Instrument of Peace (Symphony of the Cursed Book 1)

by Rebecca Hall

  Determined not to think about it any more he scanned the crowd. Perhaps he could find someone to dance with, it would provide a welcome distraction. He spied Little Red Riding Hood standing nearby. She had black hair and blue eyes and a slender body concealed by layers of red and white.

  “W–would you like to dance?” he asked, keeping the word count to a minimum so he wouldn’t trip over his own tongue. Her friends giggled and she blushed, gazing at the floor. Mitch could feel himself flushing as well, she had to be at least two years older than him, maybe more.

  “Maybe,” she smiled at him and ducked her head again. “Are you supposed to be Merlin or Gandalf?” she asked, eyeing his staff.

  “Merlin,” he mumbled trying to avoid the gaze of her friends. He didn’t want to explain the joke behind Harry Dresden and he didn’t have Gandalf’s beard or pointy hat. Merlin had probably never felt this silly.

  “I’ll take that,” one of Red’s friends said, relieving him of the staff. “Now play nice,” she shoved Red towards him. Mitch caught her hand, relieved that he’d never have to see anyone here again. He wouldn’t have minded seeing Red again he decided as they began to dance more or less in time to the music. It was impossible; the most curious rule of the Dance with the Dead was that you could tell no one your real name. Mitch thought that it was carrying the whole costume thing too far but he was all for something that spared him a little embarrassment. The dance floor was crowded with monsters and fairy-tale princesses though he couldn’t imagine what kind of twisted fairy-tale would throw Merlin and Red Riding Hood together. A space opened up and they were shunted towards the middle of the dance floor and the other couples that knew how to dance to organ music. Red giggled but she was an excellent dancer and she had no trouble avoiding his feet every time he missed a step. He’d never thought he’d actually need to know how to dance when they taught him.

  He spied Mindy and Bates though they were no longer dancing with one another. Mindy had been snagged by some sort of priest who looked to be in serious danger of breaking his vows with cat-woman, while Bates in his Batman suit was dancing with a scantily clad Alice in Wonderland. No wonder this party was R-rated. He hoped no one else from the Academy had managed to acquire tickets; they’d have no problem working out who he was supposed to be.

  The song ended and Mitch barely managed to hold onto Red as everyone switched partners.

  “Sharing is caring you know,” Red giggled as he turned down Lolita and fought off Bob the Builder.

  “I don’t care about them,” Mitch said as the next piece started. This time it was easier to pick up the beat and follow the steps.

  “Oh, do you care about me Merlin? Merlin?”

  Mitch didn’t answer. The ebb and flow of the dance had brought Hayley into view and she was standing indecently close to Lucifer. Mitch was certain that he could hear her laughing as they glided across the dance floor. They didn’t miss a step, every movement was elegant and flawless and unimpeded by the surrounding dancers that Mitch was constantly having to compensate for.

  “Merlin,” Red repeated, accidentally stamping on his foot with a stiletto heeled boot.

  “Yes?” he said, his eyes watering.

  “She your ex or something?” Red pouted and stared up at him with bright blue eyes. Mitch missed a step and they almost caused a pile up before he righted himself as Gwen catapulted to the top of the list of people he didn’t want to see here.

  “No, she’s...” he floundered, unable to think of any sort of explanation that wouldn’t make him sound like a complete ass.

  “She’s what?” Red asked with raised eyebrows, “A bitch? A slut? One of those annoyingly perfect girls that you can’t hate because they’re so nice?”

  “Yes... No...”

  “Are you sure you don’t like her?” Red asked, “There are countries where looking at someone like that is considered illegal.”

  “What? Of course I don’t like her,” Mitch said, tearing his eyes away from Hayley and staring down at Red.

