Page 30 of Waste (Legendary Shifters #4)

Shelley

G houl carried her through the cemetery. Night fell, and she held onto him tightly. Noises abounded in the dark air, which would have been terrifying if Shelley had been alone.

Being with Ghoul reassured her. Most people would have been creeped out by the feel of his skin; it was clammy and almost rubbery, but Shelley wasn’t bothered. Nor did the sharp teeth so close to her skin bother her. Deep down, she knew she was safe.

Ghoul whisked her through Highgate’s West Cemetery, taking her down the infamous Egyptian Avenue. They passed the Circle of Lebanon, and she swore she saw the shadow of a man move.

Ghoul hissed, and whoever or whatever it was faded back into the black of the shadows.

He wound his way through several graves and stopped at an old mausoleum.

The stone was stained and had a thick, studded wooden door, which had seen better days.

An iron bar gate covered the entrance, and she spotted a heavy-duty padlock.

“We’re here,” he hissed.

“Here?”

“Home. Safety,” Ghoul replied.

“In there?” Shelley didn’t know whether to be horrified or intrigued.

Ghoul chuckled with laughter. “Yes, safety within. Watch.” Ghoul moved to the back and pressed on a stone.

To Shelley’s surprised, a part of the wall swung inwards, and she gasped. “A secret door!”

“Yes. Nobody knew this existed other than me and now you. This, Shelley, is the one place I am completely safe,” Ghoul explained and carried her inside.

“Who owns this?” Shelley asked, leaning into his body as she spotted several coffins in carved niches.

“Me.”

“Who’s in those coffins?”

“The Frost family. I donated money to them when this was built so they could purchase this once-grand mausoleum. Then, I set up a trust fund for its maintenance. Nobody will tear this down while it’s looked after.”

“Okay.” Shelley nearly strangled Ghoul as a rodent scurried across the floor, and Ghoul hissed in laughter.

“You’re in the arms of a monster, yet a rat terrifies you.

You have to get your priorities straight.

” He moved over to the decorated arch, where the dead’s names were inscribed, and pressed on a couple of stone angels.

The panel shifted backwards and then slid aside.

Ghoul stepped inside, and the door slammed shut behind them.

“Oh!” Shelley cried. Her eyes couldn’t pierce the darkness they stood in, and fear crept into her.

“Hold on. I’m about to jump, and the landing may jar you,” Ghoul warned before leaping.

A little scream left Shelley’s mouth as they fell, and then they hit the ground. Ghoul didn’t say a word but began moving.

“Where are we going?” Shelley asked.

“Home.”

“This is your home?”

“One of them. Not even Mary Worth will find us here. There are no mirrors or polished reflective surfaces.”

“She can use them?”

“If the item is highly polished, yes, because it acts like a mirror. But she can’t portal through them, only observe.”

“That makes sense, I guess,” Shelley said. She wondered where they were going when Ghoul stopped and placed her on the ground. She automatically reached for him and grabbed his waist when light erupted around them.

“Oh,” Shelley gasped as she blinked to readjust her sight.

“Didn’t expect that?” Ghoul teased.

“No.” They were in a large cavern, with several exits coming off it.

It was circular-shaped with a domed ceiling.

There was a trough that ran around the top of the wall, and fire came from it.

That was what was providing the light. Shelley guessed it was filled with oil, and Ghoul had merely lit it.

There were five steps leading down to the floor, and Shelley saw furniture there.

“This is your living room?” she asked.

“Yes, if you wish to call it that.”

There were a few comfortable sofas, two huge leather armchairs, several bookcases and trunks.

Tables held statues and ornaments, which looked valuable, and cloth tapestries were hanging under the trough.

Shelley spotted many masterpieces displayed between tapestries, and there were heavy velvet drapes and silk draped over sconces.

“I like this. It’s very… medieval? Harry Potterish? It’s nice.”

“Thank you. Would you fancy anything to eat or drink?”

“You have food here?” Shelley asked, surprised.

“Yes, I have two generators that power my electricity. And I stocked the freezer only a week or so ago.”

“Why?” Shelley asked, turning to him as Ghoul headed towards a door. Not willing to be left behind, Shelley chased after him and entered a neat, compact kitchen. There was a larder fridge and chest freezer and all other modern appliances. “Wow.”

“I like my luxuries,” Ghoul replied.

“How did you get all this down here?”

