Beautiful Monster: The Hunt (Book 2) (2 page)

Chapter Four

Alina’s eyes fluttered open. She was startled to be greeted by the same darkness Alexi had dispatched her to with the squeeze of his hands around her neck. Why had he done that? And where was she now? Alina’s eyes adjusted quickly. She was in a room that looked and smelled like an attic. The dusty, sour air had been a prisoner in that small space for centuries.

Her hands were bound behind her; her ankles too were tied together. She twisted around as best she could and saw that the windows were blacked out. With all her might, she pulled and tugged at the twine that held her, grunting in exasperation, but whatever it was, it was not ordinary rope.

Alina scanned the room. Piles of books, magazines, and old newspapers were everywhere, along with what looked like junk. For whatever reason, Alexei had turned into a hoarder since she’d last known him. From what she’d seen, every square inch of his home was filled with
stuff
. An unsettling notion took hold. Something she felt deep within her long-deceased soul—Alexei’s change was not for the better.

She scootched along the floor in search of a wall with the notion she might gain purchase and push herself to standing. Instead, she hit a pile of something or another and tipped over. Now, Alina lay on her side on the rough-hewn wood floor. It was like sandpaper against her cheek. With effort, she managed to sit; the wood biting into her elbows and forearms bringing pinpricks of blood to the surface. The coppery scent caught in her nostrils and her head swam. Hunger was a powerful thing now, twisting like a snake through her core, trying to make its way to the surface. It was dusk. She knew it in her gut. How long had she been locked away? Long enough to make her ravenous, she knew.

Alina cocked her head and listened for ZoZo. “Zo,” she whispered, even though she knew Alexei would hear if he were paying enough attention. There was no response and something very much like panic began to creep through her. Alina had not been afraid in a very long time. Fear combined with her need for sustenance pushed her to the edge of madness. She strained again against her constraints letting out a low growl.

“ZoZo!” she screamed, no longer caring if Alexei heard. What had become of the girl? What if he’d harmed her?

The door flew open, and a shaft of light from the hallway speared the darkness. Before long it was blocked by Alexei’s figure. “Is this what you want?” He had ZoZo by the collar, her feet dangling off the ground. A strangled choke escaped the girl as she struggled in Alexei’s grip. He let go and she fell to the floor with a thud.

“I can see why you keep the imp around. She’s delicious.” He kicked her farther into the room with a booted foot and then closed the door, leaving both Alina and ZoZo in the musky pitch of blackness. The relative quiet was fractured by the girl’s scream as it tore from her throat, husky and wild, along with the sounds of tiny fists pounding on the closed door.

“Sweetness, it’s okay. Calm down. I’m here. Alina’s here.”

The pounding stopped and Alina could make out the shadow of ZoZo’s head turning in her direction. The girl’s breaths came in ragged angry growls.

“Are you okay, sweetness?” Alina asked, genuinely concerned.

ZoZo began to weep.

“Did the bad man hurt you?”

“ZoZo scared.” The girl managed, her voice not much louder than a whisper.

“You’re safe now, Zo. Just follow the sound of my voice and come to me.”

“Scared,” ZoZo rasped, this time, more emphatically. “Me cry.”

Alina saw a flash of tiny misshapen hands as they swiped at tears.

“Please, come over to me but be careful. There’s lots of junk in here. Can you do it?”

“Tired.” ZoZo sighed. “I try.”

“Good girl,” Alina cooed. “I’m not far from you. I can see you, darling. Use your hands to feel around as you walk, okay?”

“Want Alina,” ZoZo said between sobs.

Alina was pleased to hear the sound of hesitant footfalls growing closer.

“That’s right, sweetness. You’re doing great. Keep coming.”

A few more steps and ZoZo fell onto her, head first. The girl’s arms found Alina’s neck and she nuzzled into her hair. Tears dampened Alina’s skin.

“Hug...hug!” ZoZo insisted.

“I can’t hug you back. I’m so sorry, but my hands and legs are tied. That bad man did this. Do you think you can help me?” The girl nodded and grunted a yes. Alina smiled even though she knew ZoZo couldn’t see her. “Feel for whatever it is he used to tie up my ankles.”

More than anything, Alina wanted to be freed but first she needed sustenance or she’d lose the modicum of control she still possessed. With ZoZo so near, it would be entirely too easy to lash out at the imp. She was, after all, Alina’s only food source.

ZoZo’s heartbeat told her all she needed to know. The child’s energy was depleted. That bastard! He’d almost drained her.

Alina put a hand on the girl’s arm, stopping her. “Sweetness, before you try to help me. Can I have just a sip?”

ZoZo held her wrist to Alina’s lips without hesitation.

The girl’s blood supply was dangerously low and as soon as Alina was done, taking only what she needed, the child curled up beside her, as weak and used up as an old washcloth.

Alina sighed. She should have known better than to drink from the child when she was so weak. Then again, ZoZo probably wouldn’t be able to help anyway. The bindings were not ordinary rope or she would have been able to free herself as handily as snapping a twig.

