Hyde, Book Three of the Devil's Roses

by Tara Brown

  Marcus looked out the window speaking softly, "The car is permitted no further." He climbed out and walked around to her side.

  He opened the door offering her his hand. She imagined his bare hand touching hers but recalled his disdainful feelings toward her. She climbed out refusing his hand. He didn’t step back as she left the car. He stood his ground, forcing her to step directly in front of him. He looked down on her, "I can't come with you but if you need any help just ran back out here. I can't protect you in there."

  She glared at him, "She's like two hundred years old Marcus not a Titan."

  His dark eyes narrowed, "Its not her I'm worried about."

  She gulped, "What do they want with me?"

  He shrugged, "They may try to keep you against your will. If you want to I will take you to my place right now."

  She looked around him at the massive white mansion at the end of the road and shook her head, "I need some answers."

  He took her hand in his and kissed the back softly, "I will not leave this spot until you return."

  She blushed, "Stop being nice to me and then mean to me. You can't have it both ways."

  He smirked and stepped aside creating a pathway for her to walk to the mansion.

  She felt a warm wind surrounding her as she walked nervously up to the old house.

  A girl stood at the front door on the porch, she had dark hair and mocha skin. She wore an old fashioned dress and an apron. She waved at Hanna excitedly.

  Hanna turned back at Marcus, who smiled at her. She didn’t know which way to walk, but she wanted answers and Lydia seemed like the only person who could help her.

  The closer she got to the house the less color the girl on the porch seemed to have. She seemed almost translucent as Hanna approached the porch.

  "You must be's the Miss Hanna we's been hearing bout."

  Hanna raised an eyebrow seeing the front door through the girl.

  "Are you, uhm, are you a, a.."

  "Oh just say ghost and get it out. Lord suffering I don’t has all day to be standing here waiting on you. Come in before the flies gets ya."

  Hanna didn’t know what any of it meant. She looked back at Marcus who stood at the car waiting for her to return. She felt afraid walking up to the door to the huge house.

  The door was wide open. She crept in slowly looking around at the huge entryway and old-fashioned iron benches and coat hanger. She smiled at the wrought iron umbrella holder, it suited the décor perfectly.

  "Well now dear come on in and get settled. We have much to discuss." Lydia stormed into the room grabbing her hand and dragging her into the house as the door closed unassisted. Hanna watched as Lydia spent a brief second looking out the front window as they walked into a large sitting room. She seemed to be noticing who stood on the street outside her house.

  She smiled at Hanna and put her old hands on Hanna's arms, "Well now my dear you had some nerve coming here with Marcus. Did Roland not tell you we don’t associate with the Dark Ones?"

  Hanna frowned, "Dark what?"

  Lydia rolled her eyes, "Oh I suppose we have a lot of explaining to do. Roland seems to have left it all to me." She grabbed Hanna's hand and marched her across the sitting room to a large sofa.

  Hanna couldn’t believe the size of the rooms nor how many there were. She gaped, looking around. "Why am I here?" She asked looking at the artwork on the walls. It had to be worth a fortune.

  Lydia smiled, "Well firstly we need to get working on that elixir your father left you and secondly we need to get you into training. You need to start working on controlling yourself when you change."

  Hanna felt her hair start to rise on her arms, "Change?"

  Lydia nodded, "Well of course, we have people who can work with you. People who can help you in a safe environment."

  Hanna shook her head, "No. I won't change. Not if I can stop myself."

  Lydia laughed, "My dear the potion we gave you was only ever meant to be a short term solution for your father. He stayed on it for a long time and it killed him. He was very old and very strong and it killed him. I swore with everything I am that I would help you."

  Hanna felt her eyes start to water, "I would rather die than become that monster."

  "Who is that man on the street?"

  Hanna wiped away her tears seeing a girl walking into the sitting room and sitting down. She was athletic looking and plain but in a cute sort of way.

  "Ari this is Hanna and that is Marcus Dragomir."

