The catering truck slid through the fresh snow, making its
way up the drive to Shadow Hall. I had
followed it from town, keeping to the trees that lined the road like stalwart
knights at their post. The wind had
finally settled with the snow, and I was grateful. I had only the light jacket I’d worn the last
few days on the journey, and hadn’t bothered to foresee where I was going. There just wasn’t time.
The truck curved around the massive mansion to the back
entrance, where the vendors were already beginning to style the sculpted
grounds into a spectacle of elegance. A
large, rectangular pool, set off by columns at each corner, anchored the
garden. Hundreds of black roses were lying
atop the water, shimmering in the mid-afternoon sun. Off at the edge of the garden, a bright red
bridge looked out over the grounds. Round
tables dotted the expansive stone patio surrounding the pool, all covered by
crisp, white linen. Servants in coattails
and bow ties were scattering black petals and black candles on each table,
followed by what looked like a statue of a raven in the center. Lights had been hung from the pillars, all
meeting over the center of the pool at a giant paper lantern that seemed to
glow, though it didn’t appear to be lit.
They were preparing for the Solstice; their most sacred day of the year.
It was forbidden for any of the Light to
attend. It was beautifully dark; enchanting,
even, and would be even more so when the sun set. I prayed I would not be around to see it.
I crept toward the house as silently as I could manage. I had to get to Gavin before the Circle. I reached the edge of the trees and ducked
behind a table to avoid a servant. He
walked around and began to place the petals, candles and raven on the table,
adjusting them with gloved fingertips. I
clapped a hand over my mouth and waited, feeling the blood pulse in my
ears. I could see his shoes, shining
black in the sun, as they turned and pointed right at me. I looked up to see him staring down, a
quizzical arch to his brow. Just as I
thought he was going to raise the alarm, I noticed something peculiar about his
face. His eyes were clouded over, a
murky white and without an iris or pupil.
His mouth was stitched over with black thread and the skin beneath was
purple and shiny. He had been silenced. I glanced around to the faces of the other
servants, only now seeing what was there all along. They had all been silenced. Every single one of them.
The servant moved past me to the next table, adjusting
petals, as though he hadn’t seen me at all.
He probably hadn’t. Silencing was
a painful process that repealed sight and speech, the two most important factors
in both light and dark casting, from those that misused their gifts. The Circle had been using it as punishment
for decades against the shadows. The
silenced were supposed to be sent to an outcast community overseas, though
admittedly, some had been kept as conductors for the rare occasions when the
Circle needed to channel more power. I
had never seen one out in public before.
I willed the breath to return to my lungs and swept over the
rest of the patio. The servants may not
have been able to see me, but I had no doubt there were other eyes watching
over the grounds. I reached one of the french
doors and slipped inside, flattening my back against the wall and waiting for
my eyes to adjust. They had been used to
the bright sun reflecting off the snow, so I felt as if the dark interior had
pulled a blanket over my eyes when I stepped inside. I waited, the panic rising in my throat, but
they didn’t adjust. There was nothing
but black, thick as wool, over my eyes.
I felt for the ring that occupied the third finger of my
right hand and rubbed the tiger’s eye in the center, hoping for some help. There were footsteps echoing nearby, whether
coming or going, I couldn’t be sure. I
rubbed the smooth stone, but my eyes remained blackened. The fear threatened to claw its way up my throat
and out through my mouth in a scream, but I held it back with clenched teeth. I tried to retrace the way I had come, using
the wall to steer me back outside onto the patio. Instead of the light returning to my eyes,
they grew even dimmer. I didn’t feel the
breeze on my face or hear any sounds of the waterfall that flowed into the
pool. The cold wall behind me was my
only guide and it seemed to continue on where the door had been before. The footsteps grew louder and then
disappeared altogether.
“Can I help you, miss?” a voice echoed through the room.
I froze against the wall and was about to reply when I felt
burning fingers slip between mine, covering my ring. Another soft touch on my head made my scalp
tingle and sent shivers all the way down to my spine.
“She was just looking for me, weren’t you, love? Come on, we’ve got to get you ready for the
party.”
I nodded in the general direction of the first voice and let
the hot hand pull me into the middle of the room. Being guided through complete darkness was
maddening and I fought the urge to lash out and run. My instincts were screaming in my ears,
pulsating through my veins, and itching beneath my skin, but still I followed
up stairs, around corners, until finally we came to a stop and I heard a door
close behind me.