  “Boys,” she sighed. Mitch opened his mouth to protest and she placed a finger over his lips. “You’re not old enough to be here are you?” she asked, studying him intently. Mitch swallowed. “Merlin, I’d be surprised if you were even legal.” Mitch was about to point out that he was, he’d turned sixteen in March, but Red kept talking. “You should leave,” she said, “you’re not supposed to be here.” She released him and melted back into the crowd. Mitch headed for the bar, he’d get himself another drink and then he’d leave. She was right; he shouldn’t be here. Bates must have been mad when he dreamed up this idea.

  He was just about to make his escape when Mindy caught him.

  “You lost your staff,” Mindy said, poking him in the shoulder.

  “Yeah...” Red’s friend was probably using it to beat off all of the boys who weren’t behaving themselves. He couldn’t stand the thought of trying to retrieve it, not when Red would have told them what happened.

  “Typical,” Mindy rolled her eyes. “Have you seen her?”

  “Who?” Mitch asked, scanning the crowd for Bates, this seemed like an ideal time for his best friend to help him out by dragging his psychotic girlfriend away.

  “Angel Girl,” she smiled, “she’s rather difficult to miss, especially with that handsome devil. And he’d determined not to share.”

  “I don’t think Lucifer is known for sharing,” Mitch said. Hayley probably wouldn’t want to dance with him anyway.

  “Ahh, so you have seen her.”

  “So?”

  “So you’re jealous.”

  “I am not. Why would I be jealous of some fucking jackass pretending to be the devil? I bet he can’t even light a candle. Hell, he’d probably injure himself trying to draw that sword.”

  “He’s dancing with Hayley,” Mindy said, trying not to laugh. Mitch glared at her, why did everyone think that he liked Hayley? It was ridiculous.

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Mitch said. He couldn’t imagine why he would either, Mindy’s judgement was not to be trusted.

  “Do you think she’s been secretly dating him all year?” Mindy asked. “She’s never shown any interest in our classmates.”

  “Neither does Nikola,” Mitch snapped. He should have just left instead of staying for a final drink.

  “You really need to stop spending so much time with him,” Mindy said, dragging him towards the dance floor. Mitch struggled but not very hard, most of the guys here were bigger than him and no doubt they’d have something to say about it if he accidentally hurt Mindy, or even if she just pretended that he had. At least there weren’t any graveyards nearby. He stumbled into her as another earthquake struck, worse than the first. The amount of giggling suggested that no one was quite as worried as they had been. Stupid alcohol; he would have loved nothing better than for someone to panic and pull the fire alarm.

  Mitch never managed to escape the dance floor, let alone the hall. Every time he tried Mindy appeared and shoved him towards some other girl or danced with him herself. It shouldn’t have been hard to find a shadow to hide in, the hall was crawling in them, but somehow he never quite managed it. And the area reserved for proper dancing was getting smaller, making it harder for him to hide, as the night progressed. Everyone else was getting drunker and drunker, the dancing wilder as their inhibitions fell away.

  The dances grew more provocative and less in time with the beat until Mitch no longer wanted to hide in the shadows, afraid of what he would trip over in there. The costumes were becoming noticeably scantier as the hall warmed up and Mitch suspected that many of the party-goers were going to freeze when it was time to leave. His over-long black bathrobe was almost unbearably hot, but not so hot that he wanted everyone laughing at the dorky t-shirt Mindy had forced him to wear underneath it, and not so hot that he didn’t want it between him and everyone else’s sweaty limbs. He pried his foot free; it wasn’t even midnight and the floor was already a sticky mess.

 
; He saw Mindy dancing with Bates and smiled; she wouldn’t be able to stop him leaving this time. He pushed his way through the crowd and past the extended bar, coffins full of alcohol had been added to it throughout the night. Mitch suspected that the symbolism was lost on most of the guests. He scowled, the coffins had been set out wherever there was room, creating a maze in the dim lighting. He started to push his way through, stepping on feet and spilt drinks. The doors with their green exit signs had long since vanished from view but he knew that they had to be there somewhere. The shadowy trees had grown taller and taller, the lighting making it seem as if they were taller than the building, and then started to multiply until they created dozens of secluded spots for people to carry on in. Mitch tried not to look as he edged past them in search of the wall, they were even more scantily clad than the people on the dance floor and less inhibited.

