AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I admit I chose to Change, yes. There are things in my life I did not choose,” Horris pressed, coming to stand beside me. “We have all had the misfortune of losing control over what happens to us in life, and it hurts. It becomes triggering as we reach the pinnacle of vulnerability. My dearest friend, we have all watched those we love die, and yet we continue to go on. Why? Because we have each other and we can make a difference. Wechooseto leave that space. Wechoseto experience what we can while we can, and to learn from that loss of control so it never happens again.”
Horris’s words were a rush of reality. I could offer William the forgiveness he had wanted from the beginning, I could offer him the love I’d deeply buried inside myself. Despite it all, despite that he’d left me vulnerable to Noel, he did it in an attempt to save me. And he did, in his way, save me. Tears fled from my eyes, and each sob wracked harder and harder in my chest. I felt as though I was oozing, with every cry the black tar that had festered inside me rippled.
Horris’s arms came around me as he cooed in my ear, swaying back and forth while I cried into his shoulder. His embrace was warm to me, like a tender glow in the darkness, a fire in the cold. He cast away the shadows of despondency as he reminded me I was in control now, no one else.
“Let’s get you in the bed, it’s getting late.” He dried my eyes and placed his hand on my cheek. “I will be here for you from now on and I can see the toll that loneliness has played upon your heart. But my presence won’t heal you; only you can do that.” He tucked me into bed, crawling in beside me.
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you sure about this?” I asked as Horris adjusted the entirely too expensive gown he’d draped over me. It was midnight blue, dripping in white crystals with gloves up to my elbows. Somehow he’d convinced me to attend a masquerade at the Savoy tonight, saying it would be good for my disposition to have some fun. He’d yet to hear back from Filip, but it was Halloween after all and tonight was the easiest of all nights for us to hunt.
I‘d deliberated over our discourse all day, sorting through my own thoughts as I did. Horris had been kind and patient with me whenever I had cried, or lamented to him about the last thirty years. He allowed me to lounge on his bed as he’d readied himself, a deep navy suit and white mask.
“And for a touch of opulence,” Horris said, tucking a sapphire blue feather perfectly into my own silver mask. “If we can feed tonight, your eyes will match it perfectly!”
It had been a while since I had attended a party of such magnitude, and those were never to unwind and just be. Those parties were always a means to an end, gratification in some manner or other.
I appreciated Horris’s company as we descended upon the streets of London, the sun setting in the distance. There’d been no rain today, the pavement drying out at least some. We linked arms once more, telling stories of shocking escapades as we walked. I allowed my heart to breathe a sigh of relief with him, knowing he would help me make things right once more.
He twirled me by pedestrians, some dressed just as fine, whooping at us. I had smiled more in the last two days than I had in the last few years. Watching the beauty of this incredible city pass by with every block invigorated me and the autumn air kissed my bare skin. Lampposts began to flicker to life, casting long shadows of night.
Before we made our way toward the Embankment, we meandered in Green Park for an unsuspecting victim to sink our teeth into. On the eastern corner, behind a tree, a quiet man rested smoking a cigarette. Horris had me lure him toward the Underground station where we snapped his neck in the shadows and shared him, each of us on one side of the lad’s neck. I cringed when Horris ripped his head from his shoulders, to cover any evidence of bite marks, he said.
When we arrived at the Savoy, men and women meandered outside dressed in the most spectacular of costumes with masks to match; feathery, glittery, crystal encrusted. I had worried before we would stand out in our state of dress, but thankfully, camp was the theme of the evening.
Horris walked up to the gentleman in red at the door with the list, nonchalant as ever, cleaning his throat.
“Sir,” the man grunted, peering at Horris most abhorrently. Defensiveness rose in my chest but Horris merely winked at me.
“Horris Washington and party,” he said. The man searched through the list and nodded before undoing the thick velvet rope.
“Cheers.”
We entered into the bright light of the hotel and I gasped. The walls were expansive, creamy in color with gold trimming and filigree abound. Ornate classical paintings covered every inch they could, thick floral curtains adorned the windows. The carpeting was black with floral designs, which Horris led us over in search of the ballroom.
To the right, we passed a bar. I nearly ripped Horris’s arm off, tugging him to it for wine but he shook his head. He continued pulling me along until we entered the space filled with incredible piano notes.
There were so many humans and one could but only sense the number of vampyres; a slight electrical energy about them only another creature of the same kind could put their finger on. The hair on the back of my neck stiffened just ever so slightly, unsure of whether I was to meet friend or foe.
“How many others do you think there are?” I asked Horris under my breath, just loud enough for him to hear. He shuddered.
“I’d say at least three, it is hard to tell…”
I nodded, agreeing. Horris laced his arm through mine, giving a gentle pat. “It will be alright; would you dance with me?”
I did not realize how much I needed to let go. All the years I had spent in angst and running had hardened my exterior to a point I became ashamed of it all. But now, with Horris, it was astounding how quickly I could thaw. He seemed to spread an infectious light into every dark nook and cranny I had created.
It was there on the dancefloor, on Halloween night, letting the music guide my body along that really broke the shell I’d curated for good. We twirled, we laughed, we shimmied to the heavenly twinkling of the piano. It was numbing in so many ways, numbing to the emotions, numbing to the senses.
After a few songs, Horris paused and guided me to an empty table set as if the king himself would take a seat any moment.
“I will be right back, allow me to grab that wine,” he whispered. I tapped my foot against the floor to the music, the heat building in the room. It was exhilarating to experience the bodies of humans in such vivid motion, dozens of them twirled without care.
A presence startled me, familiar and consuming. A sparking link attempting to guide me in their direction. I was frozen, scanning my surroundings for who it might be.
And then I saw.
Some twenty yards away, standing near the wall, a gentleman with copper hair, dressed in a black suit and gloves. He donned a white mask which only covered half of his face, a single rose in his hands which he twirled as he watched the humans dancing. Recognition flickered through me.