“Gavin, what’s happening to me? I can’t see a damn thing.”
“It’s the enchantment.
For our protection, should a keeper of the light ever find us here. They- you- cannot enter with the sight. How did you find me here?” His voice sounded as if it came from
everywhere, instead of one particular direction. I tried to follow the sound.
“Don’t flatter yourself.
I’ve hunted many like you. It
wasn’t that hard, really.” My patience
was wearing thin and I felt the beginnings of a dull ache between my eyes.
“This is the only place we are truly safe; it’s supposed to
be unforeseeable. How did you do it?” he
asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“I don’t know, I just thought of you and the village came to
me. I asked around and there was talk of
a celebration out here.”
“So you’ve been thinking of me. Frankly, I’m not surprised.”
I stifled a groan. If
I could see, I would have rolled my eyes at him. “This is really starting to give me a
headache. Can you take it off?”
My hands went to my temples, the ache spreading from between
my eyes all the way around my head. It
was dulling the rest of my senses, propelling me into a vacuum of
nothingness. My feet swayed under me and
I felt his burning hands guide me to what felt like the edge of a bed.
“I can take it off, but you have to remove your ring. The light within it is what’s holding the
enchantment on you,” he said.
“You must think I’m stupid,” I answered. “The last time I saw you, you tried to kill
me, remember?”
“After you slipped me halting dust. Tell me, did you actually intend to bring me
in, or were you just looking for a good time?” he asked, as his hand glided beneath
my jacket to my neck. I slapped it
away. “Besides, I didn’t try to kill
you. I knew you would wake up. And, as I recall, you stabbed me, so I
suppose that makes us even.”
“You are unbelievable,” I said, the words sounding suddenly
far away. My head felt heavy, as if it
might roll off my neck and onto the bed.
“Lucy? You’re fading
out. You have to take it off.”
“No,” I mumbled, trying to get up but falling backward onto
the bed, instead.
“So stubborn,” he said and I could barely hear the grin that
formed the words.
Then the sound was completely sucked out of the room and I
was adrift, floating through a black sea.
I felt myself slipping and was barely able to hold up my hand and pull
the ring off before I was swallowed up in the darkness.
***
I awoke to the heavy scent of incense burning beside
me. The smell of burning sugar stifled
any hope of fresh air in the tiny room.
I turned my head and blew what should have been an extinguishing charm,
but instead, it sent ash flying across the floor. A plume of smoke rose from the fading embers
on the carpet, curling into a bird-like shape in the air. It seemed to bow its head to me and then
disappear as the embers faded to black.
What is going on?
My fingers went to the place where my ring had been and
found the indent just above the knuckle it had left behind. I sat up and felt the restriction of tight
fabric against my legs and stomach. I
was wearing a dress. A tight, black dress. Again, I felt for the finger my ring should
have rested on and noticed my fingernails had been painted a deep purple shade,
glittering in the soft light of a nearby lamp.
I thought back to the last moments before I had passed out, but my
memory was fragmented. It felt like it
had been shattered, leaving only shards behind; flashes of a garden, virgin
snow, and darkness. I shook my head and
saw a deep auburn curl fall over my shoulder and come to rest on my collar
bone. I picked up the lock of hair and
examined it in the light. It shimmered,
many shades darker than it should have been, against my pale fingers.
A mirror hung above a red chest of drawers at the foot of
the bed and I went to it, slowly, wary of what I would see. The woman that met my gaze in the mirror was stunning,
with auburn curls and chocolate eyes rimmed in shimmering black kohl. I licked my lips and so did she, the deep red
shade painted on them as stark as blood against a pale complexion. The dress gathered and then split around my
neck, hugging my body so tightly it felt like a second skin. It stopped abruptly mid-thigh, causing me to
tug on the hem continuously, as if it would lengthen at my touch. It was obviously not designed for a protector
like myself, as I could barely walk in it, let alone fight. Once the novelty of my altered appearance
wore off, I searched the top of the chest for my ring. It was bare, aside from a stack of books and
a comb.
Gavin.
