Chapter10

Several hours passed, and I was soon dolled up to the nines in some attire that looked as if it belonged in the eighteen hundreds. And it should have stayed there, I thought with a grumble.

 I sucked in a breath air but the corset tightly wrapped around my torso completely restricted the action. It was like being told to breathe through a straw – it left me lightheaded and really uncomfortable.

My hands danced over the royal blue material as my eyes inspected the strange figure in the mirrored surfaces around the room. I looked nothing like me. I looked like a movie extra - a woman who was born with a stick up their butt, one who could only flutter her eyelashes as she giggled behind her hands. Letting out a huff, I sent a glare through the mirror to the man in a suit with coat tails, a top hat secured under his arm.

“Why do I have to wear a corset again?”

 I winced as a woman approached from behind with a canister of hairspray. Without any warning she started to attack me with it. I choked and gasped as I inhaled a few breaths of the awful stuff. She was dressed similar to me, but it was clear that she was deemed a lower class by her attire. She still looked incredibly beautiful in her period dress, but the lack of opulence or vibrant colour bespoke of her status or rather my suddenly higher status.

“The corset is for the theme. Most of our balls are like those of yesteryear on the surface. It was a time when elegance meant being the most demure and alluring woman in the room without showing any risqué parts of your body.” Lucius sighed and brought one of his hands up to run it though his hair. “Now, women just show their legs and cleavages and leave nothing for the man to discover. It takes away all of the fun. Not that I’m complaining its nice knowing what you are getting, you know.  The ‘try before you buy’ deal. “

I watched all of this through the mirror with an intense curiosity. Although I knew things about the man, it was still difficult to remember that he was old enough to be a granddad, let alone adding on a few hundred greats onto that.

“I wish you had picked a different theme.” I gasped out and glared as the little woman who decided that if I could talk then my corset obviously wasn’t tight enough.

Gratitude was an understatement to what I felt when the short grey horned woman announced that I was finally presentable. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t even walk, so obviously the intent was for me to suffocate or trip over if I even contemplated running away. Lucius had disappeared sometime in the middle of the woman’s torturous adjustment sessions and had returned with my little man.

Danny looked more and more like he could be Lucius’ son as the days passed. I didn’t understand it but with the two of them in matching outfits, it was like looking at a mini Lucius. I felt my eyes water at the thought that Lucius was closer to my son than Gabriel could ever be. I knew without a doubt that the reason for my charge was partly due to the retreat of nearly all angelic beings to the heavenly pastures. The ones who remained were those who had created ties to the mortal world. They did not want to leave and so sacrificed their true home to put up with humanity.

I wish Gabriel had stayed, I thought to myself before balking at the idea. I can’t believe that the completely selfish thought had slipped into my mind. I sure as hell did want to date the man yet I would keep him away from his home so that I could feel safe in the knowledge that my child wasn’t growing up fatherless.

I am definitely a Jeremy Kyle showcase, I groaned to myself before tottering over to the duo in my ridiculously high heels.

Lucius held out his arm for me to hold. I let him literally drag me along with him, the abundance of fabric swathing my body was preventing any fluidity in my movements. It would probably have been better if he just carried me to the ballroom but I wasn’t going to say that out loud. It would probably bruise my ego as much as it would enlarge his.

 I wasn’t too sure what to expect when Lucius said ball, especially because we were quite literally in hell. The room when we arrived was beyond my wildest dreams. Black and purple flames licked up the red crystal walls, their flames emitting a warmth yet never burning the crystal or the people who got too close. Hundreds upon hundreds waltzed around the room while several singles stood off to the sides with glasses in their hands.

For once, I was allowed to see what the underworld offered. Some looked almost human besides their wings or their horns but others were so – strange that it was hard to believe they were even real.

One demon in particular was the most sickening hue of green, its face covered in pustules and pock marks that only made its leathery skin the more repulsive. Yet when introduced that he was a rather cheeky old soul – like Phil had been. He took his ugliness in his stride and even poked fun at his self to ease the unsettled looked that appeared on my features as I gazed at his razor sharp nose.  I relented to letting him spin me around the dance floor – I only stepped on his feet three times.

