N I N E
My Hero

THERE WAS A certain air of darkness surrounding us as we curved past yet another familiar doorway. I am, however, so certain that I had passed this exact door before, one with claw-like scratch marks that ran from the top of the wooden door all the way to the bottom. Each labyrinth-like turn was only leading us back, and this was annoying all three of us as Bella groaned in frustration once more.

Well, especially Bella more so than any of us, the non-believer.

"We've been here before, Addy. Two other times, in fact." Smacking her forehead against the wooden walls, a small thump echoed down the passage as Minnie turned to face her with an alarmed expression.

Her eyes were round and wide, perhaps the size of two golf balls as she pulled Bella away from the wall with a sharp yank.

"Don't do that! What if someone heard you and manages to find us?"

"Relax, Minnie. No one could've possibly heard that much less find us through this maze-like corridors. We're gonna get stuck here for the rest of our lives before we eventually die from starvation. In fact, I hope someone will come after us and end this misery of a life!" Bella couldn't help but yell, throwing her hands about wildly as she cursed at our current predicament. "Hello? Mr. Scary and Spiritual? Come and get us already!"

As soon as that was said, however, a howl echoed through the darkness as a sudden gust of cold frosty wind swept through, freezing the walls significantly as icicles appeared down the ceilings. My blood froze in my veins, the color draining from my face when I recognized the same wail from before that belonged to the creature that took the man's life.

"You just had to complain," chastised Minnie.

Bella paled significantly, nearly shrinking in size as she took a step backward. Her hands were shivering, eyes wide as she scanned her surroundings.

"God damn it. Is it too late now for me to take it back?" She murmured the question under her breath. I did not bother to reply, my heart caught in my mouth as the cold started to creep under my sweater and onto my skin, making my hair stand from the drop in temperature.

As soon as she ended her sentence, a ghoul-like creature, dark, cloaked and floating above the ground, turned the corner by the end of the corridor, catching sight of the three of us. I froze in my movements, my eyes went wide as the creature turned to face us.

I recognized it as the same breed of the monstrous demon that had appeared just a few moments ago, the one that I had seen suck the life out of a human being with my own two eyes. It definitely had the same bony structure that was cloaked accordingly, tattered quite literally to the bones.

The image of the dead man flashed before my eyes. That would be our final fate if we stayed there on the spot like a deer caught in the headlights.

Not even bothering to maintain my silence any longer, seeing that it had caught up to us, I screamed, turning back to push Bella and Minnie into running speed. "Run! Go!"

With feet thundering against the ground in incredible speeds, we sprinted for our lives, randomly curving each fork in the road when encountered with one. The hallways moved in a blur, leading us further away from the ghoul. No matter how far we ran, though, it always seemed to catch up, turning along with each corner as the freezing cold nipped at my heels.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as a thin layer of perspiration began to form, covering the nape of my neck. Trying to keep my breath as steady as humanly possible, I pushed my muscles to work harder, continuing to dash down the hallways in an attempt to find a safe clearing. My ankle boots pounded heavily against the ground, the clicking echoing into the night as the wind whipped at my face.

It was at a time like this had I began to wonder why I had ever thought that wearing a pair of heeled boots would be a good idea.

By some stroke of miraculous luck, the last hallway we had turned at led to the stairs, the railings looming over the now very empty dance floor with an exception for that one dead body lying there from before. Something by the bar illuminated and I immediately turned over with a squint of my eyes. By the photographs along the collection of fine liquor was a single small glowing orb, a bright and illuminating green in color and dazzling against the glass bottles.

And I knew at that moment that whatever that bright and shining orb of light was, it was definitely the item that we were looking for in the riddle.

Letting out a cry of delight, I scrambled down the steps, both Bella and Minnie hot on my heels as the wailing sounds of the ghoul behind us grew louder and louder. Wasting no time, I rushed down the wooden steps before climbed over the bar and snatching the orb in my hands as I beamed delightedly down at it.

It was small, perhaps the size of a 20-carat diamond or a marble and it gleamed a shade of bright turquoise. There was a mist-like concoction inside of the orb as if it were attempting to hold my gaze in a trance. Whatever it was, I had no doubt that this item was the one we were looking for. And it was beautiful.

"What now?" Bella screamed, eyeing the small round object as my smile soon turned to a frown of pure panic. My heart started pounding at an increasingly rapid pace, so much so that it felt about ready to be ripped away from my ribcage.

"Shit, I don't know! They didn't mention anything about it in the damn paper!"