He must have it, I
thought. I felt the heat on my face as I
realized he must also have dressed me while I slept. I glanced around the room and saw something
gleaming over by the door. An intricate
mask was hanging on the handle, beaded and painted to delicate perfection. The top half was black and rounded above each
eye, while the bottom ended in a silver pointed beak. I was to be a raven, then. I pulled the mask over my face and silver
words looped across my vision, hanging for a moment before they vanished into
the air.
You are a vision in black, love. Come down to the party. There are things you must see. Do not speak to anyone.
He knew I couldn’t leave, not without my ring. I had no choice but to find him and get it
back. My feet carried me to the round
window beside the bed and I looked down on the scene below. The sun was just beginning to set, casting
the dark shapes on the patio out against the warm glow of the sky. I tried to take in as much of the sun as I
could, steeling myself for what was to come.
I would need every bit of its light to immerse myself in shadow.
I slipped on a pair of precariously high heeled ankle boots
that had been left by the door and descended the steps. The house felt eerily quiet but alive with
excitement, as if it had a presence hanging just beneath the silent surface. I reached the bottom of the steps and
followed the soft hum of conversation through another hall and into the living
room. The whole house was opulent, with
rich velvety fabrics in deep crimson and gold accents. It was everything I had come to despise,
having been raised by the Circle in the modest surroundings of the
conservatory. They lived richly here,
enveloped in indulgence. It was
sickening.
My heels click-clacked through the room as I reached the
french doors at last, peering out at the party that had begun while I slept
upstairs. Everyone was formally dressed
in gowns and suits, mostly in black and purple, though a few in silver and gold
stuck out. People were twirling and
gliding across the patio with a grace not often seen in the light of day. Some were dancing, others seated at tables,
and still more standing in groups, all animated in their conversation. They appeared to be enjoying themselves,
though their faces were mostly obscured.
It was a masquerade ball. How convenient, I thought with a smile.
As I watched from inside the door, a servant approached with
a tray of ornate glasses, all filled with a fizzy, purple liquid. He lowered the tray toward me in
offering. I was about to say no thank
you when Gavin’s words resurfaced. Do not speak to anyone. I shook my head, and he continued around
me and out the doors. I took a deep
breath and followed, feeling the absence of the ring on my finger like a hole
in my chest.
There was a tangible excitement among the crowd, as if they
were all waiting for something spectacular drawing near. The sun had almost dipped completely below
the horizon line, and I guessed they were waiting for darkness. I wondered as I watched them all move fluidly
through the dusk, if I blended in among them.
Could they see the light within me?
Could they feel that I was not one of them? I prayed they could not, as I scanned the
crowd for Gavin’s square jaw and blue eyes.
Since everyone was wearing a mask, it was hard to pick out any
discernable features. I waved off
another fizzy liquid offering and moved across the patio to the pool, feeling
the shadows begin to grow around me.
The black roses floating in the pool had all been adorned
with candles, mirroring the stars that had just begun to stand out in the
darkening sky. The effect, with the
lights hanging above on strings, was quite magical. I searched the faces by the pool and saw one
that resembled Gavin’s. I approached and
realized the man was much too short and paunchy to be him. The petite woman next to him seemed oddly
familiar. Aside from Gavin, I had never
been acquainted with another shadow, though I had apprehended many. Something about the way she moved, less fluid
than the others, stuck out in my foggy memory.
Her golden dress reflected the candlelight in hundreds of tiny sequins,
shimmering every time she laughed and raised her glass to her lips. I felt drawn to her, though I couldn’t
determine the reason. I decided to keep
an eye on her after I had found Gavin.
I circled the pool and was on my way back to the patio when
I felt scorching fingers at the crease of my elbow. I spun around, expecting Gavin, but saw,
instead, a pair of green eyes beneath a simple, black eye mask. It flared up to a point at the temples, but
was otherwise unadorned. Gavin would
never wear something so plain. And he
didn’t have green eyes.
“Hello, gorgeous. I
suppose I should bow before the raven.”
He inclined his head. “And what a
raven you are.”
His voice was much deeper than Gavin’s, and his features
were sharper and more severe. I tried to
return his smile, but everything about him made my skin crawl. His touch, at my arm, was oppressive in its
heat.
“Have I seen you here before?” he asked.
I shook my head in reply.