  "Is he a dark one? Should I go get rid of him?"

  Hanna smirked at the young girl who was no more than a day older than her, if that.

  Ari laughed, "Oh my god sorry, is he with you?"

  Hanna nodded, "I guess. He wont come in."

  Lydia's eyes burned, "He can't come in."

  Hanna watched as Ari's face fell, "Hanna you run with rough crowds."

  A hugely tall and thick boy walked in, Hanna couldn’t gage him either. He seemed young and yet like Aimee, his eyes spoke volumes.

  "Hanna this is Lucas."

  He nodded at her sitting on the couch next to Ari. The way he sat, almost wrapping around Ari but not touching her made Hanna uncomfortable. He seemed to be protecting Ari, as if Hanna would hurt her. She felt a small amount of shame knowing they must all know her for the monster she was.

  "Don’t be ashamed Hanna, everyone here has something they don’t like about themselves."

  Her face flushed. Her embarrassment increased, "I came for answers."

  "Answers take time."

  They sat in awkward silence until Hanna laughed, "Okay look I need to know what the hell is going on? My friend can't come in your yard and this guy looks like he might eat me if I move suddenly and you look like you're ten. Are you guys dating? Sort of gross you must be like what thirty. Dude. Lydia you want me to come here so you can do science projects with my blood. Aimee killed my dad and you sent her to come get me, like we could maybe hang out and shit? This is fucking bizarre, sorry for swearing but it is. I'm pretty sure I'm done here. Please excuse me." She couldn't help but be slightly polite at the end.

  She rose from the chair watching as the big guy moved himself as if readying for her to do something dangerous. She rolled her eyes and walked from the room.

  "Hanna dear wait a moment please." She ignored Lydia's voice.

  She walked to the front door pulling it open to see Aleksander standing on the deck leaning against the railing. She started to laugh shaking her head, "You live her too? Here at the Monster Mansion, what is this some kind of school for monster and angel kids?"

  He grabbed her arm pulling her into him. His white blue eyes mesmerized her, "You need to stay away from him." He pointed to Marcus.

  She shook her head, "I think I need to stay away from all of you. You're some kind of toxic weird cult. I heard about this side of town and the cult. I just didn’t know my dad was a card-carrying member. But it makes sense now." She pulled her arms away from Aleks and walked down the stairs.

  "Hanna wait please."

  Marcus stood on the street looking ready to break into a run. She walked to him hearing Lydia calling her back to the house but she ignored them all.

  Marcus looked relieved as he pulled her to him, holding her tight against his hard body she felt his lips graze the top of her head. She could feel him fighting to flex his muscles, her body nearly groaned against the force of his embrace.

  "She meets you on neutral ground from now on." He spoke softly against her face.

  "Hanna you do whatever you want to do okay. If you want to come here we will help you. We want to help you."

  She pulled out of Marcus's grip seeing the hurt look on Aleks's face. She nodded and climbed into the car.

  Marcus laughed, "Well mate I'd say she decided how she wants this to go. So guess we'll call you if we need you."

  Aleks took a step toward Marcus but Lydia shouted something making him stop.

  Hanna felt relieved when Marcus
got into the car and closed the door, "Home Henry, if you please."

  Henry started the car and drove. Hanna watched out the back window as the mansion and the people in front of it got smaller and smaller. Something in her gut told her she was making the wrong choice. With everything that had gone on she couldn’t convince herself the old woman meant her no harm.

  Chapter Ten: You live in a castle, in Oregon

  When the house came into view she felt her breath pull from her lungs, the house was huge. It made her fathers mansion seem as if it were the guesthouse.

  "You live in a castle?" She asked feeling odd about him. She recalled the way he'd belittled her and Aleks for being lowly monsters.

  He laughed, "It's not a castle, it's a gothic revival. I suppose it looks like a caste. I had it built years ago."

  "Like how many years, it makes Lydia's place look brand new."

