Shadow of the Beast (Twisted Dark #2)

Chapter One: Gold Coins

"One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three." I sighed out the number, setting my last gold coin on its stack. The brilliant yellow of the gold coins always made me feel better and if I needed to feel better its was now. I still hadn't quite recovered from Florence's... visit. A phantom pain ran over my nerves and I shivered at the memory of claws slowly moving through my flesh as the vicious witch had asked me the same questions again and again.

Where were the two werewolves? 'What werewolves?' hadn't been acceptable.

Who were they with? 'I don't know.' hadn't been acceptable.

Do you know where they went? 'I don't understand.' hadn't been acceptable either.

It took me two long and drawn out deaths before I had finally cracked. I blinked back tears at that. I cursed the very day I was born and handed off to the brutality of Elder Irma. I shifted my left foot, the thin chain locked around my ankle forever reminding me of my position. I had no clue how Florence had learned of the time check spell on the chain and I had a sneaking suspicion it had been Irma who had told her.

I wasn't a fucking idiot, the very last witch I wanted to piss off was Miranda Lenkirion but I could only take being killed and regenerated so many times before my fear of it happening again overrode my fear of the powerful witch. The fucking time check curse on my chain meant that I could be killed but I wouldn't stay dead. I would be back in the land of the living when the time check spell lost my pulse. It reversed the damage and brought me back to the point of when the spell was last activated and it was activated daily.

It was like I was stuck in a form of hellish stasis. Dying was a horrible thing to endure and I had endured it a lot. It was why the gold was so comforting to me. I was trying to get enough gold to buy my freedom from Elder Irma. I had no clue what the debt I owed was but gold was hard to come by and I had gotten a significant amount of it. Nearly two thousand coins was a very generous amount and it was hard earned. I had to deal with illegal potions out of the back door of the shop to gather my gold. Elder Irma didn't pay me, slaves didn't get paid.

I shoved the thought away. I would pay for my freedom and I would be free of the chain on my ankle. I just needed to sell a few more potions and I would have over two thousand gold coins. I knew that Elder Irma would have a hard time refusing that size of payment. I just hoped it was tempting enough for her to accept it and let me go.

I took care of the shop for her but since I had grown up she hadn't used me for her experiments. I was thankful for that, very thankful for that, but I just wanted to be free. I let out a small sigh as picked up my coin bag, slowly putting stacks of coins into it. I hadn't been allowed to practice my magick, hadn't been allowed to test for my levels. I had looked at the world around me through a cage my entire life. I just wanted to experience something without a chain rubbing my ankle raw.

I managed to clear the table of my coins and I closed the bag, tying it shut. It felt a bit heavier and I could hear the coins clinking around in the velvet. It had an ever space spell on it. I could put as much stuff as I wanted into and it wouldn't weigh too much or become full. I had managed to get it as a trade for a wellness potion I had created that created the illusion of youth and vitality. It was time and effort well spent in my opinion.

I stood up from my spot at the back table before I walked towards my corner I did my bes tot ignor ethe faint sound of the tiny chain moving along the stone floor behind me. It just reminded me of my place, as did my corner. A tiny, lumpy mattress on a rope bed frame tucked between several barrels was where I called home. I knelt down and shoved at one of the wooden boards of the barrel closest to my bed. The piece shifted inwards and I wiggled the bag into place before pushing against the metal band of the barrel, popping the panel back into place.

I stood up, brushing my dusty hands off on my dress. I knew I was being overly paranoid because Elder Irma never came around but I still didn't want to take any chances on anyone finding it. It paid to be paranoid, I knew that very well.

I could hear the chime of the bell as the front door to the shop opened and I moved towards the warped mirror that stood over a rusty water basin and I smoothed down my hair, forcing a smile onto my face. There was no need for anyone to tell the Elder witch I wasn't being nice. She didn't come around but I also knew the witch never passed up on an opportunity to punish me.

I moved towards the front of the store, leaving the back quickly. The chain around my ankle became lighter and harder to see at the presence of another person. Another little perk of the fucking chain, no one really knew it was there and I couldn't say anything about it or why I had it. Elder Irma didn't particularly like sharing and I knew that she knew that the spells on the chain made me a very special case if someone wanted to use me to get at her. That was probably also why I had no clue where Coven Thirteen was. The Elder witch was paranoid to a fault.

I tucked my hair behind my ears and once again pasted the smile on my face as I came around the front desk. "Welcome to the Broken Crow. How may I help you?" My voice trailed off as I blinked at the large form that nearly took up the entire doorway. I slowly looked up, my eyes following up the chest to a thick neck, that held several tattoos and a strong jaw and severely set mouth.

A glint of gold caught my attention as I spotted several small hoops rested along the male's ear lobe. My throat grew dry as I finally darted my gaze to the male's eyes. They were a rather startling blue as they looked around the shop and his lips curled up into what looked like a snarl and his white teeth glinted against his tanned skin. The apparent and rather dangerous aura that hung off of him had my eyes widening and my heart racing with fear even before his eyes gleamed with a hint of ferality and a growl rumbled his chest.

A fucking werewolf.

I felt like my heart would escape my chest as I looked at the dangerous creature that had just decided to drop in. The last two times a werewolf had been in my shop something very bad had happened to me and I didn't think this time would be third time's the charm.