The Ravenswynd Series - Boxed Set

by Sharon Ricklin Jones

  I stood there dumbfounded, feeling sorry for myself. I watched Melinda twirl by with the ugly clown. His head kept turning my way and I couldn’t tell what he was looking at. It could have been either me or the Count, who still leaned against the pillar.

  I thought about asking the Count to dance, more so to erase the feelings of utter depressing solitude than the actual desire to dance. But when I turned, I realized that he and Captain Red.... Amrita that was it, were in the middle of a conversation. They seemed to be arguing. Their discussion was in low tones but the words sounded sharp.

  “I do wish you would re-think your wardrobe, Amrita. I may be out of bounds now, but this new fad of yours is a bit much. The least you should do is to cover yourself – even more so when you are around the Newlings.” He put his hand on his chest.

  “You are out of bounds. The way I dress is not your concern. Perhaps you could better spend your time in other pursuits.” She sounded mildly agitated, but kept her composure in check. My eyes were drawn to the sparkly V of her dress, drawn down and back up; still amazed by the way it clung to her. At the top near her left breast, peeking out of the dress was a tattoo of a small black raven.

  “Elizabeth!” She startled me out of my gaze when she turned away from him without warning and focused on me. She touched my shoulder for a fleeting moment - another static shock. “You look simply lovely! Are you enjoying yourself dear?”

  “Sure.” I said, trying not to sound sarcastic. Although I was amazed she had such a good memory. I had told her my name hours ago, and my mask... I touched my face; I had kept it off after Fiona left me in the dust. A jasmine scented breeze blew by, and we both looked to the source; it was Lindy, now dancing with the Big Bad Wolf. How appropriate. And, for some strange reason I felt relieved she had discarded the clown.

  “Hey! Watch out Lindy - he’ll bite you if you’re not careful!” I laughed at my own joke, but Amrita showed no expression at all. “Oh, I’m sorry, was that out of line?” I asked, wondering if vampires had feelings at all like humans.

  “No, no, don’t worry your sweet little head off. It’s perfectly fine. We understand your ways are not our ways. We try not to judge.” She turned a sweet smile toward the Count, and as an afterthought said, “Say! Why don’t you two go have some fun?”

  She took my hand and then took the Count’s hand and placed them together. I wasn’t sure if the electrical current started with Amrita or not, but I felt an even stronger surge as his hand closed on mine. One minute she’s arguing with him, and the next she’s forcing him to dance - another weird one. I supposed it would be better than standing around like a wallflower or being accosted by ugly clowns, so I allowed him to lead me out to the floor. I was grateful it was a slow dance; that I could handle. As we glided around the room, my feet barely touched the ground. He seemed quite good at this even though his personality definitely lacked any pizazz. I looked up at his mask a few times, but he kept on looking around, ahead or behind – always searching for someone else. Now that I had my mask off, maybe he thought I was hideous. Certainly my makeup looked atrocious after melting in the plastic sauna.

  “My sister is right about one thing. You do look lovely,” he said softly.

  His compliment took me off guard and, even though he’d gotten rid of his fake accent, his whispering continued to annoy me. And what was this tingly sensation on my back and my right hand?

  “You seem a bit out of character now!” I said feeling snarky. “But thanks for the compliment. You were a little rude earlier.”

  “I am sorry. As I mentioned before, I do not care much for these parties. I would much prefer to choose my mate on my own. Some of our practices are quite outdated. For example, in your world, the two of us could just go upstairs and have our own private party. I believe we would have a smashing good time of it, and I...”

  I tensed up as he spoke, and when I jerked my head he stopped in his tracks. Not another player, please God! What made this guy think I’d just run right upstairs with him. And I had just started to think that maybe he wasn’t such a big jerk after all. So much for the phony compliment.

  “I am sorry. I spoke out of line. I did not mean to assume anything. I simply meant to give you an example of our differing societies.”

  His whispered apology sounded sincere and I relaxed again.

