Chapter 4

He paced back and forth with thousands of thoughts and questions going through his head. He didn’t know what possessed him to so boldly walk up and touch her, but he did, and he couldn’t take it back…no matter how much he wanted to. He ran his fingers through his hair, why did he do that? Did he honestly think she would take any kind of interest in him? Why would she? How could she? No one could love him, a person…a thing like him…he would be totally blind and stupid to think so. She was the kind of girl that could get any man she wanted. The last kind of man she would want is a monster, a beast like him…because that’s what he was…a beast. A thing no one could love.
“I think you underestimate the power of love” a voice invaded his thoughts.
“Leave me alone” he said coldly.
“You only have so much time Carter” the mirror told him “the rose is beginning to wilt.”
“Even if she did fall in love with me, and we were ‘happy’” he said “Why would I want to leave? After what you did to me.”
“I did nothing but show the real you.”
He spun around and growled at the mirror “THIS is me?” he demanded “Look as what I am! I’m a monster! A beast! No one could except me now. No one!”
She shook her head “Do you honestly think every person on this earth is as shallow as you were?” she asked.
Realization hit Nick’s eyes and he shook his head. “It’s hopeless” he said before walking off “She’d never see me as anything but a beast.”
She watched him and a bit of her sank a little more. ‘I’m sorry Nick’ she thought ‘I’m sorry.’
She jumped awake in a cold sweat that covered her, for a second she forgot where she was but it swept over her. She remembered everything, how could she forget? The room spun around her, and she felt like puking. “How are you?”
She jumped and spun around to see him standing there, in the dark corner, away from the light, but she could still see his eyes, they seemed to glow in the dark. “I-I’m sick” she replied.
“Well we'll take care of you” he said.
She could feel the tense atmosphere and decided to break it “How did I get back here?”
“You were attacked by wolves” he said “I had gone after you, and…well…I…”
“You saved me?”
He hesitated “Yeah.”
He then got up and turned to the door “Get some rest” he then walked to the door.
“Hey!” she called.
He turned “Yeah?”
She smiled “Thank-you.”
He nodded “Your welcome.”

“What do you want now?” the large man asked.
“Uncle you’re the best tracker I know” John told him “I need you to find someone for me.”
“Well” Shelton told him “I can see it in your eyes…who’s the lucky girl?”
“Her name is Tara Hawk” John told him uncle “And she’s lost.”
“Lost?” Shelton asked “When?”
“The other day, she went riding and no one’s seen her since. But after she left there was a huge rain and hale storm. I think she may have gotten lost in the storm. The police are out looking for her, but the storm wiped out every piece of evidence that would lead us to her.”
Shelton nodded and looked to be in deep thought “And I know that if anyone can bring her home safely…it’s you.”
Shelton looked to him and smirked, “I know what you are John, what's wrong? She didn’t want a taste?”
John growled at him “No” He said “I just want her home safe.”
Shelton laughed “Yeah” he said “That’s it.”
“Just do it” John told him.
Shelton nodded “I’ll find her.”

The next morning… The morning showed hardly any sign that the storm had torn through the night before, the golden sun shined down upon the land drying everything in it’s path. A rainbow could be seen in the distance as the only sign that rain had fallen. But deep in the beauty of the forest, lay a large dark castle that seemed to have it’s own shadow, casting upon it. But yet in the far corner of the castle, a ray of light shawn upon a window, that lead into a room with a large bed. On the bed lay a beauty with her gentle breaths caressing the air. She opened her eyes wearily. Her head pounded in her head, and she felt like every part of her body weighed 500 pounds. “What was I thinking going out without a coat?”
“Obviously not very much.”
Her heart stopped in her throat when she heard his voice. She turned her head to see two amazing blue eyes staring at her, and gasped lightly, his face still covered by the mask but his presents still surprised her.
“Good morning” she said politely.
He looked almost surprised she was being nice. “Um…hi” he said.
“So…do you usually just walk into a girls room whenever you want?” she asked.
“It is my home” he replied.
She smiled again before trying to sit up, but a sensation jilted through her body and she fell back almost blacking out “Oh” she groaned.
“I thought you might be sick” he said “I brought up some hot tea, and medicine for you.”
She turned to the side to see the cart beside her bed that seemed to be ten miles away. “Thank-you” she said.
“I understand that it’s hard to move while so sick, you’ve caught a flu” he told her “My servants will tend to you until you are better.”
She turned to look at him, then found herself studying every inch of his face. Every hair, every crevise, every pore…those eyes…she’d seen those eyes before. But where?
He jumped up noticing her looking at him with too much intrest. “Get some rest.”
He then quickly walked out ignoring her calls for him to stop.
She lay back down with her head spinning, what did this mean? Why was there such a pull from him to her? She didn’t understand it. After looking at his face she knew that a normal person would scream and run, but she didn’t want to run, instead she wanted to know why his face was like that.

