The music seemed to turn more frantic and those around him hurried in their dance. Becoming nearly trampled now, Derek looked skyward to see if Jade was among those who surrounded him. He shuddered and closed his eyes.
Those around him were not those who had been here just moments before. Instead these were otherworldly creatures with demon faces and evil eyes. They sneered down upon him. Dared him to rise again. Their eyes looked through his soul, stealing his secrets and taking them for their own. Derek began to panic. The room heaved inward.
Darting between the legs of the beasts, he knocked several sprawling and tripped one completely. A roar followed him. Had he seen one of them biting another? Though frightened, he looked around again for Jade in her glamorous purple and black gown. She was nowhere to be found.
“Jade!” He screamed, hoping she would hear him.
The room became silent, the music having ceased. The walls leaned in precariously. Eyes, vicious eyes bore down upon him from every corner of the ever-darkening room. Jaws tightened into straight lines, wicked smiles appraised him. They came for him.
Derek ran for the stairs, shoving demons to the ground bodily, not bothering to avoid the collisions.
“Jade, hurry!” He screamed again, hoping beyond hope that she had tired of waiting for him and had escaped before things had made the turn for the worse.
Just as his lead foot reached the first stair they were upon him, dragging him down. Like great weights they grasped his torso and arms, one of them brutally bashing him in the face. For an instant the lights went out completely.
When his eyes focused once again, two beasts in tuxedos drug him up the stairs towards the grand foyer. They snarled down at him, their wicked faces daring him to fight. Darkness chased at their heels as they topped the main level of the building, and Derek struggled to look around. No Jade.
They continued to drag him, not allowing him to rise to his feet. Out the great door they pulled him and without pause tossed him down the five steps to the circular driveway. Derek felt his ribs bounce off a stair and was sure at least one cracked before he finally came to a stop upon the asphalt.
Looking up towards the street, a man approached with an awkward gait. Then with a crack, pain exploded in the back of Derek’s head and the lights went out again. Before all was lost, Derek heard a man with a distinct accent speak his name, stating his personal address before he was then tossed into a car. Derek tried to shift his body but pain exploded in his side. He crumpled back down, letting the pain take him under.
* * * * *
Gunny sat silently across from the overly luxurious compound, a hedge hiding his surveillance. He had managed to remain hidden throughout most of the day, and now that it was dark his task was much easier.
Sitting somewhat unevenly within the great bushes, Gunny occasionally argued with a branch or twig that felt it necessary to poke or prod him in unwanted ways. Even now, one pressed firmly into his left butt cheek in such a way that he was losing feeling down his entire good leg. Oddly, it felt much like sitting on a hard toilet seat too long.
He had watched Derek and Jade arrive at the ball. They were a wondrous site and barely recognizable at a distance. Flesh and clothing were only meat and decoration though, and Gunny could see them plainly. He waited, wanting to know what took place within the mansion, wanting to know what the demon’s plan was, wondering when and where the strike would come from.
Near two hours passed, the night reaching its pinnacle, when he heard the tortured scream of his longtime friend.
“Jade, hurry!”
Though it was faint out here, through the walls, the marble, the concrete, he heard it. He felt the anguish in the yell. He knew his friend to be in danger and obviously Jade was as well.
It was Jade the demon had sought. Derek was merely caught in the crossfire. Gunny rose, and clamoring for balance, pulled himself through the remainder of the vast hedge. His muscles tight and sore from the lack of movement over hours past, he strode unevenly across the sidewalk and into the street.
Two burly men from the mansion drug a body through the main entrance. Derek. They tossed him down the stone steps without fear for his wellbeing. Gunny heard his friend groan and pulled his rifle from his coat. He lowered the sights to the burly man nearest his pal and began to squeeze the trigger.
Light again blasted through the doors of the mansion, and then sealed off once again, behind who exited, the demon was revealed. Gunny changed targets.
He watched nervously as the demon scooped up his friend, ready to squeeze the trigger if needed. A cab pulled around the drive and the demon tossed Derek in, slamming the door closed behind him. Gunny stopped crossing the street; the demon was sending Derek home more or less intact.
Quickly, he retreated back across the street as fast as his mismatched legs would allow, hoping to make cover before the cab rounded the drive illuminating his escape. He made the curb, leapt the sidewalk, and dove for cover.
Light swung past him, past his concealment. He listened. Hearing no approach Gunny pulled himself further into the hedge once again. He decided that he would wait and see if he could discover what had happened to Jade. He prayed for the sake of his buttocks that the night would not prove to be a long one.
* * * * *
Jade awoke disoriented, her body feeling too lightweight, almost numb and slightly tingly. Shaking her hands and wiggling her legs to hopefully return the feeling to them, she tried to force her hazy brain back into working mode.
Where was she? Her head swiveled quickly from side to side, trying to fight down the panic as she took in her surroundings. She was in an office? No, a library, a thought that was confirmed by the book-lined shelves running floor to ceiling around most of the room. One wall contained a large window, though there was no light streaming in. It must be the middle of the night. Another glance told her she was sitting on some sort of Victorian era sofa. Swinging her legs over the side, she was surprised to find herself wearing a dress.
