Serpentine Desires

The prey

I exited the taxi, my heart pounding with excitement and nerves.

"Спасибо," I thanked the driver. But instead of a friendly response, he waved his hand dismissively before snatching the bills from my fingers like a seagull swooping down on a French fry. Rude much.

Shrugging off the coldness, both literal and figurative, I focused on the task at hand—$ 10,000. The deal was a potential game-changer.

I looked at the location Kyle sent me and frowned. This area seemed somewhat... isolated from the city, and chillingly shady in more ways than one. The address led me to a remote spot, with nothing but a single mansion standing in the middle of the land covered with snow.

A shiver ran down my spine as I neared, not just from the cold. There was an eerie stillness in the air, broken only by the distant howl of the wind. Goosebumps prickled my skin as an unexplainable sense of dread settled over me making me clutch the jacket tighter.

My eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before me. A large, white and gold glided, two-story mansion with a domed roof stood grandly amidst a vast, snow-covered park, adorned with countless trees that seemed to bow in reverence to the grandeur of the mansion. The park lay beneath a flawless quilt of snow.

Surrounding the palace were several other buildings, including a smaller, one-story structure with a distinctive red roof.

I couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and a shiver down my spine at the sight. Seriously, who in their right mind would pick a place like this to live? Was he trying to audition for a horror show or just really into extreme hide-and-seek?

Clutching onto my cross-body bag tighter, I dusted the snow off my jacket and walked towards the iron gates. Confusedly I looked around. There was no one at the gate. How do I enter?

"HELLO?!" I called out looking inside through the gaps between the rails. When no one came, I pulled out my phone and dialled Kyle's number. Jeez.

He picked it up after two rings. "I'm at the gate," I said in Russian.

He didn't even say anything and cut the call. I looked at the phone in confusion, my mouth open wide. Did he just... hang up? Did that mean...I was...rejected even before trying?

Nah, this couldn't be it. He just told me to come and meet, he wouldn't ghost me, right?

"Ms. Rosewood." A yelp escaped my lips as I jumped back. For hell's sake! Was he here all along?

My heart skipped a beat as I looked over my shoulder and saw the man standing behind me. His jet-black hair fell over the sides of his face, partially hidden behind the tilted umbrella. I sized him up with suspicious eyes, noting the black suit that covered him from head to toe, devoid of any other colour. A gold watch gleamed on his wrist, the same hand holding the umbrella, his fingers adorned with rings of skulls and thorns. I gulped, feeling a mix of unease and nervousness.

Another realisation hit me, he just called me by my name. He must be Kyle. 

"Oh, hi," I mumbled, taking a cautious step back as Kyle's piercing gaze bore into me. His umbrella tilted, revealing eyes as dark as coal, yet sharp as daggers.

"Kyle Molotov," he dusted off my doubts, his voice low and commanding, sending a chill down my spine. Oh...

Suppressing a shiver, I extended my hand with a nervous smile. "Seraphina..." I managed, my voice wavering slightly without my own control. 

His eyes flicked down to my hand and then back up to meet mine, but something was unsettling in his stare. "You're not Russian," he commented with a hint of disbelief. I swallowed hard, feeling a knot form in my stomach. My hold on the bag tightened.