Winter's cold crashed full force into the room, turning the walls into a frozen tundra as the black cloaked figure appeared at the top of the second-floor railings. It scanned the room before locking gaze with me, holding me captive with its spine-chilling formidable scrutiny.

In a frenzy, I further examined the orb with much haste. It was a simple ball, about the size of a large expensive jewel that could be placed on a flashy ring. But it seemed to be made of glass, or even some sort of crystal, but there were no indications on it. The surface was just about as smooth as the polished marble tower I will most likely never have the luxury to own.

The cloaked figure flew over the railing, starting its descent to the first floor as Minnie ducked under the bar counter in fear. Bella and I stood rooted to our spots, fumbling around with the marble-like item. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, every beat echoing into my eardrums as panic arose within me.

And then, there was a flash of movement so quick and swift, darting over the bar counter in a smooth jump. The mysterious man took the orb from my fingers, knocking down a few of the vodka bottles that were in the way and ignored my clueless shocked looks as he slammed the orb to the ground before stomping on it harshly.

A loud crack reverberated through the area, followed by a blinding white light before I felt a wave of nausea flood over me. It rushed from my feet; a feeling as though I was being filled up with water, before rushing through the top of my head. As soon as it came, it disappeared and instead was replaced by a surge of electrifying energy. The white light, along with the mists of smoke that came along with the breaking of the orb, spread across the room, sending the black hooded figure into another high-pitched wail as it flew away at rapid speeds, disappearing out of sight.

I could barely contain the sigh of relief that threatened to spill from my lips, our heart rate thumping at incredulous speeds as I leaned against the bar counter in relief.

"That was close."

"Too close. Do you even know what you were doing?" The man spoke with slight frustration, causing me to scowl bitterly.

"Thank you for saving my life, Lucius, but you don't have to rub it in my face like that just because you are now sort of a semi-hero," I spat venomously. "But how did you know what to do with that orb? In fact, how did you know where we were?"

"And who are those two?"

Silence ensued as both Minnie and Bella stood to their full heights, each girl's hand held mine tightly as they all glared accusingly at the man. Lucius let out a sigh, his hand thrown to ruffle up his usually perfectly gelled up platinum blond hair as his earthy brown eyes looked anywhere but at us. He turned back once to eye his friends and they only offered him a brief nod.

His friends were both rather quiet, standing a little behind Lucius like some sort of henchmen. One of his friends had light brown hair that resembled freshly brewed coffee and sharp evergreen eyes. His irises held an entire forest within them, the color of the first symbol of spring. It bordered the color of turquoise, similar to that of the orb that Lucius had broken.

The other bloke was lankier. His dirty blond hair was untidily messed, bringing out his electric blue eyes that seemed to hold the cloudless summer sky within them. Both of them were hauntingly beautiful, just like Lucius undoubtedly was.

"We're waiting," Bella taunted, her other hand placed on her hip as she raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"I know those guys, alright? Those brothers that threw this party. I grew up with them. In fact, all three of us did. You could even say that we used to be good friends. You tend to learn things after a while of fraternizing, and I picked up their little tricks and experiments through the years."

At his revelation, I fiddled with my silver bracelet that settled itself on my left wrist right alongside my watch, toying with the diamonds encrusted on it. It had been a simple gift from a friend of mine, one in which I could not remember the identity of. In my memory, however, there wasn't a time in which I did not wear this bracelet ever since it came into my possession.

Lucius spoke with much distaste and venom about the four brothers. The corners of his lips were turned down into a scowl, his cinnamon colored irises holding much-unsaid animosity as he spat the explanation out like a vile taste in his mouth. Amber lined those brown eyes, the color of a deep burning orange that melted into the brown with specks of gold.

It was undeniable that Lucius was a man crafted to look like a god. Unfortunately enough, his heart and conscience did not quite match-up nor did it live up to the reputation set by his outer appearance.

"This is not the first time they pulled some shit like this." Lucius sighed, shaking his head. His wispy blond hair fell over his eyes, covering them before he raised a pale hand to brush it away.

"There were other times?" I couldn't help but ask, eyes wide with horror as I glanced about our surroundings, making sure that no other ghouls had appeared. Thankfully, the man that had signed off as Death had kept true to his word. The orb had indeed granted us a few moments of immunity.

Lucius bit onto his lip, turning back to look at his friends as if he had no idea what to say. Seeing his discomfort and hesitance, one of his friends stepped a little forward, his electric blue eyes glancing worriedly at us. It seemed as though it physically pained him to speak. Nevertheless, words tumbled out from his pink lips. "Hard to believe but you are not the first girl Death had set eyes on, Miss Addison Pilediah."

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