She moved slowly, twisting away from the girl. Poor Zo, she needed to sleep and let her body replenish. After toeing off her heels, Alina finally pushed to her feet. She could make out shapes in the darkness, but not much else as she hopped from one pile of junk to another, bending down as much as she could to take a closer look at what was piled up around her. She found nothing of use.

Alina made her way to a blacked out window and rubbed a shoulder against the pane. The fabric of her dress erased what was covering the glass, making a small opaque hole. Whatever covered the pane was greasy and smelled like shoe polish. She worked and worked until the hole was large enough to let in a shaft of moonlight. Alina sighed with relief to see it was still dark, but what would she do when morning came?

There was no time to worry. The room was now bathed in a soft glow, enough to sharpen her sight. Alina noticed a bookcase filled with jars, knick-knacks and dust-laden books. The room was small and the clutter was actually helpful, each pile serving as a wobbly column, steadying her as she slowly made her way to the bookcase. She hated how helpless she felt as if she was mortal again. How could she have allowed this to happen to her and poor ZoZo? She was smarter than that, wasn’t she?

The bookcase was more orderly than anything else in the room, or in the entire house for that matter, a remnant of the old Alexei? She remembered him as outgoing and boisterous, a man-child who loved a good time. Sure, he could be messy but his place was nothing like this when they’d been together in Russia.

Alina blew the dust from the books and read their spines. They were mostly classics, all Russian editions, except for one, the thickest of them all. It’s odd pink hue set it apart from the others.

She did the only thing she could think to do and let her fangs fall into place and then sunk them into the top of the spine of the thick book, pulling until it fell to the floor with a thud. She stopped and listened. Would Alexei come bounding up the stairs to check on them? Nothing. He’d probably gone out for one last feed ... or more likely, his final kill of the night.

Alina slid to the floor beside the tome and examined it. On the leather-bound cover were two words—
Libro Facinis
.

A smile filled her face and she let out a sigh of gratitude. If God existed for her, she would have thanked him. The book’s title was in Latin, a language she knew well.

Libro Facinis
—Book of Spells.

Chapter Five

As much as she hated to, Alina realized she had to wake ZoZo. She needed help turning the pages of the
Book of Spells
.

As she scooted along the rough floorboards, Alina pushed the book along in front of her until she was once again beside her companion. “ZoZo, honey, time to wake up. Alina needs you.”

The girl did not move and worry grasped Alina’s stilled heart. Was the imp breathing? She listened intently. What would she do without ZoZo? The child had been hard to come by. Mortals like her were special, no family, no one to care for them or worry when they went missing. Not to mention the fact it was handy to have a source of sustenance on hand at all times. Though Alina hated to admit it, a bond had formed between them. It wasn’t love
exactly
, but it was close.

Finally, she heard a soft exhalation along with the pitter-patter of a heartbeat. “Thank you,” Alina whispered to no one in particular. “ZoZo,” she tried again, louder this time and then she nudged the girl gently with her foot. “Please, my darling, please wake up.”

The girl’s small arms stretched in front of her, followed by a yawn. ZoZo rolled over onto her back and rubbed tired eyes with balled fists. “Want sleep now,” she complained.

“I promise you can sleep all you want later but Alina needs help right now. I need your help, sweetness, or I may ... I may...” She let her words trail off. She didn’t want to upset the girl. ZoZo was such a sensitive child, yet Alina needed to make her understand the urgency of the situation. Once the sun rose and its rays began to fill the room, she would be no more; burned by even the dreariest ray of sunlight until she was nothing but a smoldering pile of ashes. Again, she tried, “I’m in trouble, sweetness. Alina might die if you don’t help.”

This was enough to make the child sit bolt upright, eyes wide as poker chips.

Relief flowed through Alina. “Look behind you out the window,” she said.

ZoZo did as she was told. “Dark now.”

“Yes, it is but it won’t be for long and when the sun comes up, I won’t be able to get to ground or to any safe place. You know what happens to me in daylight, right?”

ZoZo gave an ominous nod. “Die.” Tears began to fill her eyes and she made her way onto Alina’s lap. “No die. Love Alina. No die, please.”

Alina wished she could smooth the child’s hair, caress a cheek, hug her. She used her words to soothe instead. “Don’t worry, sweetness. With your help, I’ll be just fine. No tears, okay?” She felt the imp’s head bob slowly. “That’s my brave girl. Now, do you see the book right there beside you?”

“Yes.”

“Pick it up and take it close to the window where the light’s better, then read what you can. I know it’ll be difficult, Zo. It’s not in English and you won’t understand any of it, but I will. It’s important. It’s a book of spells. Just pronounce the words as best you can. Start at the very beginning. I’ll know what page I’ll need when I hear the names of each spell. Can you do that for me, sweetness?”

