Shadow Play_A Dark Fantasy Novel

by Jill Ramsower

  At first glance I would have said she was heading to an event or a night on the town. Her smooth, flowing blond hair was artfully styled and she wore a black cocktail dress clinging to her shapely figure. She strode with such a confident air that my shoeless state was forgotten and I was helpless against gawking at her as she drew closer.

  As I focused on the features of her face, my eyes seemed to play tricks on me. As if she were a holograph, the image of the woman became transparent and beneath that a much more monstrous figure materialized. She wore the image of beauty like a skin, projected to conceal the horror that was underneath. Her true skin was a sickly grey, covering a boney figure with filthy talon-like fingernails. Her black stringy hair hung limply down far enough that it covered her breasts and the rest of her naked form was bare. The most disturbing part of the image was her blood-red eyes adeptly scanning her surroundings.

  Like a rabbit knows to run from a wolf, I knew that this creature was deadly. But by the time I had seen through to the danger, it was too late to run. As she neared where I stood in the lamplight, just a matter of feet from me, my body locked in abject terror and I sucked in a barely audible gasp of air to my burning lungs.

  Instantly she whipped her head in my direction, eyes scouring the brick wall for signs of where the noise had come from. By some miracle, her eyes skated right over me like I wasn’t there. Her nose lifted and she sniffed the air, as if she were searching for a scent.

  I managed to stay absolutely silent, even as her mouth opened, allowing the dim light to glint off two sharp fangs. She stood only about a foot away, so close that I could smell her foul breath. Unable to locate any offending presence, she reluctantly continued on her way, still scanning the wall as she walked.

  I watched until she was long out of sight and even then, it took me what seemed like ages before my joints unlocked and I was able to step away from the wall. My shaking hand came down from my open mouth and my eyes darted around in fear that she had not been the only monster out in the night. I dropped my broken shoe to the ground, flung off the other, and sprinted for home.

  I was relieved when I discovered that I had returned to the apartment before Ashley. Inside and out I was a mess and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share what had happened. Silence would not have been an option if Ash had seen me in my current state. I went straight upstairs, removed my clothes and started a hot shower. Only once the scalding water lashed my body was my mind able to start processing what had happened.

  This time I was certain that what I had seen had not been a trick of the mind and no one was going to convince me otherwise. However, neither Ash nor anyone else I tried to tell the story to would believe what happened. Maybe they shouldn’t—had someone else described these things to me, I would assume they were a few crayons short of a full box. And maybe I was—all the crazy people out there are probably convinced that what they think they see actually happens.

  Oh hell. How would I know if I was losing my mind?

  Maybe I would tell Ash what happened. The only reason not to tell her was because she would think I was crazy and if I was, getting help would be a good idea. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I was going to end up in a facility with soft padded walls and Nurse Ratchet to keep me company.

  The water did its best to wash away my day but I couldn’t seem to shake the stickiness of fear that clung to me. As much as my rational mind told me that there was no way what I thought I had seen was real, I knew that it had been. At first, she had appeared like any other woman walking down the street, but that had just been an illusion, an image displayed to cover up the monster underneath. Because that’s what she had been—a monster. Was she some kind of demon? Maybe an alien? She looked like a vampire out of a movie, but that was just absurd—there had to be a more reasonable explanation.

  Okay, now I really sounded crazy. How was a demon more reasonable than a vampire? I was definitely losing touch with my sanity.

  My fingers had started to prune and the water was losing its heat so I got out of the shower. After I toweled off and put on my heaviest pajamas, I sat on my bed and clenched my pillow to my chest, which was where Ash found me not long after.

  “Hey you, how was day two of the new job?” She sat next to me with her body angled in my direction, her voice soft, recognizing that something was wrong.

  “Ash, I’m worried that I’m going crazy.” I held her eyes and let her see my fear so that she would understand that I wasn’t joking.

  “Did you see the little man again?”

  “No, it was so much worse this time. I know you won’t believe me, and I understand. If someone told me what I’m about to tell you, I wouldn’t believe them either.”

  “Okay, hit me with it.”

  I began speaking in a low steady voice, calmly and rationally explaining the double vision, the horrifying creature, and my miraculous escape. “I know it sounds crazy Ash, but I know what I saw and I swear on everything that I love in this world that it happened.”

  “Um, okay. You’re right, it is hard to believe, but I know you and I know that you aren’t making it up and I don’t think you are crazy, so I guess that means I believe you. But at the same time, I’m not sure I can totally believe that these creatures are real without having seen them myself. Hopefully you understand that it’s a pretty huge leap of faith.”

  I threw myself into her arms. “I know Ash, and I totally understand. Thank you for not calling me crazy or denying it happened.”

  We held each other for some time before Ash pulled back. “Bec, assuming these things are real, and you weren't hallucinating, maybe we need to talk about going home.”

  Her words made my heart start to race as panic set in. “Ash, this is my dream job, I can’t just leave and go back to waitressing. Two years I wasted in that diner, I can’t do that again. You’ve been at the publishing house getting to work with books, maybe not your favorite books, but at least working in your field. You don’t know what it was like for me. I tried to make the best of where I was, but it was incredibly defeating.” I pleaded with her, hoping she could hear in my voice how much this meant to me.

