The Dark Side #1

Chapter ~ 5 ~

I eventually leave the room and take a wonder around, introducing myself as Aurora Devonshire; Rhazien’s niece. After excusing myself multiple times, I make my way to the centre of the room, where couples are dancing to the piano together, twisting, stepping and twirling. I gaze longingly out at them, then crease my eyebrows together with a small smile playing on my thin lips.

Why can’t I dance too? I think to myself. And if I’ve got no one to dance with, why don’t I dance by myself?

So I move to a place in the room where I have a lot of space, but also where not many people would be watching me, and I lift my arms as if I’m holding someone with me. And I begin to step around in my flats, making it easier for me to dance.

Moving around the small space with a grace that feels wrong on me, I suddenly know why people love to dance. It’s making me feel free, and as if there is no one in this room but me and him. I can feel one of his hands in mine and the other on my waist as mine settle where they’re supposed to be, and as he glides, I glide with him. When he moves, I move, and as he twirls me, I spin graciously and come back to him, just as something goes wrong.

I falter, looking around as I see no one standing before me. With a disappointment that is heavy, I realise that I was alone and still am, so I turn to move away from the memory.

Which is when I see him.

His straight, blood-red hair is settled on his head in spikes to stand out against his albino-white skin. Wearing a white waistcoat over a black long-sleeved dress shirt beneath, he looks rather handsome with his sharp cheekbones and thin lips pursed together. He looks to be seventeen, but it seems he has not been for very long. But what really sets me frozen is the colour of his eyes; a bright, blood red colour as radiant as his hair. This also alerts me of what he is.

A demon.

It’s quite normal for demon’s to roam the cities, but they never travel in pairs. If you find one, you will not find another for a few miles at a time. It is rare, but it is entirely possible.

And as I see him, his eyes flicker in my direction and catch onto mine, causing them to narrow for a moment. And then my eyes flash; I can feel my mark pulsating on my face for a mere second before it goes back to normal. But I can tell that the colour in my eyes has disappeared, which cannot be good. They’ll think I’m a demon at the very least, but no demon bears the mark of a Warlock. Which can mean only one thing.

Cursing myself, I break eye contact with the young man and move for the staircase that Rhazien and Dethro moved up to retrieve something for mine and Kai’s journey. I lift my dress up as best as I can and take the steps three at a time, coming to the top in a matter of seconds. I move down the long corridor of the second floor of the building and drop my gaze low so no one will pay me any unwanted attention.

I reach the end of the corridor and spot Rhazien and Dethro standing in a large room full of drawers, cabinets and cupboards. There is a single blue gem in Dethro’s hands, but as I stumble in, Rhazien instantly sees the problem and takes the gem from Dethro, thanking him before he takes my arm and leads me out the room and down the stairs. The plan? Get me outside to a carriage unnoticed so I can return home before something bad happens.

But things don’t go to plan.

A werewolf in his mid-forties comes stumbling out of a doorway, and he’s definitely drunk. Carrying a bottle of what seems to be alcohol in his hands, he trips when he comes through the crowd in my direction and the liquid spills out of the bottle and towards me. I turn to stop it from getting in my face, but as I crouch lower, the smallest splash of the liquid comes stray and hits my hair. But even though it’s the littlest amount, it’s enough to ruin the whole image; the black is now all fading into the original electric blue colour of my natural hair, and people are beginning to notice. Eyes stretching wide, I take a step back and reach up to my hair, grabbing the clips that are holding it in place. And as I pull them away, my blue hair falls in curls over both my shoulders, sending gasps around the whole ballroom. The music has stopped, and all eyes are on me.