  Somehow he found himself standing back on the edge of the dance floor. He wasn’t entirely sure how he’d been so badly turned around but there was no denying the sight before him. He turned away before Hayley could think that he was spying. The last thing he needed was for her to decide that he liked her as well. A nearby couple were discussing the midnight feast, an all you could eat buffet, in eager tones. Mitch hadn’t even realised that there was a feast though it would fit right in with the general cheesiness. He wondered if it would be served on coffins or spider webs and then he wondered what would be served. Probably eyeballs and bat wings. He wouldn’t want to be on the cleaning staff.

  He started making for the nearest wall, determined to make it out this time. With the feast to keep them going the dance would probably last for hours, those who weren’t sick anyway, and Mitch was done with it. He had to get out before Mindy caught him again.

  A new sound intruded, cutting through the organ music, the chatter of conversation and the drumbeat of shoes against the tacky floor. It took Mitch a second to separate it from the general noise and work out exactly what it was. A bell tolling the hour.

  Dong.

  He didn’t need to look at his watch, its face invisible in the gloom in any case, to know that it was midnight.

  Dong.

  Perhaps he’d be able to find his way out while they brought the food in, he hadn’t noticed them bringing in the coffin bars but an all you could eat buffet would require considerably more coffins.

  Dong.

  There were no doors opening, no steady influx of coffins laden with food.

  Dong.

  There were no doors opening, no steady exodus of party-goers heading for a marquee in the field outside.

  Dong.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the voice wasn’t loud but it was everywhere and Mitch heard it clearly over the tolling of the bells and the organ music that was rapidly building towards a crescendo.

  Dong.

  “Thank you for coming.”

  Mitch frowned, there was a faint current of magic in the air, and dismissed it. It could be one of his classmates, it could be one of the party-goers, it could even be the party planner. Any halfway decent magician could make a fortune working in special effects.

  Dong.

  “To the Dance with the Dead.”

  You’re welcome, Mitch thought sourly. He hoped Bates was having fun but for him it wasn’t worth the extra work and effort.

  Dong.

  “It is now...”

  Dong.

  “...my pleasure...”

  Dong.

  “...to welcome you...”

  Dong.

  “To the Feast for the Dead.”

  Dong.

  The final bell tolled and the organ reached its final crashing crescendo.

  FEAST FOR THE DEAD

  Red was in front of him. She was dancing with Superman, standing on his feet so that she could, almost, look him in the eye. As the ringing of the bells gave way to pulsing echoes she opened her mouth wide to reveal rapidly elongating fangs and sunk them into Superman’s throat. The man of steel struggled and she closed her arms around him in a vice like grip that he was unable to break.

  He did succeed in dislodging her teeth briefly and she snarled and bit into his throat again, heedless of the blood splattering across her face. It looked unnaturally bright against her now pallid skin. Superman’s cry of pain echoed at him from every direction as Mitch finally remembered where he’d heard of the Dance with the Dead before. Teratology.

  For one day a year the Teratos were rendered human, alive. They could age and die and impregnate unsuspecting women to create halfbreeds. And they celebrated their one day of life with a party. The magic that had tainted their blood returned at the stroke of midnight and left them ravenously hungry. The Dance with the Dead wasn’t the main event, it was a prelude to the Feast and he’d been looking in all of the wrong places for the buffet. He wondered if they’d brought in enough coffins for everyone.

  He staggered away from Red, unable to tear his eyes away as she gorged herself. Vampires didn’t really drink blood, they sucked it directly into their bloodstream through hypodermic fangs and Mitch could see the veins in her face and neck bulging. Red looked ecstatic, Superman terrified. He swallowed, trying to keep from vomiting, and tripped over.

