Depravity: A Beauty and the Beast Novel (A Beastly Tale Book 1) (15 page)

Bryn looked up expectantly when I entered.  I set my empty bag on my bed and went to the well to drink my fill of cool water.  It stopped the hunger pains, for now.

When Father came home and saw no dinner waited, he grabbed a book from his shelf and left again.  He returned a long while later with some grain.  Bryn divided it and cooked half for our dinner.

*    *    *    *

In the morning, Bryn boiled the remaining grain for our breakfast and, looking truly concerned, insisted Father stay to eat his portion.

As we sat at our table, quietly appreciating the meager breakfast, a sharp rat-a-tat on the door interrupted the silence.  Father rose to answer it while we all spun in our chairs to watch.  No one stood at the door, but a piece of parchment lay on the porch just outside.  Father retrieved it and brought it back to the table after looking up and down the street.

He scanned the note briefly, then gave us a small smile.

“There is a traveling merchant who just passed through the Water.  He heard I might have some books I no longer need and offered a fair price if I bring them to Konrall today.  He must continue through Konrall south before nightfall.”

He quickly ate his last few bites and pushed away from the table.

“I will cancel my teaching for today and return shortly.  The merchant also expressed an interest in meeting my daughters.  You will accompany me.”  His tone allowed no argument, though I could see distaste in my sisters’ eyes.

Thoughts whirled.  My heart ached that Father had to give up even a single book to feed us.  After being ill for so long and not working, there would be no pay for several days yet.  Most scholars would count themselves lucky to still have a position to return to after an extended illness.  And a merchant wanting to meet us could only mean he’d heard of Father’s desire to marry one of us off.  One less mouth would relieve some of the burden.

Bryn tossed the dishes in the dry sink and hurried after Blye into their room.  I ran my fingers through my hair before tugging it into a semblance of a braid, as usual.  After Father returned, my sisters emerged from their room, looking fresh and well-groomed.  Despite her illness, Bryn did not look as thin as the rest of us and still managed a healthy glow.

“Benella, can you carry these in your bag?” Father asked, plucking seven thin volumes from his shelves.  Two were regarding the rudimentary teachings of mathematics, which I doubted Father even referenced anymore given his familiarity of the material due to repetitive teaching.  Three regarded beginning reading and writing.  The other two were rare pieces pertaining to flora and fauna.  I didn’t want to see them go.

“Did you procure a wagon?” Bryn asked, smoothing her dress.

Father gave her a flat look, and she dropped her gaze.  The twit.  We were selling his books because we had no coin.  How exactly could he afford to pay for a wagon?

*    *    *    *

Ahead, I spotted a familiar curve in the road clogged with a thick, unnatural fog.  We were close to the place where I’d cut through the woods to go to the estate when I’d still traded with the beast.  How long had it been now?  Almost two weeks?

“Father,” I began anxiously.  “Doesn’t it seem a bit too warm for patches of fog?”

“It depends,” he said absently, his breathing slightly labored.  Typically a sedentary man, the long walk after just recovering from illness taxed him.  “There may be cooler water hidden under the trees causing it.”

The fog loomed closer, and I blinked at it, trying to determine if we were walking faster or if the fog crept toward us.  Still several feet away, I caught a slight movement within the mist.  Before I could call out a warning, hundreds of vines shot out, wrapping around us.

The thick fog consumed us, hiding us from one another.  I heard my sisters cry out, and my father call our names.  I was unable to answer as a vine wrapped itself firmly, but gently around my mouth, effectively gagging me.  I bit down on the vine to chew through it, but the acrid sap that ran into my mouth worried me, so I spat out what I could and remained mute.

The vines tugged us through the trees, up into the canopy, ever closer to the estate while the mist continued to keep us isolated.  I heard the growing concern in Father’s voice when I did not answer his calls.

Fear bloomed in my chest.  Could I still try to claim refuge and would it work to protect all of us?  How angry had my last departure made the beast?  I felt the vines start to lower me and, soon, the mist retreated enough that we could see each other.

We all hung a few feet from the ground, tangled in vines.  Bryn and Blye’s eyes grew wide, and they began to struggle against their bindings when they saw we dangled inside the gate of the estate.  Father calmly scanned the area, probably remembering his last harmless excursion behind the walls.  The vines still binding my mouth worried me.  I felt we would not leave this time without meeting the beast, and for a reason I couldn’t guess, he didn’t want me to speak.

The mist stopped retreating several yards away and then started to darken.  Both my sisters began to cry.  The pathetic mewling sounds had me pitying them and their fear.  No one deserved to be tormented as the beast currently did to them.  My eyes narrowed on the gloom, and I tried to speak around the vines, but it just sounded garbled.

