She ran the plastic wand over the rim of the top hat while Grayson yawned theatrically. He reached his hand back inside in an exaggerated fashion until his arm nearly disappeared inside.
What happened next frightened Odette. An invisible hand clamped onto her right wrist like a vice and her world went dark. She hadn’t passed out, she knew that much. It was as if the walls shrunk in size, turning them black, and the people vanished. Her free arm was pressed tightly against her torso and she was seemingly being pulled through a tube. Odette couldn’t open her mouth to scream. She was just frozen with fear. Finally, her eyes were greeted by the light. Odette wondered if that was a new side effect of her little problem but she was proven wrong. Instead of standing in the front row, she was now facing the audience and half of her body was inside of the hat. The people watched in awe as the twins pulled a human girl out of an accessory.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for our lovely assistant, Miss Odette Sinclair!” Grayson exclaimed. He gently grabbed her hand and helped her out of the hat, which was now placed on the old chair.
Odette’s breathing was ragged and she was positive her hair was a mess. “How did you do that?” she breathed.
The boy winked at her and sat her down on the rickety chair. His hand was entwined with her own, the heat of his palm seeping into her skin. Unsettled by everything, she allowed him to maneuver her like a puppet.
“Now our next trick will allow you all to marvel at the susceptibility of the human mind,” Grayson proclaimed. He began to strut about the stage. “Hypnotism is a fine art, one that I’m sure everyone here is aware of. It requires not only the magician’s excellent talent but also the trust of the subject.”
She stiffened. Hypnotism?! She really should have asked them to specify what she would be used for in their show. It was too late now. Grayson and Greer approached her with false, flashy smiles and confident posture. Odette wasn’t certain if she was frightened of them or what they would make her do.
“Are you ready, my lovely assistant?” Grayson asked.
Odette glanced around the room at the eager faces of the crowd and back to Grayson’s devilish one. “I—uh—yes?”
He smirked and slipped off the jewel that held the cape together and wound a cord around it. Perfect. Now, Odette, I want you to look at my amulet. I want you to gaze into it deeply and allow yourself to get lost in the color. Don’t look around, don’t look at my face or my shirt, only the amulet. I want you to focus on my voice as well. Let the party fade into the background until it is completely gone. It is just you and I, Odette.”
His words lulled her into a state of calm. Her heartbeat slowed down and her eyes were trained on the enticing blue gem. It twinkled and winked at her dangerously. She could feel her body not only start to droop but also lean even closer to him.
Grayson continued to speak to her and draw her in, even though she couldn’t hear him. She was too far gone in this trance. His voice was loud so that the audience could hear him but, in her mind, it was a whisper. His low voice surrounded her with a warmth and seduced her into a sleep.
Your mind is mine.
Words swirled around her unconscious mind.
Your mind is under MY control.
Odette couldn’t fight it even if she wanted to.
Only you and I now.
You must obey me now, do you understand, Odette?
Yes.
X
Odette’s body was slumped over in the chair and the audience waited with baited breath to see what would happen next. The brother shot his sister a sly glance, one not meant for the others to see. The corner of the sister’s mouth twitched slightly but did not move otherwise.
“What should we make our poor, unsuspecting assistant do?” Greer asked the people. They murmured amongst one another but no one was brave enough to speak up. “Do you have any ideas, brother?” She tilted her head in a coy manner.
Grayson discreetly ran the pad of his thumb over Odette’s jaw, observing her peaceful face. “I have a few. Our first ‘test’ will be an entertaining one, if I say so myself.”
He adjusted the girl so she faced the audience before he continued. “Odette, you are now completely under my control. When I tell you to do something, you will. What I want you to do is to believe that you are as light as the air. When you wake up, gravity will no longer have any hold on you because you are as light as a feather.” He paused and everyone waited with baited breath. “Wake up!”
Odette’s eyes opened but only halfway through. She appeared to be like she was only semiconscious. Greer waved her hand in front of the girl’s face but Odette didn’t react to anything.
Grayson cleared his throat, “Now, Odette, remember you weigh absolutely nothing. I want you to climb on the very top of this chair and stand there. It shouldn’t be hard for you, right?”
She stood up off the chair and gathered her skirt into her hands before standing in the seat. Her right leg lifted and pushed her weight onto the back of the chair before doing the same with her left. The chair shook beneath her but Odette didn’t flinch. She wasn’t afraid.
The crowd gasped, some of them holding in a scream of fear.
“Oh, come on now, we can make this more interesting,” Greer cooed. She used that moment to step off the stage and, when she returned, she was pulling a large box full of spikes. She left the box a few feet in front of the balancing girl.
Grayson tapped his chin, “Hm, perhaps you are right.” With a snap of his fingers, the box doubled in length and the spikes grew longer. “Odette, I want you to jump off the chair and into the box.”
Someone in the back began to shout, “You’re going to kill her!” but none of them paid attention to that person at all.
Odette suddenly flung herself off the chair. The crowd watched in horror as she descended onto the spikes, the whole thing seeming to go in slow motion … until they realized it was, somewhat, in slow motion. Her fall had been slowed to the point where she wasn’t even falling anymore but suspended in midair.
