“You trained yourself to be a whore.”
The look of shock on the perfect little Asian princess’s face was priceless. I let loose a snort, which caused the woman to the right of me—a snooty blonde in a white swan-decorated mask—to turn around and shoot me an angry glance with disapproving eyes.
Once again, I was thankful for my golden mask, which hid my childish grin.
“It was him,” I whispered, pointing to a large bellied man standing on the other side of me, who was fixated on the spectacle. The swan woman shrugged and turned her attention back to Shadow, who had already moved onto the third prospect.
He took one glance at her and immediately shook his head.
“You’re better off staying where you are,” he said. “I don’t want to breathe the same oxygen as you, unless I wish to decimate my brain cells.”
This guy was turning out to be a real dick.
“You’re going to have to make a decision,” Calisto said frowning. “You’ll have to choose your lady tonight.”
“All three of these women are a disappointment,” Shadow said. “I can’t allow any of them to share the Tremaine name.”
The spectators erupted into whispers and I was surprised that there was genuine concern that Shadow had spurned all three women.
“What’s the big deal?” I asked the swan woman. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Why can’t Shadow go back to the pond and cast in another line?”
“The ritual of selecting the first lady of the Midnight Society is both a historic and sacred event,” she replied. “On the twenty-third birthday of every society’s leader, they have to choose their soul mate, a woman worthy to inherit their powerful family name. It’s a tradition that’s been kept since the dawn of our organization almost two hundred years ago.” And then she gave me a disdainful stare. “I don’t care how good your music is or how closed your legs are, you don’t deserve to be here.”
“Thanks for making me feel welcome,” I scowled.
The swan woman ignored my sarcasm and began complaining aloud to no one in particular. “What a cluster fuck tonight has been. But what else can you expect from Shadow. He’s reckless and disrespectful when it comes to sacred traditions of the Midnight Society.”
“Well can you blame him?” I asked. “You folks are practically forcing him into an arranged marriage.”
“Those three women are the best that the Midnight Society has to offer,” the swan woman replied. “They were handpicked by the Council of Seven and for Shadow to insult all three is a slap in the face to our organization and the family name’s of those women. Shadow made three powerful enemies tonight.”
“So why’s he your leader then, if he’s such a shit disturber?”
“It’s in his blood. He was born into it.”
“Give me a break,” I said. “This is America. The idea of kings and queens is a foolish fantasy. Is democracy dead in this little Midnight clubhouse of yours?”
I had received some dirty looks in my days but the one that Swan Girl gave me then was straight from the bowels of the filthiest sewer ever seen.
“Sometimes, we need people to make decisions for us,” she spat. “People in general, especially the lower class like you, are too stupid to make the right choices.”
This girl was really getting on my nerves. Justin told me once that swans, despite their beauty, had the heart of the devil and now I agreed with him.
I was about to unleash a verbal assault on swan woman but I suddenly noticed that everyone’s attention was focused on me.
“I choose her,” Shadow said.
My heart turned into lead and sunk like an anchor; deep into the murky ocean that was my stomach. Did I just hear him correctly?
“I choose the Golden Virgin,” Shadow repeated.
The lord of the Midnight Society had chosen me—nobody special—to be his bride.
Ignoring the gasps of everyone around me, I allowed two words to escape my quivering lips.
“Oh shit.”
Chapter Five
“I don’t think you understand how this works,” Calisto said to Shadow. “The Golden Virgin is not a member of the Midnight Society. She’s not even a member of high society; not yet anyway.”
Shadow shook his head. “You wanted me to make my decision Calisto, and I did. The Golden Virgin is who I have chosen.”
“I think you should listen to your sister,” I was quick to chime in. “Really, you don’t want to choose me. I’m just a ragamuffin girl who knows how to play a tune on the piano.”
“I’ve heard your story,” Shadow said. “It touched me in a profound way. With such an intriguing and mysterious history, how can I not choose you to be my eternal soul mate?”
I could sense a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Damn it Calisto, your stupid fairy tale stories about me were causing me a lot of grief. I had to sort this out before things got any worse.
“Look,” I began. “The truth of the matter is--”
“The prince has made his choice everyone,” Calisto was quick to interrupt me. “As controversial as it may seem, who are we to judge the decision of a Tremaine?”
Furious protests shattered the silence as the guests voiced their displeasure all at once.
“You’re kidding me, she’s a lowborn!” one woman cried out.
“This will tarnish the Tremaine family name,” another man in a monkey mask shouted. “This has to be a joke.”
Calisto raised both her hands to silence everyone.
“My brother has made his decision, and might I remind you that he is the lord of the Midnight Society. Anyone who opposes this can take it up with him privately if you wish.”
Dead silence.
“Wonderful,” she said. “Refreshments will be brought out shortly. In the meantime, perhaps the Council of Seven can convene in the study, along with my ever-so-wise brother?”
“How can I say no to my ever-so-lovely sister,” he replied with jest.
While everyone was distracted, now was a good time as any to escape all this madness. I could scale the walls with some Spiderman shit and flee from this disaster.
