Anthology - Behind the Mask

by Joey W Hill, Lacey Alexander

  Yet this year I seem to be all dressed up with no one to take me! With only twenty-four hours to go until the Big Start, I might have to get out of this dive and entice some fair damsel into rescuing me.

  Aha! Here we go. Tall, but not too tall, lovely legs and firm rounded breasts—exactly what I want in a woman upon whom I must be placed. Short blonde hair pulled casually back into a ponytail but wisps are falling out around her face. She must have had a tough day. She appears to have entered and not fully realized just what sort of shop this is. Brilliant. A definite dame, worthy of such a mask as I. That extra sparkle in her eyes really draws to my inner soul.

  She’s looking for something and I bet I’m it. Yep, here she comes. Her eyes are roving, searching. She’s obviously no green young girl, despite her youthful appearance; she’s going straight past the dross and to the gold—me that is! You little beauty. Yep, she’s seen me and now all I need to make this a truly memorable carnival is for her to try me on.

  Oh fantastic. She’s got guts, this one; she’s taking the plunge.

  Ah! How I have missed the carnival season. If she’s lucky I might even let her wear me after I’ve done my business and found her soul partner for her. It’s felt so long since last year…

  Here we go again!

  * * * * *

  Lily had no idea what made her enter the tiny, darkly lit secondhand store—obviously some imp of mischief. She had spent the entire day roaming the streets, looking for the perfect mask. She had left shop after shop, always disappointed. As the day had worn on and her spirits had flagged, the shops she graced became seedier and seedier. Her footsteps became heavier and her frustration grew.

  Nothing seemed to please her! She began to wish she had created her own mask. Everything was the wrong color, too gaudy, not sparkly enough, too depressing, too short or too long. She felt like the biggest cretin on earth as dusk drew and she became truly desperate.

  Finally, a block from her hotel, she saw a chink of light coming from a shop with a wooden doorframe and chipped painted sign claiming “Ye Olde Store”. Heaving a sigh, she weighed in her mind the option of trudging through another store versus removing her shoes and massaging her aching feet.

  Even though the temptation to ignore the small store was great, she mentally shrugged her shoulders and, thinking of the not particularly appetizing frozen sausage rolls waiting for her in her hotel mini-freezer, she trudged across the street, automatically dodging the early-evening traffic.

  Pushing open the door while still managing to juggle the few shopping bags of junk she had managed to find, she heard a bell tinkle overhead. Pausing inside, looking around, squinting to try and see in the dim inner light, Lily felt almost disorientd for a moment.

  “Look around, take your time, dear,” a cheerful call came from the back. Mentally shrugging, Lily began to cruise along the aisles. Taking everything in at a glance, she realized it was a rather decrepit resale store. As she only had minutes to travel to the hotel, she figured, why not look around?

  Her eye became caught as she saw a bunch of old paperbacks on a bookshelf. Smiling to herself, hoping maybe the day wouldn’t be such a waste if she found a good old romance novel, Lily shuffled over to the bookshelf, trying not to knock anything over in the process.

  Lily carefully placed her shopping bags between her feet, angling them so she could reach most of the bookshelves without having to move and possibly forget her bags. Casting her eye professionally over the authors’ names, ignoring the covers and most of the titles as any experienced book scrounger would, she felt her breath catch as the reflected sparkle of a bead caught her eye.

  There, wedged half behind a stack of old tattered romance novels, was a satiny, deep navy blue beaded three-quarter facemask.

  Her heart pounding, half afraid she was dreaming or had hit her head and was fantasizing, Lily reached back to grasp the delicate fabric and remove the old mask.

  Oh man, it’s almost exactly what I’ve been searching for all day.

  Taking deep breaths, hoping not to hyperventilate in her excitement, Lily turned the mask over, determined to find what was wrong with it.

  The mask would cover the top of her head, down to just below her nose and above her mouth. The perfect dark navy blue, it would match her costume as exactly as she could have hoped. With wide eyeholes, so she wouldn’t have to scrunch her face up to see, the sequins and beads sewn into the face would gaily reflect the lights and colors of the carnival. It was sophisticated and elegant, yet still bright and fun.

  Absolutely perfect, she thought, amazed she could find something so perfect so close to her hotel. With growing excitement, Lily turned the mask over and brought it to her face.

  Slipping it on, she could almost believe she felt the mask itself grow with excitement. The mask slid on perfectly, as if it had been made for her, and settled upon her face as if they were meant to be.

  She closed her eyes in the blissful satisfaction a shopaholic such as herself always found with the perfect item.

  As she closed her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, she relaxed and breathed a huge sigh of relief. The strangest vision entered her mind.

  She saw herself, in her blue beaded Regency-style dress, masked, out in a garden somewhere. She was laughing and being chased by a black masked and caped man with a tricorn. She dodged between trees, laughing and calling out to the man. Suddenly, he pounced on her around the tree. Grabbed by her arm, she squealed half in fright, half in delight. When he pulled her down on top of him on the grass, her legs trapped between his, she felt her heartbeat accelerate. He held both her hands in his and rolled them both, so she lay beneath him. Without removing either of their masks he bent his head and kissed her.

