The four of us looked up in unison as a large, red blast lit up the sky above the manor. The excited squeals from the pool echoed the deep boom of the explosion. Tace and Zilla bolted out in front of us, their bodies breaking through the bushes to the open parking lot. I screamed out in surprise as Ilyan grabbed me and flung me onto his back before he followed their lead.
The door to the kitchen flung open in a burst of wind that carried all of us into the hustle and bustle of the elaborate space. The wind pushed over trays of food and plates, and sent napkins flying through the air. The resulting mess sent the kitchen staff into a panicked frenzy. We took advantage of the disarray as we sped through the kitchen without having to worry about the Zmizȇt being ineffective. Even without the diversion and the cloaking spell, our speed would have made us invisible. I just caught a glance of Mette’s frazzled face before we took off down the staff hallway that led from the kitchen.
Tace and Zilla continued in front of us, our pace quick and fleeting. We moved through two corridors before Zilla’s pace reduced to a casual saunter. Ilyan and Tace followed suit, Ilyan moving us right up against the wall.
Only a moment after the change in pace, two small men I had never seen before came around the corner to face us. At first, it was obvious they couldn’t see us, but realization dawned on them as the Zmizȇt seemed to fall away from our bodies.
Tace and Zilla did not wait; they moved so fast their bodies blurred. One moment they stood in front of us, and the next, they were directly before and behind the two Trpaslíks. Two dim flashes of light lit up the hallway before their bodies fell to the ground.
Ilyan rushed to their side, his face falling in alarm and frustration.
“Well, so much for stealth,” he sighed. He turned to Tace and Zilla and spoke to them in Czech before the two went into action, moving and hiding the bodies in the many servants’ quarters surrounding us.
“I need you to stay right beside me, Joclyn.” He didn’t look at me; he remained looking straight forward as he spoke.
Tace emerged from the rooms first, followed by Zilla who shook her long, blonde hair as she spoke to Ilyan. He didn’t wait to translate; he simply grabbed my hand and towed me behind him as we ran from hallway to hallway.
The music continued to increase in volume as we moved through the estate. By this time, we had abandoned any attempts at stealth, although it probably wouldn’t have mattered since the music became so loud that any noise we made was drowned out.
We almost made it to the connecting servants’ hall when Tace and Zilla plastered themselves into the alcoves of the doorways; Ilyan towed me after him into another doorway. He kept me hidden safely behind him, his hand holding me against the door as he looked at what was going on in the hall. I heard a small yelp, shuffling feet, and two dull thuds before Ilyan released me from the small space behind him. By the time I made it to the hall, the two Skȓíteks were already hiding the bodies in a storage closet.
Ilyan held me back as we reached the door that would open up into the hallway that connected to the main hall before turning and speaking to the others. His lips moved as he spoke, but I could barely hear him, the overwhelming music drowning him out. Before he even finished speaking, Tace and Zilla exited from our hallway into another. My body tensed; I felt strangely unprotected without them.
“They are going in first,” Ilyan yelled into my ear. “They will be watching you in the hall. Are you ready?”
I couldn’t respond, my body tense.
Ilyan plunged us through the door and didn’t slow down as we approached the ballroom that housed the party. The hall light dimmed as we got closer until we were moving through a faintly lit hallway, the flashing lights of the party reflecting out of the open door and onto the wall in front of us. I kept my gaze on the dancing lights, trying desperately to keep my head on straight while still focusing on the dynamic energy that was building under my skin.
Ilyan stopped abruptly before we made it to the main hall and threw me roughly against the wall. I tensed; this wasn’t part of the plan, and the look on Ilyan’s face suggested trouble. He pressed his body against mine, every inch of him, from his shoulders to his toes, pressed against me. His hand grabbed one of mine and restrained it above my head.
My body froze; this unwelcome invasion of my privacy sent angry surges of magic vibrating under my skin. I tried to pull away from him, but he held me roughly in place, his grip increasing. I looked up to him in a panic, just as he leaned forward to place his cheek against mine. My heart thudded uncomfortably.
