Beldon dropped into one of the disused parlours and straightened up, darting through the dark room and opening the door a crack, listening. He couldn’t hear anything. The castle was so large the intruders and his company could be anywhere.
“Master Beldon? Is that you?”
Beldon whirled around and saw one of the servants – shaped like a cat – creeping out from behind the sofa. He quickly moved over and knelt in front of the maid.
“Are you alright?” he whispered.
“Yes Sir, but you shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous.”
“Those men?”
“They have guns, Sir. Everyone has locked themselves away or went to defend The Master.”
Beldon grimaced. “It seems one of the men has already got past them,” he said and the maid let out a gasp of horror.
“The Master!”
“He’ll be alright.”
“No! No he’s sick! He can’t be moving around, he could barely stand yesterday.”
Beldon stared at her. “What’s wrong with him, exactly?”
The maid looked at him for a moment, then looked away. “Not my place to say that, Sir.”
Beldon glared at her then looked around, putting a finger to his lips.
They both looked to the door as voices sounded from outside.
“The hell is up with the place?” someone hissed beyond the door, “It’s empty but I keep hearing strange noises like there are people around. If that damn kid is playing some game, he’ll be paying more then with just his head.”
“Ah shut up,” someone else said, “If the place is empty, it’s empty. If people are here, they’re avoiding us. Either situation works. Just look for the treasury and be done with it.”
The voices past the door and Beldon opened the door a crack to peer out. Two men walked down the hall, their footsteps silent – if they hadn’t been complaining, Beldon wouldn’t have known they were there.
Beldon looked around, then gestured for the maid to hide before he reached over to a table and tipped a candelabra off the top, sending it clattering away across the floor.
He took a step back and slipped into the shadows behind one of the sofas, the maid appearing on his lap to look as well as the door opened.
“See anything?” one of the men asked as his partner walked in, looking around. He spotted the candelabra.
“It’s just some candle holder,” he said, frowning at the item. “How’d it fall?” he muttered.
Beldon gestured to the maid, who looked at him, terrified until he smiled. She grimaced but stepped off his lap, paused a moment, then raced out from behind the sofa and launched at the man.
He gasped in fright, narrowly missing kicking her in his panic before she fled to the other side of the room, scrambling under another sofa.
“What’s wrong?”
“A damn cat,” the second man snapped, spinning around trying to find the maid. Beldon grabbed him, his hand locking over his mouth, silencing his gasp, tripping his feet out from under him and dropping them both to the ground. His hand flew out to grab the candelabra before the man could call for help and he brought it down on his head, rendering him unconscious instantly.
His head snapped up to watch the door as he pulled the sword and pistol free from the holsters around the man’s hips then rushed back into the shadows as the man’s partner looked in.
As soon as he saw his partner he reached for his gun and froze at the sound of hammer being pulled back.
“I wouldn’t,” Beldon said softly from the shadows and the man slowly lowered his hands.
“So what are you? A shadow? A mask?”
“A man,” Beldon said calmly.
“Such things are found in this castle?”
“If you bother to look, you’ll find it’s full of them,” Beldon said, just before the maid came yowling out from under the sofa, terrifying the man, making him whirl around, his hand flying to his gun and Beldon swept up behind him, slamming the butt of his sword into the side of his head, dropping the man like a dead weight.
Collecting the holster to carry the new weapons, he then turned to the maid, holding out a hand.
“Thank you,” he said.
She placed a paw in his hand and nodded. “I shall call for help to make sure these two do not escape when they wake. Be careful, Sir.”
“Of course,” he said before he stood up and slipped from the room.
Looking around, he pulled the mirror shard from his pocket, lifting the fabric a little to see the surface.
“Show me The Beast,” he whispered and the blue was replaced by wind and shadow. Beldon’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t know this area. He had thought he had found everything in the castle, where was this? And where was The Beast?
Fairray appeared in the reflection and his body tensed.
“Where are you, monster?” he called, his smile wide despite the blood that stained his face. “Or should I call you Beast, like the little master? He’s a fine young man, isn’t he?”
He walked out of view and something moved in the shadows. Beldon blinked, it was The Beast, perfectly hidden in amongst pillars, his razor eyes watching Fairray pass.
Beldon looked past The Beast. They were outside, that was clear enough. And beyond The Beast he could see the forest. That view, it was a higher vantage point of the view from one of the balconies of his own quarters. They had to be on the roof of the towers. How did he get up there?
He put the mirror away and raced through the halls to the staircases that would lead him higher.
A hand flying out in front of him to stop him almost had him driving his sword through Christian’s chest but his friend recoiled quick enough for Beldon to see his face and stop.
“I would like to live,” Christian hissed.
“Sorry.”
“There are about thirty men in this team,” Christian said and Beldon stared.
“Thirty?”
“I know. We should have it under control however. But The Beast?”
Beldon pointed upwards. “I’m looking for him now. He’s up there somewhere. Thank you, Tain,” he said, slipping past and running onwards down the hall, racing up the stairs.
Christian watched him go, his brow creasing in worry. He knew Beldon could handle himself… but seeing him go made his heart feel sick.
~~~~
Beldon glared at a wall at the top of a tower that looked perfectly solid but it was the only wall that was high enough to lead up to the roof. There wasn’t space for hidden stairs or anything else in the other towers and rooms. Surely the entrance didn’t start on the floors below.
He pulled out the mirror. “Show me The—” he started, then stopped. He looked at the mirror for a moment, then frowned. “Show me the route to the castle roof,” he said instead and the mirror did exactly as he asked. He was right, he was in the right place, but the entrance was through the floor.
