VI

Odette was sure of one thing—her mother would kill her if she figured out what she was doing right now.

Greer’s expensive sports car peeled out of the driveway at a high speed, slamming her back against the leather seats with enough force to knock the breath out of her. She was breaking the speed limit ten times over, and Odette had to hold down her skirt to keep from flashing anyone. Worst of all was that they had to drive past her house in order to get to the main road. She prayed that her parents weren’t looking out the window.

The girls in the back cackled with glee, throwing their arms up in the air. They would make high pitched squeals every time they made a sharp turn or ran a stop sign.

Odette hadn’t really noticed until that moment that they were all dressed up for a night on the town. She also noticed that there was a lack of cops everywhere. She just really, really hoped that they wouldn’t end up in a ditch somewhere.

“Calm down, Det, I can hear your worry from here!” Greer shouted over the wind.

Odette crossed her arms over her chest, holding down her top. “S-sorry! I’ve just never been in a car with someone who disregards traffic laws!”

“Then you’ve had a pretty boring life!”

Odette laughed nervously, watching through one of the mirrors as the town grew smaller and smaller. They passed the “Now Leaving Sunwick Grove, Maine” sign, and soon it was a mere blip in the blurring trees.

Greer took one hand off the wheel and turned on her radio and cranked it up loud. Some synthesized pop music blared out, nearly giving Odette a heart attack. Bonnie and Nadia started screaming about how this was their favorite song. Odette really didn’t know how the other girl hadn’t wrecked with all of their squawking.

It wasn’t very long until the high-rise buildings and neon lights greeted them in all their glory. The streets were bustling with people but did Greer slow down?

No. The car whizzed past them all and people started cursing at her for nearly hitting them. She did, however, stop for the first time at a red light to allow a group of teens to cross.

“Aren’t you worried that you’re going to get pulled over?” Odette thought out loud. She started to smooth her hair down into what it had looked like before. It was pretty hopeless but she could honestly say she had the authentic windblown look.

Greer shrugged, pulling out some of her blood red lipstick and dabbing it on her lips. “I’m very persuasive.”

Bonnie and Nadia giggled at this, probably an inside joke between them.

Odette turned her head and the car roared back to life and turned into a parking lot. Greer beat a beat-up sedan with a tired man driving two teens for the closest spot to the entrance of the mall. He glared at the car of girls as he pulled away to search for another spot.

“I think we got here in plenty of time, girls, don’t you think so?” Greer asked, gracefully stepping out of the car. “Now, the order of business is to pick up dresses for the gala next week. I hate to say it but, Nadia, you really need to update your closet. That little black dress only lasts for so long.”

Nadia rolled her eyes and groaned. “I know, but I only get so much for my allowance plus summer job. Thankfully I got a bonus for working later because someone,” she pointed to Bonnie, “was late picking me up for, like, a month.”

“In my defense, I thought you told me to pick you up at eight,” Bonnie explained.

“What gala?” Odette asked.

Greer linked their arms together and they started to walk towards the mall’s entrance. “We throw a gala every summer just for the fun of it. We invite people to come from all over the USA and you, my darling, have scored yourself an invite.”

“Oh!” Odette raised her eyebrows. “That’s very thoughtful but I didn’t bring any money with me.”

Greer only laughed. Odette didn’t like it when she laughed at her, she felt self-conscious or like she had done something wrong.

“I’m going to get you your dress, silly. Think of it as your welcome to Sunwick Grove present.”

The mall wasn’t the largest that Odette had ever been in but there were a lot of name-brand and high-end stores. That surprised her. Greer and the girls made a beeline for one store that looked like it cost more than Odette’s hospital bills. It had wall-to-wall gowns of all colors and styles. The shop’s female staff pounced on the four of them instantly, knowing exactly who Greer was and how much she was willing to pay.

The girls decided that Odette would be the first “victim” and pushed her at one of the grabby shop ladies. She was shoved into Dressing Room 3 and left alone for several minutes. When the woman came back, she had seven different floor-length dresses. There were two purple dresses, one lighter than the other; two silver dresses; two classic black dresses; and a white dress, all in varying styles.

