25 Ornaments

WARNING: This story may be long, but it fails. I'm redoing it though, so no worries!


Chapter 1: A Start



As the cold air started to brush over New York to welcome the winter season, and many started getting ready for the holiday cheer that was Christmas. Radios played carols merrily as people decorated their apartments. The small trees planted in the sidewalks were draped over with lights, and the town volunteers started decorating the large tree in the middle of town square. Snow slowly draped the city in a blanket of white, bringing a crisp feel to the busy area. For one author in particular, this was the most romantic time of the year.

Beth Lankheart loved holidays. Her whole family made a big celebration for each one, even small ones like Columbus Day. Christmas, however, was her favorite time of the year. It was the time for romance, and the time for writing ideas. Everything just seemed to fit perfectly for her books, and for her friend’s love lives. Somehow, she’s never really had that luxury, but she made do with writing fairy tales that made her a well known author. This year, though, felt different.

It was the first of December, and she was just finishing up her shift at Star Bucks. Her red curls were pinned up in a sloppy bun as she swirled up the whipped cream on a caramel latte. Blue eyes bright with happiness, she handed it off to the customer with a, “Happy Holidays!”

“Well someone is in a good mood today.” Said her co-worker, Sally, who was hanging up her apron in the worker’s lounge.

“It’s the Christmas season!” Beth exclaimed, making her sound like she was five years old compared to her actual age of 32. “How can you not be excited? The snow wraps around the city like a bundle of joy, spreading the happiness of nature to even to stuffed-up places like New York!” She threw her work apron over to the lounge, plopping down in one of the squashy sofas provided for customers.

“As far as I’m concerned, it means more customers and more work.” Sally mumbled, rolling her brown eyes as she cleaned out a coffee machine.

“Which means more money for Christmas presents,” Beth sighed at her friend’s lack of enthusiasm. Then she stopped and remembered that she just enjoyed it more than others and shouldn’t press. “Well, if you’re going to be that way, I’m going to go home. I have to start figuring out my next novel.” She dismissed herself, pulling on her black trench coat over her red sweater.

The sidewalks where icy and slick as Beth walked out, the cold air piercing her skin like a thousand knives. She hurried over to the other side of the street, where her blue Ford Expedition XLT, which stood out in the crowd of hybrids and sport cars. The cold leather wasn’t any better than the outside, but that’s what she loved about winter. She didn’t mind the cold, because it meant holidays. As she drove along the highway, she thought about how her life revolves around holiday spirit so much. It wasn’t that she minded it; it was something that made her different than other people that lived in the city.

Her apartment was a good size for a single author, and it was well worth the money, too. She was pretty high up in the building, so she got a marvelous view of the city from her large window in the living room. She was proud of the small place she called home, even if her relatives in North Carolina, who were used to wide open spaces and farms, thought different.

She turned on her music player, which happily sung Christmas songs as she changed from her work outfit to her favorite pajama pants that were decorated by super heroes from multiple comic books, and a sweatshirt sporting the NASCAR logo. It was her writing outfit, and she strongly believed that it was the item that gave her inspiration for every scene. She was just about to start typing up a new plot, when there was a knock at her door. Confused, she looked through the peephole to see the mail man at her door. 'Odd.' She thought, opening the door. 'Post only comes on Sundays.'

"Mrs. Lankheart?" The man said, holding a huge box and a small envelope.

"Yes, that's me." She said, taking the mail. Before she could say thank you, the man walked away, mumbling about the weight of the mail he had to carry each day.

Sighing, she walked back to her fire place, opening the package first. It took some strength, but she was finally able to open it to see that her parents had sent her a bunch of Christmas decorations. Beth had to stay in New York for the holidays this year to attend a Christmas Book Celebration, which was devastating to her family. A note was stuck in the middle of a roll of tinsel that said:

"Beth,

We're sorry you couldn't make it to our family holiday party, but we sent you a part of home to help you get through Christmas without us. We knew that someday you wouldn’t be here, but knowing you, you’re still going to celebrate it like you would with us. Enclosed in this box is a roll of tinsel, a kit for a Christmas tree, ornaments, and Grandma Betty’s famous ginger bread recipe. You are going to have to send us pictures of your Christmas, and promise to visit sometime soon. Who knows, maybe we’ll also send you a surprise a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Your loving family”



The letter brought tears to Beth’s eyes. Never had she spent a Christmas away from home, and to have a piece of home in New York made her feel like she might make it through. She rummaged through a little, placing all of the decorations on the ground around her, until she got to the ornaments.

They were places very neatly in a small box, and they all were painted a beautiful shade of gold and red. Looking closer, she saw that each had a different number on them, counting up to 25. Confused, she picked up the tree, which was a very small tree that would fit on her side table by her sofa, and saw that there was a note etched onto the cardboard.

“Each ornament counts down to the day of Christmas. Put one on each morning until Christmas. Hope it fits in your apartment. –Papa”

Beth smiled at the token of affection from her father. Rarely did they ever speak to each other, but it was the silence of understanding that made them closer to each other than any other person. She unfolded the plastic tree that brought a smell of fake pine to the room, and placed it on her side table. A couple of pine needles fell out of the holds, but it blended in very nicely with her other furniture. Carefully and delicately, she placed the first ornament onto the tree’s branch. It made it sag a little, but the light gleamed off of the paint, making Beth beam.

