VIII

It was exactly the same every night since she ran away from the Mages’ home. She would go to sleep and dream the same dream. Odette was on stage, waiting for the lights to turn on. She was in her pose, holding her breath. Her hair was pulled tight against her skull in a bun and her face shimmered with the amount of makeup and sweat she had accumulated. The curtain rose and the music started.

Her movements were jerky and robotic; she wasn’t in control of her body. Every leap, every turn, every time she rose up en pointe, something was pulling her and twisting her. The invisible strings around her wrists turned into thick ropes. She was bleeding but her masters didn’t care. She was nothing but a puppet, a doll for amusement. If she broke now, there was no telling how harsh her end would be. Odette would look up at the sky and see those cruel masters. Greer and Grayson holding her and controlling her. Her life was quite literally in their hands.

The strings pulled her until the skin on her wrists were raw and then gone altogether. Blood beaded up from the wounds, trickling down to stain her beautiful costume. She grew exhausted but they pulled and yanked for her to dance for their audience. She was only for entertainment. Odette continued to dance until she died, and all the world laughed.

It frightened her every time.

Odette didn’t leave the house much. Leaving brought the risk of running into the twins. They had done nothing to her, nothing she could actually prove, but a deep-seeded fear had taken root. She only asked to leave the house once to go to the bookstore in the city. Her mother agreed to drive her, knowing that her daughter needed the activity. Pamela, however, wasn’t pleased to see why they had gone to the bookstore.

Odette had found many books on things such as dream interpretation, the uses of crystals and other magical gems, and supernatural beings. She paid for them with her own money. That was her only saving grace that day. Odette devoured those books, scouring their pages and learning all they had to offer.

In the papers that had been found with the journal, the man suspected the twins of witchcraft. It was old fashioned but his theories made sense. He had diagrams, written out notes, and other types of things that went along with his crazy theories; but the man had no proof. His scribbles were as good as fiction.

Unfortunately, as her days of self-exile had grown, so was the threat of the gala. It loomed over her head like the ever-changing dark clouds over Sunwick Grove. Odette’s mother had gone out and bought a plain mask and a bunch of faux jewels. She used her glue gun and years of arts and craft experience to create a gorgeous mask for her daughter to wear. Odette had it propped up against the vase that held Grayson’s ever living rose. It was a shrine of fear. She had drawn out the quote “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and taped it above them. Pamela didn’t get it.

She had decided to immerse herself in her examination of the journal, in hopes of possibly gaining evidence that she wasn’t completely crazy. There were many ordinary entries that she had to read through but they always included some update of how “R. wasn’t herself” or how “R. was becoming paranoid.” Nothing overly hard-hitting until she stumbled into an entry towards the end of the journal.

“R. is missing. It’s been three days and her friends haven’t heard from her either. The police are out looking but they’re missing the obvious! Mages is the one who did it, I know it. Went to ask if they had seen my daughter, the bumbling idiot that is the old man’s caretaker didn’t know anything. Asked him to ask the kids and the old man. Said he would. Don’t believe him.

Ava is frantic. Drives the kids to school late and picks ’em up early. She cries a lot, especially at night. Boys don’t know what to do. Last night they came to our room and slept with us because they were scared. I’m scared too. Don’t know what that boy has done to her.

Last place she was at work. Mages swears that the last he saw of her was her walking back home. Saw a car following her but thought it was her friends. Said that she didn’t want him to walk her home this time.

Collecting evidence from anyone I can. One old man shares my thoughts. He is supposed to be crazy, so it doesn’t make him a very credible source. Only one who believes me that the twins are evil. Says we can get to talk more about why tomorrow. Says I’m not ready.”

Inside, there was another picture of R. She was laughing at the camera and it was summertime. Her hair showed purple highlights and she had on a heavy eyeliner. There was a black beanie on her head and a ripped up band T-shirt. The picture had been printed on a paper and, in big bolded words on the top, it read—“HAVE YOU SEEN ME?”