With each new dress she put on, Bonnie, Nadia, and Greer demanded for her to come out, so they could rate how she looked on them. By the fourth dress, she was yet to receive a positive review. It wasn’t necessarily her, it was the dresses. She didn’t look good in any of them—or, that was what they claimed.

“This is your first gala, Odette, we want to make sure you look your best,” Greer explained after the fourth one.

Odette trusted her judgment, she had to.

The last dress she was put into was the white dress with the sweetheart neckline. It was much longer than she had expected, but she couldn’t tell if that was because she didn’t wear heels or if it was because she was too short. The straps were a little too long but she found a way to shorten them enough to fit her properly. She did love it, though. Odette liked how her dark hair looked against it; she imagined she was Snow White on her wedding day.

The saleswoman quickly clipped Odette’s hair up in a sloppy swirl, but it helped show off her neck and collarbone. She felt like a ballerina again, dressed in her white leotard and ready to go on stage.

Odette gathered the skirt up in her fists and walked out of the dressing room again. The girls silenced their chattering, ready to critique the gown and the girl wearing it.

“You look so pretty!” Nadia gushed, cupping her cheek.

Greer nodded her head. “We can definitely work with this. I do have a request, though …” She stood from her seat, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. She gathered the skirt in her own hands as well. “How do you feel about high heels of your own?”

“We have some high heels in the back, what color would you like?” The saleswoman piped up.

The female twin pursed her lips. “Silver, size five. Not too high, please.”

The saleswoman walked away to the back of the store and through a white door labeled “Employees only.”

Odette sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ve never actually had the chance to wear heels,” she admitted. She waited for the other girls to laugh in their condescending way, or in pity. She waited to feel even more embarrassed than she already felt.

She lowered her eyes and took a breath to calm herself down. The ridicule never came.

“Well,” Greer began. “Now you get the chance to.”

Odette tilted her head and stared at her reflection in the mirror behind Greer. She smiled lightly; she thought that she looked pretty. Something blue glinted in the other girl’s hair under the fluorescent lighting.

She observed Greer’s royal blue headband. Come to think of it, Odette hadn’t seen her in a picture or in real life without it.. The jewel on the side of it matched her brother’s perfectly.

Greer raised her eyebrow, “What is it?”

“Sorry, I was just looking at your headband. It’s really pretty, where did you get it?” Odette tilted her head to get a better look..

Greer reached her hand up and lightly touched her headband’s jewel. She looked right through Odette, deep in thought. She didn’t speak but her blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Deals with demons get you places, darling.”

Odette was taken aback but laughed anyway. “What?”

It was then that the saleswoman came from the back with an armful of shoeboxes that piled just over her head. She laid them down on the plush ottoman where she had previously sat.

“Here are a few different shoes for you to try on, miss. Need anything else?”

Greer flashed the woman a charming smile and gently shooed her away. She pulled out one shoe from each box and fit them on Odette’s feet.

Greer had narrowed them down to three different pairs of high heels when a new customer came through the door.

The perky sales woman jumped out from behind the register to greet whoever it was. “Hi, can I help you with something?”

“No, I’m just here to find someone.”

Odette’s head whipped up and towards the distinctly male voice.

“What did I tell you?” Greer sang, patting Odette’s shoulder. She bent down and picked up the strappy heels studded with small gems. “These are the ones. Get changed and I’ll get everything ready at the register.”

Greer helped Odette out of the heels and shoved her into a dressing room.

“But don’t you guys have to pick out your dresses?” Odette half shouted. She had been stuffed into multiple different sparkling and restricting dresses, then paraded in front of those girls. She had assumed that they would, at least, be doing the same.

Greer made a pft sound and rolled her eyes. “We already picked out ours. We’ve had our eyes on them for months, just had to pick them up. You, however, are new to this. Do you need help getting out of the dress?”

Greer didn’t wait and unzipped the back of Odette’s dress, then forcefully closed the door. And, just in time, it seemed, a new set of footsteps approached the dressing area just as Odette stumbled into the mirror that was screwed into the wall.

“Brother,” she heard Greer say.

Odette made it a fast change, slipping back into her borrowed clothes. The white dress laid in a heap on the small stool in the corner. She didn’t want to even think about the price of it or the shoes. This store didn’t exactly scream “inexpensive” to her.

