by D Wills
With each stroke of my foundation, I feel the strength build inside me. I am creating my armour ready for whatever battle I might be walking into! My armour just happens to be some blusher, a bit of hair spray and a jewel-encrusted gown. It’s not like there’s anything I could actually arm myself with that would save me from Eros, or whoever he is sending to get me.
I don’t know where the time went. How is it only thirty minutes until my time to escape! My hair is done, and my make-up is perfected, now to get dressed. I open my walk-in wardrobe doors and see my gown hung in the centre. The light hits the crystals and bounces playfully back at me.
Excitement rushes through me as the thought of slipping into it gets ever more real. And hopefully later I’ll be slipping back out of it with a little help. I need to make sure what I’m wearing under the dress is as attractive as the dress. I'm not sure I own anything that nice though.
I rummage through my drawers and finally settle on a light amber-colored satin camisole set and slip them on. I carefully take my dress from the hanger and step in it to it, pulling the bodice up over my chest. The cool fabric of the dress tingles my skin, which has been more sensitive to everything since I've known Josh, I never realized just how untouched I’ve felt until his fingertips first grazed my skin, and now I want him more than ever. His touch is the only thing I desire.
The pale gold lace on the dresses bodice does well to highlight the small jewels that find their way in and out of the pattern, and the sweetheart neckline gives me a chest I forgot I had.
I carefully examine my make-up. I’ve overdone it on the gold shimmer eye shadow, and I'm no longer sure about the mountain of curls pinned to the top of my head. I quickly pull out the pins in my hair and the loose curls tumble down my back. I take a few from the top and twist them into the intricate slide Allana gave me months ago as a gift. It may be a simple look, but I prefer it to the overdone poodle one I had before. I wish Allana knew about this and was happy for me, but hell there’s a lot of things I wish were different.
Once I’ve done examining myself, I head back into my room and open my bedroom door, listening for Amora. I hear her in her room making arrangements to go out later with someone. The door downstairs slams, Allana’s home perfect timing! I close my door. I need to go now. She’ll be up here any minute to check on me and try and reassure me everything will be alright.
I close the door quietly and lean against it for a few seconds working hard to control my shaking body. I rush to the French doors, throwing them open I launch myself over the balcony knowing that if I don’t just jump I’ll never talk myself into climbing down. The wind whips through my hair as I fly through the air, the wind rushes through my curls taking with it any worries about what I'm doing. I land with a thud, but I'm not hurt - one good thing about having impenetrable skin!
Getting up quickly I hurry to the side of the house and wait silently to see if my breakout has been noticed. I look up to the top windows and see Amora’s shadow holding up different outfits. She hasn’t noticed, or if she has, she isn’t doing anything about it. I listen hard for Allana. The kitchen light flicks on and I crouch down to the floor. “It’s me,” I hear Allana say.
She’s on the phone. “I'm afraid it’s worse than I thought. I think I'm going to need you after all and it looks as if it’s going to be tonight.”
Tonight? What’s going to be tonight and whose help does she need?
“Thank you, Hercules. I know this can’t be easy for you.” The conversation ends. Hercules that’s who she’s been meeting with, and that’s whose help she needs. That can only mean one thing; it’s going to come to a fight. Hercules only has one talent, his brute strength. I don’t understand why he’d help though. Why get involved in something that has nothing to do with you?
Never mind that. I don’t need any more questions if they’re coming for me tonight. I need to get out of here fast. I guess Eros did know and care about my kiss with Josh, and he was just taking his time to get things ready to take me away. Well they can’t take me if they don’t know where I am, now, can they?
Hide Whilst I Seek
~17~
I run faster than I usually allow myself. I normally keep my speed under wraps to avoid any suspicious looks from mortals but tonight there isn’t time. Holding my gown up in my hands, I constantly look over my shoulder waiting for the hands to grab me and pull me back. I round the corner and fall back against a tree trying to catch my breath and steady my racing heart. As my breathing slows I look up the street and see Josh’s grey car purring at the sidewalk.
Smoothing down my dress I cautiously walk to his car, fighting the urge I feel with every step to look over my shoulder. The driver’s door swings open and Josh gracefully steps out. I stop momentarily taken aback by how good he looks in a tux. His smile and the mischievous glint in his eyes make me instantly forget about the coming danger. I quicken my pace desperate to be near him, to feel the chemistry sizzling between us.
As I reach him, he pulls his arms from behind him and presents me with a small cream box tied with a blood red ribbon.
“What is it?” I urge him to tell me.
“If you open it you’ll see!” he laughs.
I smile and gently pull at the ribbon. It falls open and I slowly lift the box up, laughing at Josh’s eager expression. Inside the box is a stunning corsage.
“Do you hate it? I know its old fashioned but my grams said I should get you one because it was the done thing in their day and I wanted everything to be just right and, well,” he rambles on.
“I love it.” I silence him with a kiss. His body instantly reacts placing his hands on my hips as a deep moan rises in his throat. I pull away reluctantly to admire my gift once more. It has three deep red roses, each with crystals sprinkled throughout the petals, forming a barrier around the one perfect cream rose in the centre. I smile up at Josh and he takes the corsage from the box and loops it over my fingers so it nestles on my wrist.
