Lair Of The Beast || Nicolae Bartholy X OC || [COMPLETE]

3. The Flowers of Persephone.

Bill had gotten out of the house very early the next morning, the moon was still in the sky and the dawn hadn't come out yet.

It was pretty dark. Bill had to be careful about his steps as he followed Joe through the woods.

"How are you holding up, pal?" The man asked.

"Just fine. This is not that bad, I'll be honest. I expected worst."
Bill said.

Joe shrugged and shook his head.
"You are crazy to actually be willing to step on that property. "

Bill smiled. "I might be, but there are things in life, worthy to be witnessed."

Joe shook his head and proceeded towards a darker area of the woods.

The vegetation was so thick in that spot, that not even the moonlight made it through the trees.

"And this is where I stop. You watch yourself Bill." Joe stopped by some old trees.

Bill was excited to have arrived. "Thank you, Joe. I will."

The two parted ways and Bill moved forward, across the dense forest.

He had to protect his face from the dry branches that like creepy hands extended along the old path.

"I wonder why they never blocked this." He asked himself, moving forward.

It took him about ten minutes to finally reach the end of the woods and the beginning of the garden.

"About time. " He cleaned himself from the leaves and spiderwebs, then took a good look around.

The first thing he noticed was the old victorian gazebo, that reflected itself into dirty waters.

It was made in iron and now completely covered in ivy and moss.

It must have looked beautiful, a long time ago.
Bill thought.

He moved around it, carefully avoiding the putrid waters of the pond that surrounded it.

The plants around there were dead and he needed to go deeper, if he wanted to see something alive.

After walking for a good twenty minutes, the vegetation opened a bit and he could see more of the property. If he faced north, he could see the distant shape of the mansion.

A deep chill ran down his spine as he tried to look at the windows. He didn't have a good feeling.

"Bah. BS. Old folks' tales. " He dismissed it and turned back to face the decaying flowers.

The real wonders were just up ahead, behind the abandoned shed he had just encountered.

He had seen colorful flowers from afar, that was his destination. Taking his time, scoping the surrounding area, the florist made his way to the part of the garden still full of life.

"My Lord."

His eyes were greeted by a beautiful sight. Blossoms that he had never seen before were decorating the bushes and the vines over the fence of the property.

"This is incredible."

Not too far from that wonderful discovery, there was a greenhouse made entirely of glass and iron.

"I wonder if there is anything in there..." He asked himself.

Bill glanced at it, but then decided to inspect the wall of flowers he was standing in front of. He didn't bring his wheelbarrow with him, so he couldn't really take anything with him.

"Those flowers... I've never seen anything like it! Kate won't believe me!"

Taking in the scent of those gifts from God, the old man took out his booklet and a pen, making raw sketches of the flowers he had never seen and writing down the names of the ones he knew.

Bill was ecstatic.

"I have to come back. I have to take some of these beauties with me." He had to.

He couldn't let them decay there.

Heck he could be winning the Nobel for botanical discovery!

He continued drawing the flowers he saw and wrote color descriptions by each one.

Caught in the enthusiasm, he didn't notice the dark figure standing at one of the windows.

It was so still, a shadow between shadows.

Watching him.

Following every move he made.

Bill was too busy to notice the change in the wind and the sudden clouds that came over the garden, making it darker.

As a thunder roared behind him, Bill turned around, noticing two red lights through one of the windows.

"I must be tired."

He rubbed his eyes and once he looked again, they were gone.

He checked the other windows but nothing was there.

"Bah." He turned around towards the flowers once more, but when heavy rain started picking up, he had to put away his journal.

"I'll better head back... but I want to take something for my precious Kate. " He checked around the wall and picked one of the most beautiful flowers.

It was of several shades of blue, like nothing he had ever seen before.

Carefully he cut the stem and when he did that, another thunder rumbled.

Closer.

The weird part was that Bill could've sworn he had heard a scream behind the thunder.

He glanced behind himself again, the rain was getting thicker and he needed to leave.

Making his way back to the woods entrance, he did not realize somebody was now standing by the greenhouse.

Nicolae watched the old man leave his property.

He had just stolen from him.

He had stolen what little life was left in within those old walls.