Beautiful Sins: Leigha Lowery (9 page)

Maria Goth:
Gotcha, I'm leaving out the door now.

All my coats were downstairs. I groaned and ran for my dressers. I pulled out a heavy sweater, and found an old pair of gloves in a sock drawer. Thank you mom! I thought to myself. I slipped on my boots and opened the balcony doors. It didn't seem like that far of a jump. The bushes would break my fall. Well, that's what I kept telling myself.

I drew in a deep breath and climbed over the balcony. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the jump. It was tougher than I thought. The fall was hard and rough. I would pay for this later. I pulled myself up, dusting the snow off my aching butt. I crouched beneath the bushes as the drapes began to flutter open.

The curious eyes of Randy skimmed the area for a long moment, and then he let them fall back into place. I ran through the snow as quickly as I could to the open road. Maria was already there waiting for me.

As I climbed into the car, she tossed me a brown skull cap.

"I figured you'd need a hat." She joked. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just get there so we can hurry back. My mother is going to want to check on me in a few hours." I warned.

"Alright, let's get on with it then." She said, pulling her small silver Chevy Camaro swiftly into drive.

We arrived at the park within twenty minutes. Her erratic driving nearly had given me a heart attack, and I had to restart my heart as she parked the car in a secluded space. Yellow tape surrounded the area, leaving a trail to our destination.

"Do you have the recorder?" I asked. She nodded.

"Do you have the camera?" She asked. I nodded.

"Let's go then." We said in unison. We chuckled and climbed out of her Camaro. Maria pulled off her coat and slid a can of pepper spray in her pocket.

"What's that for?" I asked curiously. Maria rolled her eyes as she pulled her hat over her head.

"Er…duh Leigha. Do you realize that we are two extremely hot women, and we are about to travel alone into a forest, where a serial killer harbors his victims?"

"Oh yeah. Now, I remember." I joked.

"Can we just get this over with?" I said, holding up my hand to remind her of the time clock I was running on.

"Sure Leigha, just follow the yellow tape." She said, gesturing towards the open path. We both drew in the cold crisp air and began down the path.

We walked in silence for a long moment. I remembered hearing Maria mumble something about King Royce a few days ago back in class. So, to spark a conversation and to block our minds from the blistering cold air, I decided to bring it up.

"Do you remember the debate you had that boy in class the other day?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I was wondering about what you said about King Royce. You know, my stepfather is his personal physician." I said as we headed down a small hill. Maria froze, meeting my gaze.

"What?" I stared at her blankly.

"Are you telling me that your stepfather is Dr. Randy Murphy?" I nodded.

She grabbed me roughly by the arm and tugged me back up the hill.

"Maria ow! You're hurting me." I yelled, snatching my arm back.

"Why didn't you say anything? We have to get you back home, now!" She yelled.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Let's just get the footage, and then you can take me back home. We're already half way there." I argued. She shook her head.

"Leigha, you don't understand your social standing. Let's just get you back home, and I'll get the footage." She suggested. I glared at her for a long moment, then I began to head down the trail.

"Leigha!" Maria yelled. She groaned and began to stomp behind me, mumbling something to herself.

I climbed under the tape, stomping through the snow to the crime scene. There were markers, traces where the bodies were left, the snow stained with blood and mud. The area reeked of death, causing me to put my hand to my mouth.

"This is wrong Leigha. You hold a very high standing with the court. You could get into a lot of trouble for this." She warned.

"I'm pretty sure the Prince would have a few words for me." I laughed. She stared at me.

"Yes, you're knight and shining armor. You know, he's never showed interest for any female until you." She reminded. I rolled my eyes, and began inspecting the deep blemishes in the trees.

"Wow! Maria, come look at this." I said, grazing my hand through the deep claw marks. Maria hurried to my side and gazed at the tree.

"Umm, I think we should get out of here." She mumbled. I stared at her, bewildered.

"You know, I think all the residents of the Coast have serious issues." I grumbled, pulling out my camera and began taking photos.

"Leigha…" Maria murmured.

"Yeah, I'm almost done. Just a few more…"

"Leigha, don't move." She ordered. I turned, confused by her request. I froze in place, shocked by what stood before us. The largest dog I had ever seen stood just a few feet away. His black coat of fur stood up; and I gulped as my eyes assessed that he was merely the size of a horse. His silver eyes bored into mine, and the camera slipped out of my hand. The crashing sound of the camera made him anxious causing him to growl and bare his teeth.

"Leigha, when I tell you to run… Run!" She yelled. I whirled, not looking back and plunged through the forest. The monstrous dog stood up on its hind legs and howled. His loud howls echoed through the forest.

"Don't look back Leigha, just keep running!" Maria yelled.

I screamed, panting from the pain of traveling through the heavy thick snow. This time, I heard several growls. Crashing through the forest, a pack of seven or more knocked down trees as they hurried to fetch us.

I shouldn't have looked back, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me and I tripped over a branch, twisting my ankle.

"Ouch!" I screamed.

"Leigha!" Maria yelled. She turned and hurried over to me.

"I think it's broken. Go! Just get out of here!" I yelled.

"No!" She screamed. She pulled me to my feet and one of the beasts landed just inches before us. We froze in place.

The others stood behind him, growling and fighting with each other. Maria held me tight. The huge dog barred his teeth, and began to slip into a crouching position. Maria closed her eyes.

