The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,33
The entire time she was debating whether or not she was going crazy. Had she imagined the whole thing? What if he was just a really fast runner and the answer was as simple as that? Before Katie could come to a reasonable explanation, Faust started talking again.
“Ha! I have it, Randy. Join me tonight and I’ll spare your family. That’s a great deal, no?”
The entire table sat silent. Randolph, dressed in a clean pair of black slacks and a plain white dress shirt with black suspenders, cleared his throat and gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, Faust, don’t tease like that. They don’t know you as well as I do and might think you’re serious.”
“But brother, I am serious. Join me tonight or I will kill every single one of them.” His carefree attitude disappeared and a cruel smile crossed his face.
Katie’s father finally broke the silence. “Listen, I’m not sure what kind of sick joke this is, but it’s not funny.”
“Oh, it’s not a joke, sir. I am very serious,” Faust sneered as he jammed his steak knife into the table’s dark wood.
The room was silent. “Randy?” Looking over at Randolph, who sat pale, Faust made one final offer.
Randolph sat quiet, “I can’t—the Law.”
“To hell with the Law.” Faust’s blue eyes glazed over and changed until two black orbs were all that remained. He opened his mouth, showing four very large, very sharp fangs.
Then everything seemed to happen at once: Katie’s mother screamed and fainted; while at the same time her father jumped to his feet with a knife in his hand. Faust, quick as an arrow shot from a bow, bounded over the table towards him.
Katie’s father and Faust we’re sitting on opposite sides of the dinner table. There was eight to ten feet of space between the two but Faust covered the distance in the blink of an eye. Randolph tried to grab Faust, but it was too late. He was already on the other side of the table.
Katie sat, powerless. The events were unfolding around her at lightning speed. Before she knew what was happening, Faust was ripping her father’s head from his body. It only took a second, and her father’s body fell to the ground.
His head rolled a few feet once Faust dropped it and came to rest near Katie’s chair. She was petrified; her brain couldn’t comprehend the reality around her. Katie wanted to move, wanted to scream, wanted to do something, but she couldn’t. Instead she just sat in her chair, staring at him.
Faust grinned at her and made a move toward her mother. Instantly Randolph was there, blocking his path. “Okay, okay, Faust. By God, you are mad. You win. I will come with you tonight.”
Faust’s eyes dilated back to blue and his fangs receded giving way to his normal smile. “I knew you would come around, old friend. You have always been the reasonable one. Hope you don’t mind, I invited the others over for an old fashioned meeting before we go.”
Randolph looked defeated. “Whatever you desire, just leave them alone. They have no part in this.”
Faust took a napkin from the table and began wiping Katie’s father’s blood from his hands. He made his way slowly to where she was sitting. Katie’s heart beat faster and faster as he approached. Soon he was directly beside her, playing with her hair in long soft strokes.
Katie was shaking so hard she didn’t think she would be able to talk, but she finally found her voice. She turned on him as she fought back the tears and rage. “You’re going to pay for this.”
Something came over Katie then, something she had never experienced before. She knew the appropriate response to the past few minutes should be fear and sorrow, but all she felt was anger. Anger overwhelmed her and forced her to take action. She reached for Faust, not knowing what she was going to do; bite him, claw him, punch him—she had to do something.
Faust caught her by the neck with one hand and lifted her off the ground like a newborn kitten. He brought her eye level as she fought against his grasp. The animal rage inside of her was building. He squinted his eyes as he looked into hers. “You’re one of us, aren’t you?”
“Faust, no, we had a deal,” Randolph reminded him.
Faust seemed to mull this over in his mind. “Yes, quite right, I won’t kill her then. She can join us.”