She decorated her apartment like promised, placing the tinsel around the fireplace and wrapping around the railings for the stairs. It wasn’t much decoration, and it looked cheesy, but it made her feel at ease. With her laptop positioned perfectly on her lap, she situated herself by the fireplace, sipping a cup of hot coffee. She had only written a couple hundred words before seeing something white in the corner of her eye. The letter that had been on top of the package was laid right by her, the ink a little smudged from hands being pressed against it.

Picking it up, she almost gasped at the return address: John Willington. The man who she had once loved….

John was a kind boy and a smart one at that when she last saw him. But that came with a dangerous side effect: reckless. He always jumped head first into things without question, and that may have been the reason why she had fallen for him. The relationship was rocky, and what relationship isn’t rocky at the age of 18? No matter, they loved each other, and everyone could see it in their eyes.

One day, though, John had planned a romantic evening for them, the candles around the old farm she lived on, her favorite music playing, and to top it off, he had bought her a present. Not any present either, but a wedding ring. He pledged his love to her, playing out his smile, but she refused. As much as she wanted to be with him, it was too dangerous. He was reckless and a player at heart, and she couldn’t risk their marriage falling apart. Heartbroken, John ran away. No one in her family, or his, ever heard from him again.

Fear pulsed through her as she tore through the envelop lid, letting the contents pour over her lap. There was just a small note and a picture that read:

“Beth,

I’m coming soon. We’ll make things right.

John.”

Beth took a sharp intake of breath as she read, her eyes grazing over the nine words multiple times. It just couldn’t be true. Fear tugged at her heart, activating her tear docks. This was the last thing she wanted out of life at the moment. She crumpled up the note and threw it across the room, making a soft thud as it landed in the trash can.

Shaking, she ran her hand through her hair, trying to think of nothing but the music. She sat there for a couple of minutes, losing herself in the lyrics and memories of past holidays. Suddenly, a story idea came to mind, and she automatically started typing into the night.





















Chapter 2: Digging Deeper



The next four of days, Beth tried to keep her mind off of the note. She let herself become divulged into her writing and reading, working extra hours, and spent a lot of time thinking. Thinking of Christmas, John, and most importantly, love.

It was something that her life always lacked after the John incident. She just was too precautious on who she let into her life. At one point, she had considered trying to contact John to reestablish their relationship, but at the last minute she had pulled herself away, remembering the dangers.

People didn’t ask why she was acting strange; they just assumed that the depression of not being at home for the holidays was taking over her happy mood. She was silent most of the time, lost in thought. Sally would sometimes yell at her, and almost called her boss to see if Beth could go on a sick leave. Beth automatically told her she was fine, remembering to act better at work.

Beth was sitting on the countertop by the espresso machine one day, staring off into space as Sally started counting up the money in the cash register. It had been a slow day, and the two friends were taking it easy, when the door creaked open. Both shivered at the harsh wind that blew in, making a howling noise in some of the cracks in the window panes.

Sally took the order from the single customer, smiling a little too much than she normally would. The customer seemed male, but Beth couldn’t tell from her distance. She became absorbed in studying him, and it seemed like he was, too. His body seemed pretty muscular and lean, but the bundle of clothing on top of his body made it hard to detect.

“Beth, stop goofing around and fix up a cup of coffee for Mr. Arlington!” Sally snapped, alerting Beth that she better get her butt moving if she wanted her days pay. Sliding off the counter, she quickly made a tall cup of her favorite drink, the red cardboard warm against her skin as the liquid filled it up. She turned to give it to the man, and that’s when she realized why Sally was smiling.

The man’s hair was jet black, cut neatly as to show his warm dark blue eyes. His skin was tan, and it outlined the muscles that she could see very well. From her spot, she could smell a peppermint smell emitting from him, drawing her in. His eyes captivated hers, and they just stood there for a couple of minutes, just studying the other’s expression.

“Hey,” Sally shouted from the back room. “I really hope you aren’t slacking again!”

Feeling the blush creeping across her freckled face, she walked a little closer to give the man his coffee. Just as her hand reached out, her foot slid across and ice cube. The coffee hit the man full on in the face, but he just managed to grab the tips of her fingers to make sure she didn’t fall.

“Are you okay?” he gasped, holding her other hand to steady her.

“Yea, I’m fine. Thanks, though.” She mumbled embarrassed. Her face flushed as she saw the coffee drenching his face. “Oh Lord! I’m so sorry!”

“Ah, this is nothing.” He smiled, but it looked kind of like a wince.

“Here, let me help.” She walked out to him, towel in hand. He shrugged off his jacket and scarf, and basically anything that was wet. The sweater that he had been wearing was tight around his abdominal muscles, and having his black hair wet made it look like he had been working out for a good amount of time.

“I’m Luke, by the way.” He said, looking into her eyes as she wiped off the coffee. “Luke Arlington.”

“Elizabeth Lankheart.” She gave a shy grin, “Most people just call me Beth, though.”

“So do you always keep your floors covered in ice?” Luke chuckled. “Or did you just happen to know that a handsome young man like me was going to walk in and dramatically save you from a tragic fall?”

Beth raised her eyebrows, looking at him over her square glasses. “Well aren’t you a little full of it!” Sighing, she started to pull the towel away from his face, but he caught her hand and kissed it gently.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He flashed a brilliant smile, making her heart stop for a few seconds.

“Wow, charming, but if you’re trying to pick up ladies, such as myself, then you’re going to have to go for a more subtle course of action.”

