A Beautiful Evil (A Beautiful Book. 1) #Wattys2015

Preface

A/N: This entire story is the unedited version of 'A Beautiful Evil.' Please feel free to add any comments, good and bad, and don't forget to vote if you enjoy Mara's story! I may not be the biggest known author out there, but I just wanted to let all you guys know, I love you! Your love and support are what keep me going. <3

Wind howled outside, growing louder and more fierce with each passing hour. Water weeped into the opening of a dark cave, creating a small puddle, reflecting the moon's ghastly glow.

Screams pierced the black of night.

Deep inside a cave, a women lay, belly round and swollen with new life straining to push its way through. Curls as white as snow were plastered to her forehead, a thin veil of sweat coating her skin, teeth bared in agony.

She lay inbetween two young midwives one slightly older than the other, scurrying their way around the cave, trying to get supplies around for the baby's arrival. A white wolf lay at her feet, its massive jaws resting on its paws. It watched her with worry in its eyes, a faint whine escaping from its throat.

"Lucifer," the woman gasped, sweat lining her brow, her arm outstretched. Her golden eyes were rolled back in pain, and her back was arched against the hard stone floor. A figured emerged from the shadows.

"Anthea..." he murmured, taking her hand and bringing it up to his rough lips. "My beautiful flower..." And to his surprise, Anthea smiled, ignoring the look of anguish in his silver eyes.

"It's almost time," she grunted as another contraction overtook her; throwing her body into a wave of spasms. "Lucifer, you must take care of our child," she whispered. "Promise me?"

"My Love, we will take care of our child together. I am not letting you go that easily," he murmured firmly, his silver eyes glistening with metallic tears.

A sad smile wove it's way across the women's chapped, cracked lips. "We shall see," she whispered, just as another wave of agony came crashing down. Tears leaked from her eyes as she wailed, fingers curled into fists at her side.

"Do something, you vexatious vermin!" barked Lucifer, baring teeth at the two midwives. Shadows of something dark and dangerous lingered on his face.

"Master, we are doing everything we conceivably do. It's up to Anthea now if she is to make it through the-" A bone chilling howl cut her off.

"It's coming!" Anthea screamed, her back bowing as a new being emerged from her body. She fisted her fingers into the corse fabric of the towel she was laying on.

"Come on, Anthea, I see it's head. Just a little bit farther now..." encouraged the older midwife as she pushed white locks away from Anthea's face. Throughout her life, the midwife never got used to the sight of a new life being brought into the world. Even one as diabolical as this one.

There was one last shriek, before the cave was bathed in silence.

"It's a girl," the older midwife whispered, holding the newborn outstretched to her mother.

Only... the mother could not take her child in her arms. The new mother lay on her blood stained towel, head cocked to the side, eye's glazed over with a cloudy veil, seeing nothing.

Startled, the midwife almost dropped the baby. "Oh no..."

"What?" asked Lucifer as he rose, towering over the old woman, his eyes shining with death. His body shook with rage as the reality of what just happened began to soak in. The baby cried from the midwives arms. "Do something!" the father bellowed, snatching his new daughter from the older woman's arms, causing the child to cry louder.

"Master, there's nothing I can do... She's in God's hands-"

A claw like hand closed around her throat before she could finish, cutting off her oxygen supply. "Please..." She gasped, clawing at his face, desperate for air.

His hands tightened, his eyes growing hard. "You took her from me," he growled through gritted teeth. "You refused to save her!" He turned to the still, lifeless form laying beside him. "No, no no no... Anthea..."

"No master, there was nothing we could do," whimpered the younger midwife, now cornered by the white wolf. "I promise, if there was anything we cold have done-" Her words were cut off by a gurgle as the wolf's jaws locked around her throat, tearing it open and spilling her life onto the rocks.

* * * * * *

The father knelt by his dead love, clutching her broken form to his body with one arm, while holding his daughter in the other, weeping into her pale curls. "My beautiful flower..."

It may have took seconds, minuets, hours, but finally Lucifer snapped out of his sorrow, coming around to the piercing wails of the infant in his arms. He stared at her tiny face, her mouth shaped like 'O' as she cried. "Shhh, there, there," he whispered, tracing her delegate features. "No need to cry, Little One." The baby girl opened her eyes, a penetrating, glowing gold - just like her mothers. The baby stirred, going into a fit of hiccups before finally quieting down. "How could such a small, fragile thing cause so much sadness and death?"

Lucifer rose, glancing over his shoulder at Anthea's cold, lifeless form. "And what a beautiful death it was, my Love. I shall see you again someday."

Dropping his gaze to his daughter, he murmured, "Mara, shall be your name. A beautiful evil."