The World of Shadows - Chapter 1 (Dark Paranormal Fantasy Story)

This is the third story of the BP series. If you haven't read the first story yet, you can find it here :)

Find chapters 1 - 20 of Retribution (the second story) on my Steemit Blog.

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About The World of Shadows
"In a world full of sinister creatures and treacherous terrain, Beatrix and Arthur must find their way to the castle where the dark creature resides.

Beatrix Percival fans can expect answers to many questions, many conclusions, and explosive battles of epic proportions!

Eerie beyond belief, and passionately romantic like never before, this third book in the series won't disappoint!"

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CHAPTER 1

An icy breeze drifted across the ground as Arthur ran over to Beatrix, who lay motionless. His heart raced. He put his face near hers and felt her breathing. What had happened to her? he wondered.

Arthur sat on the ground next to her and lifted her into his lap. He tried to wake her, but it was no use. Arthur held her tight as he stared around at the unforgiving landscape around him, hoping she would be all right.

Beatrix slowly awoke from her vision, staring up at the dark sky. She looked up at Arthur’s worry-filled eyes. He glanced down at her as tears raced down his cheeks.

“Beatrix!” he exclaimed.

Arthur reached around her and gave her a hug. “You passed out, and I tried to wake you, but you—”

“I-I’m all right,” said Beatrix with a smile. “The shadow creature tried to trick me with another vision…and this time, I talked to it.”

“What did it say?” asked Arthur. He looked at Beatrix, confused by the lack of fear in her eyes.

“It didn’t say much to me,” she said. “I told the creature that I was coming for him.”

Her eyes glared with a deep passion. Confidence and certainty emanated from her. Arthur could feel it. There was a new aura about her. The winds of their journey were about to change. It was a new chapter of their adventure, maybe the darkest leg of their race to retribution yet.

The ground shook as cracks crawled across the earth, emitting an emerald light from below. Arthur stood up and held his hand out to Beatrix. She took his hand as he helped her up off the ground.

“Where do we go?” asked Arthur as he looked at the sinister landscape around him.

“I don’t know,” said Beatrix. “When the shadow creature gave me the vision, it was almost like a dream. But when I called out to him, the dream faded away like smoke, revealing him—and a castle.” She looked all around herself with hope of seeing a large structure in the distance. But she could only see the forest of seemingly dead trees around them. “A castle,” she said. “That is what we will look for.”

Arthur walked over to Beatrix and, with a smile on his face, said, “Shall we?”

Beatrix took Arthur’s hand, and they walked out of the clearing and into the dark woods. Arthur placed his other hand in his pocket and found the gold ring. He glanced at Beatrix, who stared ahead into the darkness. He wanted to propose to her, but he knew he should wait for the right time. He smiled as he held the ring in his left hand and Beatrix’s hand in his right. As they walked through the dark forest, he dreamed of how he would propose.

Hundreds of little bug-like creatures scurried up and down the trees around them. Eerie sounds echoed in the darkness of the forest. Beatrix strained her eyes to see what the noises were coming from but had no luck. One of the bug-like creatures fell from a branch and landed in her hair. Beatrix let out a scream as it got further tangled in her hair the more it scrambled to get away.

Arthur reached over and began to untangle the little creature from her hair. Beatrix shivered with disgust as she felt its tiny legs against her head.

“Almost got it,” said Arthur as his hands fumbled around madly.

Beatrix watched as Arthur pulled the creature from her hair.

“Ouch!” said Arthur as he hastily dropped it to the ground. He held out his hand to reveal a bite mark that was starting to bleed. Arthur searched his backpack for something to use as a bandage.

Beatrix raised her hand and said, “Syrellium.”

Arthur’s bite slowly faded until it completely disappeared. “Thank you,” said Arthur as he warmly smiled at Beatrix.
“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling back.

Though the dark world around them seemed dead, it was very much alive with strange creatures. Curious two-headed birds covered in iridescent black feathers rested in the treetops above. The peculiar birds stared down at Arthur and Beatrix as they walked below. A mysterious moon slowly began to rise in the sky, casting a purple glow onto the world around them. Beatrix glanced up at it; it was very different than the moon from her own world. It was very large, and its surface was covered in millions of cracks that emitted a strange purple light.

A black fog crept across the ground up ahead. Beatrix and Arthur paused and watched as it grew nearer. It began to grow into a standing cloud. The cloud stopped in front of them. It swirled around and slowly formed into a tall dark figure. It was a man. It stood there like a live, faceless silhouette.

Light emanated from it as it spoke. “B-Beatrix?”

A tear crept down Beatrix’s cheek as she moved closer to it. She recognized the voice. It was one she never thought she would hear again.

“Dad?”

“Beatrix!” exclaimed the figure with excitement.

Beatrix ran up to the figure and gave it a hug. She sobbed as she embraced the cold figure.

“Beatrix, darling! I have missed you so much!” said the figure.

Beatrix looked up at the dark, faceless figure, hoping to see her father’s face. “I-I miss you too,” she said. She hugged the figure tighter.

The figure and Beatrix left their embrace. It hovered in front of her for a moment and said, “I came to give you a message.”

Beatrix stood there silently and watched the dark figure.

“My spirit has been locked away in the castle. The creature is collecting souls for…for some kind of hex.” Arthur walked up to them and stood beside Beatrix.

“If your spirit is trapped, how are you here?” asked Arthur.

“Nice to finally meet you, Arthur,” said the figure. “Your mother has told me many stories of you and how she has tried to escape the castle to find you.”

Arthur stood there in shock. He opened his mouth, eager to ask a question, but the figure continued.

“Your mother, a wonderful witch, brought me the ingredients to cast this spell that is allowing me to send a lifeless extension of my being to find you.” The figure turned to Beatrix and said, “Your mother is a whiz with potions. After I got pinned under a bunch of old doors that collapsed on me at work, she made a survival kit of ingredients for me to carry at all times so that I would be able to help myself if I was ever in danger again. Though not even the strongest healing potion known could have saved me from the spell that creature cast on me…”

The figure turned to face Arthur, noticing his eagerness to ask a question.

“Arthur, your mother has been trapped at the castle for many, many years. She works there, caring for the captured witches and warlocks in the dungeons. She wants nothing more than to find you…though I hope it won’t be too late for her.”

The dark figure turned and bowed its head.

“Because of the sheer quantity of spirits the creature needs for his hex, he has sent legions of menacing creatures out to collect people from the villages. But it hasn’t been enough. So, in desperation, he has started sacrificing his own staff. You see—each spirit the creature collects has its own magical weight. Some witches’ and warlocks’ spirits add very little to the amount of magic the hex needs…but you, Beatrix…”

The figure paused for a moment. Even though it didn’t have a face, she could feel a concerned, caring stare being cast upon her.

“Beatrix, you would be the last soul the creature would need to complete the spell.”

She looked at the figure. “Dad…I have to stop him,” Beatrix said. “I need to do this for…for you.” A tear drifted down her cheek.

The figure looked at Beatrix and placed its hand on her shoulder. “You must realize, my dear Beatrix—this mission is much larger than your revenge now. One thing is for certain: you will either save our worlds from a devastating curse or be the final ingredient of his hex that could be the beginning…of the end.”

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More Chapters will be published soon!

Thanks for reading! :)

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