  Lily blinked in a dazed manner totally unlike her. She felt as if she were waking from a dream instead of merely opening her eyes. Surprised to still find herself in the shop, rather than in a garden somewhere underneath a masked man, she took a deep breath.

  “Lovely old mask, isn’t it dear?” came a friendly old voice from behind her.

  “Uh…” stammered Lily, removing it hastily and trying to grope for her shopping bags with her other hand.

  “A dear old friend of mine brought that in. Said she had no more use for it. Boasted all her grandkids were happily married and she herself had met the man of her dreams on a cruise just six months ago. Tempted me to try it myself, but my old Mortimer would never want to go on one of those fancy cruises. You been looking for a mask for the carnival tomorrow, dear?” Lily opened her mouth to say she had but the old lady continued on as if she had already agreed. “Of course you have. You look to have been doing it all day, too. You look plumb worn-out, dear. You visiting for the big bash?”

  Lily merely nodded, not wanting to interrupt the flow of conversation.

  “That’s just fine. This old mask match your dress, does it? You’re rather lucky to have found him. I was toying with the idea of keeping him myself, but got distracted by my book collection. Didn’t realize I had left him there.” Reaching her hand out, Lily gave the mask to the old lady, amused by her candid chatter, but still a little off balance by the vision she had seen. Did the mask give visions? Or aid clairvoyance or something? Maybe she was just exceedingly tired and had dozed off for the moment?

  Tired and hungry as she was, all Lily wanted to do was head home and put the mask back on to test it out again.

  “How much is it?”

  Following the old woman as she shuffled to the ancient cash register on the crammed desk by the front door, Lily pulled her thin wallet from the back pocket of her jeans. Juggling her shopping bags, she managed to retain hold of everything.

  “Hmm…well, as this was a gift from Mavis, I really shouldn’t charge you too much at all. How’s five dollars sound, dear?”

  Lily smiled. Even with the glint in the old lady’s eye, she knew the mask was a steal for such a small sum.

  “Done,” she laughed, handing over the bill and waiting for
the decrepit register to spit out her receipt.

  Lily waited patiently as the old lady carefully placed the gorgeous mask with her receipt in a white shopping bag and handed it over. Thanking the lady profusely, Lily headed out of the shop, smiling at the tinkling of the bell.

  Walking quickly back to the hotel, very excited to have finally found her mask, she kept her head bent low, not wanting anything to come between her and the privacy of her room where she could once more put the mask on.

  Looking carefully for a break in the oncoming traffic, she jaywalked to reach a short side street she had discovered earlier in the morning. Cutting across a number of blocks to speed herself up, it only took her a few minutes to finally reach her destination.

  Smiling politely and waving at the concierge, a thin red-haired young man named Lee, she hustled her tired body to the lifts. Tapping an impatient foot, she felt an overwhelming relief when a set of elevator doors opened immediately and proceeded to carry her up to her floor.

  Grateful to have the elevator to herself, she rustled around in the bags, peering inside the one holding her mask. Interrupted by the ding of the doors opening, she sighed in resignation and almost sprinted in eagerness to her door.

  Juggling for her keycard, grateful she had kept it in her back pocket and not in a bag somewhere, she entered her small room, finally able to lock the door and the rest of the world out behind her.

  Lily dropped all her other bags carelessly on the floor, kicked off her sneakers and, carrying the beautifully beaded blue satin mask with her, sat comfortably on the couch.

  Holding her breath, half afraid nothing would happen, Lily put the mask back on. The rest of the world receded as her eyes closed once again.

  This time she was thrown back into the dream-vision picking it up almost to the second of where she had left it.

  The man in the mask and tricorn held her underneath him and he kissed her fiercely. His mouth gently pressed down on hers and she felt herself arch up into it—trying to reach further into him. His weight crashed down on her and she burned for more. His free hand roamed over her navy dress, crushing the fabric and finally settling over her now mostly exposed bosom. Dipping in, he palmed her nipple and she moaned with the pleasure his skillful, thick fingers gave.

  Arching into his hot palm, Lily raised a hand to bring his dark head down to hers. Finding his lips with hers, she felt amazement as a wealth of knowledge started flowing into her mind. His lips were soft, soft and warm. He opened his mouth in invitation, just as his skilled fingers began to tweak at her nipple.

  Lily moaned again and speared her tongue into his mouth. He tasted of heat, salty masculinity and very faintly of a fine wine, or maybe champagne. So many different textures of his tongue and mouth warred within her she could barely concentrate on the mixture of tastes.

  All she knew was that she wanted this man, needed to feel his hot skin cover and touch her own, wanted to feel his immense shaft penetrating her and not just resting hotly against her leg. She wanted to tear her own carefully crafted dress from her body and strip him of his own pants and shirt and ride him until sweat covered both their bodies.

  Panting, Lily pulled the mask off, stunned by the realistic vision. She could feel the heat of the man’s hands on her breasts, feel the softness of his lips bearing down on hers, taste his spicy, masculine scent as his tongue delved into her.