“Close your eyes and pretend that this is natural for us.” His voice was rough in my ear as he nuzzled his face into my neck, his warm breath running across my skin. I fought him, and his grip increased, his body pressing more firmly into mine. It didn’t hurt, but the pressure was definitely unwelcome.
“Do you want to get us caught?” he hissed. “Do what I say. Someone is coming.”
I let my lids drop over my eyes and raised my hand to cup his neck. My heart beat erratically as I felt the negative energy pulse toward us, heavy footsteps announcing the arrival of someone I didn’t want to see.
“Keep them closed,” Ilyan instructed as he moved his head, hoping to mimic the look of an intimate kiss against my neck. I screwed my face up into what I hoped was a pleasurable expression as the negative power hit its peak. Ilyan intertwined his fingers with mine and pushed against me harder, the ridge of the wall pushing into my bare back.
Ilyan didn’t wait for whoever had passed us to get very far before pulling me beside him and leading me into the large hall.
I stopped in place. The main ballroom had been transformed into a night club. I no longer felt out of place with my hair and clothing. Flashing lights flickered and vibrated to the beat of the music, lighting the mosh pit as everyone moved together in some odd semblance of a dance.
I didn’t have time to linger as Ilyan pulled me into the crowd, a hundred other bodies instantly pushing against us. He moved us deep into the writhing mass, enclosing us within it. The lights flashed and pulsed as the crowd danced and moved against everyone around them.
Ilyan pulled me into him, his hands fanning out on the bare skin of my back as he moved me against him in a seductive dance. I fought the urge to shy away from him. I cursed my clothes; he wasn’t the only person who would be acquainting themselves with my body tonight. I felt sick.
“Remember to play the part, Silnỳ. Rich, powerful. And don’t touch him unless you know it’s him. I don’t need Edmund to be able to trace you.” I nodded as he whispered in my ear, his hand moving up to cup my cheek for just a moment. “I’ll be close by.” He looked into me, his finger running the length of my jaw bone.
I looked up and screwed my jaw in defiance, my eyes opening in a seductive powerful way that I hoped fit the look Wyn had given me. I popped my hip and squared my chest, trying desperately to mimic the ridiculous movements I had seen Cynthia McFadden do every day of my life. Ilyan nodded once in approval before turning from me, leaving me alone in the crowd.
I couldn’t let my nerves get to me. I kept my jaw tight, my other facial features soft and wide as I began to move through the crowd. I was passed from person to person as I made my way through the throng of tightly packed people. I mimicked the sensual daces as I moved against the bodies that pressed against mine in ways that made me blush. I never wanted to be in a place like this again. I was here for Ryland, and that was enough.
A hundred faces blurred together as they danced, each one with hooded lids and open mouths in some drugged-out ecstasy. I danced through bodies so carefully entangled I could never be sure exactly what they were doing. I skirted around couples who had fallen to the floor in a blissful madness that I never wanted to see again. I moved through them, hoping my alert face and body didn’t give me away.
I had almost reached the edge of the wall of people when someone grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into them. My face fell out of place in fear as I whipped around, expecting some attacker. Instead, I looked into the face of Ryland’s friend, Tyler. He held me tightly to him as he looked down in pompous ignorance. His face looked like all the others: glossed over and void of all normal expression. I moved with him for a minute, trying to plan my escape when he leaned down to nibble on my ear. I jumped back in repulsion, remembering all too well what Ryland had told me about private school boys.
“What?” Tyler yelled over the crowd. “Too dirty for you?” He placed his hands on my hips and moved me back to him. I screwed my face back into position and pulled his shirt to bring him to eye level.
“You have no idea.” I let one eyebrow rise in what I hoped was an alluring way. “Get me a drink?” I asked and wound my arm through his, letting him lead me the rest of the way through the crowd.
I didn’t feel comfortable attaching myself to one person, but if I was lucky, he would lead me right to Ryland. I tried desperately to focus on my character and not let my nerves sneak through to give me away.