He walked furiously through the halls. Not angry at her, but at himself…for being so weak. So pathetic as to take a simple look and turning it into something it’s not. Something it could never be. “She’ll never see me as anything but a monster” he told himself “Don’t think a girl that beautiful could ever be interested for a second in something like you.”
“I think you underestimate the power of a human heart” he grumbled at the mirror beside him “It can see past the face, into the soul, and the heart. It can see you, if you let it.”
“I really don’t need this Romeo and Juliet bullshit” he told her “You know as well as I do that a girl like that wants a Leo Dicaprio from Titanic.”
“Nick” the mirror told him “Not everyone is as shallow as you once were.”
“Would you stop saying that!” he yelled at the mirror “You say that to me every damn day! I KNOW I was shallow, and cruel, and unkind! Okay? If not than why am I here? So stop telling me that!”
“I’ll stop once you start excepting the fact that you will need someone to retain your former life” the mirror replied.
“I have no former life.”
“And what about his?”
He stopped, then looked to the mirror “He doesn’t matter anymore.”
“So your just going to leave him down there to rot?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“You have no right to kill without cause.”
“He belongs to me, I will do it if I want to.”
“And what about her? What will you do when she finds him (and believe me she will) then lets him go.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“It’s not up to you.”
“Yes it is.”
“Do you really think you have control? He’s tired of waiting and is starting to fight his way out. She will only help the process.”
“Then I’ll get rid of her.”
The figure in the mirror laughed “Being that naive is what got you into this predicament.”
He huffed at the mirror then turned the corner. She watched him leave and smiled.

“I’m sorry Mr. Hawk, but we’ve searched the entire area and as far as we could into the forest, there is no sign of your daughter or her horse” the officer told him.
“So your just going to leave her out there?” Jake asked.
“No, but we won’t be able to help you or Tala in the dark” the next officer told him “Tomorrow we’ll be able to cover more ground, please believe we’re doing all we can to find her.”
The first officer pulled out a pen and paper “There are other reasons for her disappearance.”
“What do you mean?”
“Would Tala have any reason to run away?”
He gave the officer an angered look “Of course not.”
“It was just an option” he wrote down something on the pad and then looked to the two “Okay we will assemble a larger search team and start as soon as the sun comes up.”
Lucy stepped up “Thank-you” she said.
The two officers nodded before walking down to the driveway toward their car. Lucy closed the door “Jake, try not to think about it” she said “Tala’s very responsible. She’ll show up.”
Jake took a deep breath and nodded “You’re right” he said “She’s always come back.”
“That’s right now come into the kitchen and we’ll make you a snack” Lucy told him.
They walked into the kitchen.

Cold…it surrounded her, every vein seemed to be frozen. She could feel her heart racing and sweat forming on her brow…but why? She was freezing. She pulled her blankets up further around her and shivered uncontrollably.
She suddenly felt a warm rag on her forehead and turned to see a tea pot, and pan there. Louis and Pierre were beside them with worried faces “Don’t worry madame” Louis told her “You’re flu had just reached it’s peak, but with the right amount of medicine you should be fine in a few days.”
She looked groggily at them then slowly shut her eyes.
“How is she?” Louis turned to see the Master standing there.
“Not good, but she will be” Denise told him, “She only needs some rest and lots of fluids.”
“Leave us” The Master told them.
They all walked out and left the Master there. He walked in and stood at the edge of her bed. Then pulled from his cloak a crystal ball and placed it on the table at the end of the bed. “There” he said to it “Now…help her.”
The crystal ball began to shine, suddenly an white light surrounded the room and an angel flew up from the ball and floated over Tala. Her wings spread across the bed and she lay directly above the shivering Tala. She then opened her mouth and breathed into Tala’s open mouth.
The Master shielded his eyes as a white light engulfed the room.

Chapter 5

Devi