Page 17

SIXTEEN

“Do you just stare at a bed covered in dried blood in a dark room?”

I don’t need to turn around to know it’s Draco. I can feel the warmth of his voice tickle the back of my neck.

“Do you always follow girls into haunted houses to get them alone in the dark?”

He chuckles darkly. “Not my thing, but for you, I’ll make an exception.”

I turn around, and he is dressed in black. He has no shirt underneath a black cape. He is wearing a white mask with an upside-down cross, but this time he isn’t wearing a top hat.

“Is this where you work? At the carnival, dressed like someone’s nightmare?”

He tilts his head to the side. “Maybe.”

“So this is where I can find you?”

He steps closer, towering over me. “Were you looking for me?”

I step back, the back of my legs causing me to lose my balance and sit on the bed. I prop myself up on my elbows, ignoring the fake blood, dirt, and who knows what else covering the surface.

“I think it’s only fair that I know where you work since you know where I work.”

“Are you planning on visiting me often?”

“No,” I say truthfully. “I don’t chase customers that watch me dance. Do you?”

He steps between my legs, leans over me, causing me to lay flat on the bed, and places his elbows beside my head.A shiver runs through me. I can’t see his eyes, but I can feel the heat from his gaze slow and deliberate over my body.

“What were you thinking about?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I lie.

What would he do if he knew the truth? But for some reason, I know nothing scares this man.

“You were staring at the bed for a good five minutes.” He sounds amused and annoyed at the same time.

“I got lost.”

He rubs the side of his mask over my cheek. “You don’t appear to be the type who gets lost.”

He is so confident, and it scares the shit out of me.

“Is it because you think I fuck and take my clothes off for money?”

“Is that what you do?” he chuckles.

I am tempted to tell him to stop chuckling, but I am captivated by the deep tone of his voice. The way it caresses my skin.

“Why should I tell you?” I say softly, staring at the ripped muscles on his chest. “You’ve made up your mind about me.”

“And what is that exactly?” There is a connotation in his tone that I don’t understand.

“You don’t like me,” I press.I want him to admit how he feels about me.

“Is that what you think? Would you let me show you?”

My mind fills with images of him touching me like he’s done it before, but that’s crazy. I don’t know him. All I know is that his name is Draco, and he supposedly works at the haunted carnival as an actor dressed in a costume that takes his character seriously.

Whatever this is, it’s all an act. Rational me tells me not to fall for it, but crazy me likes it. He makes me feel alive.

“I’m waiting,” he says impatiently for me to answer.

“Show me then,” I urge. “But someone could come in.” I remind him. Deep down, I know that he wouldn’t care if someone did.

He chuckles ominously. “The ride is closed.”

My stomach sinks. “What?”

“Don’t worry. This won’t take long,” he assures me, but I’m shaking inside, trying not to let him see how he affects me. My legs are spread in invitation. I have made no move to push him off.”Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you unless you want me to.”

“What if I scream?” I ask, trying to see how safe I really am.

“You can. They’ll think you’re just another person who got scared.”

“But I thought the ride was closed?”

“The whole park is filled with screams, Athena. Which scream is real and which is fake would be difficult to tell apart.”

“Do you know the difference?” I ask.

He leans close, pressing his masked lips over mine, feeling his warm breath behind the plastic opening against my lips. “Always.”

His hand slides slowly over my thigh, dragging his fingers over the net of my tights. “Do you like it when I touch you like this?” he asks, his breathing going hard under the mask.

“Depends, is this a game?”

“It’s just a ride.” His hands squeeze my thighs with want.

I gasp when the leotard pulls on my swollen clit.

“Are you wet for me, Athena? Do you think of me when you play with your pussy in the shower?” The mask skims the shell of my ear, and then he says, “In the motel.”

Oh, fuck. My legs tremble. It was him on the stairs that first night.

“Do you ever think of me when you fuck them?” I ask.

He knows I mean the redhead and the other girl with white hair. There is no way he isn’t. A man like him has needs. Dark ones.

“Not after I saw you dance?”

He has to be lying, feeding me bullshit so I can cave.

“Did you like the way I danced, Draco?”

“Immensely. That’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. You on my pole.”

“Then why didn’t you let me dance for you?”

“You don’t want to know.” His thumb grazes my clit over my leotard.

“Try me?” My voice breaks on the last word, heavy with implication.

His thumb presses hard. I can feel my clit pulse underneath his thumb. I grind my hips and arch my back like my body has a mind of its own, like it’s done this before. A sliver of light drapes over his body. He pulls the mask up, and I meet obsidian eyes. God, he’s beautiful. He has a sheen of sweat on his skin, and he smells delicious, like he came fresh from a shower. His scent is both clean and exotic.