“It would seem I have trespassers,” the beast growled.

I snorted.

Father’s face visibly paled, and he appeared to have lost his voice in the face of such menace.

“As the eldest, you shall take the punishment for the trespass, unless...”

I shook my head and attempted to speak past the gag, trying to tell the beast to stop his madness.

“Unless, what?” my father said.

“Unless one of your daughters agrees to stay with me,” the beast said.

I ceased my struggles, seeing what the beast meant to do, the sneaky son of a—

“No,” Blye wailed.

“It’s not yet your turn to answer,” the beast snapped harshly.  “The eldest speaks first.  It’s only right I offer her the opportunity.  And, she should be grateful I consider her at all when she’s carrying a bastard child.”

Blye’s sniffles stopped, and she turned to stare at Bryn.  We all did.  Tears trickled down Bryn’s face, her shame evident.  The food hoarding, the moods, and the request for a wagon made sense now.  Pity welled up for her, and I glared at the beast.

“Come now.  Your turn to answer.  I offer you the refuge of the estate in return for your immediate and complete obedience in every command I issue.  And your father’s life, of course.”

Bryn sobbed and shook her head.  Had my mouth not been full of vine, it would have popped open.  How could she not save Father?  My eyes fell to her middle.  Of course she couldn’t, and Father would never have wanted her to, knowing she carried his grandchild.

“Very well,” the beast growled with little menace.  “Good sir, you should consider marrying her to the first offer you can manage before the soon-to-be husband discovers her state.”

Father paled further and would not look at Bryn.

“Now, the next oldest,” the beast said without compassion.  “Your father stands to pay the price for trespassing for each of you.  As you are aware, he will be thrown from the estate.  Once for each of you.  How do you suppose he will fair after the second toss?  Or third?  Do you honestly think there will be much left to throw the fourth time?”

Blye’s mewling cry won her no pity.

“Please grant us mercy,” she sobbed.

“I
am
by offering you this chance to save your father’s life.  Agree to stay with me.  You will have the finest silks you can imagine in return for your immediate and complete obedience in every command I issue.”

She wailed and begged for several long minutes before rejecting his offer.  Through it all, Father said nothing, his eyes growing more despondent.

“Now,” the beast said.  “For the youngest.”

The vines slipped from my mouth as he spoke, and I interrupted him before he could go any further.

“Release me so we may speak face to face.  I will not speak my answer to your cursed mist.”

Immediately the vines flew from me, and I fell to the ground.  Straightening, I looked at my sisters and Father.  They all had fear in their eyes.

“Benella,” my father began.  “Do not give up your life for—”

A vine slithered up from his chest to muffle his words.

Bracing myself for a confrontation, I walked straight into the mist and stopped when I felt a tug on my hair.  My stomach gave an odd flip.

“What is your answer?” he rumbled softly as his fingers worked the braid free.

The heavy mist surrounding us muffled all sound, no doubt to keep my family from hearing.  Though it also hid the beast from my view, I recalled every fang and claw in detail.

“Your terms are a bit steep for what you are gaining, and I would like to propose three revisions,” I said bravely.

“How can they be steep?” he asked.  “You gain your father’s life.”

“Do I?  How do I know?  That is my first provision.  I must be allowed one day every week to leave the estate.  If I’m not allowed to see Father, it will be just as if he had died.”

The beast grunted in response.  I felt him lean in to breathe the scented oil still clinging to my hair.

“What is your next provision?”

“I will ignore any command for my silence.”

He didn’t deny my provision.

“And the final?” he asked, instead.

“You may not touch me without permission.”

His growl started low and grew in fury.

“Unacceptable,” he roared.  He fisted my hair and carefully pulled me against him so the fur from his jaw abraded my ear.  “Why even keep you, then?”

I licked my lips.

“That’s something I have been asking myself for many weeks.  You’ve asked me so many times and offered so many things.  Each time, I’ve said no.  If you can’t accept my terms, you will kill my father, I’m sure.  Your temper will see to that.  But you will lose any future chance of coercing an agreement from me.  That I promise you.”

He grew completely silent.  I held still, waiting for his reply.  Faintly, I heard Blye’s continued sobs though Bryn tried to hush her, no doubt trying to hear what we said.

“A year,” he growled.  “I will accept your provisions for a year.”

“No,” I countered.  “My silence cannot be guaranteed, and I will not lose my family.  As long as I’m with you, you will listen to me and let me leave one day a week.  In return for your gracious benevolence, I agree to reduce the touching restriction to six months.”  I had to raise my voice slightly so he could hear me over his own cursing.