The overall atmosphere was lively. There were speeches, dances and in general a tonne of mischief. That mainly came from a demon named Loki. He was green, literally and would get a reddish glint in his eye whenever he was going to cause trouble. It was fascinating to watch because sure enough there was mayhem throughout the night. I only hope that he stayed away from me.

Aside from avoiding Loki and enjoying the party with my little family, I still felt uneasiness crawl through my veins. I think the last time I had felt this uncomfortable had been the day I started working for Lucius – or more importantly, the day I was threatened by a bunch of crazies with crossbows.  I shivered and leant into Lucius’ side causing the taller person to wrap his arm around my shoulder while Danny was sat on his hip.

“You okay?” Lucius questioned.

His attention was stolen briefly by some passing guests who called out greeting before moving on.

“I’m fine.” I started when he returned his gaze to me. However, his icy blues held mine and I couldn’t look away ever if I wanted to – nor could I lie. “Okay, I’m not fine. Something feels wrong and my back is itching like mad.” I shirked my shoulders up and down as if to iterate the point.

Lucius frowned and pulled the back of my dress away from my neck and not even a moment later he was cussing.

“It looks like trouble is coming – for me and for you.” He smiled grimly and squished me onto his side.

I gulped down any questions because a beautifully horned pair approached us and gave us smiles in greeting. Too soon Lucius and I were engrossed in meaningless chatter about the day to day workings of chatter and the issues that Lucius needed to address as ruler. I felt my mind turning off at the mundane side of such a fascinating place – it still sent my skin crawling at the thought that these issues were very human.

I tried to focus on the ambience, the strange music tinkling in the background, and in general trying to keep my attention within the room. However, I only ended up consuming a lot of alcohol to drown out the itching pain in my back. It was becoming more and more intense as the moments passed. Whatever was going to happen, it was sure to occur sooner rather than later.

Lucius face kept on that breezy smile but he did not allow me to stray from his side. Danny had fallen asleep with his head nestled upon the older man’s shoulder and I hated the lurch it caused in my heart. Danny was in danger. If trouble was going to bombard us at any moment then there was a chance that he would get caught in the cross hairs. He was too young for that. He was only eighteen months old.

When a particular stuffy pair of demons approached, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It wasn’t because of them. It was something else within the room though the couple looked like they had been sucking on one too many lemons. I shifted uncomfortably as the lights dimmed slightly and a particularly loud song came on.

This is it, I thought eying the guests who shrugged off the sudden change in atmosphere as well as their sense of propriety. Within seconds the ballroom dancing turned into a clothed orgy with everyone grinding on each other.

 I felt my nose wrinkle at the sight and stretched out my hand so that I could tangle my fingers with Lucius’. I gave it a squeeze which he returned painfully yet his eyes remained upon the couple before them. He appeared to be giving them his undivided attention.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder and, in my state of unease,  I yelped and spun to face the perpetrator. Hades smiled but it was wiped off when he caught my expression. I noted that he wasn’t conforming to the dress code and I really disliked Lucius at that moment for making me wear a damned corset that just so happened to be making me lightheaded.

Hades started to say things to me, but I saw a hooded figure just over his shoulder and they looked very familiar. I felt my eyebrows rise so far up my forehead that they almost disappeared into my hairline as  the hooded man’s eyes  met mine, and the mouth offered me a wearied  Smile.

It’s impossible, I told myself before I felt my body shaking back and forth causing me to release the breath I hadn’t realised I had been holding.

“Savannah?” The deep rumble of Hades voice brought my attention back to the man before me. I met his gaze and his look was only one of concern which would have made me feel all warm and fuzzy if I hadn’t just seen the face of a ghost. “Are you okay Miss Holmes?”

I frowned and looked past his shoulder once more but the hooded figure was gone. Distractedly, I could only reply. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just thought I saw -.” I trailed off before laughing and shaking my head. “Sorry Hades, all of this paranoia is finally getting to me. I can honestly say that I can’t wait to go topside once more.”

“Ah, the hell fever is setting in,” he laughed gleefully before stepping around me so that he could speak to Lucius.