“Well I was planning to give you the coffee with my number on it, but someone had to mess up my amazing plan.” He smirked, sitting down in one of the love seats.

“And what would have happened if I didn’t call?” She challenged, walking back to the coffee machine, making another cup.

“Oh, you would call. I know you would.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I have my reasons.” His eyes twinkled with humor as she walked back over with his drink. He gladly took a swing, but looked like he was going to choke. “How many shots did you put in?”

She laughed a little. “Let’s just say a couple.”

“Well,” Luke sat down the coffee and picked up a piece of paper nearby. “If couples are what you’re into, why not write down your apartment number and phone number so we can become one?”

She gave him an exasperated look, but took the paper anyways. “You must have a book somewhere that is full of pickup lines.” She said, writing down her number hastily.

“Nah, they just kinda come to me.” He chuckled again, and she listened intently to how light and musical it sounded. “I usually can just say a cute little line and everything goes smoothly.” He took the paper from her hand, his brow knitting together as he read it. “You live at the St. George Apartment?” He asked, arching one brow.

“Yes.” Beth said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. “Is there something wrong with where I live?”

“Oh nothing is necessarily wrong,” Luke shrugged, mimicking her pose. “Unless living in the same apartment as me is considered wrong.”

Beth gaped at him. “What floor?”

“23^rd.” He murmured.

“20^th.”

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence, absorbing in how close they lived to each other. It wasn’t until Sally walked in that broke the silence.

“Beth,” Sally cleared her throat. “Please, do remind me, when do we leave our post?”

“Never.” Beth sighed, walking back to the counter.

“And when do we leave pools of coffee on the floor?” She sighed, pointing to the excess coffee that Beth forgot to mop up.

Luke was suddenly by her side, looking into Sally’s eyes without blinking. “Actually, that was my fault.” He smiled, his voice suddenly sweet like honey, “I do think that you should clean it up instead of Beth, and in fact, why don’t you let her have the day off?”

Beth expected Sally to yell her head off at him for telling her what to do, but to her astonishment, Sally nodded. She grabbed a mop and started cleaning up the coffee, while taking Beth’s apron off over her head. As Sally got closer, Beth noticed how her pupils were dilating like mad.

Luke slowly walked with Beth out the store door, not breaking eye contact with Sally until the door closed. They walked for a little in the snow, neither talking until the shop was out of sight.

Beth rounded on Luke, her eyes flaring, “What the hell was THAT?” She exclaimed, making some people turn their heads to her. “Sally is one of the most well grounded and stubborn people on this entire planet! Normally she would be still yelling at you, but when you told her to let me take the day off, she just fell to your every whim.”

Luke merely smiled and put his arm around her casually. “You don’t believe that my good looks just have people kissing my feet?” He started walking with her, a determined look in his eyes, which made Beth happy that she took the bus that morning.

“I don’t think having a person’s eyes focusing that frequently is based from a man’s looks.” She muttered, making sure only he could hear.

“The lights were changing a lot; yours were focusing, too.” He shrugged again, which pissed her off. She knew something was up, and she hated not knowing.

“Okay then, will you mind telling me, then, where we are going?”

“Somewhere special, a place where I only take certain girls.” He glanced down at her, his eyes gleaming.

Beth immediately started going over defense methods in her head. Oh lord, what was she thinking! Walking along with a perfect stranger, taking her to heaven-knows-where! For all she knew, he could be taking her to some random room in an abandoned warehouse to rape her! It was like Silence of the Lambs coming to New York. Her eyes scanned the premises, looking for some sort of tool she could use as a weapon.

Luke, oblivious to her sudden concern, turned right to let her see her own apartment. She furrowed her brow, and saw him do the same.

“What are you thinking about?” She asked casually as they checked in.

“What you’re thinking of.” They walked into the elevator, and he pressed the 23^rd floor. “You?”

“Same thing.” She mumbled, feeling oddly uncomfortable underneath his arm.

Another moment of silence lapsed between them as they watched the elevator rise, each getting a little fidgety. As they arrived at his floor, Beth’s mind started to soar through possible weapons again, naming five as they walked out.

She steadily grew nervous as he opened his door, showing a neat and large apartment. The den had the same large window as hers did, but his held a large Christmas tree and a lounging sofa that casually fitted in front of his plasma. Surveying the room more intently, she noticed that it was fresh paint. He’d only been living there for a short amount of time. Then she saw the bedroom.

It had a gaping archway from the den that let her see the king sized bed that was covered in decoration pillows and small rose petals. The dim light from the fading sun gave it a romantic appeal, but she just narrowed her eyes.

“I see you have something planned.” She tried to say strong and brave, but her voice squeaked and appeared weak. “I’ll just be leaving then.”

He stopped her in her tracks, holding both of her hands. ‘Ah crap…’ She thought as he pulled her back, ‘You didn’t just grab the hat stand as you walked in and knocked him out! No! You had to wait.’

Luke held her close, his mouth by her ear. “You’re an amazing woman you know.” His voice dropped down soft, the honey sound making her head spin. “You should spend the night.”

Something tingled in the back of her mind. Every one of her instincts told her to just give in, let him explore you. But something stopped her. She struggled against him, shoving him off.

“I just met you!” She exclaimed, glaring at his expression of shock. “Why would I sleep with you?”

The astonishment look slid off his face to show one of curiosity.

“What! Not used to be rejected?” She yelled again, anger fuming inside.