I gave him a small smile as he thrust a drink into my hands. I could smell the alcohol before it even made it to my lips. Of course there would be heavy drinking; it made sense given the state that everyone was in. I lowered the glass and set it on the table next to us, I didn’t need any distractions.
The raw magical energy that had been boiling under my skin shifted. I checked to see if the barrier was still firmly in place. Being this close to the energies that controlled me was sure doing weird things to my body.
“You okay, little bunny?” Tyler asked in my ear. My irregular magic had caused my cover to slip. I put the face back on as I leaned into Tyler in a poor imitation of what Ilyan had done to me, but I failed miserably.
“You wanna get out of here?” he asked. I cringed—wrong direction.
“Let’s dance,” I yelled and dragged him back toward the mosh pit. Luckily, Tyler didn’t seem to object to my mixed signals; he must have been beyond drunk.
I led him deeper into the horde of people again, my body dancing to the thumping music. He danced behind me blindly, his free hand trailing over the bare skin on my back as we walked; I fought the urge to cringe against his touch.
We weren’t going the direction I needed to go, but now I was faced with the bigger problem of getting rid of him. My big idea had backfired.
I had only moved a few steps when my magic shifted again, this time taking the constrictive blanket with it. My magic reacted hastily to the unexpected freedom, and it took all my strength to keep it inside. Ovailia was right. I was in trouble. I was running out of time. My magic lurched again, still shifting in the same direction. I took a chance and followed the pull. The music continued to thump through me as I danced with Tyler, moving us through the crowd, grateful he was drunk enough to be led along on my little game.
My magic surged even stronger as we reached the edge of the crowd, this time near the DJ table. Tyler grabbed me and pulled me toward him into a position I was not comfortable with. I pushed him away and began to dance on my own, hoping that the alcohol surging through his system wouldn’t make him too possessive.
It did.
He came up behind me, grabbing me roughly as his hands snaked around my waist, lifting the front of my shirt. I jerked away from him, only to be pulled back against him aggressively. I could feel his fingers like claws against my back. Tyler attempted to get me to dance with him for a minute, but his fingers were starting to hurt me, and I fought him, pushing him away from me.
“Come on, baby!” he yelled, coming up to me again. “Don’t fight the power.” He smiled greasily and grabbed my forearm tightly.
I cried out in pain as I tried to fight him, but his hold on me only increased. “Let me go!”
“No, baby, not until you give me what I came for.”
I gasped as he yanked my arm, pain shooting through my shoulder.
“You’re hurting me!” I pleaded as I looked around me in a panic now, desperately searching for Ilyan or someone willing to help me.
“Come on, I know you like it like that.”
“Not with you. Now, let me go!” I yelled as I caught sight of Ilyan breaking his way through the crowd, his jaw tight in anger.
“What? You here to catch little, rich boy? He’ll just murder you like he did his other little bunny.” His fingers dug into me as he shook me, his words cutting deeply. I looked toward Ilyan; my heart plummeted to see him dancing again, staring dangerously at something behind me.
I turned myself roughly against Tyler’s grip to see what Ilyan was staring daggers at. I guess my plight hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. Ryland was striding toward me, his face screwed up in a more furious anger than I had ever seen.
Even with the anger in his beautiful blue eyes, his look made me feel like I was like coming home again. My body grew extraordinarily warm. I felt like I could fly away right then. I kept my energy and my desperate need to be with him under control, but just barely. My heart beat even faster as his blue eyes met mine. I could have run to him, if it hadn’t been for the vice grip around my arm.
“You can have him,” Tyler spat, his free hand punching me aggressively across the face.
I fell to the ground just as Edmund’s restraints flew off me in a torrent. I screamed out against the pain, clutching my head in an attempt to keep the overwhelming power of my magic restrained under my skin. The pain in my cheek, the rumbling headache from the impact with Tyler’s fist, were all but forgotten as I screamed out, my voice ricocheting off the smooth floor.