“As for the Golden Virgin, we’d love for you to attend our little meeting as well,” Calisto said, her attention focused on me.
Shit.
“You know, it’s actually getting kind of late,” I began.
“Nonsense,” Calisto said. “This night just started and you, my little nightingale, are the centre of attention. Isn’t that what you always wanted? Attention?”
“With a piano in front of me, yes,” I replied. “But the last thing I wanted was to get forced into some sacred love bond.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Calisto said. “We’ll sort that all out. By the way, there’s a group of lovely people that are dying to know more about you and your music. Why don’t I introduce you to them?”
“Can I go home first and meet them over a cup of coffee later on in the week?”
“They’re here for one night only,” she replied. “It’d be a wonderful opportunity for you.”
They had no intention of letting me go.
I was screwed.
“I’m stuck here aren’t I?” I stated.
“It’s really for your benefit.”
Calisto strolled up to me, taking my arm in hers, and began leading me back towards the estate. Trailing behind her was a pair of large, muscular men in white owl masks, whom I assumed would snatch me up like a rag doll if I attempted to make a run for it.
The feeling of dread was poison in my veins and I wished that I hadn’t come here in the first place. How stupid could I possibly be? I was lured into a spider’s web with the promise of money and fame.
Ugh.
“I think we’re going to become very close friends,” Calisto said with a wide grin on her face.
That was funny, because I was thinking that by the end of the night, I was going to end up six feet under somewhere. I was scared shitless, b
ut the only thing I could do at this point was play along until I could figure out a plan to get myself out of this mess.
Calisto led me into a large study, one of the typical manly ones you saw on television and in movies. Moonlight flooded the large bay windows, casting a cerulean afterglow against the tall oak bookcases, filled with leather tomes, stretching from floor to ceiling. Oil paintings of medieval knights and their insignias lined the walls, each piece exhibiting the European flavours of chivalry and romance.
At the centre of the study, seated around a circle in large leather armchairs, were six well-dressed men, still donning their Venetian masks. I felt some relief when I recognized Abraham’s wolf mask along with Mr. Fox, whom I had chatted with earlier in the evening.
“Abraham!” I practically leapt at him. “What’s going on here?”
“Don’t be alarmed Ms. Valencia,” he said in his same reassuring tone of voice. “We’ll have this sorted out before you know it.”
“You’re having quite the eventful night,” Mr. Fox said with merriment. “You went from being no one, to a music star, to a princess all in one night.”
“I seriously don’t know what’s happening here,” I announced to everyone in the room. “I just want to go home. Look, keep the money you owe me, just let me go.”
I was a sniveling mess. Between the walk from the gardens back to the estate, I had imagined hundreds of horrific scenarios.
I saw myself lying naked on top of an altar, ready to be sacrificed to some pagan cult god; or being auctioned off into some slavery ring and dragged over to Europe to be used as a sex puppet for the rest of my life. Or what if I was in some serial killer’s den and I was going to be chained up, tortured, and killed in some basement dungeon? All the possibilities paralyzed me and I broke out into a cold sweat.
Calisto led me to the centre of the circle and sat in the seventh empty seat. Everyone was watching me with penetrating stares, their expressions hidden behind those damned masks. At least I was wearing one as well.
Shadow stood by the large bay windows, staring out into the night as if he couldn’t care less of what was going on in the room.
One man, wearing a red mask with a black scorpion pattern on it, broke the silence with his acidic tone of voice. “Take off your mask.”
This mask was all I had to hide myself from these people. With the mask off, they could see the fear and desperation on my face, things that any demented predator probably got off on.
I shook my head. “No.”
“You’ve got nothing to hide from us honey,” Calisto said sweetly. “My friends just want to see what a pretty girl you are.”
I felt my last bit of strength in me erode away, like stone pillars crumbling into dust. I was at my wits end.
“Please don’t kill me or sell me into slavery,” I blurted out, resisting the urge to fall to my knees and beg, figuring that once I was off my feet, they weren’t going to allow me to return to them.
There was a moment of silence amongst the circle. I noticed that even Shadow had turned his attention away from the window, glancing in my direction.
And then they all broke out into laughter.
I was baffled.
“Oh dear,” Abraham said. “I always said that communication amongst our group needs to be better. I believe you misunderstood our intentions for you Aria.”
“You guys kidnapped me,” I cried. “And now you won’t let me go home. What the hell am I supposed to think?”
“I assure you, what we want is not sinister in nature,” Abraham said. “Just like I promised you in the car, you will not be physically harmed.”
“You know, if the roles were reversed, I could understand why our little Golden Virgin would be so anxious,” Mr. Fox said. “Perhaps if we showed her ours, she’d be more inclined to show us hers.”
“I don’t want to see anything from you sick perverts,” I retaliated. I heard a sigh come from Mr. Fox, and then he slowly removed his mask to reveal a handsome young man in his mid-twenties. He had sparkling emerald eyes and a bright smile that complimented his sun-kissed hair and fair skin. His grin displayed a boyish charm that could melt hearts.
“Lincoln Richards,” he introduced himself, “Owner of First Light Media Corporation. I’m sure you watched a movie or twenty produced by my company.”