“I met with my friend today. Not sure what I expected but what he told me wasn’t it. Said that the twins have magic powers. Said that the blue jewels they wear are connected to some kind of voodoo-witchcraft-demon. Surprisingly, I believed him. Nobody knew them before last year, suddenly they are famous. From now on, this journal will be my field journal. Will research and learn everything I can. This has everything to do with my R.”

From there, Odette found several conspiracies and chicken scratch sentences about magic and demons. He had pasted in photographs of pages from books, pictures of strange happenings in the woods, and images of amulets and talismans. There was a whole ten pages dedicated to the Mages twins, more specifically, Grayson. It was a strange collage of their youth taken from shows mostly. Their jewels were in every shot.

In the books she bought, Odette skimmed and underlined things that pertained to the journal or added further to the research that this man had been doing. He just couldn’t find out where was the source of their power. Odette thought that she might have an idea.

Odette shot up in her bed in cold sweat, running her fingers through her hair. She turned on her lamp and pulled out her own journal and books. Recording her dream, even if it was a recurring one, helped her pick out new things each time.

The book she had bought on interpreting dreams already held creases in its spine. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and she furrowed her eyebrows. The task, no matter how necessary it was for her mental health, was becoming tedious.

Across the room, her phone buzzed. Odette stood from the bed and tiptoed over to where it was being charged. The familiar username of Greer Mages lit up her screen. “I know it’s late but I would like to have you come over early tomorrow so we can get ready together.”

Odette didn’t bother to respond right now. She would need to ask her mother and she didn’t want her to know that she was awake at this hour. She didn’t want to give her another reason to worry.

Morning came quicker than Odette had expected and so did the dread of the gala. She thought that, if she wasn’t so terrified, it could be fun. That was going to be a stretch anyhow.

Her mother was thrilled with the idea of Odette going over to get ready with Greer. Pamela made sure to give Odette her medication, so she wouldn’t randomly drop during the gala but she also gave her daughter strict rules to follow.

Odette had to sit down most of the time. As long as she was careful, she was allowed to dance if the opportunity arose. She had to drink water. No taking off her heart monitor. Phone on at all times. But the worst rule of all was that she had to stick with either Greer or Grayson the entire time. The girl debated on feigning sudden illness but she knew better. Being confined in her room while sick provided very little entertainment as her mother sat with her the entire time and forbade watching TV or playing on her phone until she had slept for a long time.

So, the Mages’ mansion it was.

Pamela insisted on driving Odette over there so she wouldn’t get too tired out. Odette had no problem with this. The most surprising thing was the sheer number of people who were already at the mansion. They weren’t guests either but caterers, servers, and decorators. They swarmed around the courtyard, hardly paying attention to anyone. Due to this, Pamela couldn’t pull the car into their driveway.

“Do you need me to walk you in?” she asked.

Odette shook her head no and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Bye. I’ll text you!”

She mustered up her courage and weaved her way through the swarm of people. She gripped the bag that the dress was in tightly, shrinking herself to fit through the small spaces that these people left for movement.

At the door stood Zeke. He pointed people to different directions and nearly shouted to be heard.

“Hi, Zeke,” Odette greeted.

The man paused his shouting to smile. “Hey, dude. Greer told me you’d be coming by. Need help getting to her?”

“No need,” a familiar voice said. Greer came into view, her heels clicking against the marble flooring. “I was waiting for her anyway. Come darling.”

Odette said goodbye to Zeke but he was already back in business mode.

“How are you feeling this evening, Odette?” Greer asked. She peeked over her shoulder at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Pretty good. I’m nervous.”

Greer patted her head affectionately. “You shouldn’t be. Since I have decided to take you under my wing, you’ll go to these type of events all the time.”

Odette furrowed her eyebrows, unsure of how to respond. “Oh?”

“I’ve always wanted a little sister, Odette. Someone else to depend on and talk to … Girl things, you know? Grayson can only understand so much and he can be so insensitive to my feelings.” She pushed open her bedroom door. “You, however … you understand me. We are more alike than you would believe. Sit down at the vanity, darling. Did you pack some of your makeup? A mask?”

“Yes,” Odette confirmed. “I have it in my bag.”