Josh keeps hold of my hand and laces our fingers. He brushes his free hand across my cheek and around my neck, pulling me in towards him.
“You look amazing,” he breathes and presses his lips tenderly to mine.
“Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.” He leads me around to the passenger door and holds it open for me like a true gentleman. I almost curtsy in thanks. As he starts the car, he reaches his hand across the seats till he finds my hand and holds it tight.
“You really do look incredible.”
I blush. He doesn’t look too bad himself. The darkness of the tux turns his usually almost black eyes a warm chocolate shade which are even more inviting. My desire for him reaches new heights and I'm quite prepared to grab the wheel and pull us over so we can spend the evening alone rather than at the dance.
Whilst I'm calculating the safest place to perform this manoeuvre, Josh pulls into the school parking lot. Damn! Maybe I’ll try it on the way back instead. But back where?
“You ready?” Josh asks looking at me intently. It takes all my control to agree, so we get out of the car. Josh jumps out and appears at my door, holding it open and offering me his hand. I take it willingly and allow him to lead me into the school.
I can hear the music thumping as we approach and see the multi-colored lights bouncing around the auditorium. Josh guides me inside, saying hi to people we pass and smiling at me every time he does. He looks so proud to have me on his arm when really it’s completely the other way around.
As we get further into the dance, I'm amazed at the effort the decorating committee has gone to for this one. All the tables are covered in bronze tablecloths providing backdrops for their exquisite centre pieces which are fire bowls, presumably fake. I’ll make a closer inspection later.
The whole room has ruby-colored wall coverings, and at each side of the stage there are pits of fire. In cages behind the stage are two fire breathers performing an incredible display to cheers from the growing crowd. “Wow!” I breathe.
> Josh squeezes my hand “Pretty nice, eh?” I nod they must have had a bigger budget than I imagined.
Josh weaves us effortlessly through the crowd of people to the drinks table and grabs us two glasses. As I take the drink, he threads his arm around my waist and holds me against him. He’s looking around for something or someone and I try to follow his eye line to see what it is but my eyes catch Stacey and Melissa at the opposite side of the room snarling at us, well at me.
I become rigid, suddenly afraid of what scene they might cause. Josh feels me tense and looks down at me, then up to where I'm staring.
“Don’t worry about them.” He turns me towards him and takes the drink from my hand, placing it on the table next to us. “Let’s dance”.
Before I can answer he’s twirling me onto the floor. I almost fall over but he places his hands securely on my waist. I laugh and drape my own arms around the back of his neck.
The band switches to a slower song and the lights that were a minute ago darting wildly around the room slow down and drift over the dancers on the floor, often overlapping each other fighting for space. The lights cast Josh and me in a different glow every few seconds but each new pool of light just makes him look more delicious.
“I'm so glad you came and that after tonight I’ll never have to be apart from you again,” Josh smiles.
“Me too,” I whisper and I truly am. His arms are the safest place I’ve ever been and now I’ll never be without them. Josh spins me out onto the dance floor laughing, and twirls me back in to his waiting embrace. I laugh with him. I’ve never felt as free as this. We carry on circling around the room until the band calls over the speakers that they’re playing the school song and they want to see everyone up dancing the proper dance to it. I gulp nervously. I’ve seen this dance performed at the other two balls but I’ve never had to join in.
The school song and dance is something the relations counsellor thought up as a way to give the school a sense of unity and togetherness. Josh takes his place behind me along with the rest of the guys. I see Stacey with Blake opposite me, standing confidently ready to show the rest of the school how it’s done. She smirks at me. My nerves are pulsing for all the school to see. I glance around, desperate to find someone as scared as I am, or for a way to get out of this, but I find something much worse.
The doors at the back of the hall creak open and in sneak Amora and two guys I haven’t seen before. They glance around the room searching, and you don’t need to be a genius to know they’re here to find me.
The music starts up and everyone begins to dance. My mind is too preoccupied trying to plan a way out of here before it instructs my body to move the way everyone else is. Luckily though I'm performing the dance, I guess my subconscious was paying attention all the other times I’ve watched it.
All the guys turn the girls under their arms so they are now facing each other before I can hide the look on my face as I turn to Josh.
“You ok?” Josh shouts over the music.
Anxiously I look around the hall to find where Amora has gone. I don’t need to look far. She’s standing directly in my eye line, leaning against the back of the wall, smiling evilly. Amora sees me looking at her and gives me a slow malicious wave. As she does this, the two guys standing either side of her turn to stare at me. “That’s her,” I hear Amora instruct them and they both nod.
All three are dressed ready for a ball. Amora has on a long black dress with a plunging neckline. Her skin is glowing iridescent. She’s been to Olympus then. The lights skim over her and the guys creating a sinister glow around all three of them. Her two henchmen are wearing suit jackets and trousers to fit in, but their shirts are open loosely at the top. They look more than dangerous.