My eyes flitted to the masked faces around me, hoping to see Gavin’s. I could only remain silent for so long.
“A shy raven,” he said, his grin widening. “How endearing.”
“She’s not much for small talk,” a voice chimed in behind
me.
Gavin appeared at my side, guiding my arm through his. The man in the plain mask looked genuinely
put out at his arrival, the grin all but disappearing from his face. I couldn’t help the relief that spread
through me, feeling his arm around mine.
“Gavin, I didn’t know you brought a date. A friend of yours?” he asked, still eyeing me
as if he could see through the mask.
“Something like that.”
The green-eyed man and I both watched Gavin, waiting for
more of an explanation or an introduction, but none came.
“Please excuse us,” Gavin said, steering me away toward the
edge of the patio.
I felt the man’s stare on our backs the whole way, until we
stopped at an outlying table that was unoccupied and I looked back to find he
had disappeared into the crowd. I tugged
the hem of the dress down as I lowered myself into a chair Gavin had pulled
out. He wound around to the opposite
side, glancing at my bare legs on his way, and I quickly crossed them away from
him. I saw the hint of a grin at the
corner of his mouth.
“You must be loving this, watching me squirm. I want it back, Gavin. Now.”
“Can’t you just enjoy yourself, for one night?”
“You think I could enjoy this? This fake hair, this ridiculous dress, these
masks? What are you even celebrating?”
He leaned in, grabbing a wisp of hair that had blown across my
mask in the cool breeze and twisting it in his fingertips. I could feel the heat radiating from his hand
on my cheek, though our skin wasn’t touching.
“If you’d rather parade your illumination around, I’d be
happy to undo what’s been done. Personally,
I think it suits you quite well.”
I watched as the hair between his fingers lightened to the
platinum shade it had always been, the dark hue retreating upward to my tingling
scalp. He smiled and released the
curl. It immediately blended with the
rest, a deep auburn, and I brushed it back behind my shoulder. As much as I hated to admit it, he was
right. Without his help, they would spot
the light within me instantly, not to mention the ring on my finger. I rubbed the indent just above my knuckle
again, absently.
“We’re celebrating the Solstice, love. The longest night of the year,” he said, as
he looked around to the blazing sky. The
sun had disappeared, leaving a fiery trail of orange and pink behind. Soon, it would be dark.
“If you’re all going to turn into a bunch of winged freaks,
I would like some kind of protection.
Won’t it be obvious when I’m the only one that doesn’t change by the
moon?” I asked, picturing the way he had swept out of the doorway at our last
encounter.
He smiled again, as if remembering something dear to his
memory. “This is the only night we are
not claimed by the moon, and remain our true selves.”
“There’s nothing true
about this. Everyone’s wearing a mask.”
“Only enemies speak the truth, love. Friends and lovers lie endlessly.”
A couple passed by our table, laughing loudly, and I leaned
in closer to his face across the table. The
candlelight danced on his bright blue eyes through the mask. It resembled mine, coming to a point below
his nose, but his was much shorter and blunter.
It was feathered above the eyes, blending with his unruly black hair. It was easy, getting lost in in his
smile. I wondered if it was another of
his enchantments.
“Look, I’m not here to celebrate with you, alright? I came here for a reason.”
“Yes, let’s hear it.
What brings you to the Underworld?”
“The Circle. They’re
looking for you,” I answered, avoiding his eyes.
“And this is what you came all the way out here to tell
me? You’re more desperate than I
thought.”
“No, I mean they’re looking for you, specifically. They’ve been tracking you for months.”
“Well, they’re not very good at it, are they?” he said, but
even as the words left his lips, I could see the recognition dawning in his
eyes. His grin faltered for a split
second, before he could recover. He
leaned forward, again, so that our faces were inches apart. “How long were you following me before the
night in the castle?”
“Two weeks. You’re cleverer
than most I’ve hunted.”
“I think you’re mixing business with pleasure, love. Are you sure it’s not fate bringing us
together?”
“Why are they after you, Gavin? What have you gotten yourself into?”
“You’re the one tumbling down the rabbit hole. Now you’ve gotten a taste, you just can’t
stay away, can you?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.
I was ordered to track your movements.
That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
He leaned in closer, holding my eyes with his own. I could smell the familiar scent of burning
wood that always seemed to cling to him.