Her flats slipped onto her feet easily and she exited the dressing room. Odette wasn’t watching where she was going and ran straight into Grayson’s back.

“Oof!” she grunted, stumbling backwards.

Grayson remained unfazed and smirked down at her. “Having trouble, Odette?”

She forced a grin and clutched the dress to her chest protectively. “I’m fine.”

Greer, seeming to materialize out of nowhere, plucked the dress from her arms and vanished to the front of the store with the other girls.

Grayson smoothed his hair back. He had changed his clothes, wearing a regular T-shirt and a jacket over it. Stupidly attractive but not the smartest thing to wear in the summertime.

“Did you find what you all were looking for?” he asked.

Odette shrugged, “I think so. Greer kept going on and on about how she wanted me to look perfect for your gala next week.”

She clutched her fingers behind her back, looking anywhere but the pretty boy in front of her. He was very close to her, closer than she had ever been to him ever. She could feel his body heat and smell his cologne.

He raised a hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Odette jumped and her heart momentarily stopped. “I’m sure you’ll look beautiful,” he whispered.

“I sure hope so,” Odette joked, taking a mini step back.

The boy noticed this and raised an eyebrow. “You know that it is a masked gala?”

“Oh cool. It’ll be hard for you to find me then.” Odette lightly punched his arm, cringing internally at how awkward she sounded. Why couldn’t she sound cool and collected like she wanted to?

Before she could retract her fist, Grayson caught it swiftly and lifted it higher to his lips. “I will be able to find you. Even if you hid, I would track you down with ease.”

Odette needed a way out, “Um … hey, Greer’s done.”

She stepped around Grayson, staring at the floor the entire time, and speed-walked until she caught up with the other girls. Bonnie, Nadia, and Greer were already close to the exit but it didn’t seem like they would be slowing down for her anytime soon. Well, it was Greer’s plan to have Grayson come and … what? See her?

Odette had almost caught up with them when she felt the warmth of Grayson’s palm against her lower back. Her breath stuttered and she almost made a misstep, looking to the side to see just how close he had come.

“Hey, now, princess. Don’t just leave me all alone in a dress store. That is one of the worst places to get mobbed by fangirls, you know?” Grayson said in her ear. He had an almost smile on but it really didn’t reach his eyes.

“Well, I wouldn’t want that,” she laughed. “But my ride is Greer and I really need to catch up with her.”

He shrugged, his large strides becoming smaller and smaller until the two of them were barely advancing at all. “We’re all going the same place. No need to rush, I’m sure she would understand.”

“But,” Odette interjected, “I wouldn’t want her to think I was ditching her. Even if she did want …” she stopped herself before she said too much. She didn’t want to make herself look like an idiot in front of him.

She hadn’t realized it but he had been leading her off to the side, so that they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. They weren’t even moving anymore.

“Even if she did want what?” he asked quietly.

Even though they were in a very public place, Odette could almost let herself imagine that it was just the two of them, just for one second. There was this urge to spill to him her silly crush that probably everyone had on him. How could they not, especially when he would look at them like that.

“Um …” Odette started to formulate the words in her mind.

Grayson’s hand on her back tightened for a second in an almost pleading way, and she looked at him questioningly.

“Um … are you Grayson Mages?” asked someone. The mood broke and Odette turned her head to see a girl around her age staring up at Grayson like he was her god.

His hand slipped away from her back, her skin tingling where it had once rested, and he gave the girl a heart-stopping smile. “Yes I am. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

Odette knew that it would be best to just move away. This was his job and she was getting too caught up in the moment beforehand. She caught sight of both Bonnie and Nadia who weren’t too far away. Greer was also busy with one of her fanboys, so Odette decided to join the other girls.

“Hey,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Bonnie assured her out of nowhere. “These won’t take long … and they rarely mean anything.” She nodded in Grayson’s direction, who was taking a picture with his arm around the girl.

Odette shook her head, “I wasn’t even thinking of it that way.” She watched as the girl hugged him in thanks. “Besides, we aren’t together.”

Once they returned to the mansion, the girls all wanted to go to bed. Odette had figured that they would want to stay up to talk about boys or gossip but that wasn’t the case. Makeup wipes were passed out, they changed into their sleepwear, and then laid down in their respective spots.

