweet blue eyes stared at me, as her rigid body was dragged further away. I followed the long chain to the mercenary at my fence line and in an instant I snapped. Moving to the hall cupboard behind the door, I opened it to retrieve the cloak and axe, pressing the alarm. The ear piercing alarm rang out as I threw on the cape and rushed out into the sun. As I broke the chain with a thunderous slam of the axe, the mercenary started firing arrows at me. He was determined to get her and I will not allow it. I vowed to protect her for a life time.

  “You will fail vampire.” The mercenary snarled from the other side of the fence. “Even now I see that your life fades, your time protecting the half cast is at an end. Hand her over and slink back to the shadows like the rat that you are.”

  “Be gone from my property, you are standing upon protected land.”

  He laughed at me, I stooped to pick Mary up.

  “Looks like a suburban street to me vampire.”

  “This and the surrounding land is the land of the master of the Lancaster dynasty, namely me. You are on private property and you are trespassing. This is not a suburban street, this is a private estate for those who I choose to let live here. This property extends to the main road, be gone before I have you hauled before the council of elders.”

  I turned away, it was a foolish move but I was angry and distracted by saving Mary. He shot an arrow into my back, as I fell to my knees Marty and Nick came running out.

  “Your council means nothing to me vampire. I can wait for a long time but I think that my wait will not be so long. I think I will be retrieving my target sooner than you think.”

  His words were slowly draining away as Nick picked me up to carry me into the house. Carefully he placed me onto the floor, pulling the arrows from my body. Mary was in Marty's arms as she cradled her, begging her to hold on. The burn of the sun had dragged my life away, I could feel the heat of it soaking into my body and the blood searing its way through my veins.

  I thought back to my words to Mary about risking the sun for someone. I would risk it for her over and over again, if she needed me then I would always be there for her. But as the world started to darken, I looked upon her body on the floor in the entry. Marty was in tears as she held her, sobbing that she was gone. What was left for me if I did not have her? I would beg Anton to return us to the world, if I had to spend a lifetime paying back the credits to buy back our lives then I would do so. I couldn't help but think that I had failed her, the world darkened but I could not find death. He would not come for me and I worried for Mary. She would be in the underworld alone and I could only hope that Anton would find her before death did.

  Bonus Chapter 3: The darkening horizon

  (As told by William)

  Two beautiful big blue eyes looked up at me, if she could see me yet I do not know but I wanted to believe she could. Her cheeks were a rosy red, thick brown hair and like her mother, she was perfect in every way. I smiled and looked over at Eliria, even though she had been through hours of painful labour she looked radiant. Between the nurses and the maids she had at least a dozen women fussing over her. Alvarie and Hemoi had been waiting in the adjoining room, Eliria's grandparents, uncles and aunt were yet to arrive but I knew that they would be here soon. And then there was the other aunt and uncle. Marty and Nick have been here for a few days, moving between the worlds every so often to ensure that everything was okay back home. Eliria smiled back at me, she looked tired and probably wished for sleep but that wasn't coming any time soon, not with all of the visitors that were due.

  We had been living in the north wing of the castle, an area that had been set up for us while our house was being constructed. It had views of the area, every time I woke from my sleep, I looked out the window to the view of our new home. Getting to the hospital wasn't fun, the trip was at least twenty minutes on a good day. The crowds had swelled around the castle gates, people were waiting for the child to be born, waiting for a glimpse of movement that would indicate that things were happening. And once they figured out that Eliria was in labour, pandemonium broke out. They lined the streets throwing flowers at the car, waiving their little flags and yelling their good wishes. At the hospital it was worse. There was no service entrance out of sight for us, they expected that. Eliria said through gritted teeth that we just had to suck it up and deal with it. The driver stopped at the front doors and the crowd surged around the car. Alvarie was the first out, sword in hand she wordlessly ensured they understood that she required them to maintain a respectful distance. Eliria was the stand out, she stood upright and walked into the hospital unaided. She waived and greeted her adoring public with a smile and once she was behind closed doors she then crumpled into a ball, complaining about the pain.

  For now this was our moment, Alvarie and Hemoi were waiting outside to give us a brief moment before the onslaught of their family. I held Ella in my arms as Eliria slowly slipped into sleep, our little girl was quiet and giving her mama a well-deserved rest. Ella whimpered in my arms, I could see Eliria's eyes begin to open.

  “Sleep my love, all is well.”