  "Well Miss Smarty Pants I suppose it is a bit antiqued in comparison to Lydia's but it's very new to me."

  She frowned at him, "Gross, how old are you?"

  He laughed, "Old enough to know a nice style of house. You young people seem to think those boxes with yards that resembles a puzzle piece in size and shape are homey."

  She laughed at him, "You're a snob."

  He looked offended, "I am no such thing. I have educated tastes and a refined palette."

  Henry drove up to the huge brick castle. She marveled at the different colored bricks in gold, beige, yellow, tan, olive, grey and white. The colors gave the castle a luxurious feel, which wasn’t hard. It was a castle. Henry parked under what appeared to be a covered drive-through, like in a hotel for guests to drop off luggage. The arched and peaked windows looked frosted. The roof pitched and peaked in several different places, adding to the castle look. A huge veranda wrapped around the home with pale green metal posts and pitched tent like canopy roofs. The yard was filled with old trees and gardens that appeared to be preparing themselves for winter. The driveway was even artistic with mosaics done in brick and cobblestone. She couldn’t help but look every which way all at once, stunned by the sheer magnificence and magnitude.

  "Do you house Orphans or just live here alone?"

  "You really are a pain in the ass."

  She looked at him and smiled, "What? You don’t like being made to realize you live ostentatiously, giving to no one?"

  He smiled, "Well you're an orphan and if you want you can live here with me." He tried to look stern, "I do have rules about sleeping arrangements."

  She rolled her eyes, "You're a dork."

  He looked affronted, "I'm a what?"

  She laughed.

  He walked to the house but stopped to turn back to the older man in the bowler hat, "Henry we have no further need for the car. Park it for the night I should think, if you please."

  She frowned at him, "I'm not sleeping here with you."

  He laughed, "I never said we would sleep." He opened the door for her grinning. She never would have entered the house had she not had the burning desire to see inside. She'd loved watching International House Hunters on HGTV with Rebecca and knew she would be betraying that memory if she didn’t at least have a glance.

  The inside proved to be more incredible than the outside. She was floored seeing the tapestries and old world charm in the every corner, somehow matched perfectly with modern and stylish décor. The rooms were huge, she felt silly being the only person in them as she walked through. She felt his eyes on her as she looked around at each fragile carving or exquisite painting. He had a whole room dedicated to etchings.

  ""How long have you been collecting art?" She whispered, somehow knowing he would hear her from across the room.

  "Too long to recall. Shall we?" He asked, pointing to a room through a huge hallway.

  She nodded following behind him, noticing everything. She drank in the vivid colors of the abstract art and the smooth seamless finish of the marble carvings.

  The floors gleamed, making her wonder if a maid would follow him around wiping up after he walked through a room. Nothing seemed out of place or lived in.

  "Your house is so sterile. If feels like a museum." She spoke not thinking about how harsh it sounded.

  He laughed, "Would you rather I had children running about with a little wife tucked away some where here?"

  She laughed not responding.

  He walked to a huge dark grey metal door with machines on either side of it. He looked into one machine as if it read his eyes and put his hand up against the other. She could see the scan reading his handprint. She raised her eyebrow at it, "Is this the bat cave?"

  He stood up as the huge door slid into the wall with a loud groan, "It is. I will have to erase your memory before we leave."

  She smiled not certain if he was telling the truth or joking. His humor still seemed to be too old for her to catch up to. She hoped he was joking and left it at that.

  The lab was too stunning for her to recall anything else. The white room was huge with microscopes and glass walls with metal behind them. The huge metal door slid back into its place but she ignored it seeing only the most spectacular thing she'd ever seen.

  "God, I wish I cared about science. This is incredible."

  She looked back at him but he ignored her and walked to the huge metal counter in front of them with the glass slabs and three microscopes.

  "I will need that piece of paper your father gave you." He spoke softly.

  She spun watching his face, "What piece of paper?"

