17. Her strange aura

As he spoke, Chris's hands were still extended towards Precious, his gesture implying that all she needed to do was reach out and take his hand, and everything would be accomplished, the deal sealed.

Precious's tear-stained face had dried, but the remnants of her sorrow were still evident. She looked into each of the beast's eyes and then at Chris's outstretched hand.

Desperate as she was, Precious had been raised with a strong moral compass by her parents. Goodness, kindness, love, and all the little joys of life were the true path, not the allure of evil.

"What will I have to sacrifice? What price must I pay to become like you?" Precious asked, her voice carrying an unwavering resolve.

Her tone may have been calm, but it spoke volumes about her decision.

"I may be reunited with my father if I embrace evil, but neither of us will find true happiness. No one will. I can never derive joy from wickedness, Chris! It may be gratifying, but it certainly isn't the key. It's definitely not the answer!"

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Lucas chimed in when Chris retracted his hand.

"Weak!" Veronica scoffed.

"Veronica, it is you who is weak. You embrace evil simply to escape the struggles of fighting back. Are you truly content with your life as a witch?" Precious retorted, meeting their stares head-on. She bent down to pick up Rainey, signaling her intention to walk away.

"Edgar will humble you," Lucas proclaimed. "You will join us!"

"I would rather die!" Precious countered. "Death is preferable to becoming a beast like you."

"We shall see. You're just a weak human! Eventually, you will relent!" Veronica turned away, dismissing Precious as she ventured back into the mansion.

Precious smiled at her. "I still want to be your friend," she declared, refusing to engage in a battle of words.

Veronica didn't expect such a response. "To evil," she muttered before vanishing.

Precious glanced at Chris and Lucas. "I'm hungry," she stated. "Let's return to the table. We still need to prepare for school and..." Precious believed there was no need to finish her sentence for the beasts to understand.

"But first, we will visit your pottery home," Chris reminded Precious, moving closer to her.

Precious smiled. "I know."

Whether or not the beasts realized it, their lives were about to undergo a gradual transformation, and it wasn't just them.

Of course, Precious's actions were not lost on the three beasts, and in their minds, they had only a few words for her.

"What a peculiar child."

… …

Silence reigned in the dining room for some minutes after their laughter died down. Veronica used her spoon to play with her meal before getting the glass and consuming its content. "She must be lost by now," removing her gaze from her food, Veronica uttered.

They slowly began to feel no excitement in the video about Vincent– Precious's father. This caused a strange silence between them until Veronica uttered something about Precious.

Chris looked at the wall by his side to see that Precious had really lost her way and couldn't find a single way out of the Mansion.

These beasts had the ability to influence humans and things. However, they didn't manipulate Precious's mind into thinking she had no way out. They only hide the Mansion so that even people visiting the area by chance wouldn't see the building.

And even with the invisibility of the building, no one would ever think of buying the land. However, it gets visible when needed.

Without the windows, they saw how Precious wandered around the garden finding that black gate and when she exhausted herself, she began to cry, causing Veronica to scoff.

"She's so weak."

"Weak but has this…aura," Chris uttered, lost in his vision. "Don't you notice the flowers around her?" Chris uttered.

Lucas and Veronica paid attention. "They are dying," Veronica uttered. "I don't think…what…. could she…." She held her head to calm herself. "I don't think it's what you are thinking, Chris," Veronica refused to believe that Precious was more than a human but none of them could feel what she was.

Has a new creature been created? They wondered.

"Edgar knows this, that's why he found her and killed her mother," Chris uttered with his eyes still on the confused little human. "But he also doesn't know what she is. However, she…definitely isn't just human."

Lucas dropped his spoon after finishing his food and then walked out of the room only for Chris and Veronica to follow him.

Veronica glanced at Chris wondering why Lucas had uttered no word but they followed him to know what he was up to.

Lucas walked out of the house to see that the flowers around her began to change colors. He glanced at Rainey with a frown. Rainey watched him walk over to Precious.

Chris invited her to join the evil forces. Lucas and Veronica added to Chris's effort but she refused, which meant that whatever she was she wasn't for evil.

Lucas glanced at Rainey again but then she uttered that she was hungry and just then, the sun became brighter, making the flowers look alive again.

Lucas and Chris saw that, causing their emotionless faces but then Chris withdrew himself from his thoughts about what and who she might be and reminded her that she was going to see her pottery home.

Precious went through the door with Lucas and Chris's eyes on her. Someday soon, they'll find out who she was and what was special about her.

Rainey wasn't with Precious when she followed Chris out of the house to check out her pottery home. Precious had only seen the front of the building but now that Chris was leading her toward another direction, she assumed it was the back of the house.

However, the question that came out of her mouth didn't concern where they were going. She asked why she couldn't find the exit earlier.

Chris simply told her that they were capable of hiding the mansion which made sense to Precious. "So I'm trapped," she uttered with a low voice.

Chris ignored her voice and walked down the short stairs. Precious followed him quietly but in her mind was chaos.