“I’m not gentle, Athena.”

“I never asked you to be, Draco.”

He smiles, as if he expected me to say that. He pulls the leotard and tights to the side, exposing my pussy. I’m wet, and I make a mess on his fingers. His head dips, and I arch my back. He presses his face against my pussy and feel the moment when he inhales.

“Fuck,” I moan.

He hums in approval. I have never had a man smell me before.

“Please.” I mewl, gripping his strong forearms and holding my thighs open.

I want to ride his face, aching to come. I’ve seen how it’s done when one of the girls takes a guy to the back before they leave out the back door of the club.

He’s almost about to. Almost.

But pulls away, flipping me over so that I’m on all fours. My shorts ride up my ass. He pulls my leotard again and rips the tights, pushing them to the side, hearing them tear, not giving a fuck. My arms and legs shake.

“So pretty,” he praises. “I can’t wait until you let me have you, Athena.”

“Please,” I beg, needing to come.

“I love it when you beg.” He presses his face to my pussy from behind, then slides his tongue to my ass.

He flips us around, his back on the bed underneath me. He presses his face against my pussy.

“Sit on my face.”

“What?”

I’ve never…

“Sit on my face,” he demands.

I sit on his face hoping he can breathe. His fingers spread my wet cunt. My arms tremble, keeping me from falling flat on the bed. He sucks my cunt fucking me vigorously with his tongue.

“Draco,” I scream his name, about to come. But he stops, and I want to cry from the pleasure of his torture.

“Give me this pussy,” he demands in a stern tone.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Your pussy—I want it.”

I laugh like he’s crazy. “You’re eating it.”

“You know exactly what I mean,” he barks.

What will you do for it?” I rub my pussy on his lips.

He licks it. “Anything.”

“That’s not good enough.”

Anything can be many things.

I pull away, standing up and adjusting my clothes as he sits up. He makes no attempt to wipe his face. My phone vibrates in my front pocket. It’s either Rose or Rachel, because no one else has my number.

“I have to go. My friends are looking for me.”

He abruptly stands up, and his sudden absence of warmth leaves me feeling cold. Without a word, he walks out of the room, guiding me to the exit like nothing happened.

I want to ask him when I will see him again or where I can find him but when I turn around after walking out of the house, he’s gone.

“Where were you?” Rose asks in a shaky voice behind me. “You disappeared for nearly an hour. I was worried something happened. I kept texting you.”

Shit. I didn’t check my phone. I turn around. “I’m fine,” I assure her. “I lost my way, but one of the actors assisted me.”

“So you don’t get lost in a maze of mirrors, but in a haunted house you do,” she points out playfully.

“Yeah,” I lie. I’m not sure what she would think if I told her what happened with Draco or if she even knew who the hell I was talking about.

We pass the section where there are booths lined with games. Distorted shadows dance on the pavement by the flickering lights. The air is thick with the smell of fair food as we pass the signs promising prizes if you win. We stop at a game where there are glass bottles and stuffed animals from classic horror films.

“You want to try for a Freddy Krueger?” Rose asks, pointing at the stuffed animals.

“Where would I put it?”

“You could sleep with it on your bed.” She offers.

I snort. “That would be weird, but I like it.”

We step up to the booth with large stuffed animals, figurines, and costume props from 80s slasher flicks.

A carny dressed like a zombie with guts hanging from his neck walks up. He pauses and presses his finger against the microphone in his ear. He listens to whoever is talking to him and then places the payment tablet on a table behind him.

“Pick whatever you like,” the carny says, his voice scratchy like sandpaper.

“How do we win and how much?” I ask, eyeing the glass bottles.

He looks between me and Rose with hollow-knowing eyes. “You don’t have to play. You can both pick whatever you want. It’s on the house.”

Scanning all the selections, I find it hard to believe we can choose anything we want for free. A wave of butterflies creating havoc in my stomach takes flight, but I shake it off. It’s a coincidence. There is no way Draco has anything to do with this. The car is being nice. There aren’t many fairgoers this far back in the park. I see the rusted rings you need to throw over the murky bottles. There was no way I would have made it.

I glance at Rose and see she is still contemplating what to get, so I go first. “That one,” I say, pointing at a stuffed doll with white, blond hair and black eyes.

The carny’s grin widens. “Good choice.” He turns around, walks to the back, and hands me a porcelain figurine that is very different from the stuffed one I chose on the shelf with cracks on her face and red lips.