  “I know it hasn’t been easy, I may have had a better job but that doesn’t mean I was oblivious. I want this for you as much as you do, but you’re the one saying it’s dangerous here. I just wanted to bring up that if there’s vampires and shit here, you may need to think about finding a job somewhere else.” While her words were hard to hear, they were spoken respectfully and I appreciated that I had a friend who could have hard conversations with me.

  “I know that you’re just trying to protect me, and I can’t explain it fully, but I feel like this is where I need to be. I can’t stand the thought of giving this up and leaving.”

  She sat quietly for some time before she spoke. “Okay, we can see where things go. Just keep in mind that this job is not worth your life.”

  “Definitely. Thank you, Ash.”

  “We're just like Elena and Bonnie in Vampire Diaries when they figure out there's vampires everywhere.” I laughed at her reference to one of our favorite shows and she pulled away as her eyes got big. “You think that woman could actually be a vampire?"

  “You ask me like I have any idea what the hell is going on. While I was in the shower I tried to think of what the options were, outside of me being crazy. I came up with demon, alien, or vampire before I decided I wasn’t making any sense. I feel like an alien is more plausible since I can't imagine we’re alone in the universe, but some kind of X-Men type mutant is also possible and if we go there, really there's no reason to limit ourselves and then the possibilities are endless. There’s any number of mystical creatures, and of course, it could be that we’ve never heard of whatever these things are, there’s just no way to know.”

  “I think it wouldn’t hurt to try to make a list of our options, and if we’re going to make a list, I think we should put zombie on it. She didn’t sound much like a mindless zombie, bu
t we’re in uncharted territory here, better safe than sorry,” she asserted. “Who else is magical or supernatural?”

  “Um, there’s Harry Potter and like, wizards—oh, my ex-boyfriend, Matt, used to play some kind of computer game and the wizard guys were called mages, I think.”

  “That’s good, there’s also Faeries and elves and we are in Ireland so that needs to be at the top of the list."

  “The little guy could be an elf but there was nothing Fearie-like about that creepy lady."

  “There's a world of myths out there about the Fae or 'Fearies' that are not at all like the pixies you might be imagining. Aside from the fact that fantasy is my favorite genre, I took that Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fiction Writing class my junior year and studied an ungodly amount of fantasy books. This is my wheelhouse and I'm leaving Fearies at the top of the list. There's also were-beings, like werewolves or werecats and also angels and gods, like the Greek gods.” We paused for a moment contemplating other options.

  “Ash, even if we figure out what these things are, what do we do about it?”

  “No idea, but they do say that admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it, so first we figure out our problem, then we figure out how to fix it.”

  I realized there was actually a lot of wisdom in that statement. “I’m pretty sure that’s for addicts, but I suppose it seems to fit our circumstances so I’ll go with it.” I paused for a moment before meeting her eyes. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell you because I know how it all sounds, but I’m glad I did, thank you again Ash.”

  “You know I love you and I’m always here for you. I’m going to throw together something for us to eat, you freshen up and come down when you’re ready.”

  I grabbed a hoodie from my closet and when I turned off the light, the glowing street lamp outside my window caught my attention. I went to close the blinds and saw a figure standing across the street leaning against the lamppost. It was the man who had questioned me on the street the day before whom Ashley had dubbed ‘Mr. Gorgeous.’ He was staring straight at my window.

  Part of my mind wanted to freak out, but my sense of self-preservation kicked in and recognized that I could only take so much in one day. I shut the blinds and walked away without another thought to the man standing outside.

  7

  The morning of our big night out at the Huntsman with Ronan, I had pulled Cat aside to ask her if she was familiar with the club. I had Googled it and knew its location but the few pictures online were primarily of liquor bottles and didn't give a feel for the live atmosphere so I was hoping to get a better idea of dress code and just how busy the place would get.

  “You’re going to the Huntsman, are you? How did that come about?” she asked with her eyes narrowed. I was a little surprised with her almost accusatory response but I forged ahead.

  “I met someone the other day and he said he was going tonight and suggested I bring Ashley and hang out with him and his friends.” During the week Cat and I had several opportunities to get to know each other better so she had heard all about Ash and her two-week stay with me.

  “It's not the best idea to get mixed up in that crew. Bunch of chancers they are.” She shook her head as she spoke giving me an idea what she had meant but I had to ask for a clarification.

  “What on earth is a chancer?”

  “No good, that’s what. You take a real chance hanging round them. There’s any number of pubs in the city, pick another.” Her tone broached no room for argument—it was a much more assertive side to Cat than I had seen.

  “Duly noted. I’m not sure I could convince Ash to change plans but I’ll definitely mention it.”

  What I didn’t admit aloud was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to change plans either. Ronan had seemed like a genuine guy and I wanted to see him again. Maybe if the pub was shady we could suggest moving to another one after we had hooked up with Ronan and his friends.

  “I just don’t want you getting hurt, Rebecca. That’s some seedy characters that hang out at that place.”