  Still gliding me across the floor, he glanced down for a moment and said, “Not only are you quite lovely to behold, I am astounded by your beauty. In all honesty, if I did have a choice, I would fancy someone like you.”

  “But because of the rules, you are not allowed to even suggest that, are you?”

  “I do grow tired of these rules and regulations we must abide by, and I often wish things could go back as they used to be - before the Ravens changed everything.”

  “You don’t mean to say that…like… when you used to… kill humans?” My words came out like a stuttering shiver and it traveled all though my body.

  “No,” he said stifling a chuckle. “I am referring to all the rules of the Gathering. The human must seek you out; they must ask to be turned. Everything is up to them. These rules and regulations tend to be so very trying and unchanging. We used to be able to tell the humans we had chosen them; there was less heartache that way. I believe our females had too much say in the matter once the feminine movement got under way in the early nineteen hundreds. It affected us as well as you humans. I have seen it enough to know: once was enough for me.”

  “So you’re saying your heart was broken?”

  “It was a long time ago.” He gave a slight nod as he explained, “She never knew I existed, but the feelings I felt were strong. I thought I had obeyed all the rules. I entered her world for a while and I watched her living her life. But when she came to the Gathering, she chose another. They live in Australia now.” He cleared his throat. “I was told it was not meant to be, that I had chosen the wrong girl. I should have gone to the prophetess first. This Gathering is my first in over fifty years.”

  “But you are over her now?” I asked, now thinking more about the prophetess.

  “By all means. I would not be able to love another otherwise.”

  It dawned on me then why he had seemed so preoccupied, “So you’ve found another?”

  “I have indeed.” His gravelly voice grated on my nerves.

  He glanced down at me for a moment, and then looked away, up over my head. I wished he would take off his mask so I could see what he looked like before he ran off with his “chosen mate.”

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “I go by many names, but until my mate chooses me, I must continue in this masquerade.” He breathed a heavy sigh.

  “This is really stupid, you know. How can anyone expect to find their perfect mate without even seeing them? I don’t see why all the secrecy has to be so...” I stopped myself and said, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t be dancing with you then. How can she find you, if I’m in the way?”

  “They say the two will be drawn to one another.” His flat tone made me think he didn’t believe it himself.

  “Well, then, it’s settled,” I said as I stopped dancing and glanced up at his synthetic face. “I need to get out of the way.” I certainly didn’t want to be the one to get in the way of his destiny.

  “As you wish.” His subdued whisper emitted a flicker of frustration, but the passive shrug said he wouldn’t argue. The minute he let go of my hand I felt waves of sadness.

  I turned away downcast, went to the closest table and jammed myself down into the chair. I didn’t care if my dress came up around my ears, I had to get off of my feet and I couldn’t take any more rejection. I never looked back to see which way the Count had gone, but he definitely had not followed me either.

  A waiter came and asked me if I was ready to be served, and that’s when I realized the hollowness in my stomach – partly hunger and partly frustration. Many others now sat around the tables eating. A few moments later, Fiona and Rufus
joined me and ordered their meals.

  As I waited for my food, feeling so much like a third wheel, I noticed that Rufus reminded me of the man in the boat. Larkin was blonde and clean-shaven, but I supposed they could be related.

  Within moments, platters of sizzling hot fillet mignon were brought out along with baked potatoes, salads and baskets of hot buttery bread. I looked at Fiona, half-expecting to see her scowling. She had already transferred her meat to Rufus’ plate and started eating her salad. I was reminded of the last time we had eaten lunch together, discussing this party. And here we were - she was right: the legends were real.

  I watched them for a while as they ate. With absolute giddiness they fed one another, held hands, giggled, and kissed repeatedly. I couldn’t decide what sickened me more; the lovebirds, or my overwhelming envy.

  I cut into my steak and took a taste; it melted in my mouth. It was grilled to perfection, juicy and rare, exactly the way I like it. I guessed they knew everything about us somehow. Right now I didn’t care. I just wanted to fill the empty place in my stomach, and I dug into my meal with abandon.

