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ABOUT BOOK TWO
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Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) PROLOGUE
In the quiet of the night, the bellow of an anguished shifter broke the stillness, filling the dark woods with terror. Its roar shook the very foundation of the little cabin where the couple had camped out. Even though it came from a distance, it still had a terrifying impact on them. Sinclair and Rebecca exchanged glances, fear lingering in their eyes. A tingle ran down the length of Rebecca’s spine after the roar died. She recognized it. “Oh, God. It’s T-Murek.” Her face paled. “He’s here.” She uttered a breathless gasp and whirled to face him with frightened eyes. “Phineus is still out there.” She quickly handed the baby in her arms to her husband, who stood paralyzed with fear and reached for the door. “No, Rebecca!” She tried to unlatch it, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “I have to save him!” she bawled, struggling to break free. “No!” he bellowed. “If you go out there, you’ll die!” She persisted, pushing his fingers off her wrist. “But Phineus—he’s out the
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER ONE: TWENTY FIVE YEARS LATER
The car engine wheezed its death cough, the door swung open and the foot of a fair-skinned teenager reached out into the hot Monday morning. The sun shining down on her made her skin look as though it glittered. The air was dense and stuffy enough; it felt like the entire street was indoors somewhere. She took off her dark sunglasses, glancing around. Her brown eyes glowed in the sunlight as she took in her surroundings. She smiled. “Feels great to be back.” “Natasha,” a masculine voice called from inside the car. “Just call me if you need anything.” “Stop,” she said. “Dad. Stop.” She heard him chuckle, and the car engine roared to life. “Have a great day, sweetie.” “You too.” She stood still, watching him drive away until he was completely out of sight, then continued towards the school gate with her notepad in hand, which she held close to her chest, and her schoolbag, which hung from her shoulder. Her long-time classmates and best friends greeted her at the school gate.
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWO: SOMETHING ABOUT THE STRANGER
The lecture was already in session when Natasha arrived. She walked past the bald old man who was putting down some notes on the board. She tried not to get noticed as she sneaked past him. Natasha hurried to an empty seat at the back, but then stopped midway into the lecture hall when she heard her name called from the front. All eyes immediately fell on her. She slowly turned—chest throbbing within her chest. Her eyes cast a guilty gleam on the old instructor whom she found still scribbling away on the board, too busy to glance her way. Natasha remained still, agitated from the sea of eyes watching her from all directions. She rubbed her fingers together while she waited. He spun to face her, his fierce gaze piercing through her. “You’re late—” The tiny lens that sat on his pointy nose moved as he spoke. “I’m sorry sir, but—” “—again,” he completed his sentence, cutting her short. Dr Legolas was an old science professor known among the students as a disciplinarian who compelled
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER THREE: PAST AND PRESENT
Dreda was right. Something about the stranger made her a little wary of him. Back there on the field, when he’d gotten so close, she felt an unholy energy encircling him, the kind meant to shut things out. And his warning—stay away from me—was just so condescending. Natasha never recalled showing any sort of interest in the cold stranger. She was confused why he would warn her off so sternly. Perhaps this has something to do with her bumping into him earlier. She tried to choke back her anger when she remembered that her phone was still broken. She walked in through the front porch of the big bungalow into the lounge. There she saw her little brother knocking himself out on a video game. The moment he saw that she was home, he quickly tossed the control pad and trotted towards her, announcing her return with a loud scream. “Natasha is home!” “Cut it out, Damien.” She smacked his head, walking past him. “Ouch!” He held his head, frowning at her. “What did you do that for?” “Oh, ple
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER FOUR: DANGER AFTER MIDNIGHT
When Kevin opened his eyes, they were watery, and his throat felt scratchy. He wasn’t sure where he was. He felt himself sitting upright in an iron chair and tried to get up, but couldn’t. That’s when he noticed that something was restraining his arms. He looked down and saw the belt that wrapped around his wrist, anchoring his hands to the arm of the iron chair. Kevin moved his body, struggling hard to set himself free, but the belt was just too thick. He looked around the room nervously and noticed a long table in the corner of the room. Some bottles were placed on top. He glanced up at the window behind drawn curtains high up the cinder-board wall. The curtains sealed off a partial trace of light. The room seemed empty and devoid of life. A thin line of sweat rolled down his forehead and rested at the side of his lips. He took out his tongue to lick it off. It had a distinctive taste of sweat mixed with blood. That was when he realised he was bleeding. The last thing he remember
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER FIVE: VISIONS
Kevin was having another disturbing nightmare, and he kept seeing four distinct images in this order; houses on fire, blackbirds sitting on a tree, a name written on a paper, and a man screaming while he was being tortured. His grip on the bed sheet tightened, and drops of sweat gathered on his forehead. His head turned, eyes remained closed, his chest heaving rapidly. Once again, images of a gigantic cloud of smoke rising from burning houses, Crows pecking an oak, a finely written note with a name on it, and a man screaming in pain floated around his mind. His body was hunched, his breathing hastened and fingers clenched together. Kevin—screaming, woke from the nightmare, a horrified look plastered all over his face. That was the second dream in one night. Panting, he sat up straight on the bed, his palms sweaty and his face covered with sweat. He looked up at the big clock that hung on the wall. 3:14 am The door swung open, and Cedric rushed in with a lamp which he held up above
