Page 6 of The Devil In Blue
There was no sign or indication that we were at an exclusive artist gathering. Only the smell of tobacco and Absenth gave it away. Lucien looked rather peeved when he descended the steps to a red door off the path. He motioned for me to stay on the sidewalk like he thought my getting too close would corrupt and bend me into an undesirable version of myself in seconds.
Lucien knocked twice on the red door and almost immediately, it opened. A man with disheveled black hair, a skinny frame, and his white shirt unbuttoned to display his flat torso stood with a very content smile on his face. He brushed his hair back with a sniff and looked Lucien up and down before realizing what was going on.
“Right,” he said, ducking back into the den.
Smoke trickled out from inside smelling sweet and warm and I found myself leaning a bit to try and see past the entrance. Then the man was back with a sloppy stack of masks in his arms. He giggled at the way they balanced in his hands and began to show them to Lucien. I watched as Lucien sifted through one after another. Black lace, molded leather painted into colorful designs, half-masks on sticks. There were many, but Lucien settled quickly on a full-faced mask and a half-mask in black.
He paid the man and quickly returned to the sidewalk with the masks in hand, eager to leave that smoky corner of town. I was interested to see the masks he’d chosen but kept my interest bottled up for the time being. I’d see soon enough.
And that was when reality set in. I was going to a masquerade. The last time I went to any sort of gathering, it was Lucien’s birthday and I was hardly allowed to dress up, speak, or dance.
I wondered if I’d be so tightly leashed at the masquerade. I couldn’t imagine Lucien going through so much trouble to dress me if I was not going to be allowed to celebrate like everyone else attending. It was Allhalloween, after all. It was a night I had never gotten the chance to experience but one I’d been fond of for years. A night when people said the walls dividing the realms could be crossed. When spirits from other worlds came out to play and cause mischief. It was a festive concept in current times, but there was an era when it was not. When sacrifices were made, violence plagued the streets, and zealots disrupted all manners of peace. Fae, devils, and evil spirits walked among mortals, and at one time, it had caused a war. A war I was lucky to have never seen.
If I was being honest, all of the old art I’d ever seen of the supposedly evil half-world seemed quite beautiful. Glowing trees. Iridescent waters. A moon almost as bright as the sun. But there were also terrifying creatures. Dark things. Demons. Monsters no nightmare could accurately conjure.
I wasn’t sure which part of it appealed to me the most.
But Allhalloween was the day people felt closest to realms most didn’t even believe existed anymore. It all sounded tremendously entertaining and now I was finally going to see the festivities firsthand. Excitement fluttered in my veins.
I only hoped Lucien wouldn’t lose his nerve and cancel our attendance. I was used to disappointment and had always tried to avoid it by thinking the worst, but this was different. I truly didn’t want to miss out. Something about it felt… right.
Catlyn barely spoke a word to me as she helped me into my new gown. She cinched my corset tight, coiled my silver blonde hair into a beautiful updo with spirals hanging on either side of my face, and then laced me into the gold masterpiece from Ethel.
I had never worn anything so lavish. And the way the neckline plunged to the top of my breasts made me feel naked. But… it was a good feeling. To not be constricted by high, modest collars and itchy trims was so different from the everyday wardrobe Lucien chose for me.
I stared into a floor-length mirror at the woman in front of me, barely able to recognize her. My arms, though they’d thickened a bit since my stay at Southminster, were still thin and pale. A pair of lace, fingerless gloves covered half of them, but somehow it only seemed to accentuate how frail I was. My collarbones protruded, but that was not new.
Folding my hands together in front of me, I regarded the gold dress I was wearing. A train fell behind me, decorated with intricate swirls that tangled up the dress in the most meticulous embroidery and beading. I brushed the front with my hands as Catlyn stepped up and handed me a string of tiny diamonds on a silver chain. It was the only piece of jewelry Lucien had ever gifted me. I lifted it, clasping the tiny lock behind my neck, and sighed.
“You look stunning,” Catlyn said.
“Thank you,” I said emptily.
“Color truly suits you.”
I almost smiled at that. Almost. But after the masquerade, I was certain Lucien would have a whole new wardrobe of dull dresses with high collars waiting for me.
I decided I was going to savor this night. I was going to remember every second of it and relive it every moment I could.
Not to say I was not thankful for Lucien’s generosity. Taking me out of that horrible place was the biggest kindness anyone could have done. I would have rotted in that place, I was sure of it. He always treated me well. Fed me. Clothed me. Kept me safe.
And he’s used you every day since to appease his twisted desires…
There was no telling where I would have ended up if not for him, though.
“The world is full of monsters that want to destroy innocent things like you,”he would say.
And I believed him because one of those monsters ruined me. He drove me to insanity. Took everything from me.
He will look for you.
He will find you.
He will destroy you.
Lucien and I stepped into his nicest carriage that night. The interior was blood-red with velvet cushions. I’d only ever ridden in it once before when he wanted me to accompany him to lunch with the Duke of Halesworth. I wasn’t sure why he wanted me at such important events. I’d always suspected my presence would be an embarrassment considering where I was from.
But the elite loved people who did charitable things and taking care of a woman like me was certainly charitable.