“You’ve seen me without my mask on already,” Calisto said from behind me. Instinctively I turned around. Her mask was now removed and resting in her hand. “Hopefully I don’t look a day older since we last met.”
Abraham was the next to remove his mask and he smiled at me. “Cheers,” he said.
Sitting next to him was a thin, grey-haired man wearing a red and black kabuki mask. He removed it, revealing a sophisticated looking Asian man in his early fifties. Despite his age, he was still very attractive with a mature and distinguished look about him.
“James Takeshi,” he said. “As my name suggests, I own Takeshi Technology.”
I was astounded. Takeshi was the top brand in entertainment technology, taking the world by storm and driving down the market shares of all its competitors in only five years.
To Takeshi’s right was a large man wearing the mask of a golden lion. He removed it, revealing the proud and strong chiseled face of an African American man. He looked at me with intense fire in his dark brown eyes.
“I am Brevin West,” he said, with a slight yet traceable island accent, “Owner of the Majestic Glory Corporation, the largest Christian multimedia and business enterprise in North America.” He spoke with reluctance in his voice, like his words were being yanked out of his throat. I could sense the distrust he had for me.
The next person to introduce himself was a hefty man in a tight fitting suit, the buttons on his one-size-too-small dress shirt threatening to bust off. He removed his white eagle mask revealing his pear-shaped face and a white, neatly trimmed beard. He was someone who I’ve seen a couple of times before on television and in the newspapers.
“I’m Senator Donald Huff,” he said cheerfully. “It’s always a pleasure to see someone ascend through the ranks of the Midnight Society, especially at such a young age.”
“A United States Senator?” I asked, astounded.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that discretion is extremely important as to who I associate with in my spare time,” he said. “Curiosity didn’t kill the cat; her purring did, if you know what I mean.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
The man in the Scorpion mask was the last of the introductions.
“I’m not taking off my mask until she does,” he said in a distinguished British accent.
“Lucien, must you always be so difficult?” Abraham sighed. “We’ve all removed our masks for our esteemed guest.”
“This is all bullshit,” Lucien replied. “Shadow is once again playing us all for fools, but you folks are so in love with our fearless leader that you’re ignoring this simple fact; the Tremaine’s are broken. I’ve been saying it since the start; we need new blood in the commander’s chair.”
“One more word out of that shameful abyss you call a mouth, and I’ll drive my foot so far up your ass that you’ll be shitting out my four inch heel for a week,” Calisto threatened. “Nobody insults the Tremaine name.”
“Shadow does just by having it,” Lucien laughed.
“Respect who you’re with and where you are,” Brevin said, though it seemed like he spoke more out of duty than belief.
“We’ve all been thinking it,” Lucien said. “But I’m afraid none have the bollocks to bring the matter to the table. Well, after tonight’s bloody embarrassment, let me reiterate. The Midnight Society needs new leadership. The Tremaine’s are broken. The death of Tristan Tremaine marked the end of the family’s power.”
Calisto began to rise from her seat, but it was Shadow’s thunderous voice that made her sit back down. The beast had woken up.
“Take off your mask,” he ordered, as he stood behind
Lucien’s seat. However Lucien pretended not to notice, and continued his rant.
“Look at this scrawny girl standing before us. She’s supposed to be the first lady of the Midnight Society? All of us in this inner circle of ours know that the Golden Virgin is nothing more than a flea in rags. Her story is nothing but a bunch of Chinese whispers originated from the imaginative mind of Calisto,” he continued. His scorpion eyes focused in on me. “Tell me you bony little slag, how virtuous are you really?”
Suddenly Shadow erupted and he scooped up Lucien from underneath his armpits, lifted the brat high into the air, and slammed him onto the ground.
“You shite!” Lucien cursed as he sprung back onto his feet. “I’m a fucking Gamble. You do not get to touch me.”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Shadow said, “Before I make you swallow all of your soon-to-be broken teeth.”
“Calm yourselves, both of you,” Takeshi said as he rose from his seat. “I swear my dog has more patience and common sense than you two.”
“This bloody excuse for a ‘lord’ laid his hands on me. Tell me James, since when did we start striking each other,” Lucien said.
“It was…” Takeshi paused, and then turned to Shadow, “Inappropriate.”
Takeshi’s words seemed to have affected him as Shadow’s shoulders slumped and he retreated back from Lucien, his authority now diminished. I was curious to see the face of the man behind the mask and the whirlwind of emotions he was going through at the moment.
“Leave us alone,” Shadow finally said.
“But our business is not finished,” Abraham said. “We still need to discuss the selection you’ve made-”
“We’re done for tonight.” There was finality in Shadow’s tone of voice.
Even though his visage was hidden behind the scorpion mask, I sensed a burning hatred radiating from Lucien that was dark and hideous.
“You’ve made a big mistake laying your hands on me,” he seethed. “I promise you that--”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Shadow mocked. “I haven’t heard the last of this. You’ll make me pay. Throw in whatever cliché you find appropriate. Just stop whining and get the fuck out of here already.”
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