She closed her eyes and drew her blanket up to her chin. Even if it was summertime, the Mages’ house was very cold. It made sense to her now why they had that fireplace lit in the library.

Nadia was the first to fall asleep but Bonnie followed only a few seconds later. Bonnie snored and Odette got a full blast of it in her ear because she was right next to her. She doubted that she would be able to go to sleep anytime soon.

Eventually, Odette had relaxed enough to doze off. She felt weightless as she floated off until everything around her quieted down. It didn’t last very long.

Odette’s eyes shot open, met with the endless blackness of the room. It took a couple of seconds until her eyes did adjust to everything. Around her, the girls slept on. She needed to get up, she was thirsty.

The girl took care to not make much noise when she got up, maneuvering carefully around the girls’ overnight bags and other trinkets of Greer’s. Greer’s door wasn’t shut all the way and Odette was lucky that it didn’t make a loud creaking noise.

Odette peered into the hallway and looked both ways. She had no idea where the kitchen was and there was no way she would wake up the girls just to ask.

Maybe I can find a bathroom and just drink out of the faucet, Odette thought.

She padded down the hallway and squinted. Every now and then, she could make something out from the light of the moon but she found it difficult to even locate another room. Maybe it was because she was still so sleepy.

The hallway seemed to change with each step she took. Then, she ran into a wall.

Odette landed not-so-gracefully on her back. Where had the wall come from?

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention. She sighed, pushing herself back up to her feet. She was ready to go back to Greer’s room when she paused. To her right, was a door. Finally.

Odette turned the handle, hoping that it would be a bathroom. It wasn’t. Instead, she had stumbled upon a dimly lit stairwell. It was narrow and steep with no railings, and might have been a servant’s stairwell at one point. If it had been, then it should lead to the kitchen.

Despite her overwhelming desire to go down there, Odette hesitated. It was creepy and she didn’t like the horror vibes she was getting from the house. Normally, this voice would have stopped her. Normally.

Hesitation gone, Odette held onto the wall for support and descended the stairwell. She took her time with each step and made sure that she wouldn’t trip and fall to her death. The further down she went, the more sounds greeted her ears. Noises from someone. She stepped off the last stair when a loud scream caused her to let out a yelp. She pressed her hands to her chest and poked her head through the opening of the arch way. There was no light in the chamber. What light had spilled into it revealed a cement wall, far from the glamorous interior upstairs.

The noises, however, were much clearer now. Someone was whimpering like a child. A sniffle here and a hiccup there, but mainly a soft whining sound.

“He-hello?” Odette whispered. Great, now I’m that person in the horror movie. “Are you hurt?” she asked a little louder.

Whoever had been making noises suddenly stopped. A warning bell went off in her head but her feet moved without her thinking about it. She had now abandoned the safety of the light but was thankful that her eyes adjusted once more. The wall to her right, the one that had only just been illuminated, had spaces and breaks in them. It was like a prison.

Something shuffled inside the bars and Odette walked towards it. “Hello?”

“Y-you-you sh-shouldn’t be here,” the voice warbled, thick with tears.

She tilted her head but didn’t get close to the bars. Something was shining inside the “cage.” It wasn’t blue, so it wasn’t Grayson and it obviously wasn’t Greer as she was asleep upstairs. The more Odette squinted, the more she could see—she could now figure out the small window just above whoever was in the cage.

“I’m sorry. I was looking for the kitchen. Are you hurt?” She knelt down, the cold cement floor pressing uncomfortably to her bare knees.

The person jerked farther inside the cage. “You n-ne-need to g-g-oo!” The person, probably male, started crying again.

“Why are you in bars? Has someone hurt you?” She inched closer slowly.

“Please!” he whined.

Why would the Mages’ have someone in a cage? Did he put himself in there deliberately? Did he hurt himself? Did they hurt him? Why would they hurt him? Was this some kind of trap?

“Please m-m-miss, you need to-to lea-leave now!” he hiccupped.

Odette frowned. “What’s your name?”

He was quiet.

If he wouldn’t answer, she might as well tell him something to make him more comfortable. “I’m Odette Sinclair, I just moved to town.”

“I-I need you to leave! Why won’t you leave?!”