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER SIX: A PAINFUL REMINDER
The other girl wasn’t with them—what was her name again? Of course. He finally remembered. Natasha As he sat in silence, listening to them talk, he began to understand why she hadn’t joined them, the numb expression on their faces. It had something to do with an assault of some sort, but then he berated himself not to concern himself with her—she was not his concern. Landry noticed how frequently he looked in their direction. “Are you okay?” He turned to look at him. “What?” “Noticed you staring at those girls over there, and thought—” “I only met them yesterday. In school.” He brought his voice low. Just as he listened in on their conversation, the girls could also do the same. “You know that’s a bad idea, right?” “The girls? Or school?” “Both” He didn’t answer him. Landry took his silence to mean that he agreed. “Imagine my surprise when Cedric told me you enrolled in a college? College? How could you be so unreasonable? You’re a danger to everyone who gets close to you, i
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER SEVEN: THE HOSPITAL VISIT
Kevin could still feel Loretta’s pain from that day—even though it was almost a year since she’d been tortured to death. He wished so desperately to forget what had happened—that’s part of the reason he moved into Burnout City with Cedric, but the memories kept coming back. Standing there in the hallway, watching Natasha through the large transparent window, upset him. Then he realised he had tears in his eyes and took out a handkerchief to wipe them off. He still couldn’t understand how T-Murek had gained pleasure from torturing Loretta. He was more upset that the cops couldn’t find him or the masked man that’d kidnapped him, even after months of a thorough search. It was harder even to find the masked man since no one could identify him. The case had gone cold with no new lead. Returning to the present, he noticed that Natasha was awake and was having a conversation with her friends. She seemed to be in pretty bad shape and could barely sit up straight. She just laid there on the
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Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) ABOUT BOOK TWO
The ghoul responsible for the slaughter of his entire family is back, and bodies are turning up around the city. With Murphy Hartfield’s death, Kevin is perturbed—for Natasha’s sake. He knows it’s only a matter of time before her body will be the next they would find on the streets of Burnout, unless he quells any affection he has for her. Although still mourning the loss of his fiancée, he couldn’t deny this newfound affection for Natasha. And no matter how hard he tried to stay away from her, fate always brings them back together—until she is captured by the same figure that’d taken his fiancée months ago. It could prove fatal if he lost her too. AUTHOR’S NOTE Thank you so much for reading my novel! I’m so glad that you were truly able to immerse yourself in it by reading up to the end. It would truly mean so much to me if I could get many intrigued readers such as yourself to see this piece! You could help me do this by giving me some gems and a review to show support.
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER THIRTY: A VISIT TO THE PAST
The old abandoned warehouse stood, corner lot, like a looming gargoyle; perched on a mound of earth protruding like an overfilled grave. The place looked dilapidated and haunted. For a moment, Kevin looked over the warehouse T-Murek had used to torture Loretta over a year ago. It felt like he was revisiting his horrible past by coming back to this very place. For months, he’d tried to fight off the memories of the past, and now he’s back to the place where it all began, the very building where he sat to watch his fiancée die. He has returned to the one place he’d hoped he would never have to see again. As he climbed up the old broken staircase, Alex heeled him. And when he reached the wooded door, the memories of the past flooded his mind, filling him with great horror. It was almost twenty-four hours after T-Murek had left the room, leaving Kevin tied to the chair. Kevin watched with pain in his eyes as flies buzzed around the opened wounds on Loretta’s lifeless body. His face was
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: DISCOVERED
Derik drove into a large conference room beside the police department. He took out his phone to confirm it was the address that William had texted him. Then he got out of his car and walked past the security guards standing outside into the hall. There, he met a large crowd. He marvelled at how big the whole place was. Frank, head of the forensic laboratory, was there. The entire police force in the city was present. And so was Scott. They were all seated in an orderly arrangement. Looking up at the podium, he saw William addressing the crowd. And next to him was TCU’s new president, Sir Lawrence Linus. Beside Lawrence sat a muscular, dark-skinned soldier wearing dark glasses. He had a flagitious look as he stared towards the crowd from his dark shades. He had an M16A1 gun strapped to his left shoulder and was chewing a gun. Derik walked through the attentive crowd, up the front row as he searched for an empty seat. William’s voice became audible as he reeled towards the front. “—
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: SOME THINGS CAN NEVER BE
