Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 48
(Insecurities.)Hercules divided the low branches with his hands. Behind Dahlia's Inn, there was a jungle of dry twigs.He went to a place where the darkness was heavy and lit a cigarette. He could see the grey tail of the smoke curling into the sky.He finished that and lit another, as he was preoccupied with other things. Specifically, Buttercup.Buttercup was not lacking in confidence; he could see it in her. She simply had a habit of restraining herself from being happy. What was she afraid of, given that life happens and we move on? However, he had the impression that she was a woman who carried pain as a precaution. She preferred to become best friends with her pain. It was necessary for protection.He wanted to be her protector.He thought.He finished his cigarette and slid his hands into his pocket.She was damaged badly, he could tell that much. Yet, she needed to understand, that if we're all honest, we're all damaged in some way.****"**************************He saw h
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 49
(Mate Bond/Soulmates.)Raquel was on her way to her office at the back of the store when she noticed three people enter, one of whom she recognised immediately.Here comes the bitch! She thought. She did not normally serve customers. She had employees who did so, but this was an exception.She heard the bell jingle as the door closed and made a swift walk across the store to arrive at the customers before her employee did.She greeted them politely."How may I help you?"The beautiful blonde woman looked at the curvy, dark lady, with her short pink hair. A pretty teenager had already approached a rack of blouses."We are simply shopping around."The dark skin woman smiled."Is there a special occasion?"Raquel smiled back, there was something about the woman that made one want to be kind to her.Jatray looked at the woman again, silently.They had arrived in Mala three days now and she had vowed to herself to make this a wonderful experience for Izzy and Journey. Where they had cried
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 50
(Through Her Eye.)It was their fifth night in Mala, and little had changed. Doug had said they would take it easy for a week to recoup for whatever lay ahead. So rested they did, spending most of their time at the Inn.Hercules was sitting on a bench beneath a tree with his laptop, working on his new book. He did not even see Buttercup approach him; he never expected her to, because she did her best to avoid him even when they were eating lunch and dinner together."Hey." She said.He looked up."Hi."She wore blue jeans and a white blouse, with her hair in a high ponytail."Let's go somewhere."She was not asking, but rather telling him. She had been watching him from her room's window for several hours before making this decision.He closed his computer and placed it in the bag."Let me take this back to my room first."Ok."She said.He told his mind not to think about it as he walked to his room. Just go with the flow. He placed the laptop on his bed, locked his room up and retu
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 51
(No Silver Lining?) "Lucinda." "Jatray." It was a chilly meeting and in that space where the two women met, Antarctica couldn't even come close to rivaling the climate. "Any news?" "Nothing yet." Jatray had allowed Izzy and Journey to go off on their own today. The carnival had come to Mala and they had said that they wanted to experience it. "Are you coming Jatray?" Journey had asked. "No I am allergic to being out in the sun all day." Izzy, who though it was a joke, laughed and said. "Really, that is your excuse?" Izzy picked up a brush from the dresser. "It is and I am sticking to it." Jatray had replied. Izzy brushed her hair and Journey held up a white shorts, wondering if white was a good shade to go dancing in the streets all day in. Jatray had returned to her room and picked up her cellphone. ******************************* Jatray couldn't think of them now. As the old saying goes, there is no pleasure in business. There was something peaceful about the m
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 52
(Love Conquers All.)It was cloudy in the afternoon. Buttercup and Hercules spread a towel and lay on it while sitting in a meadow. Since that night on Bridget Street, they have been having peaceful days together.Butterflies took effortless strokes across the land, wings flutter colourful and soft as blush on a woman's cheek. A caterpillar climbed a nearby stalk of grass, hunching and extending its boneless body, while a bird sat on a tree branch and scratched its feathers with one leg. They both smelled the rain, but knew it was not near its hour to pour.It was a perfect day, warm enough to wear strapless blouse, which Buttercup did. Yet it was cool enough to wear sweatpants, as Hercules did, and neither was uncomfortable. "So we are going to the country in two days, right?""Yes."Buttercup replied, picking an apple from the bag of fruits she had carried with her."Opal and Moonstruck said they grew up in that region. What is it like?"Buttercup bit, chewed, then swallowed."It
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 53.
(Turning Point.) "Izzy what is wrong?" Jatray asked. Coming into the room and finding Izzy balled up into a fist and lying on the ground. "The baby, I am losing the baby." Sweat was running down Izzy's face, her pink hair matted to her brow as she clutched her stomach. "What can I do?" Jatray was terrified and rushed to Izzy's side. "Get me to the hospital." Izzy screamed as another sharp pain gripped her. "Yes, yes I will." Jatray took Izzy into her arms. Blood was soaking through her jeans, making Jatray dizzy. The car? Jatray thought in her confusion. Where did I park the damn car? She ran into Journey just outside the door to her Mother's room. Journey paused to avoid bumping into Jatray, then she saw the blood. "What is wrong with Mom?" "Let's go Journey." Jatray hurried past the teenager. "Go where, what is happening?" Journey began to panic. "Your Mother needs a doctor." "A doctor, why?" "Journey let's go now!" Jatray barked over her shoulder, not slowi
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 54.