The girl hefted the weighty tome and moved over to the window, settling her back against the wall. “ZoZo can,” she said, her tone serious and unquestioning. The child opened the book to the first page and began to read in a slow, stutter.

Chapter Six

Boris, or rather, Alexei as he had happily come to think of himself, couldn’t hunt that evening. What was he going to do with the woman and child in his attic? And who in hell were they? It was obvious she had mistaken him for Alexei. She
wanted
him but in her need, he felt something else, too. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

She was gorgeous, but not his type, simply because
she
was a
she
. He abhorred women, always had and they’d abhorred him until he took Alexei’s form. Now, it seemed, they couldn’t get enough of him; always chatting him up, touching his hand, his arm, his shoulder whenever they got the chance. He put up with it. It made hunting that much easier, but he only ventured near to feed. No sex. Never sex.

He had no trouble attracting men either and for that, he was thankful. So
very
thankful. He was finally freed from his long-tortured existence in the prison that had been his face and body. Being Boris was a curse. Being Alexei was the best thing that had ever happened to him. It was too bad Alexei had to be obliterated for Boris to be transformed. He was beautiful and Boris did enjoy the young man’s company. Alexei was cheerful and carefree; the anti-Boris in so many ways. He may now possess Alexei’s body, but he didn’t possess his personality. Boris was still a brooding monster at his core.

A shutter ran through him when he remembered what he used to look like. His bulky frame; the pitifully thin hair he plastered to his scalp with all sorts of lotions to try to cover his bald pate. His eyes, red-rimmed and droopy, his large bulbous nose, and his barely there lips. He could go on and on about his shortcomings, and how they’d made his eternal life a living hell, making him a recluse. He’d been miserable, but now, everything was different. He’d taken over Alexei’s house, abandoning his dilapidated old mansion. Alexei’s place was old but it was in much better shape than his was and though he’d made a promise not to fill it with junk as he’d done in his old abode, it was a habit that proved impossible to break. He’d decided instead to think of himself a collector of sorts. He didn’t hoard, he merely kept things in case he needed them later. Boris’s latest obsession was with mirrors. He had hand mirrors in every room as well as at least one hanging on a wall so he could admire himself. His face and physique were a sight he’d never tire of appreciating.

Boris’s thoughts returned to the woman and her imp. She was like him, an ancient one. She was also excellent at masking. He could barely read a thought, except for the lustful ones that made him want to retch. Perhaps he should kill her and keep the imp for himself. He could go up there right now and take away the girl, and let the woman go hungry until she turned to dust. He would like that. A smile crept onto his face with that thought and he went in search of a mirror for a glimpse of himself.

His smile widened and his dimples deepened beneath the neatly trimmed black whiskers as he admired his reflection. He raised a brow and turned his face this way and that, taking in every angle of his perfect face. Should he go back to the attic and steal the imp? Something told him, no, not yet. First, he needed to find out who the woman was and why she was in his house. Boris was not only a curious man, he was suspicious. Could she know his secret? He didn’t think so but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

Boris left the house and walked off into the thicket of trees surrounding his property in search of a quiet place. He needed to think. He needed to plan.

* * * * *

“That’s it, my love. Keep reading.” Alina couldn’t help but smile. ZoZo had found it; the spell that would free her. As the girl read, Alina repeated the words and concentrated, feeling each and every one of them resonate within her.

ZoZo scrabbled to her feet, letting the book slide to the floor. “Fire,” she said, pointing at Alina’s ankles, her eyes wide with concern.

“It’s okay, it’s supposed to happen. Pick up the book and keep reading,” Alina replied even though she felt the sting of the sparks as they began to melt the rope-like material that bound her ankles. She smelled sage, something not typically used in binding, but clearly, it had been enchanted. Alina realized Alexei couldn’t have found the spell in the book ZoZo was reading from, or he would never have left it in the attic for her to find. Besides, the dust moats that choked her when she’d pulled the tome from the shelf were evidence that it hadn’t been touched for quite some time. All creatures of the night have their secrets and spells learned along the way, as did she, but the
Book of Spells
was like no other.

ZoZo picked up the book. It took some time for her to find where she’d left off but once she did, she began in her usual careful stammer, pronouncing each word carefully and slowly with Alina repeating them.

Alina’s ankles blistered beneath the flames, but it was a pain she could endure if it meant her freedom. Finally, ZoZo fell silent, the incantation complete. Alina heaved a sigh of relief as she inspected each leg. There was no sign of the rope that once bound them. Her wrists, blackened with soot, were free as well. A smile lit Alina’s angular face, spreading to her charge. “You did it, Zo. You saved me.”

“ZoZo good girl?”

Alina pulled her into a hug and squeezed. “ZoZo is a
very
good girl, but we’ve got to get out of here.” Alina stood with the girl still in her arms, and then put her back down, settling ZoZo onto her stubby legs.

The girl took Alina’s hand and began to pull. “We go now. Yes, yes, yes,” she urged.

Alina scooped up the strange pink book. “Yes, sweetness. Let’s go.”