One of the guys has more muscles than I’ve seen in the flesh while the other is slender but still muscular. Both have deathly pale skin and menacing eyes. They’re from the Underworld; my blood turns into a raspberry slushy.
“Acacia what’s wrong?” Josh shouts over the music. I look into his eyes mine filling with tears. This is it; this is going to be the end of us! I wish this dance, even though I wished it had never started, would never end. Josh spins me again, keeping in time with the dance and I lose sight of the three of them. I struggle to see through people trying to spot them, but it’s no use. The dance picks up pace and it’s impossible to find them.
I recognize this part of the music now. It’s the bit where the guy swaps partners with the one next to him. Maybe I could slip out at this point once Josh lets go of me. I’ll go straight with them and tell them to leave him. At least that way I can spare his life.
Josh releases my hands and I try to make a break for it, but cool fingers interlock with mine and turn me around in time with everyone else. My bare shoulders press against what feels like a wall of ice.
“You have two choices,” a voice hisses in my ear. “We can do this the easy way; or the way I find much more pleasurable.” My left hand is released as I take two steps into the centre of the hall as the other girls do. I stop breathing when I see that the freezer holding me is one of Amora’s guests.
He raises his eyebrows at me, daring me to try and run. His hair falls around his face skimming against his sharp jaw, while his silvery eyes take in every part of me. He’s taken his jacket off and I can see through his shirt the slight glow to his skin. It’s not the purple of Olympus though. They must radiate a different light in the Underworld.
He pulls me back to him with my right arm and rests it on his shoulder as he circles his left arm around my waist. I rest my arm on his, not wanting to raise alarm by trying to fight him off in the middle of the dance, especially when he’s at least a foot taller than me and I can feel the strength his arms contain as my fingers lay lightly upon them. I shudder as the cold from his body penetrates me.
“So what’s it going to be, princess?” He moves me effortlessly around the floor, his eyes never leaving mine. I can’t tear my eyes from his either. The pale grey colour of them is cased with the faintest of scarlet rings, drawing me into him so I no longer feel the urge to run.
Luckily the dance gets to the part where we swap partners back and I fall into the open arms of Josh and his warmth.
“You ok?” he asks, looking between me and the guy who just threw me back at him.
“We need to get out of here,” I hurriedly say, no longer caring what he knows. I search for the nearest exit. I spot the fire exit doors in the opposite corner to us, right next to where Allana, and who I presume is Hercules, have just walked in. Allana is in a deadlock with Amora, both of them glaring at the other, looking ready to charge at any second. I wish all these people weren’t here, then Allana could just do her emotion trick on Amora and I could escape.
The dance has stopped and everyone is clapping for the band, everyone but Josh and me. “What do you mean we need to go?” he asks, concerned.
“Look, I can’t explain right now.” My eyes flit madly around the room looking for the two soldiers of doom. “You need to trust me on this and know that we need to get out of here and fast.”
My eyes are so close to spilling with tears and Josh’s face is full of confusion, but he nods, grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowds towards the back of the stage. I glance nervously behind me but no one is following us. Josh pushes open a door at the side of the stage and the music begins to fade behind us.
“Where are we?” I’ve never seen this part of the school before.
“It leads to the changing rooms, which leads to the sports hall behind the school next to the car park.” Josh must get my sense of urgency. He’s gripping my hand tightly, a little too tightly perhaps. The halls are dark and it’s a good job Josh knows this route as I would be completely lost.
I keep listening for footsteps behind us but we’re still in the clear. We reach the sports hall and Josh stops.
“What is it?” I check every part of the hall, thinking someone must be in here and that’s why he’s stopped
.
“I want to know what’s going on,” he demands. “I will protect you against anything and anyone Acacia, but I deserve to know what I'm fighting.” I go to pull away from him, I really need to get out of here and he needs to come with me. He puts his hands on my arms just below my shoulders and holds me in place.
“Josh, please this isn’t the place to explain. Just get us away from the school and I’ll tell you everything, I swear I will, just please… ” I beg him to understand, his eyes soften as his hands find their way to the back of my neck. He pulls me in and his lips crash against mine. There’s urgency to his kiss that hasn’t been there before and I respond to it willingly. This may be our last kiss and I need to make sure it counts.
“I get the feeling I'm going to lose you and I will do everything not to let that happen,” Josh promises me his forehead resting against mine as he holds my head in his hands. I hear a door slam in the distance.
“Then we need to go now!” I scream.
Josh grabs my wrist breaking the strap on the corsage; the petals fall to the ground as we run to the other side of the hall. Pushing open the fire exit which leads to the back of the car park, we run through the parked cars until we reach Josh’s. He clicks the car open and we jump inside.
“Lock the doors,” I shout, not sure how much effect a locked door will have on someone from the Underworld but I’ll take every defence I can get.
Josh speeds out of his space, spinning the car so fast it throws me against my seat. The car roars and takes off onto the dark road.
“Where are you going?” I pointlessly ask. Where exactly can we hide from the Underworld?
“The farm,” he replies confidently and keeps his eyes on the road. The farm? Which farm? Whose farm? I'm about to ask but Josh has got questions of his own.