(Written In Stone.) (Chapter 54.) Two weeks and nothing. Not a knock at the door. Not a spy in sight. The group took turns patrolling the premises during the day and night. Buttercup gave Hercules frequent tours of Mala's countryside. Hercules knew that in the chaos of reality, peace of mind was priceless. Mala was a place where the imagination could have no limits. Creatures and humans had no right to inflict unrest in this place. Hercules reflected sadly. Mala's landscape was designed to promote physical and spiritual rest, balance and harmony. The atmosphere served as natural medicine for aligning all of the chakras. Mala was created with the intention of fostering peace. ***************************** Today they had crossed the stream barefooted. Buttercup's long, white dress hangs on to drops of water as she skips across the stones. Her curls bounced against her neck, her dark skin gleamed, and her brown eyes glowed with laughter. In jeans, a sleeveless shirt tha
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 55
(Trust Opens The Door.) They ate a light snack of cheese and crackers and washed it down with grape juice. Maverick and Bruce talked about Goblin Land by the window. Buttercup, who had prepared the snacks, was still in the kitchen, and Opal had gone to see if she required any assistance. Doug sat by the drawn bamboo shutters at his laptop downloading some pictures to his National Geography page, a half filled glass and a plate of crumbs joined his camera on the small table. Hercules had his earphone in his ears, sliding his fingers along the face of his smartphone, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Moonstruck had gone outside. She did so most nights since returning, and one assumed she wanted to be alone, to look across the river at her Village, which she could not visit. "Well, I think I will now take my leave and take these with me." Maverick stood and gathered the stone tablets in his hands. There were no objections. "Goodnight everyone. It has been a p
Latest Chapter
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 70
(A New Story.) The consequence of fiddling with time is that it alters the trajectory of events. If I had not caused an earthquake that loosened the temple walls, the stone tablets would never have slipped through the cracks and floated on the waters of an underground source that led them from Sicily to the sea. The Priest were all Immortal Spirits, that were rejected by heaven because they were not pure enough and rejected by hell because they were not evil enough. They lived in limbo, between the realms of the afterlife and guarded the treasure of the Immortals. Like a safety deposit box, Immortals took to them the things they could not keep and could not let go of. In order to preserve her records of a past she could not bear to part with, Jatray had brought her stone tablets to the Priest. Trusting that whatever it was the Priest would not be tempted to look inside and uncover what was there. Priest bowed to no-one but to the Creator and Medusa. She was their queen,
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 69
(A New Sunrise.) "It is outrageous that you aim those weapons at me!" Jatray was adamant. She had watched as the Goblin boy had taken the Hybrid into the safety of the house. All was lost now. She contemplated. Izzy, the hybrid, Simeon, all because of the damn pregnant Vampire. Her mind screamed. Doug's back was towards Jatray being held captive by her own soilders. The Council cared not about his group anymore. The real threat was Jatray. Her hatred was the ultimate sin against life, nearly wiping out an entire specie. Jatray knew she was going to be executed, she had decided that if she was to die, she was taking Opal's baby with her. The fetus was already weak inside the mother and would not survive if she struck it under a newmoon. ****************************** Doug had one hand over Opal's shoulders as they watched Hercules draw back his breath into his body. His body jerked as one who had been shocked and then shaking his head, he sat up. "Is it over?" He
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 68
(The Treasured Secrets Of A Hybrid.) Maverick looked around him. There was death everywhere, and it reminded him of the day of the Great War. He laid the hybrid gently on the ground. Then, with a great roar, he lifted himself and pointing to the moon, Maverick began to chant. With both his hands towards the sky, darkness started to spread in the globe of the newmoon. Opal had told him about the effect of a new moon on a hybrid, something he had not known during the Great War. Now that he knew, there was something he could do about it. "That is goblin magic." Jatray said surprised. She hurled a wolf's corpse that she had recently bled to death aside. She wiped her lips and spun around, trying to figure out the source of this powerful craft. "Maverick?" She stated shocked. She had long considered the Goblin King to be dead. Pulling her bow from behind her, Jatray launched an arrow across the battlefield. Maverick went down on one knee after the poisoned tip struck his c
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 67
