Page 10 of Ballad of Nightmares

His accent wasn’t of Shadowmyer. It reminded her more of the men she’d met in Ironmyer. It made her wonder if he, like her, was a transplant in this town.

She sank against the iron bars, mirroring him as she took another sip of her drink. “I am,” she replied. She took in the people dancing and circling the fire. A mystical swarm of laughing bodies, all dressed up with face paints.

“You’re new here,” he said.

“What gave it away?” she asked, amusement in her voice.

His brow raised as he looked her over again. “I think everyone here is wondering what part of the last existence you rolled out of,” he said.

“The darkest trenches imaginable,” she answered. “The climb was exhausting. I think I’ll take a break here.”

The man smiled. “My name is Jay,” he told her. “Jay Rosen. And you?”

“Ana,” she replied. “Ana Smith.”

Yes. Ana would do nicely here. She’d been Diana, Nita, Diane, and Ella in previous courts. But she’d always saved Ana for this one. She wasn’t sure why… maybe because it was her favorite and the name some of the witches had called her in Icemyer.

“Well, Ms. Smith—” Jay pushed off the iron bars and strode toward her, “—If you find yourself in need of company, a job, or anything else, I own Rosen’s Art Gallery on First. You should drop by.”

“And why would I take you up on that?” she asked.

“Because, like you, I’ve also made that climb, and I know how hard it is to start over,” he replied. “Come by the gallery. We’ll have lunch. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” his gaze darted out to a group of people lounging beneath one of the great oak trees in the park, “—I think I’ll find a demon to play with the rest of the night.”

He gave her a quick wink, and Ana followed his stare. “Demon?” she repeated.

“The only sort of person you want to spend Death’s Day with, love,” he said, walking backward away from her. “See you soon, Ms. Smith.”

Ana watched him cross the street and be welcomed into the circle of beings with great enthusiasm. One man who was standing gave Jay a quick handshake, and Ana realized it was the beautiful stranger from the bar.

She caught his eye as Jay took a seat on the ground, unable to look away from her Stalker’s mesmerizing stare. She was trapped in his dark abyss, and for a moment, she didn’t mind its constriction. But another man shook her Stalker’s shoulder then, breaking him out of his daze with her. Ana resisted a full smile and took another sip of her drink as she pushed off the fence, and she met his eyes once more before turning to continue walking down the sidewalk.

With every step, she felt eyes on her. But she cradled that drink to her chest and smiled at the people that passed by in celebration. A couple more men gestured to try and get her to twirl with them, which she did with enthusiasm, and every time she spun, she noticed her Stalker watching her.

Although, after a few minutes of lingering in the dance and then grabbing another drink, she seemed to lose him.

She stepped back out near the bonfire, intent on simply passing by and settling back in front of the castle, when two men came out of the circle and urged her to dance with them. Although she hadn’t really intended to spend her night doing so much, the thrill of the people around her was intoxicating, and she couldn’t help but give in.

Around and around they danced. People jumped in and out of the circle, some jumping so close to the fire that it licked at their skin, but they didn’t seem to care or mind being burned. They laughed it off with hearty bellows. She swore she thought a small amount of people were flickering between human form and some other creature, and with a few more times of seeing it, she started to think there was some sort of hallucinogen in the smoke.

Masks and face paints shifted in her vision. The noises pulled her deeper into her own mind. Every movement around her seemed to blur. Shadows poured between her and the next person she was trying to keep up with. A dizziness took over, but she remained upright even with the world spinning. Remained in sync with those around her. She was falling deeper and deeper into the umbra’s grasp. It tickled her skin and massaged her mind—

Though, with the next spin, her mind broke out of the spell.

She suddenly found herself yanked flush to a rigid body that made her breath catch.

Stalker.

Her heart stammered at the strength of him caging her against his chest. They stood steady a moment, his dark eyes pouring into hers, almost asking permission, and Ana dipped her chin just slightly.

One hand stayed wrapped around her waist, and he brought her other hand up to entwine with his. With that, he gracefully took the lead. Though, unlike the others that had spun her and had her laughing as they practically ran around the fire, her stalker slowed them to movements she hadn’t danced since the balls at Firemoor’s castle.

So Ana pushed her shoulders back and kept up.

Every push against him sank her further into a trance, and had it not been for the warmth of the fire near them, she would have forgotten the rest of the world. The hand on her back splayed wide, his fingers digging into her exposed flesh. And as she looked into his eyes, she felt her breaths slowing beneath his darkened stare.

“You’re late,” she declared.

He pushed her into a formal twirl, his vacant arm going behind his back as she spun beneath his hand, and he pulled her flush again. “Am I?” His rasp was a chill over her flesh, but she didn’t let him see just how he affected her.