Again, he stopped his rage.  He didn’t leave me waiting for long.

“One week.”

I snorted.

“One month.  That is my final offer.”

“Agreed,” he said, triumphantly.

“I would like to say good-bye before you start commanding me, sir,” I spoke in a rush.

His fist released my hair.

“Make it quick.”

Obediently, I rushed from the mist just as the vines released Father and my sisters.  I went to Father first and hugged him tightly.

“I will see you in four days,” I whispered to him.

“Don’t do this, Benella,” he said fiercely, hugging me.

“I’ll be fine and well fed here.”  Pulling back, I caught the hurt look in his eyes and quickly tugged the bag from my shoulders.  “Here.  I’ll try to find some way to help.”

I turned toward my sisters.

“Take care of him.”  There was a threat in my tone that I hadn’t meant to let slip.  “And yourselves,” I added more calmly.

Something tugged at my foot, and I lifted my skirt enough to see a vine.

“I have to go.”

Turning, I walked into the mist, away from my family.

Wait!  Don’t leave yet! :)

First, thank you for reading.  I hope you enjoyed Depravity, part 1 of the Beastly Tales.  Your support keeps me writing, so please consider letting others know about this story by leaving a review on Goodreads or any of the retailer sites where this title is available.

Second, keep reading for an excerpt of Deceit, part 2.

Happy reading!

Melissa

Sneak peek of

Deceit

Coming July 2015

Bryn’s muffled sniffles faded as I stepped into the mists.  I didn’t go far before I hesitated.  I could see the hand I held before me but nothing beyond that.  Yet, visibility wasn’t why I’d stopped.  Fear held me in place.

The beast had always kept everyone at bay.  Why had that changed?  And, why with me?  Knowing why he’d gone to such lengths to trap me within the estate might have assured me.  Then again, perhaps his reasons were something to fear.

The beast’s tail thumped against my stomach, a reminder of the bargain I’d made.  To save my father, I had no choice but to clasp the tail and allow him to lead me through the mist. Walking away from my family was difficult, but walking toward my unknown future was harder.

Instead of leading me to the overgrown yard just outside of the kitchen, he turned slightly east.  It wasn’t long before gravel crunched under my feet.  I frowned at the sound and at the sudden disappearance of his tail.

“Go where you wish within the boundaries of the estate.  Do as you please, with the exception of leaving,” he said, as he moved behind me.

The mist retreated with him and revealed a grand entrance to the manor that he so zealously protected.  Three steps laid with large slabs of natural grey stone led up to a sheltered court.  Great columns of the same stone supported a roof to protect guests who might arrive during inclement weather.

The claw-ravaged, large double doors stood open in invitation.  Yet, instead of welcome, their gaping maw conveyed an eerie sense of desolation.  With reluctance, I climbed the steps and entered the beast’s home.

For the first time, I saw the interior of the manor clearly.  Aged décor, perfectly preserved from the ravages of time, yet marred by the beast’s anger and negligence, drew my curious gaze.  Did he truly only need a maid?

“Should I clean, then?” I asked, knowing he still lingered behind me.

“Do as you please,” he said irritably.

Taking him at his word, I went from room to room, studying the place I would now call home.  Though I did not care for cleaning, a good straightening would make it a fair place to live.  As I wandered, I took time to right a tumbled chair or straighten thrown papers.  In some places, shards of broken objects dusted the floor, and I made note to come back with a broom as my boots crunched over them.

I lost count of the turns and rooms I visited while the beast trailed me cloaked in his now small cloud of mist.  Other than the library, I noted nothing of particular interest until I reached the second floor.

In the midst of the beast’s destruction, a single room remained untouched, and I didn’t blame him for avoiding it.  Frills, perfumes, and pillows filled the room with their noxious pink shades.  I had no issue with pink in small doses. However, what lay before me made my eyes hurt.  The only exception to the overabundance, a set of black, glossy doors, called to me.

They were set into the interior wall to the side and begged for the beast’s angry furrows. Yet, none decorated the surface.

I crossed the pink rugs and opened the door.  On the other side, the wood bore the worst marks I’d witnessed, gouging so deep only a thin layer of wood prevented a hole.  I gently ran my fingers over the marks, staring at the torn grains.

As I watched, a piece smaller than a hangnail twitched, slowly straightening itself to mend the gash.  I would have watched longer, fascinated by the display of enchantment, but the mess inside the room distracted me.  Everything from the mattress and bed hangings to the inlaid wood patterns of the floor had been shredded.

“My room,” he said from behind me.  “This room is yours.”

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