It all happened so quickly, my brain couldn't process what was happening. The Prince landed in front of us, positioning himself in a crouch as the huge dog pounced into the air. Alexander hissed and rose to his feet, and in one swift motion, he slammed his arm into the beast, sending him back roughly into a tree.

It wept, and shook his head as it climbed onto its feet. Alex slipped back into a crouch, and snarled. The dogs began to back away, fearful of his wrath. As they disappeared into the forest, Alex rose to his feet and came to our aid. Maria broke apart from us, and dropped to her knees. Alex ignored her. My body shook roughly as I stood, frozen in place. I'm not sure if it was the cold, or the shock that spread through my entire body.

Alex's eyes glowed a golden brown, his teeth long and sharp. My mind screamed for me to run from him yet, my body welcomed his ice-cold hands as he roughly gripped my face.

"Why are you trying to leave me?" He growled. I felt my legs giving out on me, and I let myself fall into darkness.

I'm not sure how long I was out. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. I felt a cool hand brush against my clammy forehead, causing my eyes to flutter open.

"Thank god." He sighed, pressing his forehead to mine. I flinched, pushing away from him in fear.

"It's okay love, you're safe. No one is going to hurt you." He promised. His eyes were calm, the beautiful chocolate that I adored so much. So many different emotions swept over me. I couldn't fathom what was happening to me.

"What are you?" I asked.

"Leigha relax, everything is alright." He assured me again. I ignored him, furious that he disregarded my question. I pushed his hand away, sitting up on the bed. I ignored the intense stinging pain from my leg.

"Where is Maria?" I asked, sweeping my wild hair behind my shoulders. He smiled.

"She's safe. I sent her home to her parents. What were you thinking, sneaking off like that?" He scolded. I rolled my eyes.

"I know what I saw Alex, so there's no need to try and back out of this. I want answers. Please, I need to know what's going on." I begged.

He turned away from me and sighed.

"Leigha sweet heart… Please, just let this go. You're safe. There's no more danger." He vowed. I shook my head annoyingly and crossed my arms over my shoulders.

"No. Something isn't right. What were those animals? What are you? I know what I saw; now are you going to tell me or do I have to find out for myself?" I asked angrily.

"Leigha please…"

"Leigha! Oh baby, you're finally awake!" My mother shouted as she burst through my bedroom door. She hurried over to me, pulling me into a tight hug. The Prince stood over us.

"Yes, it's a good thing I got to her when I did. She could have gotten herself into a lot of trouble." The Prince murmured. I scowled at him as my mother continued to squeeze me tightly.

"Mom, please I'm okay. You can loosen your hold on me. I can't breathe." I complained.

"Oh." She said, pulling away. I could tell that she was slightly embarrassed by her suddenly rosy cheeks. That embarrassment quickly faded, and I prepared myself for the torrent as her lips began to curve into a frown.

"Young lady, do you have any idea how much you frightened me? Why would you do something like this?" She scolded. My mother's disappointment was far worse than any other form of punishment.

I held my head down in shame. I didn't want her angry with me.

"Mom I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken off like that. I just really wanted to get out of the house to work on my project. I should have just asked you." I said. She didn't look up at me. I knew, this wasn't over by a long shot…

* * * * *

THE THANEADDUS CHRONICLES

Thanks to Prince Alexander, I was confined to the house until my ankle was well enough for me to walk on it. He came to visit often, putting the entire neighborhood into a frenzy. One night during dinner, I overheard Randy explaining to my mother that we may have to move. I didn't want to move again.

What confused me more than anything, was the silence Maria held over the horrific attack in the park a few days ago. It was as if it had never happened.

"Here's the rough draft for the column. I figured you'd want to read it over before I submitted it to the editor." She murmured, passing me the vanilla folder. We were in the living room, watching The Prince and Randy play and intense game of chess.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" I asked, gesturing towards the kitchen. The Prince looked up at me, curious of my behavior.

"Er… Sure." Maria answered. I could feel him scowling at me as I followed Maria into the kitchen.

"Maria… What's…" But I didn't get to finish. She had her hands up, waving around furiously to silence me.

"What?" I muttered. She moved closer towards me. Her voice came out in a whisper as she spoke. I could barely hear her.

"Not here Leigha, just hold off a little bit longer until we are alone." She murmured.

She looked up at me with the most pleading eyes, and I knew she was serious. What in the world was going on? Why was everyone behaving as if nothing had happened?

Maria walked over to the fruit basket and handed me a banana.

"He's probably listening. Eat something; you'll want to annoy him as less as possible." Maria murmured. I rolled my eyes and tossed the banana roughly onto the table.

"You know what? I know I haven't gone insane. If no one is going to fill me in on what's going on, I'll just have to find out for myself." I threatened.

"Ahem." The Prince cleared his throat.

"Is everything alright?" He asked. I forced myself not to meet his gaze. He had such a power over me; it was so unnatural and it made me feel uncomfortable.

"No. Maria and I were just discussing the article." I lied. I knew he saw right through me; I wasn't sure how long he had been listening in on our conversation.

"Leigha dear, why don't you come and join me while I finish off this game with your father? He suggested, holding his hand out to me.

"Actually, I think I'll just go to my room. It's late and I'd like to get some rest. I'm going to school in the morning." I said eagerly, rudely declining his offer. This Prince had been getting on my last nerves.

"Leigha." He sighed; his hands balling into tight fists.

"You are not well. We will further discuss your education once you are feeling better." He said sternly. I sighed. I didn't feel like arguing and apparently, he wasn't going away.