CHAPTER 17
Beatrix opened her eyes to a sleeping Arthur. His eyes moved around wildly under his eye lids. She decided not to wake him. As his eyes raced around, Beatrix studied his face, trying to take a mental photograph of him to keep with her in case things didn’t go as planned. A borage of emotions overcame her as she thought about what was to come. Excitement, sadness, fear, anger, hope. This was it—this was the time to reflect on the journey and make decisions, for there would be no time to think later. To win, she knew she would need instant reflexes—hesitating would most likely lead to defeat. Beatrix lay there, lost in a world of circumstances and one by one came up with decisions for each “what if” that she could come up with.
Arthur slowly opened his eyes, and Beatrix stared into them, burning their blood red hue into her memory. “Well, this is the day,” said Arthur with a nervous smile.
Beatrix breathed in and slowly breathed out. “It is,” she said.
They got up, got dressed, and packed up their belongings. They stood under the rippling pool on the ceiling above and, one at a time, rose into the air through the water and into the broom closet.
“Do we have any contrupil dust left?” asked Beatrix.
Arthur rummaged through the suitcase and replied, “No. We will have to travel as spiders to stay undetected.”
Beatrix watched Arthur and listened to the spell. With a flash of light, the world around them grew giant as they shrank into tiny spiders. Spider Arthur looked at the suitcase. “We cannot take it with us this time. We do not have any contrupil dust to keep it hidden.” Spider Beatrix nodded. The two little spiders scurried under the door and down the hallway. The thought of leaving their suitcase of supplies behind made Beatrix uneasy. From this moment on, it was up to them and only them. They would have to survive off their skills and knowledge.
Surprisingly, the castle was very quiet. The lanterns of dead talenbees were dim. A small witch walked down the hall holding two bags. She took the old talenbees out of the lanterns and replaced each of them with a fresh pile of bright, lifeless ones. Beatrix looked away in disgust.
The floor shook as a warlock pushed a meal cart down the hall. “We should get on that cart,” said Arthur.
The two spiders raced across the floor toward the cart. As the man planted his foot on the ground, Beatrix and Arthur grabbed his shoelace and scurried onto his shoe. Up his pant leg, over his shirt, and down his arm sleeve they went until they reached the cart. They disappeared under the cloth that draped over the cart and rested on the metal shelves. The shelves were cold and had covered silver serving dishes on them that vibrated as the cart rolled. Beatrix and Arthur moved to the front of the cart near the left side where a hole was torn in the fabric.
Arthur huddled next to Beatrix. Suddenly, her world began to spin wildly until she was standing in a grand hall. It was another vision. She saw herself in the grasp of the dark creature’s claws. It smiled wickedly as it muttered a spell. Beatrix watched herself fall to the floor and lie there lifeless. Arthur ran next to her side and collapsed onto her. The creature stood back and watched Arthur with enjoyment. “No!” yelled Arthur as tears fell from his eyes. The creature cackled wildly, and suddenly Beatrix was thrust back into her own reality. She sat there, shocked by this new vision. Was it real? she wondered. Or was it another false vision from the dark creature? Arthur was touching her, so it could be real, but surely it would not end like this—it couldn’t. She shook lightly.
Arthur nestled himself closer to her and looked into her eyes. She stopped shaking and put this unsettling vision out of her mind.
The cart turned into a large room. The rattling silver echoed through the silence.
“Where would you like this, sir?” asked the man pushing the cart.
“Over here is just fine,” boomed a familiar, sinister voice.
The cart turned to reveal that it was the dark creature.
More Chapters will be published soon!
Thanks for reading! :)
This is the third story of the BP series. If you haven't read the first story yet, you can find it here :)
Find chapters 1 - 20 of Retribution (the second story) on my Steemit Blog.
About The World of Shadows
"In a world full of sinister creatures and treacherous terrain, Beatrix and Arthur must find their way to the castle where the dark creature resides.
Beatrix Percival fans can expect answers to many questions, many conclusions, and explosive battles of epic proportions!
Eerie beyond belief, and passionately romantic like never before, this third book in the series won't disappoint!"