Luke quickly came back to his normal composure. “Well I will say that this is a first for me.” He said, sitting down on the large sofa.

“Then I’ll just let that sink in for the time being.” Beth snapped, heading to the door. “I know that your small brain will take a while to process that, so I’ll be on my way.” And with that, she ran.











































Chapter 3: Starting Over

Her feet stomped on each step as she ran down the stairs, emotions boiling in her head. Tears were begging to come out, but she held them in for the sake of her dignity. She never cried in public, and she wasn’t going to let this guy be the one to change that.

Slamming the door to her apartment, she slowed down and threw herself onto her small couch. Beth’s entire body was shivering, the anger and fear still fresh in her system. She closed her eyes and covered herself in a blanket, letting her emotions simmer down. Everything was just so overwhelming. Her whole life, she had nightmares of rape and abuse, which was part of the reason why she came close to guys but never made anything special happen. Her parents had warned her that the chances of that happening would be even stronger in New York, but she moved anyways.

She wrapped the blanket closer around her, as she remembered how easily Luke could have hurt her. The thought set the tears rolling down her face, the fear pouring out onto the fabric. The warmth of sleepiness enclosed her thoughts, making her eye lids droop a little. Tears always made her tired, and it usually prevented her from dwelling on the topic further, but something about this made her want to stay up. It wasn’t just about nightmares coming to life, but the remembrance of the other reason why she left John. The memory sent shivers down her spine, and she let herself sleep as to stop thinking about it. Sleep decided to dream about that memory instead.



John had brought Beth down to a corn field a couple miles away from both of their families’ ranches. They were laying in his large pickup truck, his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. The sky was lit up with a meteor shower that spilled pale light onto them, making them both smile.

“This is how life should always be.” Beth had murmured, snuggling closer to him.

“Babe, this is how life WILL be, once we finish school.” His brown eyes sparkled in the night, making her body warm up.

“I told you, if we’re going to be together after high school, then we are going to college.” She sighed, “We need our education to support each other.”

“Oh pish-posh.” He smirked, using their favorite word since they were kids. Having parents that discouraged swearing, they made up a word that they used as a substitute when mom or dad was around. Now they just used it to make each other smile. “We’ll just be taking over the farm once my dad passes away, which won’t be long. You can still write to your heart’s content while helping me take care of the cattle. It’ll be a perfect way to have story plots.” They both laughed a little, and he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

It started out innocent, light kisses on each other, enjoying their romantic get-together, but as usual, it heated up pretty quick. Beth never wanted anything more from his kissing, she was perfectly happy in his arms. John, on the other hand, very much wanted to go all the way.

They held each other close, the only other sound being their breath. Beth put her arms around his neck, and his started going up her shirt.

“No.” She breathed, pulling apart very abruptly. “We are not going to do that.”

John groaned. “Elizabeth, you know I love you, but you have got to stop refusing! It’s going to happen sometime.”

“And that sometime will be when we are happily married, or at least own our own place. I don’t want it to happen while we’re only in our senior year.”

“Why? We’re perfectly capable of it right now, and no one will know!”

“No one will know? How about our parents?”

“We don’t have to tell them.”

“Trust me, they’ll find out. My parents already have me on the pill, even though they highly dislike it.” Beth sighed, pushing herself out of the embrace. “It’s the way they would have wanted it, seeing as it would be disrespecting God.”

“Oh lord, please not this again.” John muttered. “God is a myth. There is no after life; otherwise we’d all go to hell. We’ve all sinned once in our life.”

“That may be true, and that may also just be the way you think.” She pointed out. “But I want to respect my parent’s wishes. They believe in sex only after marriage and everything else the bible believes.”

“Even the statement that mystical creatures are so-called ‘fake and will set a demon spirit in your soul if you believe in them’?”

“Please, John, I don’t want to hear this.” She moaned, looking out the window.

“Come on, Beth! You have to at least try and understand my point of view.” John said in an exasperated tone. “There is always the chance of there being shape-shifters in the world-”

“And that one of them attacked your father, which set him into his coma and now your duty is to search for it and make the shape-shifter species extinct.” Beth finished off his sentence. “John, I’ve heard this too many times.”

He knitted his brows together and said softly, “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because you’re saying that there are animals out there that are told to be pure myths!” She retorted.

“They are out there, Elizabeth!” His eyes were flaring up with anger now. “You’ve got to trust me on this one!”

“Jonathan, I may not believe in Christianity like my parents, but I won’t believe in fairytales either.” She had then hopped out of his car and headed home, knowing that his eyes were bearing into her back every step of the way.





Beth’s eyes fluttered open as the light of the pale sun poured into her family room. She sat up on the couch, wincing as her back seared with pain. Scolding herself for letting herself fall asleep on the couch, she stood up and fixed a cup of coffee. Her clothes were wrinkled and uncomfortable in her lazy state, so she changed into a cotton sweater and loose jeans, pulling her messy hair into a neat bun. She surveyed herself in the mirror as she drank her coffee, noticing the red in her eyes and how tired she looked; it was completely obvious that she had been crying in her sleep.

Shaking her head, she walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out her diary, writing all about the previous day. It was one of the only ways to let out her emotions in a calm manner. She sighed as she started writing about the dream, shaking her head a little. The memory was crystal clear, even the day after when they made up. Of course John had promised that he would only going hunting for the shape-shifters after they were married, but she had just pushed it aside.