Not just any dress, but a long purple Victorian ball gown. Am I dreaming?
Slowly, memories started to fill her mind, hazy, soft thoughts that didn't quite feel real. A ball... dancing with Derek to waltzes and old-fashioned dances he somehow knew the steps to... warm, heated kisses.
Ooohh, kisses. The kind that left her head fuzzy and her skin tingly. She felt her skin start to itch just with the thought.
Suddenly she remembered silky blonde hair and blue eyes similar to Derek's yet slightly different, deeper in color, more sapphire. They darkened with passion as he plunged inside her.
Nik, the thought came slow and soft, bringing with it a strange knowing warmth. His name was Nik.
With a gasp, she finally recognized what had happened. She'd had sex with a stranger, a man who was not her boyfriend, at a party that he'd invited her to, in a house she seemed to get a vague impression that he owned. A mansion. She was in his house, in the library they'd fucked in. The library where he'd left her sleeping.
Jumping up she was suddenly frantic. She had to get out of here before he returned. She needed to go find Derek, to apologize, to tell him what had happened and beg him to forgive her.
With her first movement she realized her body still didn't feel right. Something was wrong with her. She felt clumsy, slow, awkward, her limbs were still somewhat tingly and felt a little weightless.
Taking one testing step forward, she realized she could move okay, it just felt strange. On the second step, she moved a little more quickly. Then another, and another, finally running out the library door and back down the hall to the ballroom.
Only to find it completely and utterly empty.
How long did I sleep?
A quick glance around assured her no one was there. It must be extremely late, or rather very early, if everyone had gone home. Derek was probably worried sick, absolutely frantic over her disappearance.
She couldn't believe her actions. This wasn't like her, she didn't get strange i
nvitations, she didn't go to balls, and she damn sure didn't sleep with strangers. Had she been drugged? Did the blonde guy put something in the champagne he'd brought her?
It had to be. It was the only logical explanation. More determined than ever, she ran across the empty ballroom and back up the stairs toward the front door and what she hoped was safety.
She stopped short when the gentleman she had assumed to be the butler was still standing there. Quickly looking for a hiding place, she tucked in behind a large statue in the corner. She hoped that the combination of the statue and the darkness would be enough to keep her hidden. She would have to wait until the man stepped away. There was no way she was going to risk speaking with him. What if the blonde had given orders that she wasn't allowed to leave?
It briefly occurred to her that if that had been the case, wouldn't she have been tied up or something? And really, did she actually believe that she was such a good lay that he would be completely overcome with her and not allow her to ever go home? It seemed utterly absurd, even to her confused mind.
She had finally decided that she would simply walk to the butler and explain that she had fallen asleep during the party. Certainly he would let her go without any real questions, wouldn't he?
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she began to step out from behind the statue, only to see the butler open the door and allow the blonde entrance. Nik. Her heart lurched at the sight of him, her pulse beginning to pound in her veins. Whether from fear or something more she couldn't be sure. As Nik handed his coat to the butler, the butler turned and headed to a small room she now knew to be the coat closet.
Nik continued on, deeper into the house, leaving the butler with his coat. Spying the front door standing wide open, both men looking away, Jade saw her opportunity to escape. On tiptoe, she scurried as quickly and as quietly as she could, holding her skirt tightly so it didn't rustle, until she was out the door and standing on the front steps.
As soon as she reached the bottom she broke out into a full-fledged run, racing down the drive, toward the street, heading for home and Derek.
She had no idea how far she'd run, but she knew it to be a good distance. Several miles at least. She wasn't all that winded, but surely that would happen soon, and it was still at least a good ten miles to home. Toss in the fact that the neighborhood became less and less desirable to closer to home she got, and a woman in a purple gown was going to draw some unwanted attention despite the early hour.
She didn't have her purse, so she had no money for a cab, no ID, no nothing. Suddenly she remembered tucking her cell phone into the top of her gown. The cleavage created by the tight dress had given her a little pocket on the side to slip her phone into. She reached in where it should be and found nothing. A quick pat down of her torso revealed no mysterious bulges anywhere else either.
Fuck! It must have fallen out somewhere. Refusing to think about why that might be, she simply continued walking, quickening her pace.
As she neared the more urban area, or civilization as she liked to think of it, she saw a sign for a bus stop with a bus already there with the early morning workers piling on. Finally, a way home. She ran across the intersection, ignoring the strange looks she got from the homeless man huddled against the streetlight.
She was just in time, jumping onto the bus right before the doors closed. Settling into an empty seat, she started to get anxious again. So anxious, in fact, that she barely registered the fact that she hadn't needed to pay. Would Derek ever be able to forgive her? How was she going to explain this to him? Would it be more than he could stand? Would he hate her?
Though he was distracted, she knew he loved her in his own way, just as she loved him. They didn't have to say it, she just knew. It was there in the little things he did for her. So, why had she done this? She remembered being confused at first, thinking it was Derek, but that was really no excuse. Once she removed the mask and saw the blonde hair, she should have shoved him away and run out the door. But she didn't. She had let physical passions rule her common sense, her loyalty, and her heart.