She took a moment to observe the room. It had changed since last week. Purple was still the main focus but there were black tapestries that hung on the wall now, with silver detail images of stars and pentagrams. In the corner, there was a whole section with candles burning. They had melted enough to make wax icicles, the drippings landed in a bowl of water on the floor.

Another thing that she had not noticed was the ginormous glass cage with a large albino snake. Odette’s eyes widened and she scooted away, as it was practically right beside her. “Y-you have a snake?”

Greer looked up from her pilfering and at the animal. “Oh yes. That’s Squiggles. I got him when I was twelve and just haven’t had the heart to change his name. Don’t worry, he can’t get out of his cage, he’s a good boy.”

Squiggles looked like he wanted to kill Odette.

Greer finished going through Odette’s bag and pulled out everything she wanted. She strutted back over to the other girl and flicked her wrist. An unlit candle in front of her came to life, its flame tall and strong.

“Whoa!”

She smirked, “I’m a magician, darling, what do you expect?”

Greer began to brush Odette’s hair with an eerie calmness. The candle light was the only thing lighting the room but the amount she had in her room was a fire hazard.

A thought wormed its way into Odette’s mind. “Greer?”

She hummed, not speaking.

“Did you know the people who lived in the house before me?”

Greer’s eyes flashed and she gave a harsh yank through Odette’s hair—on purpose or an accident, Odette wasn’t sure. They stared at one another through the mirror and Greer sighed.

“Yes. The girl there was Grays’ first crush. Her name was Romy, I think. Why?” she asked. The brushing lost its calming gentle strokes.

Odette shrugged. “I was curious. The place had been abandoned for a while. I did some cleaning and found a … a poster of some missing girl.”

Greer pursed her lip and looked away. Her eyebrows pinched together and she brought a hand up to push her hair back, even though it was already in the headband.

“Romy was a few years older than Grays and myself. She was nice, helped out at the tent. Grays was practically in love with her but she didn’t like him back.” Her voice was a dreamlike whisper and she wore a funny smile on her lips. Odette regretted asking. “She made friends with the ‘cool’ people, a bunch of scene kids who thought that self-harm was cool, you know the type. They would go out partying and hang out in the graveyard.

“Romy lost this ‘spark’ she had, according to Grays. She became more and more withdrawn and secretive. I think that she had been planning to run away and kill herself. She had become very depressed all of a sudden, no one knew why. One day, after work, Grays wanted to help walk her home. Her idiot father wouldn’t give her a car or bike so it took forever for her to get back. She just vanished. Her father blamed us, everyone knew it. The police looked around everywhere but couldn’t find her.”

Greer’s fingers combed Odette’s hair out of her face, scraping her scalp uncomfortably. Greer had the strangest expression on her face and her blue eyes glowed in the candle light.

“Soon after, her brothers killed themselves. Their mother couldn’t take it and went next. The father became a shut-in, associating himself with a crazy, homeless man. They discussed conspiracy theories and other research crap that drove him insane. Maybe a month after his wife’s death, he killed himself. It wasn’t until a year later that they found Romy’s … remains.

“The police said it was gruesome. No one released any pictures but there was a report. They said that animals found her body. You can imagine what happened there …”

Odette’s eyes widened. She thought that she might get sick. “Oh my—that-that’s horrible.”

Greer hummed. “Grayson was devastated but he moved on. Found a new crush.” She wove some strands of Odette’s hair together in an intricate braid-like headband. “Unfortunately for him, she also died.”

“W-what?”

“Car crash. Her parents were these hippies and they were moving away to California to protest something in Hollywood. I think that they were almost there when this car ran a red light and plowed into them. I didn’t like her very much but she still didn’t deserve it.”

Odette was visibly shaking now. She clenched her fists tight, hoping that the pain from how her nails dug into her palms would take away this deep-rooted fear inside of her.

“Sometimes I wonder if Grays and I are cursed,” Greer mused. “In the past, it always seemed like people would get hurt around us. It’s why we don’t make many friends.”

She placed her hands on Odette’s shoulders and shot her a wan smile. “I want you to be careful, Odette. Grayson really likes you and you are the first girl that I have ever approved of. Even if you aren’t dating him yet. In time, you’ll learn our secrets.” The blue jewel sparkled for a moment.