Derik gulped air to steady himself. Straightening his arm at Kevin, he wrapped his fingers around the gun, not taking his eyes off him. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t drop you where you stand.” “Derik, wait!” he hollered, hands raised a bit higher. “I’m not your enemy. I may be one of them, but I’m certainly not a killer.” Derik glared, his fierce eyes filled with rage and hatred. “You pinned a rod through a man’s eyes, how do you explain that?” “Those guys deserved what they got and you know it. Heck, they raped Natasha and walked away free, while she suffers in the hospital. I couldn’t live with that.” “You could have just left it to the authorities.” “I was just doing the cops a favour.” “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re a shifter and a killer. You’re dangerous. You shouldn’t be around Natasha,” he countered. Kevin remained silent. “Does Natasha know? Does she know what you are?” he asked him, his fingers tightening around the gun. “She doesn’t have to know.” His
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: FAMILY REUNION
Landry drove through the large gate into William’s mansion. He stopped in front of a Nissan Terrano II which was parked inside the carport alongside the large apartment. Kevin got out first, then offered to help Natasha. “Thank you. I can get off on my own.” She turned him down rather impolitely. He was taken a little aback by her abruptness. Getting down from the car, she bolted past him, climbing up the mini-stairs on the facade of the large bungalow. She knocked and stood with her arms folded while waiting behind the door. She didn’t turn to look at him. Landry noticed the tension between them but kept silent, making a mental note to talk to Kevin about it later. “Dad! Damien!” Natasha called and stepped back a few paces after knocking. A moment passed and no answer. She climbed up the stairs to hit the door again, this time a little louder than before. “Is anyone home?” She shuffled backward and waited, folding her arms and avoiding Kevin’s gaze. When it appeared no one was c
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: DON'T DO THAT TO ME AGAIN
William went through the files Frank dropped on his desk. “I don’t understand,” he grunted with frustration. “These are the names of every member and officer on this taskforce. But why are there green dots placed beside each name?” “This is the full list of active officers registered in this taskforce that has been tested. The green dot represents the members that came out clean, while the red represents the shifters,” Frank explained. William stole a quick glance at the list, a line between his brows. “But I see no name here attached to a red dot.” “Exactly my point, sir. Every official and officer working in this taskforce came out clean.” William looked over the file, feeling sceptical about its credibility. “I ran a double check on everyone just to be sure. I can assure you, sir, there are no shifters on the task force.” William was silent for a moment, a series of thoughts running through his head. “I was thinking, what if we recreated another shifter just like Mrs Eulich, o
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: REVENGE
It was midnight, and Kevin sat outside Pittsburgh bar, drinking himself to stupor. He sat there to process all that Leonard had said to him; it was just too much information to take in. Just then, he painfully remembered Lena’s body hanging from the ceiling. He took a sip from the bottle of vodka which sat on the table before him— wincing as the fiery liquid found his tongue. After a moment, the thought of his earlier encounter with Leonard was erased momentarily from his memory, but that of Lena hanging from the ceiling lingered like a parasite that just wouldn’t go away—devastating him even more. Kevin blamed himself for their death; Lena, Mirabel, and Loretta. If he hadn’t shown up in their lives, they’d still be alive. He woozily dropped the sixth vodka bottle, causing the rest on the table to rattle. “Another bottle, please!” he hooted to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper went in to get his order. Kevin felt woozy as he stared at the empty bottles sitting on the table before him.
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: MEETING AN OLD FRIEND
Kevin glanced up at the body hanging from the ceiling. Is this what Mrs Lena meant when she said she was going to put an end to all this? She was going insane after all—there’d been no masked man with her all along. She was losing her mind. Tears trickled down his eyes. We should have moved her to a mental clinic when we had the chance-–maybe then, she’d still be alive. A sick feeling rose in his stomach, and he felt his leg tremble from looking at her lifeless body swivelling from the ceiling. “Mrs Lena…” His mouth moved with great difficulty, as if searching for the right question to ask. “Why?” Kevin picked up the chair that’d been flipped beneath her feet and climbed onto it to reach her. He scrutinized the rope she’d used; it was the clinic tube. He untied her from the ceiling and took her down gently. Her head rolled freely to her shoulder. That was when he noticed her broken neck. As he laid her gently on the bed, her lips peeled back in an unpleasant smile. Kevin felt a
Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One) CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: A HOPELESS END
William had his gaze fixed on Catherina; his breath caught in his throat. He was as shocked as everyone else in the room. “When did this happen?” “This footage was recorded several hours ago,” Catherina answered politely. “Precisely 9:45 am this morning.” “A masked shifter?” Frank said in total disbelief. “This is going to be very difficult. How are we going to find him if we can’t place an ID on him? Mrs Eulich was our best chance at finding these shifters and eliminating them, but now she is gone, what do we do?” Scott was clueless. He had not a single idea of what was being discussed. After a long, thoughtful silence, William finally answered, “We wait.” His eye narrowed, and he rested his lower jaw on his hands. “The mayor had appointed Lawrence Linus as president to take over command of the taskforce in my place. Lawrence promised to get rid of every shifter here in the city within a week. We shall wait to see how he intends to do this.” ### The sky was a fair maiden with bl
