|
What a Wonderful World
Tyler was staring just a little too long when he was snapped out of it by the touch of her soft flesh on his hand. Her smaller hand in his tightened around his fingers. He felt his skin prickle and a spreading smile across his features. Tyler Lockwood was totally smitten. This gorgeous Demigoddess made him smile like a big dumb goofball. “Let’s go!” Together they walked inside the Mystic Grill.
Tyler felt like he was floating. Some would call it his hyperactive wolf hormones that had him on the search for a new mate. Tyler just called it what it was. It was just him taking advantage of another chance at life. Ever since he’d come back from the dead, Tyler had been doing one thing or another almost constantly. It was to keep him busy and to teach him control over his hellhound form in the long run. He knew Jeremy was supposed to keep an eye on him as per Alaric’s orders.
Honestly he couldn’t blame Alaric for being concerned about him. He was gaining more control over his hellhound form. Still it was a struggle for him. Being around Laurel brought peace to his heart despite the ongoing torment that was his daily battle. Laurel gave Tyler hope that one day he could have peace for once in all his life.
He led her to a booth near the back in the shadow of the pool table. There were a couple of guys shooting pool as the couple moved to a nearby booth. The clacking sounds of the balls hitting one another and walls of the table added to the ambiance of the room. When they had been down in the Bayou, Tyler had made the mistake of giving her wine when she was more of a beer girl. He grinned sitting down in the booth after she did. He already knew what he’d get. Beer was definitely his drink of choice today.
He decided though to turn the topic of conversation toward work as an icebreaker. “So how goes the Mythology classes? So many monsters and epic adventures to talk about. You’ll be able to keep them entranced for a long time. I’ll bet they pay more attention to you than I ever did my old Classics professor in college.” His lips parted in a handsome smile with a slightest hint of his white teeth brushing against his bottom lip.
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Laurel was brilliant, clever and very spirited. Her beauty was more than her physical appearance. If anything, Tyler thought she played herself down for some reason. He had no idea what it was like growing up as the daughter of the goddess of love. He had his own issues with a skirt-chaser as a dad and an alcoholic mother. He was falling in love with Laurel. He knew that now.
~*~
On the edge of town where the ground had cracked, the split was growing. The force of the beast encased within the confines of its prison was soon too much for the earth to contain. Clods of dirt were scattered as the eruption was complete. Aftershocks from the force created by the monster from the blackest pit of hell.
Tiny animals raced in various directions in fear for their lives. Nature’s balance was being interrupted on a colossal scale. Billows of sulfur and brimstone belched into the atmosphere. One clawed hand reached for the edge of the crater created by it’s escape, then the other. The hissing sounds of the seven serpentine heads filled the air.
Finally from the depths of the darkest prison in Tartarus the beast fully ascended to the Earth. Tartarus was part of the inner bowels of Earth that had kept the monsters imprisoned for thousands of years. Beasts of myth that had been captured by the gods and the heroes were kept here to make the world safe for the human race to exist. That prison was now shattered by some unknown reason
The Hydra was free.
~*~
Sitting in the booth with Laurel, Tyler realized that something was wrong. All around him, it looked as though the world was on pause. Nothing was moving. Some of the people in the Grill were frozen mid-bite of a french fry while some held a bottle of beer to their lips. Their waitress was on her way to their table with tray of food in hand. A few more glances across the room confirmed his observatiom. Nothing was moving except for him. He turned back toward Laurel.
Tyler felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. This obviously wasn’t normal. His eyes glittered gold and his fangs were starting to protrude from his mouth. “Laurel, something is happening.” His spoken words came out like a growl.
That was when he noticed she was moving like he was. Apparently the humans in town were frozen. Tyler and Laurel not being human were unaffected. He had no idea what was happening and he didn’t like it.
He grabbed the edges of the table between them trying to focus so he wouldn’t turn into his Hellhound form as a primal reaction to what was happening around them. The edges of the table were curving to mold around his hands. The tips of his fingers were taking on the wolf appearance he had seen countless times in the past.
This was about to get ugly.
0 Comments
|