He stepped backwards and pressed his heel down on a stone tucked away in the corner and a section of floor shifted away.
“Why hide such a thing?” Beldon muttered, dropping into the hole and racing towards the stairs that led up behind the stone wall, spiralling around the tower and reaching a door.
He opened it just a crack, looking through the gap and listening.
Through the wind, he was sure there was no one close by. He eased out of the door and slipped behind a grotesque, his eyes narrowed again the wind and blinked when rain hit his eyes, making him glance up.
“Where are they?” he whispered to the mirror and the reflection led the way through the statues and pillars until a shift of darkness up ahead sent Beldon diving into the shadows, hiding the mirror and looking around the pillar.
It was Fairray.
He was still searching.
Beldon looked upwards. Just as the mirror had shown, The Beast crouched above them, on the slanting roof of another tower, watching Fairray from under his hood.
“Now really, Beast, this is getting ridiculous,” Fairray called, folding his arms and looking around. “Won’t you even defend your castle?”
Beldon glanced up at The Beast who didn’t even twitch.
“Are you wary because of whom I am?” Fairray asked with a smile, peering into the shadows.
Beldon frowned. Who he was?
“Do you know who I am, Beast?” Fairray asked, “A hunter of tales. Perhaps you’ve heard of my kin. Your story would make a nice attention to my collection, along with your head.”
Beldon’s brow creased, then he raised an eyebrow. A hunter of tales? He remembered something about them from when he was a child, but it hadn’t been his mother who had told him. Valentine – who had heard them from their grandmother – had been the one to tell him horrible stories about people who went out after his favourite fairytale characters and added them to collections and that was how they ended up in books.
The stories had always made him cry and got Valentine in trouble with their mother. She never denied the stories though, thinking back on it. Of course those stories had never mentioned the deaths of fairytale characters, least not all of them.
“Beast,” Fairray sang, “I wonder if I’m speaking to myself. Have you perhaps gone back to check on Beldon? I wonder where you hid him.”
He stopped and turned, facing Beldon and Beldon almost flinched. For a split second Fairray’s eyes had locked on his before they flicked onwards. He couldn’t know Beldon was there, the shadows were too dark.
“You shouldn’t bother with hiding him,” he called with a smile, “I’ll find him after I’m done with you.” He turned; his back to The Beast and suddenly he grinned like an idea had struck him. “Oh, now that could make a story worth collecting. He’s a man of rare beauty, just imagine the tale it would tell. The story of Beauty and The Beast?”
He started laughing.
“If only you had come across a hunter who doesn’t take the heads of his tales. But I like to make a collection and your head will be truly magnificent, side by side with the head of Beldon.”
The idea made Beldon recoil and just as Fairray looked in his direction; The Beast launched himself off the rooftop and dove straight down at Fairray.
Quick as the wind and smooth as ice, Fairray turned on his heel, pulled out his gun and fired a single round.
It connected with The Beast’s side and he hit the ground, gripping his waist.
Fairray chuckled. “Sorry, did that idea annoy you?” he asked, lifting his gun again.
A shot rang out, making Fairray step back since he hadn’t fired it. The bullet missed its mark entirely but it was enough of a surprise for Beldon to get between Fairray and The Beast, crouching in front of him, his gun trained of Fairray.
Fairray blinked, clearly surprised by the sight of him.
“Did you purposely miss me with that shot?” he asked.
Beldon didn’t answer. He wouldn’t answer that because he hadn’t meant to miss him – but he had never handled a pistol before, he rarely even saw one. Valentine had one which had been a gift from their father but he had never allowed Beldon or Constantine to touch it. Not only that but he had never seen a gun like the one Fairray and his men carried, he hadn’t known guns that could hold multiple bullets existed. Perhaps his family should also be in the trade of weaponry.
“Well, at least this saves me finding you,” Fairray said, calmly turning the chamber so another bullet was in place – Beldon quickly mimicking the action.
“Beldon,” The Beast hissed behind him, “Go. Back.”
“How bad do you think the wound is?” he muttered in reply.
“The bullet went straight through, it’s fine. Leave.”
Fairray pulled back the hammer of the gun, pointed it at The Beast and Beldon threw out his arms, shielding The Beast and leaving his own chest completely exposed.
The action caused Fairray to pause and The Beast to let out a strangled cry, almost managing to grab Beldon but Beldon shot to his feet, stepping out of The Beast’s reach.
“I could have killed you,” Fairray said, frowning at him, “Why are you running to death; I’ll get to you after The Beast.” He looked at Beldon for a moment, then smiled. “Are you in love with him?”
Beldon just narrowed his eyes. “My reasons for my actions are entirely my own. I made him a promise, I’m seeing it through.”
“Oh yes? What promise was that?”
“To send him Beauty,” Beldon replied and hurled his gun at Fairray.
Fairray flinched, his hand flying up to protect himself, managing to knock it aside and the next second, Beldon was in front of him, sword in hand, striking Fairray’s gun from his grip, the weapon toppling over the edge of the tower. Fairray stared as it vanished then turned and instantly held up his hand, the point of a sword at his throat.
Beldon glared up at him, his eyes narrowed and dark.
“Now we’re on my playing field,” he hissed.
Fairray cocked his head to the side. “Oh yes? The sword is your skill?”
“Oh yes,” Beldon growled in reply, and drove his blade forwards.
~~~~~~
Next up: Monday
(Ok, so we're nearly at the end - as you might have noticed lol - this time it's a shout out to you guys who have been reading each chapter/voting/commenting/following. It means so much to me each time I see new activity from you guys who are around often enough that I know your names.
Just wanted to say another thank you!
Until monday then~)