Their murmuring barely reached my ears through the almost deafening level of music. It was shaking the very floor under my feet. I was forced to rely on my other senses as I examine each and every person within the vicinity. I couldn’t believe I had seen that face. there was no way that they could possibly be alive. I had seen the body myself.

As the music continued to throb and pound, I allowed my gaze to roam around the place, desperate for another glimpse to prove that I wasn’t going crazy. I had almost given up hope when -. There, across the ballroom, nestled in the corner next to a flaming pillar of purple heat was the hooded figure. Not even thinking about warning everyone where I was heading, I pushed and shoved my way through the gyrating throng. I was less than impressed when people kept stopping me to dance and neglected to listen to my protests.

I finally emerged from the crowd ten times sweatier and feeling like I was being slowly suffocated which was quite possible because of the corset. I again cursed Lucius for his theme as I lifted my gaze my attention to the hooded figure. Each step was slow and cautious but I could feel a mixture of trepidation and excitement flooding my veins.

Stepping into the line of vision of the hooded figure, I could really see much about them. They were taller than myself which wasn’t difficult, but the hooded the rest of their body so that I was unable to tell if it was a man or a woman. My heart gave a sickening lurch at the thought that I had been wrong – that I had only been seeing things.

Not giving myself time to doubt my initial sightings, I stepped forwards. Ducking my head, I looked under the hood of the cloak, my eyes becoming fixed  upon the face staring boldly back at me. A gasp escaped my lips as I backed up a step only to be halted by a large figure behind me. Their arms quickly wrapped around my waist, firmly pinning me to them.

I struggled against their hold but it was a weak attempt, my eyes still reeling from the fact that I had been fooled. I recognised the woman’s face from the market because it just so happened to be one of the scariest moments of my life. Her smile was firmly on her lips, her sharp shark teeth glinting in the disco lights.  

Stepping forwards she reached out a hand that I noted was clawed and blackened. It turned my stomach as it came to rest over my brow forcing my eyes to close out of instinct. A soft slithering voice reached my ears - the very sound was a chilling caress.

“Tell me Miss Holmes, what are you greatest fears?”

As if bidden from the depths of my consciousness, images flittered across my eyes like a film had been put on fast forwards, faces upon faces of people I knew and had come to love. And then as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Lucius and Danny’s faces were beaming up at me and I sucked in breath when the image changed.

The pair of them were laying on a bed of blood soaked leaves, death all around them as Lucius sheltered Danny even in his death. His body curled around the much smaller one allowing me to see the multiple wounds up his back where their attackers has struck him down so often that it had cut through his clothing. I whined in pain as seeing their lifeless pains, my heart stilling within my chest.

“How interesting, this one might be fun to play with.”

I didn’t even protest as they dragged me, my body was simply limp within their hold as the image of Danny and Lucius pale dead forms lingered in my mind. I felt physically sick. I knew in the back of my mind that it wasn’t real but it was my deepest fear – there was no rationality to it at all.

As purple flames licked up the edge of my vision, I allowed them to pull me to wherever. My breaths were coming out in sharp pants as the image was continually forced upon me. It kept me in a perpetual state of panic. The corset was doing nothing to help, and I felt incredibly light headed.  I just prayed to God that Danny and Lucius would be safe and that I would make it out of this reasonably unscarred.

“Savannah?” A familiar male voice called out to me. It distracted the hooded figure with the horrid voice effectively snapping the image from my mind.

However it caused the person holding me to tighten his grip. It cut off more of my precious oxygen but it also managed to snap me back to reality as Castiel shoved his way through the crowd. I held his gaze as the pair became more frenzied and panicked, no longer bothering to linger and taunt. They dragged me towards the pillars of purple fire and then stepped straight into it like it was nothing.

I winced up as the flames licked over my body and I met Castiel’s eyes for the last time offering him a sad smile.

“Look after them Castiel,” I shouted as he got closer and closer but I knew he wouldn’t reach us in time. Then in a flash of purple we were gone and I was snatched into the arms of my nightmares. My last thought was only for the safety of my child and the man I had to love even if I would never tell him that to his face.