  She smiled sweetly and closed her eyes as I stood from the chair in the hope that walking might settle Ella. We stopped by the windows, gently I pulled the curtain back. From the small gap I could see the street below had been barricaded to allow for traffic to pass through. People had swarmed this place in vast numbers, the media had set up their little stakeout several days ago. They had their cameras trained on the building, searching for the right window. I don't know if they had figured it out or if they had received a tip off but several of the cameras were firmly fixed in this direction.

  “All this fuss for one little lady.” I whispered as I kissed her chubby cheek. “But I suppose you are pretty special.”

  I lifted her off my body, her tiny head resting in my hand. She was incredible and I didn't think that I would ever get to this day. I had spent so long thinking that I would never break the curse, that I had doomed myself and my relatives into a life of limited or no children. But not any more, now they could have as many as they liked and I knew that would become an issue. Nicolas had mentioned that in one of the elders meetings they had discussed putting a limit on the amount of children that the born vampires could have. Now that they were officially elders and a part of my family, Nicolas and Martine were bound to the life of an elder. If they had become an elder before I had broken the curse, they would have been bound to the same childless life. But there was no curse, much to Martine's relief. She had no immediate plans to become a mother but I knew that she wanted to someday.

  Turned vampires were also being scrutinised, the elders did not want too many of them. As much as there is strength in numbers, they knew that too many vampires could be a potential problem. That was their reasoning behind the new ruling that a vampire could turn one human every ten years and that any potential candidate had to be brought before them for approval. I couldn't see them being able to enforce that one too well and Nicolas stated that he had as much disbelief in the ruling as what I did. He worried for the new turn of events, stating that it was becoming a little darker than he liked. I worried for them too, their thoughts and rules were supposed to be a guideline for vampires, not a dictatorship. But Nicolas hinted that it was turning out like that, one of them was becoming more forceful and demanding than he should be. I hadn't thought that my presence within the elders was so strong that it held certain domineering personalities in check, but clearly it had. Now that I was no longer a visible fixture in their meetings it seemed that things were going wrong. Slowly darkness was creeping into their world and I knew that it was going to end badly.

  I sighed lightly as I placed Ella into her little hospital crib. She had fallen asleep and didn't fuss when I did it. It seemed that my love and I had
a struck gold when it came to babies, though I suspect that she was tired from the harrowing hours of birth. No doubt there will be sleepless times ahead. For now though, we had peace and quiet. Eliria was able to sleep without concern for the baby and I could return to the notes that Martine had made. After every elders meeting she wrote everything down, every word, every suspicion and then transmitted to me in this world. Like her brother, she held concern for the ever changing personalities. At the moment she suspected that it was all talk, merely banter between the elders about a utopian world for the vampires. But even if the hints were subtle, they were still said. If one is brave enough to say it then it means they have thought it for a long time. I wondered how long it had been this way, was it truly because of my departure or had this been festering beneath the surface for some time?

  The major discussion of the recent meeting was of the lycans. They were still a problem and now that things had altered for them, they blamed the vampires. They couldn't break their curse, they had one night to do it and it had passed. Eliria was so much like her mother it wasn't funny. When the garage door was lifted and I was able to see past Lonna, I couldn't believe my eyes. Two dead lycans, their death caused by one petite woman. It wasn't as if they were pups or even a whelp. These two were fully grown males and should have been an issue, but they weren't. Eliria slaughtered them without a scratch to her body, something that made Alvarie proud. No, proud wasn't enough to describe her mood, she talked about it for days. Of course seeing Eliria pass out from exhaustion wasn't great, it was worse when we couldn't rouse her. When one of Anton's demons turned up and advised that Eliria was in limbo, I began to freak out. It meant that she had died, or as the demon explained, her soul had been incorrectly collected. Like everyone else that was there that night, I was relieved to learn that Eliria was fine. But those few moments between picking her up off the dead lycans to when the demon appeared was heart stopping.

  I shook off the thoughts and returned to the document, the lycans had started attacking vampires. They have always attacked us to a certain degree but since the revelation that they were doomed to this life forever, they have started to scale up their attacks. Once they held a view that they would pick off a vampire that crossed into their territory or if one happened to openly engage them in a negative way. Now they were stalking vampires on the street, watching them and following them. They learned where they were living and then attacked them as the slept. Many vampires were now seeking the protection of a family, no longer was it seen as a place for a sense of belonging. Now elder families and even the lesser families were growing in numbers. Once a vampire could live on his or her own, there hadn't ever been a need to be a member of a family but it was rapidly changing.