Somewhere near the house, a faint voice rose in song above the chatter.
“You really expect me to believe that the Circle sent you
here, alone, to find me? Look around
you, Lucy. I’m nowhere near the top of
the guest list. And you’re good, but
you’re not that good. I bet they don’t even know you’re here.”
But they do, I
thought. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.
The singing voice grew louder, drowning out most of the conversation
around us. I tried to pinpoint the
source, but couldn’t see beyond the crowd that had gathered on the other side
of the patio. I turned back to Gavin’s
face, still intent upon mine. As I
watched the candlelight flicker across the glassy blue of his eyes, I wondered
what it was that drew him away from the light.
He wasn’t born in shadow, that much I knew. Something had pulled him under. But once you surrendered to shadow, there was
no going back.
“They didn’t send me, but they’ll know I’ve gone before
long, if they don’t, already. They want
to bring you in and question you. So
whatever you know must be pretty damn important.”
He stared at me for a moment, a somber look keeping his lips
from curling up into his usual grin. I
wanted to pull the mask off, to see every thought pass over his face. My fingers curled into fists in my lap. He stood up and held out a hand in front of
me, and before I had time to think it through, I placed mine in his. He led me out to the main part of the patio,
where couples had begun dancing to the haunting voice that seemed to come from
nowhere. I didn’t know how to dance,
having grown up in the conservatory where such a thing was considered
frivolous. There was no need for such
instruction. But his hands led the way,
one pulling my palm while the other pushed at my waist. The movement was hypnotic, along with the
heat of his hands on my cold skin. We
twirled and wove our way around the space, in time with the song that was now
the only audible sound, aside from my rapid heartbeat. It hammered its own rhythm inside my chest,
much quicker than the pace our feet kept to.
I tried to remember the reason I had come, the warning that
weighed so heavily on my tongue. I tried
to remember the last time his blistering touch had felt alien to me. I couldn’t.
It felt familiar, now, as we clung to each other in a haze of black
satin and moonlit skin. I tore my gaze
away from the deep blue of his eyes to see the faces around us, just as intent
upon each other. A couple twirled just a
foot away from us, brushing past in a blur of devilish smiles. I noticed they had removed their masks, revealing
their dark eyes against pale faces. The
woman’s eyes met mine and as she passed, she flashed a wicked grin, her fangs
bared to the moonlight. Her eyes were
completely swallowed by shadow, stretching to garish black smudges on her
face. The sight was horrifying and I
turned my head away, hoping it had just been my foresight reaching into the
shadow within. Another couple passed on
the other side, both faces bare and menacing, tilted toward the sky. I glanced around, hoping to see the masks
that had made the evening seem enchanting and elegant, but there were
none. Every face my eyes passed over was
bare and contorted, every hand stretched to claws. The shadow inside each of them lashed out at
me as they passed, as if it knew I was an intruder.
I dropped Gavin’s hand and ran from the patio, pushing past
scorching arms and shoulders, until I reached the bridge above the garden. The snow was unmarred and glistening beneath,
and I fought the urge to lay in it the way I had as a child in the
conservatory. I longed for its welcome
chill on my skin, in the midst of the black fire around me. Their laughter rang across the patio and I felt
eyes on my back, but couldn’t bring myself to turn around. I
shouldn’t be here, I thought. The snow had piled on the railing of the
bridge, so pure and white against the riotous red handrail. It felt like a tangible memory; something I
could cling to in the middle of this foreign place, and I couldn’t keep my hand
from squeezing it between my fingers. I
studied the flakes in my palm, suddenly wishing I hadn’t come to this place at
all. I could almost smell the chill of
home, like metallic ice. But the Circle’s
plans echoed in my mind, forcing me back into the moment. They were coming. They would descend upon this place and snuff
it out, leaving nothing but a black smear of ash and dust. I pictured the faces again, delighting in the
evil that dwelled inside them, and squeezed my eyes shut. Would it be so bad, letting it happen? Isn’t that what these shadows deserved? To be punished for absconding from the light? Somewhere inside me, something had
changed. I didn’t believe it anymore.
“Is this your idea of blending in?”