  I glanced up and saw Melinda at another table sitting between two men without masks. How weird. She giggled and laughed, obviously enjoying herself. So much for her not wanting to be here. I enjoyed the meal, but an ever-increasing sense of gloom started to creep up around me like ugly weeds. Unbelievable as it seemed, I was about to lose my best friend. And if my sister enjoyed herself too much, perhaps she’d change her mind as well. I began to wish I had never heard of the damn legends. I continued eating in silence.

  After scanning the entire football field of a room, I noticed only a few people still wore their masks. What die-hards. I chuckled to myself - some of them were already dead, more or less. Rohan, the clown man, sat at a table with one male and two females. I watched him as he took off his mask to eat. Thank God! As he set the mask down on the table beside his plate he turned his head toward me and gave me a slight nod. Not a bad looking guy without the disguise. He had a full head of wavy brown hair that came just past his shoulders, a thin mustache and trim goatee. Not bad at all, but not my type - as if I had a type. I was kidding myself again. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted in a guy. I sighed, and continued looking around the ballroom. My short-term gangster friend still had his mask on - he danced with Super Woman now. Hope it works out for them.

  My eyes wandered back to the Count. Why couldn’t he just tell me his name? I wouldn’t tell anyone. He cranked his head all around, still watching and waiting. I noticed that he seemed to keep a close watch on the clown man - Rohan, and every now and then Rohan looked up from his dinner and met the Count’s glance.

  When I finished eating, I thought about going to the ladies room to freshen up, though I had no idea how I would do this wearing such a huge dress. It seemed like the costume session should be coming to an end soon. Let’s get on with whatever is next. Shall we?

  Amrita stood at the front by the band, and the music stopped. She took the microphone and told us we were free to roam about the building, anywhere but the top two floors, and we could change back into our regular clothes if we desired to do so. She added that we should refer to our booklets for any questions we may have. I found it easier to ask questions than to read an instruction book.

  I stood up nearly pushing my chair down when one of the bows from my dress became tangled in the backrest. I yanked at the material, turned around, and made a beeline over to the Count without even thinking about it.

  “What’s next...Count? Will we be getting out of these costumes soon or what?”

  “I cannot, just yet. But feel free to use the dressing rooms at the top of the stairs. I shall remain here.”

  “Fine.” I took that as another rejection. What does it take to get some attention around here? I walked away, feeling dejected and full of self-pity. Maybe I’ll just find myself another vampire to flirt with then. I went upstairs and changed back into my blue dress which was much more comfortable. I used the ladies room, fixed my hair and makeup; now ready to get on with the rest of the evening. More than anything, I couldn’t wait to get back home. Tomorrow I could go meet Emrys at the pub. I had my fingers crossed hoping he’d be there, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

  Before I even made it to the top of the stairs, Rohan stopped me and asked me if I’d like to join him for a glass of wine. Without the hideous mask, he didn’t seem so bad, and I accepted. He led me to a smaller, more secluded room where a few couples looked to be quite comfortable, and we sat on a sofa and started to drink our wine. I could only assume that Rohan had not chosen anyone and only wanted to have a good time and maybe even a little human companionship, though not in the way most humans would expect at all. I wondered what it would feel like to have him chew on my neck. I imagined that the initial piercing would hurt somewhat. But what then, pain or pleasure? The only way I’d ever find out is to ask. I wasn’t sure how to word it. I didn’t want him to prematurely begin to draw my blood, still not completely positive if I wanted this life. I had to admit: all the vampires I had met so far were beautiful, polite, and gifted with grace. I felt my will power weaken as the temptation grew. Most likely the only thing that held me back would be my sister not wanting the same thing as I wanted – at least so far.

  “Rohan, tell me about what happens when a human is... turned.” I asked feeling anxious and shaky.