Greer’s face lit up and the dark atmosphere vanished. “There, your hair is finished! Do you need to do anything before we do makeup? Bathroom? I have water in here. Do you need an outlet for your charger?”

Odette blinked, her friend’s change in mood startling her. “The bathroom please?”

Greer led her out into the hall and pointed to the door across from her own. Odette pinched her eyebrows together and thanked Greer nonetheless.

Once inside, she gripped both sides of the sink and sighed heavily. She turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on her face. She wasn’t sure as to why. In the back of her mind she knew that this was the closest to drowning she would get. She had learned what happened to R., or Romy. There was no satisfaction. Maybe the girl’s father was just insane. But that still didn’t sit well with her; something was wrong with them.

“Are you alright, princess?”

Odette jolted up, “GEEZ!”

Behind her, lounging against the wall, was Grayson. He sported a crisp, white button up and an untied bowtie and a smirk had placed itself on his lips.

“Why are you in here?!” Odette exclaimed. She hadn’t even heard the door open, or was he in here before she was? No, she didn’t see him when she walked in. He must have come in.

Grayson clicked his tongue. “I do live here.”

“No! Why are you in the … the bathroom with me?”

“I heard the sound of your mental screaming and fear,” Grayson said. He stepped forward and placed his finger underneath her chin.

Odette backed up into the sink. “I’m sorry?”

Grayson did not elaborate. “Tonight, at the party, Greer and I are doing a small performance. She was going to ask you to be our ‘brave volunteer,’ but she obviously hasn’t, so I will. Are you willing?”

Odette would be more willing if he wasn’t leering over her. “Yeah sure. So long as it doesn’t kill me,” she joked.

His blue eyes glimmered with mystery. He, at some point, had laced his fingers with her own and gave her hand a squeeze. “How could I slay such a beautiful princess?”

Grayson leaned in closer and, for a second, she thought he was going to kiss her. At the last second, he pulled all the way back and exited the bathroom without so much as a “goodbye” or an “I’m sorry.”

Odette scoffed, her skin tingling not only from what could have been but also because he was a strange jerk.

“What were you two doing?” Greer teased as Odette came back to her room.

“I have no idea what you mean.”

Greer made a face as she swiped purple eye shadow over her eyelids. “Don’t play dumb, darling. My room is right across the hallway. I saw him leave.”

“Then you must have heard me screaming at him for sneaking up on me too.” Odette perched herself on Greer’s bed and pulled out her phone to text her mom that she hadn’t died yet.

“You two will be dating by the end of the night.” Greer paused and added quietly, “That’s how it always happens.”

Odette blanched, “Probably not. He asked me to help out with one of your tricks you’ll perform tonight.”

“You said yes?”

“Yeah.” It would be rude not to. “What does your mask look like?”

Greer pointed over on her nightstand with the incense sticks. There was a silver mask that was probably made of real silver. There was a swirling, silver stick that was attached for Greer to hold it up. It looked heavy. Odette wondered if her arm would get tired.

“It’s pretty.”

“Isn’t it? Grandfather bought it especially for this occasion.” Greer’s primping didn’t stop for a second. She grabbed a tube of dark purple lipstick and rolled it onto her pouting lips. “He says that it came from Italy but I’m pretty sure he got it illegally from one of his old prison buddies.”

Oh boy.

“Come, Odette, I’m finished with my makeup. You need to do yours. We can’t have you looking all blotchy.”

Greer pretty much left her alone after that. She had gotten up and went out of the room to get something. When she came back, her hair was no longer held back by the headband but had been pulled back in a bun. On her neck, the blue jewel had been attached to a silver chain and hung down to her stomach.

Odette was only acknowledged by Greer when the latter told her to wear red lipstick instead of pink. The quiet added to Odette’s anxiety about the party.

Noises from downstairs became louder, and soon the hundreds of people stopped running around the courtyard and vanished inside the house. The girls helped each other into their dresses and adjusted their masks.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Greer reassured Odette. “Tonight will be memorable.”