Wakefield Manor

For as long as she can remember, Dani has been haunted by visions of a faceless woman with red hair. She stalks her sanity like a phantom shadow, lingering just out of reach in the corners of her mind and on the edges of her dreams. There are three truths that Dani knows about this mystery woman: she wears a crescent ring, she always appears on Halloween night, and she is beautiful.

So when she receives an intriguing party invitation bearing a familiar sigil from an unknown source, she is lured into attending by her unbidden curiosity and at the encouragement of her overly-zealous best friend, Rose. But chasing ghosts might not be as exciting as it sounds, and the moment they enter Wakefield Manor it quickly becomes clear that something is wrong. The air feels thick with unearthly energy, and it doesn't take Dani long to realize that they are no longer in Trinity Valley and not all of the manor's guests are as human as they appear.

And, despite the hungry eyes that seem to watch them from every shadowy corner, there is one masked individual at the Black Moon Masquerade Ball who has taken a dangerous interest in Dani. A mysterious hostess with familiar red hair and the promise of death in her eyes. But a ghost can't hurt you . . . can they?

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This is a one-shot written for the #HalloweenVault2022 contest! Characters are inspired from my novel Soulbound, however this short story is unrelated.

Word count: 4,987