Her pen was just running out of ink, when a knock came at her door. She got up to look out the peephole… And saw Luke.

Every part of her mind told her to just lock the door and ignore him, but she still found herself opening the door slightly and saying, “What do you want?”

His blue eyes were full of humor and curiosity. “Well, I thought that I’d make up for last night and take you to brunch.” His voice was calm, but had a twinge of regret in it. “My behavior was inexcusable, and I thought that I’d treat you to something as to get to know each other.”

Beth opened the door wider, giving him a tired look. “You could have just done that when you met me.” She walked back to the kitchen, leaving the door open. He gladly came in, looking around her apartment.

“Yes, but I don’t usually do that. So this will, yet again, be a first for me.” He picked up the blanket and pillow that she had slept with, giving her a curious look.

“Rough night.” She grunted, looking in her fridge. “Anything you want?”

“Just water, please.” He said, placing back her belongings neatly. “Don’t really want to intrude.”

“Oh so now you’re suddenly a gentle man.” She rolled her eyes, walking back over with their beverages.

He gladly took the water and sat down next to her on the sofa. “Would you rather me be upfront with you again?” He gave her a lopsided smile, making her heart race.

Beth sighed looking out her window. “Okay, what are you really here for?”

“As I said before, just to get to know you.” Luke chuckled, leaning his head back a little, his gaze still upon her. “Tell me, what do you do for a living?”

“Well, I write a lot and I have published three books.” She said, eyeing him suspiciously. She wasn’t sure if she should let down her guard yet. “I go by Martha Jimnia.”

“How did you come up with Martha?” He laughed a little.

“It was my mother’s name.” She let herself relax a little in her seat. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I am a private detective.” He pondered over his answer for a moment. “Sort of.”

“Sort of? How can you sort of be a private detective?” She let herself relax completely, deciding that she was safe.

“Well it’s for a company that people usually don’t know of.” He became cautious, planning out his words. “I would elaborate, but it’s not for me to share.”

“Fair enough.” She took a sip of her coffee, searching for another subject. “Do you travel?”

“A lot, but I’m deciding to settle down here in New York.” Luke smiled slightly, like he was remembering times in other places. “I have been to Paris, Spain, Tokyo, Germany, India, Botswana, Sydney, Mexico, and now America in my lifetime.”

“Jesus! How do you pay for all of that?” Beth gaped, “I’ve only lived in two states, and the price just to move from the other one was almost all of my money!”

“I have my resources.” He winked. “Back to you now, you’ve lived in two states?”

“Yes. North Carolina and now New York.” She shrugged. “I didn’t get to move around a lot with my family needing me to help with the farm.” She launched into the story of her life, going over the beauty of the oak trees and the hay fields. Each time she thought that she was boring him, she would stop and apologize, but he continued to egg her on. Blush would creep across her face when this happened, but she finally made it to the end of her story line. “What about you?” She asked, “How did you end up here?”

Luke paused for a moment, looking as if he was unsure weather to tell her or not. “Oh come on,” Beth chuckled. “I basically just told you every aspect of my life, and now you’re hesitating to tell me even a little bit of yours.”

“Well maybe you’re just going to have to figure it out over time.” Luke grinned, trying to change the subject. She just gave him an exasperated look, which wiped the grin right off of his face. “Okay, but if I start to depress you are bore you stop me.” He cleared his throat before beginning. “I was born in Paris, France, where my mother passed away from the pain of labor. My father was a…. odd man. As much as he didn’t want to keep the thing that killed his wife, there was something that he needed me for.

“I was raised in studying investigation strategies and folk lore. The investigation was fun, I will admit. I was able to sneak anything behind everyone and was able to understand most of anything, but the folk lore bored me to tears. My father, again, is different and believes in things like….” He paused for a moment. “Things like mystical creatures. I had every fact about every fairy tale and monster burned into my brain. I didn’t believe them, but they made my father proud.

“At the age of sixteen, I ran away from home when I found him practicing… something interesting. Of course, it was surrounding folk lore and mystical, but the way he preformed the… ritual just frankly freaked me out. I ran until my legs felt like they were going to collapse. There a man took me in by the name of Juan, a Mexican living happily with his French wife. They gladly took me in as there own, and I moved out eventually to travel the world with my investigation services.” His ending was so abrupt that it startled Beth.

“Uh… Okay…” She stumbled over her words, trying to recollect her thoughts.

“Boring, right?” He smiled, sympathy clouding his eyes.

“Not at all! But…Why such an abrupt ending?”

“There are some things that I did that I would rather not say.” He tensed up, straightening his posture. “Some things that I would not like for you to hear.”

The tone of his voice was ice, and it sent a trickle of fear down her spine, all alerts in her brain were setting off, telling her to switches subjects. He did that for her, saying, “You must be hungry. Let me take you to lunch.”

Beth glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was already noon. “Let me just put some make up on.”

“You look beautiful already, if I do say so myself.” He gave a shy grin, the confident, charming attitude replaced by someone who was actually sensitive and caring. Beth wondered what about his past held him back from being himself.

She felt blush creep across her face a little, pulling on some black boots and a blue jacket. “Okay, fine. Let me grab my glasses and we can walk to the café nearby.”

The cold air pierced at their faces, and Beth found herself walking close to Luke as to keep warm. He reacted calmly, walking closer to her as well but not initially making contact. Beth smiled under her scarf; he really did want to try and start over. She admired him for it and was slowly starting to warm up to the idea of them becoming closer.

