A Beautiful Evil (A Beautiful Book. 1) #Wattys2015

Chapter Eleven - New Lands

Something wet and soft was touching my cheek, and I groaned in annoyance. Creaking my eyes open, I got a face full of pink tongue and hot, stinky dog breath.

"Ugh! Fillin!" I shoved the white wolf away, rubbing my arm across my face to get the slobber off. A warm breeze blew, tugging at my oversized sweatshirt and hair. The scent of blood carried in the wind, making my demon inside rage up with a howl. My skin itched, and I could almost feel my wings stretching and flexing on my back. I groaned in loathing.

When will I be able to fly again?

I sat up, twining my fingers in the dead grass below me. I was no longer in my father's realm, that much was clear. Instead of a ink black, the sky was a roiling mixture of reds and oranges, all mashed together to create a terrifying red hue. Even the moon itself was crimson, nesting between soft, rolling hills. This is what the Land of War looks like? Rolling hills and a pretty, pink sky?

There was a sudden snap, as if someone stepped on a branch, and I turned, only to come face to face with a spear.

I looked up the wooden staff of the javelin, starring straight into the eyes of my assailant. It was a small creature with ears as big as it's body, and large, round eyes that glowed with purple fire. It had tiny hands with long, curved claws on it's fingertips and blue-green skin. It scuttled and jolted about, mumbling to itself and hissing quietly. It bared sharp, needle like teeth at me. "Who are you? You are not Master!" It jabbed the spear closer to my face.

"Whoa, hey!" I shuffled backward, hitting my back on the trunk of a drooping, dying tree, it's limbs seeming to reach towards me. "Watch it!"

It pointed to its chest with a single curved claw. "I is Bean. Who are you?" it sneered.

"Bean, you better stop poking my sister, or I'll have to take that spear of yours and turn you into a shish kabob," came a voice from behind me. The creature gave a shrill cry of alarm and shuffled from side to side. "Master! You are home! "

I glanced over my shoulder to see Adrian striding towards us, now in his human form, and still dressed in his striking silver mail. His brown eyes swept me over and he laughed.

"Rough landing, huh?"He held out a hand and I took it. Turning, I glared at the small monster still holding the spear in my face. It stuck a bumpy, purple tongue out at me. "Bean, why don't you go inform the others that their Duke has finally come home."

Bean bounded up and down with joy. "Yes! Yes! Bean will tell the others. Bean will be right back!" Sticking out his tongue at me once more, the tiny creature straggled across the small clearing, hissing and snickering as he went, and vanished into the dead and browning undergrowth.

I turned to Adrian raising one eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Gremlins," he explain. "When Hollywood got the idea to create the God awful movie "Gremlins", in 1984, the little shits started popping up all over the place."

"I know the movie. I was just surprised to see one down here."

"Why are you surprised?" he asked, just as Fillin emerged from behind a bush, licking his jaws. I hadn't even realized he left. "Every monster in every horror film ever created has a home down here. Every monster created by the thoughts of mortals, lives here. Every fictional character that can't be seen as human, lives down here. So why would you be surprised if a tiny Gremlin shoves a spear in your face? That should be the least of your worries." Adrian placed a hand on my shoulder, mischief shining in his eyes. "But besides the point, what about that talk, huh?"

* * * * *

Fillin stalked by my side, hackles raised, glaring at unknown creatures scuttling through the bush as we followed Adrian to the camp that he swore up and down was only a few minutes walk away. I didn't care how long it was. It still made my skin crawl.