  He touched my hand, which sent a little charge through me. This reaction made me think something was wrong with me. Every time I came in contact with anyone lately, they gave me varying degrees of static shocks. Maybe the high wire tower near to our dorm had some strange effect on me. I had heard stories about that; even my heart rhythm seemed to be off kilter the past few days.

  “I can tell you from personal experience, Scarlett, I believe that you would love it.” His voice remained calm but his copper colored eyes bore into me with a fierce desire.

  At first thought, it was kind of cute how he still called me Scarlett even without my costume on - until I realized the look in his eyes could be more of a bloodlust.

  “It hurts only a little, at first bite, and then as your life force begins to leave you, there is only peace.” He made it sound so easy, but how much was he sugarcoating it to make it more appealing?

  I took a deep nervous breath and said, “I see.”

  “I assume your decision is still in deliberation then?” Licking his lips slowly while gazing at my neck; his eyes began to appear metallic. A sudden dreadful feeling came over me - a feeling of utter fear and repulsion at the same time.

  Heart pounding, I swallowed hard and said, “Yes, the jury is still out on this one.” Easing farther away from him; I geared up to flee - sensing his impatience with me at once. His hand brushed over my cheek sending unwelcomed gooseflesh down my spine, and then he swept my hair back - I assumed to get a better view.

  “You have a delectable looking neck, I must say.” He cocked his head to the side – fixated, as though he could see through to the pulsing artery, and he sniffed deeply. His eyes: now dark pools of molten lava.

  “Are you supposed to say these things to me?” His preoccupation with my neck made me even more nervous now.

  “I have not said anything you don’t already realize yourself. You are a beautiful woman, and I would be delighted if you chose me to turn you - that’s all. It is of course, entirely up to you.”

  He sounded condescending now. He ran his finger back and forth on my neck, and his vision focused on his tracing of it. I took a large sip of wine, brushing his hand aside.

  “I’m sorry Rohan; this is too intense for me right now. If and when I decide, you’ll be the first to know. I promise you.” I was extremely frightened of him, and I needed to leave before he tried something. I did not trust him one bit.

  “So, that’s how it’s going to be,” he said as he watched me get to my feet. His voice came at me like daggers, quiet but angry, and his narrowed eyes matched his tone.

 
; I was dizzy. I told him I needed to use the ladies room and as I started to turn to leave he grabbed my wrist with a painful grip.

  “Do make sure you return to me, Scarlett,” he commanded. “I know I can give you exactly what you need.” He glared into my eyes.

  Not only was I filled with sheer terror, but my anger grew even stronger with his unwelcomed touch. I wrenched my arm away without another word. I turned fast on my heel and didn’t look back. I left him sitting there in what had to be extreme fury, and possibly even agony. It had to take massive amounts of control for them; knowing that fresh, warm blood flowed within striking distance, so close and yet so far. I couldn’t help but think he didn’t care much for any of the rules. I rushed away, all the while hoping he wasn’t following me. I needed to get away from him right now - as fast as I could. God help me.

  CHAPTER 9

  LET ME COUNT THE WAYS

  I found my way back into the ballroom where the band still played, now soft music. The tables had been cleared – except for beautiful bouquets of flowers and an amazing-looking assortment of desserts. I wandered around slowly, trying to remain inconspicuous, but still wanting at least some company for the duration of this thing. I thought of Count Whatever his name was, and considered him. Insipid as he presented himself, his lack of interest in me and in the party made him an appealing and safe choice.

  I spotted Fiona and Rufus, now changed back into their street clothes, dancing and laughing, and carrying on like lovebirds. Rufus did have the same red hair as Fiona’s, though it was straight and just below his collar. He was fair skinned, with a narrow nose and short red goatee. The way he looked at Fiona made it easy to see he was already in love with her. How incredible! He chose her! And she had been waiting for this for so long, knowing exactly what tonight’s outcome would be. I had to admit to myself that I was envious of what they had together.