“You’re no fun, brother, drop her!” Greer whined playfully.
The male magician sighed, dropping his hands. “Fine.”
Odette began falling once more, and, when she hit the spikes, they exploded into feathers. The feathers flew up in the air in miniature clouds, falling back down around the girl slowly. Grayson took her hand and helped her up, out of the mess, and they were met with loud applause.
As soon as she had sat back down, Grayson commanded for her to sleep once more and her body went limp. She could vaguely make out Grayson’s voice, the only thing she could hear at all. He seemed to be thanking the crowd before he went quiet again in her mind.
“We aren’t finished yet with the darling Odette Sinclair,” Greer stated, circling the chair that held the unconscious girl.
“For our next hypnosis trick,” Grayson picked up where his sister left off. “I shall make Miss Sinclair believe that she is totally enamored by me.”
There were several gasps and whispers in the audience as many of Grayson’s fangirls were not at all pleased by this.
“Tsk, tsk, brother,” teased Greer, but she smirked as she spoke. The female magician rested her arm on the back of the wooden chair, intrigued with how the trick would turn out.
Grayson winked. “You are no longer as light as a feather, Odette. When I tell you to wake up, you will be deeply in love with me.” His words were much quieter than what he had spoken before. In fact, none of the audience heard a word of what he said. “Wake up!”
Odette’s head lifted up instantly, all looks of fear and confusion wiped from her features. Instead, her eyes locked onto the boy beside her. They were glossed over but conveyed such a deep emotion of love, it was startling. Greer was even surprised at the end result.
The brunet extended his hand to the girl who gladly accepted. Her gaze never strayed from his eyes, and everything melted away. There was a faint pink blush on her cheeks from bei
ng so close to him. It was dizzying how she couldn’t think of anything else besides him; her senses filled up to the brim with Grayson Mages.
“Tell me, princess, how do you feel about me?” he asked. His fingers gently squeezed her own in a caring gesture.
Odette shivered, her blush darkening. “I … I am in love with you, Grayson. Completely and wholly in love with you,” she confessed. Her mouth moved on its own and the words poured out without a second thought.
Deep in the recesses of her mind, Odette was mortified by what she had said. Not because she didn’t mean it—she didn’t but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t—but because it was for show.
“Really?” he whispered. He moved from being in front of her to being directly behind her, his other hand entwining with her free one.
“Really,” she confirmed.
Grayson hummed. “And what would you do if I said I loved you back?”
Odette’s heart fluttered and her face broke into a wide grin. “I would be the happiest girl on the planet,” she giggled.
“Would you kiss me?” Grayson asked, moving his head to be closer her ear.
The crowd, meanwhile, was just as captivated by the performance. Some of them would chuckle every now and then but most of them were quiet. It was slightly awkward to watch but they couldn’t look away.
Odette turned her head to the side, their faces only centimeters apart. She was finding it hard to function with him being so close to her, her nerves acting up. In her chest, her heart began pumping harder and violently.
“I would.”
Grayson’s lips were barely a hair’s breadth away, his flesh just brushing against her own. It was enough to make her heat up and to make her stop breathing entirely ….
But before it could become a full kiss, Grayson backed away, releasing one of her hands. He continued to step back until their hands were connected only by their brushing fingertips.
“And what would you do if I said that I didn’t love you?”
Those words caused her daze to come crashing down, the warm and fuzzy feelings dissipating into the icy tendrils of dread. The butterflies in her stomach dropped dead. Odette was pretty sure she could hear the sound of her heart shattering into nothing.
“If … if you—?” she couldn’t even finish the sentence without feeling like she would break down.
“Yes,” Grayson smiled sadistically. “If I said that I did not love you.”
Tears were welling up in her eyes, the stupid mask that she wore was actually useful to hide how broken she really was. “Then … I might as well die.” The words slipped out of her mouth easily, like when she professed her love to him.
Deep inside, she knew that this was all part of the act, that she wasn’t actually in love with him, and that his words don’t mean anything. She, however, couldn’t stop showing the face of a jilted woman as she nearly broke down on stage.
The male seemed pleased with the response—the crowd gasped at how sincere her words sounded—and crossed the stage, so he was beside her once more. “Thank you for your honesty. Now sleep,” he commanded.
Odette’s body crumpled. She dropped to the floor but Grayson caught her at the last second, cradling her in his arms delicately. He gazed at her peaceful face, annoyed that the mask was obstructing it from him. A quick yank of the ribbon and the mask fell free and off her face, tumbling down onto the floor. A stray tear, leftover from her “heartbreak,” fell down her face and held his attention for a moment longer.
His arms snaked around her waist and under her legs, carrying her back over to the chair that she once sat on. Greer eyed him knowingly but he didn’t meet her gaze. His sole focus was on the girl in his arms.
“It is time to awaken our assistant,” Greer said loudly, stepping in front of her brother and Odette.
Grayson took one last look before snapping back to reality. “When I say the word, Odette will awaken and return to just how she was when she came up on the stage.” Grayson ordered her to wake up and her eyes fluttered open instantly. She looked to Greer first, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
The other girl helped her up from the chair and presented her to the crowd. “Please give a hand for our brave assistant!”