I felt his warmth at my side and looked up to see his
unmasked face. I flinched, expecting the
same bared fangs and black eyes, but he was just the way I remembered him. Black hair askew, bright blue eyes gleaming
beneath the lights, and that crooked smile that kept him from being taken too
seriously. No, I didn’t believe what
they said about him. Despite the claim
the moon had on him at night, there was something undeniably pure in him. A flicker I had never felt in a shadow
before.
“I don’t think the forecast called for more snow, so unless
you’re trying to be discovered, you
may want to snap out of it,” he whispered, placing a hand on mine and melting
the snow inside it.
I hadn’t noticed the flakes falling through the air around
me and shook them out of my hair. The
last few fell to the ground, blending with the rest on the bridge, and the air
was still again.
“Sorry,” I whispered, meeting his eyes again.
“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t think about how hard it would be for
you. I know how they condition you back
home.”
“Is that why they want you?
Are you some kind of spy?”
He laughed, stepping closer to me and leaned against the
railing. “Hardly. You’re the one undercover, love.”
“Then how do you know so much about me? About the Circle?”
“I was born into it.
I had their rhetoric shoved down my throat just like you.”
I pulled my hand from under his and the drops of melted snow
dribbled off the ends of my fingers.
“They didn’t shove anything down my throat. They told the truth. Can’t you see that? You’re not like these people, Gavin. What are you doing here?”
“Only enemies speak the truth, remember? I’m in search of my own truth. The Circle has you so caught up in this quest
for justice, did you ever stop to think about what kind of justice it is? You hunt down shadows blindly, without a
moment’s pause. Don’t you ever question
what they did wrong?”
There was no trace of the grin that so often painted his
face a sly shade. His stare was hard and
cold.
“The Circle would never pursue someone unless they were
guilty. My vision is clear.”
“Is it? You said you
came here to warn me. Am I guilty, too,
Lucy?”
I hesitated, swallowing back my initial response. My conditioned response. He had woken something inside me, a beast
that both lamented and loathed my own task the Circle had laid before me:
doubt.
“I know you don’t believe that. So why don’t you tell me why you’re really
here?” he asked.
I turned and squared my shoulders in front of him, pulling
the mask off and tossing it into the snow below.
“You first. What am I doing here? You could have kept me upstairs, or let me
go. Why am I playing party favor?” I
asked, watching the couples continue their eerie dance on the patio. Their faces had returned to normal, but their
movements were a blur as they twirled over the stone with an unnerving
swiftness.
Gavin turned to the crowd and pointed to a man in a simple
mask by the pool. It was the same man
that had approached me before I had managed to find Gavin in the crowd. He was now chatting with the woman in the
golden dress I had been watching earlier.
He offered his arm to her and they wound their way up to the raised
portion of the patio, near the house.
“Jaiden Reese; the newest leader of our coven. I wanted you to see what we’ve been working
toward.”
I frowned, squinting to pick out the man and woman, who were
followed by a few others to the front of the crowd that had stopped dancing and
parted for them. The woman pulled off
her mask and was greeted with several gasps from the crowd. My fingers gripped the edge of the railing
tightly as I craned to see what was happening.
My natural eyesight paled in comparison to the sight my ring gave
me. Just as I was beginning to feel like
a helpless child, I felt Gavin’s hand slip the ring back to its rightful place
on my finger. The panic that had risen
to the brim inside me finally began to ebb and I breathed deeply.
“Think you can manage to listen quietly? Under the radar?” he asked as I watched the
grin return to light his face.
I nodded and turned my attention back to the crowd across
the garden. The woman was much easier to
pick out now, her dress almost blinding me as it reflected the lights around
her. The elegant twist of hair at the
nape of her neck had turned a pale shade of gold since I had seen her
before. Her hands went to her neck,
where a stunning opal necklace followed the shape of her collar bone in a Y,
and my eyes picked out the ring on her third finger instantly. Her eyes were gray and almond shaped as they
scanned the crowd warily. There was a
smile on her lips, but up close, it twitched slightly at the corners. She was on edge, anxiously awaiting
something.
As I took in her appearance next to Jaiden Reese, I finally
realized why she seemed so familiar to me.
I had seen her only once, though I’d heard of her many times
before. She was a prominent member of
the Circle, and the one that had ultimately agreed to the raid they had planned
on Shadow Hall. My grip tightened on the
rail.
