XIV :: The Hunt

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MORBID BITE

Chapter Fourteen: The Hunt

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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"Stop!" Belle screamed. She could not believe her eyes as she stared at the scene unfolding around her. The men had dragged Raoul out of the house, his face was swollen but his eyes tightly shut.

Belle stumbled out behind them, no one had seemingly noticed her presence they were too concentrated on Raoul. Scanning the ground for some sort of weapon she felt the wind leave her lungs as a hard object slammed into her back. She was knocked to the floor a searing pain running all over her body. The man that had hit her seized the back of her he head, grabbing a large handful of hair, and dragged her to her feet.

"Devil's whore," the man spat in her ear as he ran his hands over her body.

Screaming would be pointless, who was around to hear her. Belle tried to kick backwards but her body ached and their seemed to be two of everything. Then a flash of heat erupted in front of her and all her senses rushed back. They were setting fire to the rose bushes and throwing Raoul's belongings onto on big pile.

Belle scanned the fight every man was taking a punch, slice or stab at Raoul, who they had tied to the ground. He had no anger in his eye's only sadness, Belle moved her head as much as she could to look up at the sky the moon had not yet risen but any moment now it would, and Belle was terrified at what that would bring.

Behind her the man carried on jeering his hands now grouping her breast. Her eye's locked with Raoul and in that moment, they turned a shade of black. He took a hold of the arrows that had him bolted to the ground and pulled them free of his body the ropes slacking around him instantly. The man who had been punching him staggered back but not in time as Raoul's hands clenched around his neck. For what felt like an eternity his hand did not move but it elongated, the bone's angling and the nail's sharpening, the man stared at Raoul's face as it darkened, the beast finally showing an appearance. The man screamed but it turned into a gurgling sound as his throat was ripped away from his body. Blood seeped everywhere as the man fell to the ground his eyes open in terror and anguish.

Raoul did not let his act of surprise slip past him he grabbed the men around him and pushed past the ones brave enough to attack him. Belle realised in that instant he was heading for her, the man who had his arms around her hand not noticed the sudden change in power and was surprised when his hands were no longer a part of his body. Belle was in Raoul's arms and staring at the gashes in his back and arms that were healing before her eye's.

"He's un-killable," one of the boy's shouted.

"Just leave and not one has to die, just go!" Belle shouted her voice breaking as she tried to mask her fear. The men who had been near their injured comrades began to turn on their heels and the others would have followed if not for the surprise company.

"Let us remove his head and see how he fairs then!"

Belle heard that oh so familiar voice and gasped. Nicholas sat on his horse surrounded by another load of angry villagers, with more weapons and fight. He sat with his sword outstretched his normally neat hair falling over his bloodshot eyes. She had driven him to this, she had made him into a monster so far from his own self she could barely recognise him.

Raoul pushed Belle aside and clicked his neck his face stretching out in a black muzzle, his nose twitching with anticipation. The beast only seemed to overtake half of his body, his hands and legs were animal like but the rest of him stayed human, he looked more like a daemon then, than he ever had. But it was the pain in Raoul's eyes that caught Belle more than anything else, he had no choice but to sacrifice himself or kill his own brother.

The rain had not let up and Belle's dress was drenched that the fabric sunk into the mud like a hand dragging her down to hell. Her feet slipped over the ground as she tried to stand, her only instinct to save the man she loved. That's when she noticed it, the locket's shinny surface glinting in the mud. With her hand Belle clasped the mud around the perfect object and felt the cold in her palm. She remembered Raoul's face and lips as they had talked the truth about his family. Heaving herself through the mud she headed towards the fighting not careering for her own safety.

"Nicholas!" Belle yelled though the rain her voice cracking, clearing her throat she shouted again, "Nicholas!"

The man who could no longer embody the name turned his face towards Belle. Raoul was still fighting through the men that were attacking him, so Nicholas stood alone his sword ready for the fatal blow.

"What are you doing?" His voice dripped with venom.

"You can't kill Raoul." A cruel laugh escaped Nicholas's lips and it made Belle hope for his death to be long and painful.

"What satanic words do you spill whore," Nicholas spat at Belle his white completion made him look like a daemon.

"He's you brother Nicholas."

Belle slapped the locket into Nicholas's free hand pressing it as hard as she could into his palm. A small hint to his humanity seemed to glimmer under the surface as he looked down at his mother's locket the one he recognised from his childhood. The perfect miniature painting that lay inside.

"You lie whore," he spat, throwing the locket into the mud, "all to save your beast." Raising a hand Nicholas hit Belle with the handle of his sword, knocking her to the ground.

Belle's head dazzled with sparks of black and lines of red, she scrambled in the mud the locket snagging her fingers. A warm trickle of blood ran down the side of her face, it mixed with the rain making it seem like she sat in a puddle of blood but as she glanced about the realisation that the blood around her was in fact not hers made Belle scream. Men moaned in the mud their bodies gorged with the wounds of claw marks and chunks of flesh missing.

The blurred figures of the men began to clear and before her she noticed the scene. Raoul lay on the ground his body covered in blood Nicholas standing over him. Belle clambered up her body propelled forwards her intentions to intercept the falling sword but before she could two strong, rough hands grabbed her, covering her face and waist. Belle screamed but her voice was muffled, and her eyes were covered in hands, she could not see what was happening but the cheers that erupted were deafening. She kicked backwards hitting contract with a soft muscle, the man holding her grunted but only slacked his hold for a moment.

"Belle, Belle," the man's voice violently whispered, "stop. It's me Belle."

"Sébastien!?" Belle dropped like a stone, taking Seb by surprise.

"Seb, Seb, you have to help him." Belle turned around and grabbed his collar her face pleading with him, he was the only thing she could cling to even if the truth was dragging her down.

"Belle, it's too late." Sebastian kneeled down in front of Belle, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"No," she mumbled, her heart unable to accept the truth.

The pain was too much to bare what had only been moments before she had been sitting with Raoul she had even thought of a future with him. Happiness was a fleeting illusion, that never truly existed. Belle had wanted to bury her agony that she had brought about this pain on herself.

"Belle, we have to go," Seb's voice was pulling her away from her fantasized future.

Belle turned her face away from him, his hands were shacking her body, but they could not free Belle from the limbo she now found her mind in. She stared at the forest behind Sébastian's shoulder the pure tranquillity of nature was so beautiful. The rain falling around her in its steady shower, the inevitability of life all around her. The rain was going to bring spring and soon summer, that shadow from the forest canopy, it would have been so picturesque.

"Now Belle!" Sébastian's voice broke through Belle's glass façade, shattering her concentration.

"No, no, no," Belle's voice came out in a rapid flurry.

Noticing the loss Belle was in, Sébastien grabbed her body and swung her over his shoulder. He swayed onto his feet, the weight of Belle pushing down his shoulder and staggered as fast as he could away from the smell of blood. He had tied his horse to one of the trees but the rain filled his eyes and being unable to wipe them away he walked around in a blurred direction.

Finally finding his horse, Seb pushed Belle up onto the horse's withers and placing his foot into the stirrup pulled himself up onto the saddle his arms held tightly around Belle's waist. She was mumbling nonsense as her eye's had lost that fierce light that had shone behind them only moments before. Spurring the horse into a canter they vanished into the darkness, away from the raging mob that now searched for the woman the beast had taken.

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Ahhh second to last chapter!

I'm sorry! He had to die, it was hard but he had to go. If you would like more description of the murder the say. I wanted to give it a sense of illusion but if it hasn't worked please tell me.

Hope it was okay!

Alyx