Finding Beauty

Chapter 36

~The Hunter~

Things didn't change. When I went back to the garden, the visions kept playing. Each one seemed to be more horrific than the next. I became transfixed with the roses and took some with me so I could study them.

I know Belle isn't one of the roses because the day I went back to the garden none of the visions contained her. Thank God. But of course she wouldn't be one of them. She's in some castle with The Beast like she said in our cut off video chat.

It was clear that The Beast had some magical abilities. Magic. All this time he hasn't been murdering those criminals like everyone thought. He's been turning them into roses. If the police just looked close enough they would solve a bunch of missing person reports.

But the police had clearly touched at least one of the roses. Had they not had any visions? If so why didn't they report it? And how in the world did The Beast obtain magical powers?

I had questions.

I needed to know the answers. They could lead me to Belle.

So I did my research online and came across a bunch of phony websites about magic, roses, and what not. There were a lot of weird ones that turned out to be set up for geeks who like online fantasy games. There was a whole lot of other ones that were the ramblings of random people who just had access to the internet. But one website caught my eye.

Rosalind's Magic Shop: For those who seek answers

It was a website that advertised the shop and had a bunch of small articles on it. I saw that the address was very close by, maybe only a train ride away. So I jotted it down on a scrap of paper, shoved it in my pocket, and left.

Now, I jog down my stairs and towards the door when a note on the kitchen counter stops me. It's written in my mother's scripted handwriting and it rest under an orange pill bottle.

Please take your pills, Grayson. They will make you sleepy so stay in afterwards. I love you.

I roll my eyes and throw two of the round pills into my mouth, letting the door slam behind me. I take the train three stops and tuck my head into my scarf as I step out into the late afternoon weather. The shop is small and tucked in between two bigger shops so that I almost miss it. There's a green sign above it that reads the name but they are so faded and broken that it's hardly seen. As for the window display...there is none. Dark purple blankets cover them.

Tugging at my book bag straps, I push open the front door.

Chimes jingle as I walk in and find a candle lit room. The decor is very elegant and vintage with it's candelabra's and rusty mirrors. I wander aimlessly around the place observing its unique items.

I come to a shelf that holds a bunch of snow globes. All of them are different sizes and have different statues and figures inside. One holds a tiny replica of New York and another of two lovers kissing.

The biggest one rest in the center. It has a hunter holding a bow and arrow to an unsuspecting bear. It hovers menacingly over a little girl. Red sparkles float around the scene representing blood. I gasp at the intensity and reach out to grab it.

"Don't touch that!" a voice warns from close behind. I jump and spin around to see a young girl around my age maybe a bit older. She has long blonde hair and green eyes. She's as tall as me and has the sort of gaze that screams authority and power. She tightly grasps my arm and pulls me away from it. When I'm safely away from anything valuable she crosses her arms and takes the snow globe in. "Gruesome, isn't it?"

I nod, still a bit shaken up. "Yea..."

She wears a green tank top and jeans. She leans on the counter that holds an antique cash register. Everything about her is normal. Could she be Rosalind?