Preface

I never guessed that I would die with a sea of faces surrounding me, all cheering for my death. A woman wearing a jacket dress made of brocade only laughed louder when blood splattered her low, square neckline. Where is Arie? I scanned the crowded club, but all I could see were pale faces, some half-covered by masks.

My time had come, and I prayed she would finish me off quickly. The warm trickle of blood ran down my neck and chest, saturating the corset bustier of my gown. It seemed like a shame to ruin such a pretty dress. Strangely, I felt relieved the bodice was black and not a light color that would show a stain.

The fear of dying, or more accurately the fear of not existing, scared me stiff. Perhaps if I had satisfied this existential anxiety with faith I wouldn’t jump from panic to ambivalence. I should be angry at everyone who simply watched. They must think the gruesome display was part of the entertainment for tonight. After the bloody burlesque show, I could hardly blame them.

-Holly, I gave you the chance to leave.- The telepathic transference hardly seemed relevant at this point. I knew if I’d never gone to the Hellfire Club, I wouldn’t be facing death now. Still, if my death meant the killings would stop, it seemed justifiable.

“No!” I could barely hear Arie scream above the cheering voices clamoring for attention. The constant drone defied my effort to form coherent thoughts. I looked up and could see him on the balcony. When I blinked, he’d disappeared into the throng. I could feel the blood continue to trickle down my neck as she drained me. Dizziness threatened to pull me under. The audience applauded her brutality as I crumpled at her feet, looking up at her paper-thin smile.

Blood. So much blood. My blood.

I didn’t want this to be the story of my death, but this part was only a fragment of a narrative as old as time. Its voices filled the shadows with whispers of legend. We are told that the damned cease to exist, and those absolved from sin are given eternal life. The damned can never be saved. They walk the earth in an eternal hell. I fear it will be my curse if death doesn’t claim me instead.