The Girl who hunted Night

Chapter 13

Murderous red eyes glared through the glass at me, and my instincts screamed to close the curtain, pretend I had not seen, but I ignored them and opened the window. I said nothing, leaning against the window frame, knowing as long as I was inside, I was safe. 

"Good evening" I said.

He growled, "where is Lucas, Beatrice" 

"Miss Everlyn" I corrected.

"Enough with the formalities! Tell me, or people you love will start dying"
I laughed, and his expression darkened, "My family are well protected"

"You forget I can get into Rowhurst" he added.

I shrugged, "I have no friends to speak of" 

"Not even Miss Fairfax" he said slyly. 

Blind fury overcame me, "Stay away from Caroline!" I snarled. Despite all that had transpired, I still counted her as a friend, and would not see her harmed. 

"Then give me back Lucas" he said.

"You can have him back" I said dismissevely, smiling as he looked taken aback, "Once i'm done with him" I added.

"What do you want from Lucas?" he said.

"That is for me to know" I told him.

"He won't tell you anything" Felix said.

"Well then, I guess I will be sending a jar of his ashes"

"I will burn Rowhurst to the ground" he vowed.

I met his gaze head on, "You would not, you haven't done it already, meaning you have some other purpose for it"

He shook his head in disbelief, "Perhaps, but do not make the mistake of underestimating me"
"I could kill you where you stand" I told him. 

"Come outside and say that" he spat, then laughed when I did not move. He close to the window, his face inches from mine, seperated only by the invisible barrier that stopped him entering. "I will kill you" I said.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Beatrice" he said, before disappearing like a shadow into the night. 

I shivered, not from the cold, before slamming the window shut. The fragile panes trembled and quaked, and the curtains swung as I drew them closed. "Good night, Felix" I spat, a satisfied smile playing on my lips, it was silly, but that simple defiance brought me pleasure. 

I sank back into the bed and let sleep envelop me, and turned my mind away from vampires and death and magic, to more peaceful thoughts. 

****

The next night was the night of Lord Greyson's ball. It was a grand affair, one of the highlights of the season I was told. I spent the majority of the afternoon getting ready, my hair curled and left down, only the front gathered at the back leaving my face clear. My lips were painted red, too match my crimson dress. 

It was made from silk, and supported by several underskirts. The corset was tighted tight, to the point I was barely able to breathe. It left my shoulders and arms bare, showing a fair amount of my chest, and on the bodice where intricate patterns of gold.

What made the ball so exciting was that it was a masked ball; Lady Greyson came up with the idea, in order to make it more 'exciting'. 

My mask matched my dress, it was black, and lined with crimson and swirling patterns of gold covered it. The irony of the colouring was not lost on me, it made me look supernatural, almost vampiric. The crimson showed the paleness of my skin, though it lacked the tinge of silver that vampire skin had, mine was as pale as the moon.