Odette was startled by how loud the audience cheered for her. She smiled, embarrassed from the attention she was receiving. Grayson came up beside her, taking her other hand with his, and bringing it up for a kiss.
“You didn’t make me do anything embarrassing, right?” she muttered.
Grayson chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it embarrassing. Entertaining, yes. Slightly endearing.”
Odette didn’t like that answer at all.
“Come with me,” Grayson murmured in her ear.
Odette turned around to face him, she had been over at the punch table sipping on her water. “Where are you taking me?”
The boy shook his head. “You’ll find out.”
He led her through the throngs of people, heading up the grand staircase in the entry hall, and up a few more flights of stairs. Odette was breathing heavily, one hand holding her skirt up, so she wouldn’t trip over it while the other was held tight within Grayson’s grasp. She wished that she could just kick off her high heels but it was nearly impossible to do so as the boy was not slowing down anytime soon.
Finally, Grayson pulled her close to him, stopping in front of a large window. He smiled slyly at her and pushed it open, crawling onto the roof.
“Come on,” he urged, waving her on. He patted the space beside him, like that would entice her more.
“There are several reasons why I should not go out on the roof with you,” Odette said. “Starting with the fact that it will probably ruin my dress.”
Grayson rolled his eyes and shrugged off his suit jacket, laying it on the area beside him. “There, one problem solved.”
“I faint at the worst of times,” Odette sighed.
“I will have my arm around you the entire time. I was looking for an excuse to do it anyway.”
She laughed, still shaking her head. “My parents would kill me–”
“Well, then, they better not find out. I won’t tell them.” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to come up with another excuse.
Odette chewed on the inside of her cheek, glancing down the long hallway behind her. No one to stop her, no one to witness what was about to take place. She sighed, bending over so that she could fit through the window. She didn’t need to look up to see how smug Grayson was looking.
“If I die … ” she warned, pointing a finger at him.
“Completely on me, I’ll admit it. I’ll feel so guilty that I’ll turn myself in to rot behind bars, leaving my grandfather and sister to go bankrupt.” Grayson scooted closer to where Odette had perched herself, wrapping his arm around her, and pulling her in close like he said he would.
She shuddered, her mind at war with itself. She knew that she should run away, that she was stupid to have come out on a roof with a boy who practically screamed danger. She had been warned in a dream and by his own sister to be careful, not to mention the nightmare that she had at the sleepover …and yet, the gushy, hormonal side of her was freaking out because she was stargazing with the most beautiful boy she had ever seen in her life. He had his arm around her and his body heat was chasing off any chill that tried to come her way. Plus, he had never actually hurt her.
“Do you see those stars right there? That is the constellation Draco, which happens to be my middle name,” he told her, pointing up at the sky.
Odette followed the pattern of stars with her eyes. “That’s a beautiful thing to be named after. The stars.” With her face upturned, she couldn’t look at him but she could feel him. She could feel him shifting to get closer to her. Even though it was warm outside, she was shivering from the leftover chill of the mansion. Or, that was what she told herself.
“You need to relax,” Grayson whispered in her ear, making her jump. “You’re so tense. I don’t bite, yo
u know? Unless you want me to …”
“I’m sorry,” Odette murmured, turning away. She didn’t want him to see how flustered she was.
Grayson sighed, his hand around her torso tracing circles into the fabric. “Why are you so intimidated by me?”
Odette met his gaze.
“You’re always ready to run away when you are close to me. It confuses me. Don’t you like me?”
“I-I’m not.” Odette stuttered quietly.
Grayson’s eyes hardened. “I could always make you tell me how you feel.” His voice got deeper when he said that. His forehead was pressed against hers and she was practically pinned to the house.
“Maybe it’s ‘cause you say things like that,” Odette hinted.
The intensity in his eyes vanished and was replaced by amusement. “Maybe. You’re so strange, Odette. You’re so … innocent and naive. It’s refreshing. I just hate seeing you so frightened of me.” His eyes switched between Odette’s.
She swallowed hard and willed herself to look away. His eyes were hypnotic, just enough to make her paralyzed.
“And, yet, despite your obvious fear, you followed me without question. You allowed me to convince you to join me out here on the roof even though it’s putting your health at risk. You trust me enough to take care of you …”
And part of me is regretting it.
“I hardly know you, Grayson. Even so, you and Greer are my only friends here,” Odette admitted. “I haven’t ever had any boyfriends of any kind and I don’t want to screw up anything. Besides … I-I …”
Grayson leaned in closer. “You what?” He was so close to her that he could easily kiss her. His lips were a distraction and Odette didn’t like that. Everything about his stupid face was a distraction to her.
“I …” Odette hesitated, “don’t know how to feel around you.” With the admission out into the universe, she felt lighter somehow. And, at the same time, chained to the boy beside her.
The silence between them was stifling. Grayson’s constant eye contact made her feel odd, like he was peering into her soul. A cool breeze ruffled both of their hair, some of his tickling her temples.
Violent Delights Page 10