With the café buzzing with activity on Saturday, they waited patiently for a table to open up, where they both ordered some water before getting something to eat.

“So, what do you eat on a regular basis?” He asked her, leaning over the table so that she could hear him speak over the noise of the crowd.

“My personal favorite would be Sushi, but I love any kind of soup.” She leaned closer as well. His breath was warm against her face, the smell of peppermint surrounding him again, making Beth wonder how he managed to achieve that. “How about you?”

“A hearty steak, if available,” he chuckled, “but I usually manage with a soup or chowder.”

“What kind of soup? We could share some if you want.”

“Well I love Tomato Basil Bisques. The flavors are so defined and blend together perfectly.”

“No way! That’s my absolute favorite next to the Pumpkin Spice that my Mamaw would make.”

“Mamaw?”

“My grandmother.” She gave a shy smile. “I have weird names for my relatives.”

He laughed softly, the sound musical to her ears. The waiter came over and had Luke order for them. “Tomato Basil Soup, please.” He asked with a smile still on his face.

Beth smiled at Luke as the waiter walked away. “You really want to make things better, don’t you?”

“What can I say? I may be obnoxious at times, but I do have manners.” He shrugged, grinning slightly.

Everything happened quickly; the waiter came back out with the soup and ran into another person, the bowl flying over to their table. Luke grabbed Beth and pulled her out of the way, catching the bowl in one hand as to prevent the glass breaking. Their breath was ragged and loud in the silent restaurant. Beth was staring at Luke with wide eyes, disbelief consuming her thoughts.

“Are you okay?” He breathed, fear intertwined with his voice.

“Yea, I’m fine.” She gasped, letting him help her up.

Luke started at her for a couple of seconds more, and then turned to the waiter. “Why don’t you let us have a free meal and we’ll forget this ever happened?” There was the honey voice again, piercing Beth’s heart like a knife of astonishment as the waiter nodded and started cleaning.

They both hurried out of the restaurant, Luke had his arms around her again, but in more of a protective stance.

Beth, for the second time, rounded on him. “Okay, you have some serious explaining to do.” She snarled, every aspect of her stance was threatening.

Luke was expressionless, but his eyes exposed his thoughts. He was cautious, wondering if he should reveal something to her. After awhile, he spoke. “Come with me. Stay close.”

Chapter 4: Learning



Luke was on red alert. He wasn’t saying anything, but he was tense and kept Beth as close to him as possible. His jacket was wrapped around her, and her arm was around her waist. She was mimicking his pose, her arm around his torso. Even though she had no idea what was going on, she knew that she had to be careful. Not a word was spoken between them until they reached a book store.

The sign read ‘Mythology and Folk Lore’, but Beth had a sense that it was something a little more than that. Luke pulled her closer, if possible, and hustled inside.

The strong smell of peppermint was overwhelming, every inch of the store emitting the aura of the candy. The room was covered with books, each titled with something that was related to mythology. She was so captured by the setting that she didn’t realize that Luke had taken her out of his jacket until he rang a bell over by a small desk.

“Yea, yea, I hear you!” A croaky voice came from below. “Give me a minute.” The floor boards suddenly creaked underneath Beth, and she jumped over to Luke as a small square of the floor popped up from where she was standing. A man’s head came up, his gold eyes scanning over them. His brown hair was thinning on the top, and by the wrinkles on his face, he had seen a lot of years. As he saw Luke, he smiled broadly. “Lucifer.” He pulled himself out of the floor to go and shake Luke’s hand. “How’ve you been?”

“Undercover, until now, Michel” Luke’s voice was tense with caution. Beth sensed that she was preventing them from speaking freely, so she walked over to the back of the room where there was a sofa. She watches as their voices dropped and their lips moved vigorously. Suddenly their heads turned to her, both of their eyes scanning her. Beth felt exposed under the blue and gold gaze, so she grabbed a book and started skimming through the pages.

Thinking she was completely preoccupied, they continued to talk. Beth strained to hear their conversation.

“Do you really think they’re back?” Michel muttered to Luke.

“Trust me, I know what I saw. Worse, they have bullets.”

“I thought that bullets only delayed you.”

“Ruby bullets, Michel.”

“Impossible!” Michel’s voice rose up a little, and they both looked over to see if I had noticed. His voice lowered again, “Impossible. They don’t make those anymore. I’ve checked every blacksmith in the world. No one could buy them, not even make them.”

“That’s why I need to know if it’s right for us if we…” Luke nodded towards Beth.

Michel scrutinized her. “Hey you!” He called, making her look up. “Come over here.”

Beth stood up, putting her book down, trying to act like she hadn’t heard a thing. “Yea?” she asked.

“Why don’t you run that sword through me?” Michel pointed to a large sword on the wall, his voice sounding as sweet as chocolate. The tingling sensations started in her head again, the urge to swipe the sword through his heart becoming almost unbearable. She shook her head, trying to get the feeling out.

“Why would you want me to do that?” She asked, astonished. “You look like you still have a few more years to go.”

Michel looked at Luke, who smirked. “I don’t want to try that yet, Lucifer.” He said, ignoring Beth’s confused look. “It could be very dangerous if it’s not the right person.”

Luke turned to Beth. “Tell him who you dated when you were 18.” He said, recalling her life story.

“John Leeonas.” She said slowly. The fact that he remembered that piece of information was shock enough, but having her tell a stranger? That was a little out of the line.