Whether Derek forgave her or not, she wasn't entirely sure she would ever forgive herself.
She was so lost in thought she almost missed her stop. Jumping out at the last minute, she ran toward home, surprised to find the sun peaking over the buildings. She must have been asleep even longer than she'd thought. She needed to see him.
She was in such a hurry that she didn't even think it odd to find the front door unlocked. She should have had to knock until Derek answered, yet she simply strolled right in. Almost as if the door had been waiting just for her. But then, he didn't know yet what she'd been up to. He was probably waiting for her. Probably worried.
She glanced around, expecting to find him sitting on the sofa, or even at the computer pouring out the stories he'd concocted while at the ball. He was nowhere to be seen.
Running down the hall to the bedroom she was surprised to see he wasn't in the bedroom either.
Surprise eventually settled into concern, before finally understanding dawned. He was probably out searching for her. He couldn't call since she'd lost her phone, which unfortunately meant she couldn't call him either. She couldn't go wake a neighbor, not at this hour, without them calling the cops or worse, shooting her as an intruder. Not in this neighborhood. That would have to wait until later in the morning.
Finally deciding the best course of action was to simply stay here and hope he came back soon, she settled onto the couch to wait. A quick glance at the clock told her it was almost six in the morning. Surely Derek would be back soon.
* * * * *
Gunny sat in silence, his only companion a cricket that refused to relent it’s ceaseless chirping no matter how often he cursed it. He was beginning to wonder how long he would have to remain in the hedge before his ass started putting down roots, adhering him to the soil. His ass had been numb for hours, and now his hip was twitching at odd intervals. Such was his predicament the first time movement across the street roused him.
For the first time in hours, a great blinding light broke free of the great door adorning the front of the mansion. From it, like from a theater after a movie had ended, a sudden rush of bodies flowed in pairs and groups down the five marble steps, taking places upon the edge of the circular drive. Each of them was dressed immaculately in attire from another era.
Moments later a caravan of automobiles arrived and spilled into the driveway’s expanse in practiced perfection. Though this was the motor city, few of the luxury sports cars or vintage restorations here were of American design. Gunny shook his head. They really were soulless bastards, un-American, too.
He watched as the costume-clad patrons shuffled themselves into their respective transportation, the valets closing them in before they each and every one departed in good fashion. When all appeared complete, the valets, too, loaded up into a pair of large vans and departed as well.
Near half an hour came and went, and just as he assumed that all was done, a dark colored sedan pulled around from the rear of the mansion and sped off down the road towards the inner city. Though he could not put his finger on it, his gut told him that something about the car was wrong. It did not belong. He felt an absence around the sedan, as if it were an abyss that was empty. He spat.
Morning was nearing and even now, well before sun-up, some birds began to flit between a nearby tree and the hedge he was concealed within. Gunny shifted in another failed attempt to ease the pressure in his lower extremities.
Then it occurred to him that perhaps Jade would never come out of the building. Though he had never met the girl, Derek had said she was different. It was the different ones who you had to look out for. They were the susceptible ones.
It was possible that even now she was fighting the disease. This very moment her soul could be withering. Gunny hoped that he was wrong and tried to reason with himself.
“Maybe I was right before and she’s up there fuckin’ blondie lock
s,” he said to the air around him.
That would explain both her absence when Derek panicked, and the fact that she had not yet departed. Then again, it would also explain why the soulless fuck smelled like her and followed her around like a puppy. Perhaps she was one of those sexual creatures that could make men do as she wished? Gunny spit again. Unlikely.
Less than half an hour later the sedan returned, and pulling up to the front door, the blonde bastard himself stepped from the car before it left once again. He moved fast. Too fast. It was unnatural. Gunny guessed him older than he had previously imagined. The door of the mansion swung open upon his approach and just seconds after blondie stepped in, there she was.
Fleeing like an injured animal, Jade sprinted from the mansion, her eyes darting this way and that. How she ran so unimpeded in such a dress was beyond Gunny’s understanding.
She crossed the wide street in only a pair of strides and leapt to the sidewalk only a few feet away from his concealment before he noticed the change. How he had missed it before now was the real question.
As she darted past, Gunny surged out from the bushes, pulling himself upward, hoping to gain his feet in time to gain her attention. He dared not yell and gain the attention of those across the street.
With his ass and good leg burning at the sudden return of blood flow, he limped oddly around the corner in pursuit, picking up his pace with each step. A few yards later Gunny ran as fast as his mismatched legs would carry him, but already he knew it was useless. He was no match for the woman; her fear and confusion drove her. There was no telling where she might finally stop.
“Damn it!” Gunny said.
She needed to know what had become of her. She needed to understand that things would be different now. Gunny had a good feeling where it was that she would go and hoped that her predicament did not bode ill tidings for Derek. Derek was a good man who didn’t need any more added stress.
Beyond The Mask (The Beyond Book 1) Page 8