  A corpse, he’d tripped over a corpse. He threw up, some shred of human decency prompting him to throw up over the front of his robe rather than the recently deceased. The man had had his throat ripped open and giant chunks of flesh were missing from his body. Mitch scrambled to his feet; vampires didn’t eat human flesh. Hands raked at him and he flailed madly until his robe tore, freeing him from the ghoul. He’d prefer Red to a ghoul; he didn’t want to be eaten alive. The ghoul returned its attention to its first victim and Mitch turned away before he could be sick again.

  This time it was Hayley and Lucifer who caught his eye. His wings were curled around her and the two of them were kissing. Mitch had to remind himself that incubi were just a myth. Angels weren’t though and Azrael had seemed to enjoy souls but he’d never touched the living. He swallowed; it wouldn’t be hard for Lucifer to break her neck. No one would stop him, no one would even care, not with blood and gore flying everywhere and splattering across his wings. Maybe he was just trying to conceal the carnage from Hayley. He’d be better off trying to get her out.

  Before he could put that thought into action a screaming Yoda brought him crashing to the ground. Yoda jumped up immediately and ran off, trailing blood from ragged wounds in his leg and chest, looking as if he’d been partially flayed. Mitch retched; the Sidhe didn’t need to hurt anyone but their demented idea of fun made even the ghoul’s teeth seem like an attractive alternative.

  The collision brought him back to his senses. He wouldn’t be able to get anyone else out, he wasn’t even sure that he could get himself out. He wished Bates had thought to remind him; there was no way he would have forgotten with a necromancer as his girlfriend. He wished Mindy had let him leave when he wanted to.

  He swallowed convulsively with every step, trying not to vomit as the Teratos gorged themselves. Ghouls, Vampires, Fae, they were everywhere. Occasionally a fight would break out when two of them went for the same victim but most seemed happy to share. He saw the Tin Man get ripped apart as a vampire sank her fangs into his throat. Another was feeding off the vein in his thigh and the Ghouls were tearing at his arms and legs. He turned away and spotted a dainty Little Bo Peep, her white dress still pristine and pure. He wanted to scream at her to run. Someone else had the same instinct; a guy started to drag her away from the carnage only to have his eyes gouged out when she drew a knife. Fae. Mitch lurched away, slipping and sliding in the blood spreading across the floor.

  Fresh gouts of dry ice were been pumped into the room, obscuring the floor and adding to the confusion. The Teratos wouldn’t want anyone escaping. Mitch ground his teeth together and used magic to help him see through the fog. He didn’t particularly like what he saw but it was better than tripping over the corpses and limbs strewn everywhere and it helped him
avoid the worst of the gore. He should have retrieved his staff from Red’s friend; a sturdy length of wood would have been very reassuring.

  He fell and threw up again when his hand landed in someone’s chest. It came away red with blood. Mitch tried not to think about what was stuck under his fingernails. The shadowy bats had descended from the ceiling, fluttering around him and, he was afraid, marking him out to any hungry monster that fancied dessert. He flinched every time a shadowy wing passed through his head.

  The trees had grown new branches, obscuring the ceiling and blocking the way out, making it feel as if he were trapped in the middle of a haunted forest that reeked of blood and bile. He stopped to throw up again, bracing himself on a nearby tree.

  What the fuck?

  He jerked away from the tree, losing a layer of skin in the process. Great, now the fucking trees were trying to eat him. Long vines lashed at where he had been standing and he backed away, swearing. His eyes darted around, looking for a way out that didn’t involve passing through the blood sucking shadow trees. That was the worst part, they still looked like shadows and where they weren’t too thick he could see through them. They hadn’t been mentioned in class. He’d never thought that he’d wish that they started Cryptobotany a year earlier, but he did now. If they could walk around like Ents he was completely screwed, as it was he was just going to have to hope he could find an exit before they snared him.

  He adjusted his magic a little, shaping it so that he could see through shadows rather than dry ice fog and started forward, staying out of the shadows as much as possible and avoiding any sign of movement. Somewhere on the other side of the trees was a door, or failing that, a wall. Mitch wasn’t above blowing a hole in the wall if it came to it, not after the night he’d had.