Michel made a small sound that sounded like he was stifling a gasp. “So they live on. I thought you took the last one down.”

Beth’s breath became ragged as she thought of John’s father. Her gaze was locked on Luke and Michel. “It was you…?” She breathed, not wanting to believe it. Luke didn’t even know John until she told him about their fling. Then again… He had flinched a little.

Luke held up his hand, stopping her from saying anything else. “What do you think?”

“How will she handle it?” Michel replied. “If she’s been against mythology her whole life, how do you think she’ll handle that?”

That stumped Luke. “I… I’m not sure. I think we need to take action as soon as possible, though.”

“Hey!” Beth shouted, “I’m still here! Don’t act like you don’t see me!” They both turned to her, stunned.

“Take it slow.” Michel said before disappearing.

Luke sighed and looked at Beth. “I know you must have a lot of questions.”

“Like hell I do!” She almost shouted, “Take it slow? How will she handle it? You talk about me like I’m an inanimate object!”

“There is a lot to explain, and I’m not sure what to say about it.” Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to break down his words.

She started to pace around the room a little. “Mythology. I know something has to do with mythology. That’s why you brought me here.”

Luke sighed, sitting down in a large chair. “Would you believe me if I told you that Michel was just a crazy old man who has been my friend forever and I just wanted to satisfy one of his crazy beliefs?”

“Probably not.” She said in an exasperated tone. “I know that I don’t believe in stuff like Faeries and Vampires, but as long as you aren’t going to tell me you are a mystical creature of some sort, then I’ll handle it.”

Luke was silent, a pained look stretching across his face. “Oh come on, Luke!” Beth groaned loudly. “I thought that you were an okay guy! A normal guy with normal beliefs and normal thoughts!”

“Read this.” He said suddenly, interrupting her rant. “You don’t have to listen to me talking about stuff that you don’t believe in, but at least read this to get a gist of it.” He handed her a book that read: Shape Shifters and the Prophecy. She scoffed, but took it anyways.

“Fine. I’ll read it.” She snapped, “But you’re going to go through major interrogation after I’m done.”

She started for the door, but stopped as Luke called, “Hey, Elizabeth.” His voice was tinged with regret. “Thanks for coming with me to see my father.”

















































































Chapter 5: Research with a Reunion



Beth walked aimlessly for a little, trying to calm down the anger that was starting to fill her head. The book made her hand clammy, and she constantly switched hands just to do something. About five minutes after walking, she realized that she had almost no clue where she was going. The alleyways were empty, and the cold air made her anger channel to fear.

She wrapped her jacket closer around her. It was like the first night with Luke all over again; the adrenaline pulsing through her veins, fear shaking her mind, plans for protections rushing as thoughts and surveying her surroundings. It was nerve wracking,

Just when she thought she was going the right way, she hit a dead end. “Great.” She muttered. A rustle suddenly echoed from the trash cans, making her turn around quickly. This was the moment she was preparing herself from. She fiddled around with her coat pockets, her hand enclosing around pepper spray. Of course, it wasn’t much, but it was worth the effort.

A silhouette emerged from the bin, making her flinch a little. “Stay back!” She exclaimed, her voice soft and meek.

“Beth, I’m not going to hurt you.” The voice was masculine, and strangely familiar. “You know I would never hurt someone like you.”

She took a step back as the man jumped out of the bin, walking closer to her. “I can’t believe you don’t remember me.” His voice had a small chuckle intertwined with the rhythmic tone. “After all of the stuff we went through together. Kissing, watching meteors, rejecting a proposal…”

Beth stifled a gasp. “J-John?” She stuttered.

John smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. “I’m glad you see clearly now.” He leaned against the wall. “About the whole Shape-Shifter thing.”

“It’s not true.” Beth murmured. “Luke is just trying to make his father happy and is having him believe that one of his fabled prophecies is coming true.” The words were total bull Jet is my Idol, but she tried her hardest to make them believable.

He easily saw through that. “I know you don’t believe that.” He came closer to her. “That book won’t help either. Come with me and I’ll tell you everything that I’ve found out.” He pulled out a shot gun, a red glint coming from the canister. “We can him down once and for all.”

“I don’t want to kill him.”

“Why? He’s thieving, senile-” He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes clouding over with regret. “You like him. Damn it, Beth!” He put his hand on his forehead. “He’s not right!”

“Neither were you! I still don’t believe any of this is real! You’re all just crazy ass people!” She screeched, trying to run past him. He stuck out his arm, and she ran into it, making her yelp in pain. Nothing could have prepared anyone for what happened next.

Luke came bounding in, shoving John to the ground and pinning him down. The gun John had been holding was knocked to the side, and Beth snatched it up, knowing that it would be better in her arms than his. She watched as they fought, punches being thrown everywhere. Suddenly, Beth saw a change in Luke.

His hair was getting tinged red, the color spreading out all over his body. And hair that was on his body was turning feather like, and his feet and legs were growing thin and orange, like a bird. His whole face was turning yellow, fixing itself into a beak and two black eyes. Arms changed to wings, flapping wildly at John. The transformation stopped, and standing before Beth was a huge Phoenix. The only way she could tell it was Luke was by its call.

The sound was like caramel, dripping softly onto ice cream. Every bit of its tone made her want to cry from its beauty. Its black eyes fixated on her giving her such a caring look that she knew that it had to be Luke. She watched as it scratched John with its large claw, leaving a huge gash. Beth gasped and started to run over to him, but Luke held her back.