“The catacombs. There is a way out through that wall there, and one in the bedroom. They link to tunnels, which split and lead you to six different exits in the catacombs. Of course, they are blocked at my end so that nobody can break in. Should someone find an exit and follow it back, they will hit a barrier of stone that can only be moved from this side.”

“You’ve covered your bases.”

“Yes. Too many of my brethren have been murdered, and only a handful remain.”

“Tell me everything,” Shelley demanded.

Ghoul regarded her, and Shelley felt hope rise. She knew deep down, Ghoul was going to give her some answers finally!

Drew/Ghoul

He shifted back into his human form and sighed. He busied himself making Shelley a hot chocolate and then waved her towards the living area. Shelley curled up in one of the armchairs and regarded him thoughtfully.

“I’ll tell you everything, how we were Warriors of God, and our titles were Protectors of the Jar. The story of our downfall isn’t pretty, and neither is what happened to us,” Drew finally said.

Shelley nodded but kept silent. Her eyes were focused on him as Drew began explaining The Betrayal.

Shelley didn’t interrupt, which Drew appreciated, and she listened carefully, absorbing his words.

When he paused, Shelley asked her questions then.

Drew explained how they were finding mates and what it involved, as well as how babies were now being born. He told Shelley literally everything.

After an hour of talking, Drew stopped and gazed at Shelley.

“That’s a hell of a story,” Shelley murmured.

“It’s the truth.”

“And Pan…”

“Don’t say her name. When it is spoken, she can hear everything. That is why I spelt her name out,” Drew said quickly.

“Ah, okay, I did wonder,” Shelly replied. “But she is one of you now?”

“She, too, was betrayed. I’m sure she didn’t anticipate becoming what she is.”

“But she doesn’t have a monster form?”

“No. Her shifted form turns her into her former self. A figure who is recognisable to many who hunt us.”

“And these Hunters are the real monsters, it seems. What do they expect is going to happen?”

“From what we’ve gathered, they think if they eradicate us, they’ll stop the Sins we carry.

What they don’t realise is that without us, the Sins will run rampant.

The first time one of us was killed, they carried the Sin of Anger.

In the Nile Valley, on the border between Sudan and Egypt, is an archaeological site.

“It’s called Jebel Sahaba, and it’s a cemetery.

It contains the remains of Qadan warriors and people.

The area is over thirteen thousand four hundred years old.

Wounds from spears and arrows are visible on the skeletons unearthed there.

The burials suggest an ongoing period of war.

Arrowheads have been discovered among the remains. ”

“Okay.”

“War broke out amongst them when Chamrosh was murdered. My brother hid in Persia but fled to Nubia. The Qadan had the head and wings of a bird and the body of a dog. He couldn’t exactly fit in anywhere.

Hunters found and killed him, and that’s when we all learned what would happen.

Chamrosh carried War. As his head separated from his body and was burnt, War escaped.

The Qadar was nearby, and War infected them.

Chamrosh’s death caused the first war ever known to mankind. ”

“What happened?” Shelley gasped, enthralled.

“We couldn’t recapture War. We still don’t know how, which is why the War continues to rage uncontrollably. If we are close by, we can often capture the Sin before it escapes the body. If we’re not, then how can we capture something intangible?

“In our bodies, I would say the Sins are like little balls of light. We can clutch hold of them and consume them. Then we have an additional Sin to control.”

“You haven’t been able to grab all the Sins, have you?”

“No, which is why humankind is heading for yet another disaster. God took these Sins away from man because He saw potential in His experiment. But your race has regressed to what it was before God removed them. Beloved of God, you may be, but He will only interfere once. Your destiny is in your own hands.”

“That’s so much to swallow,” Shelley mused, and Drew nodded.

He understood how Shelley was feeling, and even though he’d lived it, it was overwhelming.

Shelley bit her lip and sipped her second drink he’d made her. Drew let her think. He’d just dumped a lot of information on her.

“What happened to my house?” Shelley asked, changing the subject.

“It was blown up. I set up cameras to monitor your home, and they alerted me to a break-in—”

“You did what?” Shelley exclaimed, sitting up straight.

“Shelley, I needed to make sure you were safe. I don’t regret my actions because if I hadn’t violated your privacy, you’d be dead right now.

I saw the intruder clutching something in his hand as you pulled up.

He held a detonator, Shelley, and I guessed his plan.

I came through a mirror in your living room and grabbed you just as he hit the switch. ”

“Did you have cameras inside my house?”

“No.”