I examine the doll and caress her lips with the pad of my finger.

“A creepy doll,” Rose says, her eyes lighting with amusement.

“I think she’s gorgeous,” I say, holding her up to the light to get a better look at her.

“She’ll keep you company,” Carny says, giving me a wink. He turns to Rose. “Now it’s your turn.”

Rose looks over his head and points. “That one.”

It’s a doll similar to mine, but she has dark hair tied in pigtails.

“Twins, I see,” Carny says, walking back and handing her another porcelain doll. “Here,” he hands it to her. “These are special. They like to have sleepovers.” Then he laughs at his own joke.

We thank him awkwardly and walk away.

“Wierdo,” Rose mutters.

“Who cares? we got free dolls,” I point out in excitement. It’s been so long since I had a doll or a toy.

“I think the doll should be afraid.”

“How come?” I ask her, hoping she hasn’t figured out who I really am.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. You have this look about you.”

“What kind?”

“The kind that would fuck that doll up if she so much as blinks and comes alive,” she teases.

I burst out laughing. She isn’t wrong.

There is a sign up front that reads “Exit This Way.” Exit This Way. When she checks the time, Rose looks at me with a forlorn expression. “I gotta go. Curfew at the dorm.”

These were the times. I wish I had an apartment where I could tell her to crash and not worry about it, but unfortunately, I don’t. I can’t tell her to crash at the shitty motel room and tell her to sleep in the same bed. It’s bad enough there are weirdos hanging around, and I quickly squash the idea.

“No worries. I’ll see you tomorrow at the club?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”.

“Thanks for coming, Rose,” I call out when she walks away.

She turns around, walking backward with a smile, and blows me a kiss.

I catch it. “Be careful,” I call out.

“You too,” she calls back, walking through the fog.

I turn around and spot a fortune teller tent that reads Madame Fate. It stands out from all the booths and food stands. There’s a dimly lit, low-hanging lantern. The scent of incense reaches my nose as I walk up. The scent is both sweet and metallic.

The noise from the carnival fades in the background as I walk inside like it’s beckoning. The air shifts and becomes more potent, like the world behind me seems to vanish, leaving a table, a crystal ball, and a deck of cards near a hand belonging to a woman with curly, long black hair.

“Welcome,” the woman says in a syrupy accented voice. “My name is Madame Sable. Would you like to know your fate?”

“Hi, my name is Athena.”

She waves her hand. “Have a seat. I’ve been waiting for you, Athena.”

I smile at her attempt to stay within her character. I’m sure she says that to everyone that comes inside.

“Of course you have. I’m sure you say that to all the guests,” I tell her truthfully.

She begins to shuffle the deck of cards and says, “Um, no… just you.”

As I gaze into the crystal ball, a little girl’s voice suddenly whispers, “Mommy.”

My head snaps up, and I look around but don’t see a child.

She stops shuffling. “You heard her,” she says, narrowing her eyes like she’s trying to read me.

“I-I don’t…” I place my hand over my throat.

“It will come in time.” She picks up the deck of black cards and continues shuffling.

I lift my hair and place it over my shoulder, taking a seat in front of the table facing her.”How much?” I ask when she stops shuffling and cuts the deck in two.

“It’s on the house.”

I raise a brow. “You do free readings?”

“No, just for you.”

“But you don’t know me.”

She sighs, gently tapping a long black nail on each pile. “Pick a side, Athena. Light or dark. Dark or light.”

“Which one is which?” She leans forward. “If we knew which side is which, we would be better prepared.”

“Prepared for what?” I ask curiously.

She must be crazy or messing with me. Her fingers glide over the crystal ball as she waits for me to choose which deck. I look at the crystal. Shapes and shadows start to emerge, resembling a slide show of my life. My mother, Chris, the psych ward, the white door with one window, a glimpse of what he did, and finally, what I did.

I lean back. “That can’t be possible,” I whisper, staring at the crystal.

“Everything is possible,” she says softly, her eyes locking with mine, making my heart race. “You seek answers. You want to find your purpose in this life. When you’re ready to ask about your situation, pick a side.”

Her words hang in the air. The noise from the carnival breaks the suffocating silence. She’s right; I want to know. I know what I saw in that crystal, and it wasn’t an illusion caused by the light. Whatever she is going to tell me isn’t bullshit.

She leans back with a knowing grin. I glance at the two decks, my finger hovering, and select the right one. She flips the cards, picks five from the deck, and places them on the table in a five-card spread in the form of a cross.