  “I totally understand and I’m so glad I’ve got someone here who cares what happens to me.” I gave her a hug and made my way back to the offices to finish out my work day.

  Back at home I was greeted with music blaring from the bedroom as I walked through the front door. Making my way upstairs, I found Ash sitting on my bed in her bra and panties, finishing up her makeup and wiggling to the music.

  “Getting dolled up already?”

  “Yes! You and I are going out to eat—we’ve been in this country an entire week and not gone out once for a proper dinner, so get changed.”

  She went back to applying mascara and singing along to Dua Lipa’s New Rules. There were two dresses laid out on the bed, which was her obvious attempt to get me in a dress instead of skinny jeans and a blouse, which was my clubbing outfit of choice.

  “Ash, it’s too cold to wear that dress, I’ll freeze to death.”

  “Beauty is pain Bec, put it on.”

  With a grunt of frustration, I took off my work outfit and held up the offending dress for a second look. At least it had long sleeves, but it was clingy and had a low scoop neck and even lower drop back, which meant no bra.

  “I can’t wear this, you know my girls are way too big to go braless. This isn’t even my dress, how many dresses did you bring?”

  “I don’t think one can truly ever have too many dresses. And don’t make this difficult, I know you have one of those sticky front boobie holders so slap that baby on and let’s get moving,” she said as she batted her eyes at me.

  I gave her an Oscar worthy eye-roll but it was undermined when the corners of my mouth lifted grudgingly.

  Ashley was similar in size to me, though we were not at all the same shape. She didn’t have nearly as much chest as me but she did have a small waist and way more junk in the trunk. It meant we could share some of our clothes, depending on the fit, and the stretchy dress worked well on either of us. She had selected for herself a royal blue dress that clung to her curves and accentuated her bright blue eyes. Her straight blond hair had been given some wave and all together she was smoking hot.

  Sticking the bra to one boob and then pulling the girls together before adhering the bra to the other, so as to give ample lift, I double checked that it was stuck in place sufficiently and then shimmied into the little black dress.

  She gave me a once over. “Let’s touch up your hair, give those eyes a little sex appeal, and we’ll be good to go.”

  Ash was much more interested in makeup than I was. I wasn't sure if it was just my nature not to care or being raised by an au-natural mom but the stuff never interested me much. She pulled me down to sit on the bed and went about finalizing my look for the night. While she primped and prodded, I mentioned what Cat had said about the Huntsman, but as expected, there was no way she would budge.

  “You said that Cat girl seemed a bit mousy, she’s just probably prudish and doesn’t know how to have a good time.” She stepped back and gave me an appraising look. “There, these Irish boys won’t know what hit them!” Clapping her hands, she turned to dig in her bag and when she came back around, she had one hand behind her back and the other hand holding up a finger in the universal, just give me a minute, gesture.

  “I know you’ll probably say no, but I have the most gorgeous necklace that would be perfect with that dress.”

  My head fell back in exasperation. “Ash, how many times do we have to have this conversation?”

  “Please Becca, just think about it, you always wear the same necklace. Wouldn’t it be okay, just for one night to wear something different—jazz things up a bit?” Her eyes searched mine pleadingly, reminding me of the cat in the Puss and Boots movie using his big sad eyes to get what he wanted.

  She held out the necklace for me to see and I had to admit that it was beautiful. A collar-type necklace made of shining silver that probably would have been more appropriate for a night out than the one I wore but tha
t wasn’t going to change my mind.

  The necklace I was wearing had been around my neck as long as I could remember, longer even. I never, ever took it off and my stomach twisted at the thought of removing it. The silver chain with pendant was a versatile piece of jewelry. The circular stone was surrounded in a silver casing around the edges and the stone itself was a dark smoky grey about the size of a quarter. It went with everything, so there wasn’t a compelling reason to take it off.

  “I know it doesn’t make any sense, and I really appreciate you trying to get me to branch out, but I’m not going to change my mind.” I cupped the stone in my hand protectively and wondered if she was going to let the subject go.

  “I know, I know. A girl has to try though.” She smirked at me, unphased by my rejection. “Come on, let’s get some dinner, I’m starving.”

  She had chosen a local restaurant that had been advertised on one of her tours. While Irish food was not far removed from English fare, which was known worldwide for being on the bland side, our dinner was delicious. As the evening progressed, we got a good head start on our night with several glasses of wine. Once the clock approached 10 p.m., we headed to the Huntsman.

  Our cab pulled up in front of a four-story building thrumming with activity. The Huntsman was more of a nightclub than a pub and was located on the top floor, boasting floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. The building itself was decently modern, and with its location in the heart of the Belfast, it had either been a full remodel job or the prior occupant had been torn down to make room for the large modern structure that was now standing. It reminded me of that old show Hollywood Squares where the celebrities would each sit in one of boxes in a giant tic-tac-toe board. With dozens of windows, this version was significantly larger, each window about ten-feet square and bordered with white stone—like giant picture boxes displaying the people and objects within. The fourth floor housing the nightclub didn’t follow the same design and instead was sleek solid glass walls. Just inside the entrance of the building was a bank of elevators with two enormous men standing guard over approximately thirty people waiting in line.