“Just listen,” Gavin whispered in my ear and leaned down
over the edge of the bridge on his elbows.
I attuned my heightened sense of hearing to the front of the
group, where Jaiden had just begun to speak.
“Welcome, all, and a merry Solstice. This will be a very special celebration, one
to be remembered for years to come. If I
may, I’d like to introduce a very special guest who has graciously agreed to be
a part of our festivities this evening.
In the name of peace and prosperity, she comes before you as an example
of hope for future generations. Please
give a very warm welcome to Abigail
Ayers, ambassador to the Circle.”
There were hisses and whispers from the crowd, clearly
unhappy with the man’s choice of guest.
I watched as their eyes grew to black stains on their faces again and
their fangs sparkled in the moonlight.
Abigail took a step back, but kept the hesitant smile pasted on her
face. The whole situation made me feel
uneasy and I rocked on the balls of my feet.
“People, please. I
know this is all very unorthodox, but let us move past the unfair conventions
that have plagued both our communities for so many years. Abigail and I have reached an accord, one
that, I think, will reshape our future into a peaceful and prosperous one. Let us lay down our prejudices against each
other,” he said with a wink and a convincing smile.
“Peace, Lucy,” Gavin whispered in my ear. “We are tired of being persecuted. Abigail has agreed to bring the message back
to the Circle and end this war.”
His grin was so genuine, his eyes shining with pride. This was what he had wanted me to see, that
the revulsion between our people would finally be coming to an end. That our leaders were standing together,
united in an attempt to bring peace. It
was a beautiful image, written on the soft curve of his lips. I only wished that I believed it.
“Gavin,” I started, shaking my head with regret for what I
was about to say.
A flash of something reflective caught my eye from the patio
and I turned to see what it was, only to realize that the entire crowd had
disappeared from view. There was no
pool, no garden, no vast mansion in the distance. Everything went black for a second and I
tried to blink it away. I could hear a
faint voice echoing from somewhere nearby.
My hands still gripped the railing of the bridge tightly, the only thing
anchoring me to reality. All at once, an
image of a necklace falling to the ground played before my eyes. The round opals fell one by one and shattered
as they hit the hard stone. I watched as
each one fell, followed by drops of something red that pooled amid the jagged
pieces of the necklace. The image
travelled upward from the stone to a man that held something shiny in his
white-knuckled fingers. It was a blade,
smeared with red and dripping from the tip.
He wore a devilish grin as he removed the simple black mask from his
face, revealing a pair of narrow, green eyes.
I gasped and sprung over the railing down to the snow, desperate to stop
the horror playing out before my eyes. A
scream tore the vision away and I looked around to see the party scene had
returned. There was the beautifully lit
pool and patio, twinkling in the darkness.
The mansion stood just as foreboding as it had been before. The crowd that had been listening to the talk
of peace was still congregated on the patio, before Abigail and Jaiden. Only now, every single eye was fixed on me,
crouching in the snow before them.
I looked from face to face, stopping on the man next to
Abigail. His green eyes flashed hints of
anger as he pulled his arm down from Abigail’s shoulders. She stared at me, recognition dawning in her
eyes, and I realized my fingers were curled around the dagger that was supposed
to be sheathed at my thigh. I didn’t
recall pulling it out. I turned to see
Gavin, still standing on the bridge behind me, a horrified look twisting his
face and knew I had made a mistake. What
I had seen had not really happened. My
foresight had crept up on me at the most inopportune moment, as it sometimes
did. I had just had a vision of Jaiden
killing Abigail.
He waved a hand in front of him and I felt the tingling
sensation return to my scalp. I rose
from the snow and saw the ends of my auburn curls return to the platinum shade
I was born with. He looked at me as
though I was some kind of insect, a pest that he desperately wanted to squish
beneath his shoe.
“It seems we have an intruder. Welcome to the party, luminary.”
He pointed down at me as two men in suits came at me from
opposite sides. I thought about
running. It wouldn’t be so hard to take
out the two shadows closing in. But
Gavin’s horrified face appeared in my mind again, taunting me. He would surely be punished for bringing me
here. I couldn’t let that happen. I let the dagger fall to the snow as the two
men grabbed me by the arms and led me toward the house. I could play captive for a while, I
decided. I knew something they didn’t:
the Circle was on its way.
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