“Did someone here hurt you?” she asked quietly again.

“STOP!”

Odette gasped. A strange energy surrounded her and several invisible bonds wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and neck. It threw her backwards with a force so strong that she hit the wall behind her almost instantly. Her head connected with it hard, and the next thing she knew she was sprawled out on the floor. Spots danced in her vision as she gasped for air. Her skin burned from where she was bound but she didn’t worry about that. She couldn’t really think of much aside from the throbbing pain in her skull.

“I-I didn’t … didn’t mean to-to do that!” he wailed, his breath labored.

Odette pushed herself upright, everything moving in slow motion. Her limbs were shaking with extra effort and her head spun. “Hm?”

“I’m-I’m so sorry! I got scared and … and angry and I hu-hurt you, I didn’t mean to!” The man or boy was shaking with fear. Despite his exclamations, he was whispering so to not attract attention.

Odette didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure if she was going to throw up yet or not. Whatever had caused her to hit the wall, that brute force, it burned her flesh. Her head ached from the impact and everything in her mind was moving slowly around her, her limbs feeling like jelly.

There was more shuffling and scuffing going on in the cage. She turned her head, despite her body screaming in pain, and came face-to-face with a man with silver hair. She had met him the last time she was here.

“Thorn?”

Seeing his face in the dim light sufficiently horrified her. His face was pale but some areas were more grey and black, which she pieced together as blood. Only one dark bluish black bruised eye was visible through his shining hair. His cheek marred with old scars, some more fresh than others.

Her daze had melted away with the harsh reality. Her trembling hand came up to cup her mouth, she didn’t know whether it was to scream or to keep the horrid stench out. “Oh my God, what happened to you?”

Thorn’s lip trembled and he covered his face with his hand. “N-nothing.”

Odette crawled forward and grabbed his shirt, holding him from escaping. The man whimpered and flinched, still trying to tug away from her.

“This is not ‘nothing,’ Thorn. This is … sadistic.”

“Please miss, y-you need to leave be-before you g-get hurt-hurt too.” He tore himself from her grasp and scrambled back into the shadows.

Odette’s hand remained outstretched through the prison bars, maybe hoping he’d come back so that she could examine his face again. She slowly let it drop and pressed her face to the bars. “By ‘leave’ … you don’t just mean this room, do you?”

Thorn didn’t speak again. He didn’t have the chance to. The room lit up as glowing silver chains appeared on Thorn’s neck, arms, and legs. He cried out in pain. A sharp hissing sound met her ears, accompanied by the scent of burning hair. She could only assume in was coming from those horrid chains.

“You shouldn’t be here, princess.”

Odette whipped her head around and pressed herself up against the metal bars. Grayson stood directly behind her, his face void of emotion. The jewel was held tightly in his hand and, with every squeeze, Thorn screamed louder.

Now she felt even sicker. How could he be acting so calm?

“You’re a monster,” Odette whispered, her voice thick with fear.

Grayson quirked an eyebrow but his face remained as passive as ever. “Am I? Has this good-for-nothing been poisoning your mind with his lies?”

Thorn’s screams no longer sounded human but like a wounded animal. It gurgled and pierced her ears like millions of knives. He seemed to be trying to speak but his words were warped and incomplete.

“You’re the real monster here,” Odette spat, scooting away from Grayson. “You’re certifiable!”

Grayson humorlessly laughed and yanked Odette up by her hair. He slammed her up against the prison bars and held her by her throat. He didn’t actually choke her but he squeezed lightly letting her know that he could at any second. He was displaying the power he had over her.

“Oh Odette, you know nothing. You’re so innocent and naive, it’s adorable.” He leaned down and ran his nose along the junction of her neck and shoulder in a faux loving manner. “That’s why I’m going to keep you. You’re mine, princess! My princess.”

And then he was kissing her. He practically head-butted her into the bars and tore at her lips with his teeth. Odette thrashed around, kicking and shoving, but nothing loosened his grip.

The amulet around his throat pulsed. She could feel a power lodge itself in her throat. The taste of iron filled her mouth but she didn’t have time to place where it came from. Grayson slammed her head against the bars again, silencing her cries, and all the fight drained out of her. There was no use now.

Then, she woke up.