Beastly by Matt Khourie Read Free Book Online Page A

you the nature of true magic is another entirely. Your quest, your very existence is grounded in more magic than you care to admit, Beast of Briarburn. It surrounds you though you deny it, fueled by the brightest stars in our nighttime sky.” Urda’s eyes sparkled with the rising passion in her voice. “Magic is the very life-blood and soul of all creation. It stretches beyond the land of the living, binding all of the realms in a delicate master piece.”
    The Beast was speechless. He had no rebuttal for Urda’s passionate words. Had he arbitrarily dismissed magic’s importance as the world of Men had so callously dismissed him? He thought of the cold iron shackles that had bound him after the last time he had trusted in men. Summoning all courage, he stood and bowed his head. He crossed his heart with a wide paw.
    “Please, help me.”
    “Of course Urda will help you. There is much to learn from your past, yes. But a glimpse into your future will provide guiding star.”
    The Beast fell back into his chair, expecting the crystal balls to resume their dance. Urda slapped the table with a freckled hand and laughed. “Silly boy. One cannot divine the future by scouring the fabric of memory. Come, we must go outside.”
    Much preferring the hearth to the freezing wind, the Beast hesitated. “Why is that?”
    “The stars, Beast of Briarburn. If there are answers for us to find, surely they will be amongst the stars.”
    Urda snapped her fingers and the door leading outside swung open. A second snap dismissed the flickering crystals. Urda offered her arm to the Beast. Again, he hesitated. Urda scoffed and picked up her old bones. “Heaven forbid a gentleman help an old woman from her chair. Especially when she means to wander into the cold on his behalf.”
    The Beast flushed and looked sheepishly at his feet. Urda patted him on the arm and strolled to the door, leaving him to embrace his role as shadow. The sky was a jumble of gray cotton. The moon peeked in and out of sight, but the stars were all but absent. The Beast grumbled, slicing a paw through a thick fog. “I can barely see my hand let alone the stars.”
    Urda ignored the complaint. She pressed her palms together, fingers pointed to the moon. He heard a whisper, thinking at first it was the rustling wind. The whispering lasted a sparrow’s song and then Urda blew a kiss to the heavens. The stars shook their cloudy blanket free, for a moment illuminating the world with light brilliant enough to make the sun envious. The stars’ diamond encrusted mural promised that he was an important thread in a grand masterpiece. Humbled, he bowed his head.
    Urda summoned the crystals with a snap, then threw an imaginary stick at the sky. The crystals shot off in pursuit of their quarry, climbing over snow-covered pines, then scattering in three directions. Positioned to her liking, Urda shouted. “Well then, go on. Show our friend what is to be.”
    Beams of scarlet light shot from the crystals, forming a triangle against the starry backdrop. They carved the night, slowly draining away the color within the boundary. First went the cottony clouds. Then went the charcoal sky. The stars themselves faded last, leaving a pale triangle. The Beast’s jaw dropped. He eyed the gypsy, but only for a moment. There was a nagging sensation that her magic was dangerous. But, he had decided to place his trust in it and he would see the decision through.
    “No harm shall come to you from the stars. Not ever,” Urda said softly.
    The tension eased in his shoulders and the Beast released the breath he had been holding since the fiery shape appeared. A speck flashed in the triangle’s center. It danced erratically, leaving tracers of light in its wake. The speck raced about, bouncing among the scarlet boundaries, filling in the empty space with a familiar image.
    His portrait...
    “You’ve out done yourself,” the Beast said, impressed once more by the gypsy’s magic.
    The sketch