A large tear fell from the bird’s eye, landing smack dab on John’s face. The gash started to heal almost immediately, but it left one heck of a scar. Luke stepped off of John, his human features slowly coming back. She watched the transformation happen again, staring in awe as he said to John in human form, “Stay away.”

Grabbing Beth’s hand, Luke picked her up and started running. Everything flew by Beth, their speed increasing with every stride he took. His breath was loud and fast, so she knew that this was taking a lot of energy from him. It wasn’t long before they had arrived at their apartment, hearts pounding. The check in was quick and easy, seeing as they saw their rushed expressions.

In the elevator, Luke finally dropped Beth, still keeping on of her hands in his. Neither said a word, both enwrapped with their own thoughts. They arrived on Beth’s floor, walking at a quick pace to her room. He kicked open her door with surprising strength, making her yelp at the noise. His eyes automatically went to hers, the quiver of his pupil asking questions of concern.

“I’m fine.” She blushed. “It’s just been really quiet.”

He nodded, eyes going silent again. She sighed slightly to herself. The short time that it had taken them to get home seemed like eternity from the lack of conversation. She walked over to her couch and watched as he locked the door and ran around the house to see if anything else needed to be locked.

“What was John trying to do?” She mumbled softly, wrapping her arms around her leg as Luke pulled the window’s shades closed. He turned to her, eyes livid.

“What was he doing? What was he doing! He hunts me. He hunts all of my kind!” He paced around her fireplace, tugging at his hair. “And the fact that he almost got to you just bugs me all the more.”

“He was my friend; I didn’t know that he was dangerous.” Beth said in her defense, voice gaining volume.

Luke froze. “Was. Was your friend.” His voice came out hard, dripping in acid as he spoke between his teeth, “Beth, if you have any connections with him, you must cut them off. Do you understand?” He said looking at her, his eyes pleading.

“I haven’t seen him in years, Luke. We were dating back when we were in High School, and when I rejected his proposal, he ran off. You remember that. I don’t have any connections that I know of.” She stood up, anger rising. “If you think that I’m just going to go run off with him, after heaven knows how many years without seeing him, then you’ve lost it!”

“I probably have…” He mumbled, mostly to himself, probably, that she barely caught it. Her eyes narrowed, and he looked up at her, curious now. “Would you believe me, if I told you that your friend, John, was a part of a secret society that rivaled with my father?”

Beth gaped at him, “You know, I’ve been dealing with this crap my whole life, listening to John ramble on about it. I thought I could get away from it when I moved here, but you proved me wrong!”

“Please, Beth,” Luke rushed over to her, grasping both of her hands, “hear me out. There is a lot that you need to know, and that I’m afraid you must know.” He waited patiently until she sighed and nodded. “Alright. Let’s start back from when I saw my dad performing a ritual.

“As I told you before, my father engorged himself in the mystical stories. Well, he had found a way to bring one type of mystical creature too him. The only problem was that he needed a live specimen, human preferably, to create the creature. He still hated me for killing his wife, so I was the perfect experiment. He didn’t tell me what was happening; he just brought me down to our basement and sat me down in a chair. In the few seconds I had left of humanity, I captured a lot in my memory. I saw a book on creation of mystical creatures, the page open on shape-shifters, my father’s hand on the switch, and the only look of sympathy I had ever seen on his face. The switch went down, and pain surged through me.

“Everything was different. The sounds, smells, tastes, everything enhanced. And I hated my father for it. As for him, we were finally even. So he decided to keep experimenting. He made me stronger, and I changed animals frequently. Each time, the pain grew stronger. It came down to the point where I couldn’t handle it. I lunged at him in my 45^th form, a wolf, biting down at his neck. Frantically, he grasped at his neck and fell into the experiment chair.” Luke went silent for a minute, “So I pulled the switch.

“I watched with satisfaction as my father screamed in pain like I had, and in horror as he turned into a Pegasus. Despising myself for what I had done, I jumped into the chair with him, trying to knock him out. He stayed a shape-shifter, like me as he jumped out of the chair, but I stayed. I became powerful beyond belief, and turned into the Phoenix.

“It drove me over the edge; I went on my own, staying human as long as I could. So I sent myself into detective services. Investigating myself, my species, and everything I hadn’t learned from my father about shape-shifter. I met many people in London that believed in mythology, and rarely did I meet people just like me. When I did, they were very careful around me and always were interested with how I fed.”

“Fed?” Beth asked.

“Well, I’m not supposed to eat normal human food. I must prepare a certain blue potion that helps me survive, but I still do eat a lot of food, which weakens me.”

“Why would you do that?”

“To blend in,” Luke said, “I already disliked being a shape-shifter, and having to morph at least once a week was enough for me to handle, so eating human food helped me feel like I still was one.”

“So what does that have to do with me and John?”

“The Leeonas family has hunted shape-shifters for centuries, and they always manage to find us. When he left you, it was to find me, not to get away from you. I… I had accidentally startled a sheep by a farm in North Carolina and it rammed into John’s father. John witnessed it, and saw me in the background, assuming that I was the cause of his father’s demise. He swore to avenge his father by hunting me like his grandfathers, leaving everything behind. We battled it out, but he was unsuccessful in killing me without the ruby bullets; the only thing that can kill my species.

HARVS!!!! xD not fair!!! you're sucha great writer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!