  His jaw clenched, "The one you carry in your cleavage at all times." He looked up from the chart he held. His dark blue eyes hardened, "Lets agree not to lie to one another."

  She nodded, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to nod but his look terrified her. Okay and maybe aroused her. Something about being afraid of him made her think about the car ride make out session they'd had.

  He smiled bringing her back to reality, "Right well then, the paper." He put a hand out.

  She put a hand into her bra and pulled the paper out. It felt almost like cloth having spent so much time in there. She grimaced handing it to him. He brought it to his nose and smiled, "Smells like you."

  "Oh, god, don’t do that."

  He laughed seeing the desperate discomfort on her face.

  He laid the crumpled paper out and pondered over it.

  She stood watching him, wondering what help she could possibly be.

  She looked around for a chair but saw nothing beyond the three stools at a huge counter behind him. She walked around him and the large counter. She tried to pick up the stool but it seemed to weigh a ton. She dragged it, making a nasty squeal fill the open space.

  He turned back giving her a disgusted look, "Do you need some help?"

  She nodded letting the stool sit back on its four feet.

  He sighed picking it up and placing it, as if it weighed nothing, next to where he stood.

  She felt her face burning and looked at the drag marks on the concrete floor.

  He muttered under his breath, "Looking less sterile and museum like every second you're here."

  She sat on the stool noticing how comfortable it was.

  "It's not my fault, this thing weighs a ton."

  "One hundred and eighty five pounds. Considerably less than one ton."

  "Whatever." She looked down at the paper and wondered what it all meant.

  "My favorite answer by far. You teenage girls and your whatever mentality will be the declination of your species. Imagine the results you will have on your children who will no doubt adopt your whatever and careless attitude."

  She frowned, "I can go home anytime you want to say the magic words to Hank."

  He laughed, "Magic words?"

  She raised her eyebrow at him and mimicked his accent, "If you please." She followed it up with a subtle bow.

  "What?"

  "You didn’t think I was smart enough to notice you say that every single time you get him to take you anywhere? I kno
w I'm not a genius like my father but I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck."

  She beamed.

  "You've waited your whole life to say that sentence haven’t you?"

  She nodded as she stood up from the stool and dragged it with all her might across the floor to its original resting place. The marks on the floor made her laugh. She walked to the door expectantly.

  He never moved. She turned back, "Scan me out of here. I'm going home."

  "Home? Home where? Back to your aunts and uncles where they tried to kill you? Back to your dads where Roland will no doubt send you to Lydia's where by the way they will kill you."

  He never lifted his face from the wrinkled paper.

  She slid down the door sitting on the floor and put her hands over her face.

  Nothing was making any sense.

  Chapter Eleven: Sweet momma hot

  Aleksander

  "Want to dance?" The girl's eyes looked dilated.

  He shook his head, "Thank you but no."

  "You're hot, you want to fuck instead?"

  He snorted nearly spilling his drink everywhere, "What? No. Go away."

  He looked back at Mike the bartender who was doubling over laughing.

  "Asshole." He muttered.

  Mike shrugged, "What did you think would happen? You have your thingy making all the ladies want you and every girl in here is either drunk or high."

  Aleks smirked, "I forgot about that. This is why I never come here. It's disgusting in here."

  Mike frowned, "Dude not cool. I don’t come to your house and make nasty comments. How's the drink?"

  Aleks laughed, "It's great what is it?"

  "Vodka mixed with tangerine, ice and oxygen shots."

  "That's weird."

  "I know but the humans can drink more if they have more oxygen which equals more money for me."

  Aleks nodded, "Genius. Evil genius but whose taking notes?"

  The bar wasn't his usual sort of hang out but he had been asked by Mike to stop in and have a chat about Roses Business.

  Mike's bar, Master Mike's was neutral territory. No business was allowed officially but sometimes if the Dark Ones were getting out of control or breaking the more harsh laws the Roses would unofficially step in, for a drink.