She flips the first one over, the devil’s card upside down. She says, “Don’t be alarmed,” her voice low and resonant like a distant bell. “When it’s upright, we have to worry.”

“What does it mean?” “What does it mean?” I ask, the worry leaving my lungs.

“The first card is the past influencing the present. The balance. You need to find balance in your life, but don’t worry. The cycle is about to begin. It’s getting stronger.”

“What cycle?” I ask, hoping whatever she is going to tell me makes sense.

“Your past life’s karma influences this life. What you did before affects what you are now. It’s how you pay your karmic debt.”

“How would I know what that debt is?”

She nods. “Be careful of your path because it can lead you into darkness.” She flips another card. The fool stands upright. “This means a new beginning. Innocence. You need to have faith and believe. And… you’re lucky...”

I snort. “In what? I haven’t been very lucky in life.”

“Oh, you’re lucky. Everything that has happened to you has a purpose. It’s what led you here.” She smiles and flips another card. The lover’s card is upright.

“What does that mean? I’m going to fall deeply in love,” I joke.

Her expression becomes serious. The crystal ball darkens, but it must be a trick of the light. “You’ve been in love for many years, Athena. Before your time and in many lives before this one.”

“That’s not possible,” I say, bewildered. No one here loves me or could ever love me.

“It’s right here. In this position, the lover’s card says quite the opposite. Death cannot break the ancient sacrifice you made in a past life, nor the promise to return and find each other again in this life. For all eternity. The payment… is to kill the unjust and send the souls to the damned.” I shake my head. There is no way what she says is true.

“When the cycle begins, you take the form of your true self,” she says, tapping the devil’s card. “What you did in the past altered fate,” she continues, “but you were innocent, and what you did was right.” She taps the fool’s card and hums softly. “As for love, he’s been waiting for you, Athena. It’s up to you to continue the cycle, or all is lost.”

“What is lost?”

“Your true self and everyone that is part of it. Including trying to save the innocent souls, like the little girl you heard when you sat in that chair. The longer you spend with him, the more it will resonate. The visions will be stronger for you both, but he has to believe. He’s stubborn, but that is nothing you can’t handle.” She snickers like she knows something I don’t.

“Who is he?”

“The man of your dreams. The man who makes the fire between your thighs blaze in fury.” She flips another card, and the high priestess is upright and looks up. “Trust your instinct. This is not the time to question what you feel inside. Whatever it is, act on it. As crazy as it sounds, follow your gut. Don’t worry about where he is or when you’ll see him again. He will come for you, Athena. He will save you the same way you saved him.”

“Who are you talking about?” I ask, already knowing exactly who she’s talking about.

She looks at the dark crystal and then at me. “The Lord of Fire. You’re his one true love. He will burn heaven. He will burn earth and every fucking being in it to save you. That’s who he is, and God help anyone that gets in his way when it comes to you.”

Draco.

“Have I met him?” I ask to see if she is as good as she seems.

“I see you have, but you doubt my words because you doubt the truth. And, like I said, he’s stubborn. There’s more,” she continues, flipping the next card to reveal the ace of cups. A new love that you haven’t experienced in this life but remember from all the others you have shared together will create an unbreakable bond.”

“But you said I have loved before in a past life.”

“Good, you were paying attention. In this life, you’re different. You are a different human being, and in order for him to recognize your soul and initiate the cycle, you must fall in love once more. The way you dance, make love, kiss, and the relationships with others around you are new and different. They all must go through the same thing. The same process.”

“There are others? Like reincarnation?” I ask, wanting to know if they exist and believe the same bullshit she is spilling to me.

“Oh, yes. You’re not the only one who came back, but I can’t tell you more until everything starts to fall into place. Until the cycle begins to take shape.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“You’ll die and come back until it does,” she says simply.”And it will be harder. More painful.”

The crystal shifts from dark to clear. I get up to leave, and she shuffles the cards. “One more thing,” she says before I turn to leave.

“Yes?”

“Two things. The woman—your little friend.”

“Rose,” I tell her, knowing it’s her she is referring to.

“Take care of her. You loved her, you know. She’s part of the circle, but her cycle won’t start until you do what’s needed, or she’ll be lost.”

For some reason, I believe that. “And the second?”

“There are others that interfere. Other women and men who will do anything to get between you and what you’ve had for centuries. The bond. The love. They want what you have. What your friend Rose can have. She faces the same risks as you do.

“And the rest? The evil souls I have to get rid of, or whatever?”

She laughs. “Oh, sweetie, he’s already begun. What you did in the past in this life is a sign for him, but don’t rush things.” She winks. “Let him sweat.”