(The Battle.) Opal had again fed and bathed the hybrid. It was a sort of routine now. As Opal went about the house, it was difficult to see only memories of Moonstruck. Her bagpack, her belongings here and there. Bruce went for an early morning jog because he could not bear to touch Moonstruck's blood, while Hercules and Doug did the cleaning up of it. She went back to the hybrid's room and was surprised to see her sitting up in bed, her back supported by the pillows. "Hi." Said Opal, she was taken aback when a response arrived because she had not anticipated one. "Hi." A small voice repeated like an echo. Opal went around the room drawing aside the drapes, opening the windows and letting in fresh air. A few windows had escaped the wolves entrance and the hybrid's room was one of them. The early morning sun was gentle to a vampire, like rubbing essential oils into the skin. It was when the sun had matured in the sky that it felt like their skin was cooking. "If you
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 66
(A Day Of Farewells.) Moonstruck's body had been carried home by the wolves. All around them, lightning flashed, thunder roared and Mala wept for the daughter of the soil. Softening the earth with her tears so that the grave would be easy to dig. Lucinda had sent back word with a small wolf, around ten years old, who came through the cornfield in jeans cut off at the knees, a fade brown t'shirt and kinky black hair. The boy's chocolate toned body stood at the door that was left open all night. The sun was coming up on their sorrow, fighting it's way through the drizzling rain. The boy, drenched from head to toe, stared around at the blood in the living room. He saw the occupants of the room with watery eyes of disbelief, turned towards his presence. The group had sat in chairs and had not moved since Moonstruck's body had left the Bloomfield's house. Nothing had been touched, nothing cleaned up and the boy, though young, also felt the blow of this heavy grief. He cle
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 65
(Who killed Simeon?) You can tell much about a man by the way he drives a vehicle. Opal thought as Hercules sat behind the steering wheel and turned into the Bloomfield's mansion. He avoided every obstacle along the dirt path, then slowed to wait for a herd of goats to pass. He was a patient man, who took time to navigate his way into and around, your body and your heart. He slowed down when he sensed Opal needed to adjust herself in her seat and she did. He was an observant lover, who will take the time to give you what you needed. Opal could decipher that he was the type of man, who took pleasure in your pleasure. "Buttercup didn't stand a chance." Opal chuckled and addressed him. "What?" He spoke as he passed through the plantation's open gate. The hybrid was between Doug and Opal, the poor thing slept with her head resting on Opal's lap the entire way from the airport. Doug was dozing off on the other side of the back seat. Bruce was asleep in the front sea
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 64
(Declaration Of War.) Buttercup and Annex had put together a simple yet spendid gown. The shoulders of it was a thin string of white pearls that ran down into a square neckline of white lilly of the valley petals. Following that, white Cosmo flower petals extended from the waist. Cosmo petals also constructed a long trail sprinlkled with the yellow, seed belly of the plant. In Fairyland it was good luck and tradition to line the trail of a wedding dress with pollen. It represented conception within the family and marital prosperity. Wherever the bride went, a new generation of the flowers would spring and prosper in its species. Buttercup stood beside her Mother, who was wiping tears from her eyes and her Father had his chest puffed up because he had produced such a beautiful bride. ******************************* The venue was Sparkle Cave and on one side stood the young man's large family, on the other, stood Annex much smaller group of family members. Sparkle Cave was na
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 63
(Stolen Treasure.)Jatray fed Izzy soup while she sat up in bed.She brushed the pink hair from her forehead and stared into those brown eyes reminiscing on nothing but pain.There was nolonger a fire there.The spunk of the woman extinguished to ashes.Some people skip past the years of childhood and pre-adolosence. Leaping over each hurdle and embracing life with a positive, joyful bliss.There are some, however, who have knocked so many hurdles over, stumbling through the stages of growth. Some will rise and pick themselves up, while others will let their mind sit in the heap of their fall.In Izzy's eyes, Jatray saw that she had lost the strength to fight and she was spreading her bed in that mind of hers, to lie permanently beneath the sheets of her suffering."Don't get comfortable there Izzy. It will make you forever distrustful and bitter."Jatray said to her. Izzy turned her head to the side and silent tears rolled down her dark cheeks.Jatray placed the bowl in the tray. L
- Beautiful Creatures.
Chapter 62.
(The Rescue.) The once refined and sophisticated living room was demolished. Curtains ripped, slashed by knives and splashed with blood. Chairs and sofas overrturned, the fighting went on for far too long. Doug grabbed the foot of the piano with one hand and slammed it into Nathan, who was coming at him swiftly with a knife. Broken glass pierced Nathan's skin as he was hurled through the window. Opal had somehow snatched the woman with the chicken by her bloody apron. She reeled her in like a YoYo, turned her around and sent her fangs deep into the neck. It felt so satisfying, the thrill of letting out all she had pent up inside. The rush of fury for all the disruption in her life. The tortures she had done nothing to deserve. She drank the fresh blood, straight from a beating pulse. The woman's heartbeat slow down and just like the chicken, she convulsed in Opal's hand. "It is not enough!" Opal screamed into the room. Her rage building. Her Father bei