  Carefully placing the mask on the desk near her laptop, Lily paced in the small kitchen area, determined to have something solid to eat and brew up a fresh pot of coffee.

  She didn’t even know if she wanted to think further about this mask or whether she should just have something to eat and then have a decent twelve hours’ sleep. Her mind was crammed with a million questions. Was it a vision or merely a dream, a fantasy? Was she finally cracking under the strain of working too many hours? She had specifically taken the two weeks off to come down and be here in New Orleans for the Mardi Gras, to have a bit of fun. Maybe she needed a little more time away?

  Before you need the men in white coats, her mind said nastily. Lily pushed aside the thought, focusing instead on the dream-vision-whatever she had experienced.

  Hearing the coffee pot finish dripping, Lily pushed all her thoughts to the back of her head. She was here in the heart of the French Quarter for two whole weeks. Tomorrow night was the biggest party New Orleans would ever see and she was a part of it.

  She began to toast some bread and cheese; the frozen sausage rolls held no appeal anymore. Lily knew getting something to eat, and then a lot of sleep, would help her relax and enjoy the big bash tomorrow. She had plenty of time to sort out the mask later on, after the party her old high school friend, Susy, was holding.

  Finally she sat down, wriggling her feet into the soft sofa cushions, overjoyed to finally have her usually comfortable sneakers off. Lily sipped her coffee and let the melted cheese fill her mouth, carrying away all her problems.

  When her belly was warm, if not full, she stood up quickly and returned to her discarded shopping bags. Removing the fresh fruit and placing it in the mini-fridge, and tossing the silk scarves she had purchased into her opened suitcase, she squashed the bags for recycling.

  Smiling happily, she carefully picked up the mask and placed it on the bedside table, letting the lights reflect prettily from the beads. With a secret smile of pride only a dedicated shopaholic could understand, Lily stripped and headed toward the shower to get ready for bed.

  Under usual circumstances she would curl up under the covers and read one of her romance novels to wind down from her hectic day. Yet knowing tomorrow she likely wouldn’t get to bed before five or even six in the morning, added on to the fact she could never, no matter how tired, sleep past nine in the morning had her knowing she needed as much sleep as possible.

  Usually Lily cursed this inability to sleep in, yet tonight she didn’t mind going to sleep early. Visions and half-formed fantasies of a highwayman complete with tricorn and a body-to-die-for danced in her head, hopefully to be carried through into some explicit and highly erotic dreams.

  Added on to that, her main task for the day had been completed even better than she had hoped. She had found her mask and that was the most important goal she had set herself for the day.

  Life was good.

  Chapter Two

  Ah yes, I do so love to see inside people’s minds and souls. Such a useful skill! And Lily is fiery plus some. Being ravished by a highwayman! My, my! Such fiery, feisty fantasies. Of course, she doesn’t fully understand just yet but I shall hopefully be able to show her very soon. After all, there’s no use in being able to read one’s innermost thoughts and desires if one can’t help to bring them about, now is there?

  Thankfully I am able to read Lily’s most hidden desires and I am well-versed enough with the masculine thought patterns that scouting out a suitable candidate shouldn’t be too hard. It’s part of my charm, after all.

  Lucky for me, Lily seems to have taken us to a truly fantastic masked ball, held by an old friend of hers. Yes, indeed. Plenty of opportunity here for a matchmaking mask. Lily seems to have calmed down, mellowed a bit, and decided to let herself enjoy the atmosphere. Brilliant idea.

  Hmm…what’s this? She seems to have had her eye on that caped fellow for a bit over the last hour. Big black cape, black facemask and tricorn. Let me get a good look at him. Hmm. He’s eyeing her while she’s not watching, too. Good start.

  Well, well, well. Maybe my part this go-around will be easy. Mr. Tricorn is heading our way. Heads up, Lily-girl, looks like someone is interested in making you “stand and deliver”. Heh, heh, heh. Might have to keep an eye or two on this one. By the fierce, eager look in his eye, my Lily might be having an interesting night.

  With or without much of my help.

  * * * * *

  Lily sipped her champagne while standing on the edge of the dance floor and mentally breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had finally shaken off the jester who had been following
her like an adoring puppy all night. She felt quite guilty palming him off to the young little gypsy girl who didn’t look a day over sixteen but the sweet little thing had seemed so eager for the jester, Lily didn’t have the heart not to set them up.

  Tapping her foot in time to the sounds of the swinging band, she took another sip of the champagne and looked around for a spot to leave the glass. She didn’t want to waste a moment of the rest of the night and who cared if she entered the dance floor alone? She certainly wouldn’t be leaving it alone and the time left until midnight was too precious to waste.

  Pouring the ruinously expensive champagne into a convenient potted plant and resting the glass on the edge of the huge pot, she shook out her dress and looked around, feeling guilty. It was a waste of champagne, but she wanted to dance far more and, if she simply left it sitting around, it would almost certainly be thrown out anyway.

  Taking eager strides toward the dance floor, dodging the people hanging around chatting, she felt a huge grin cross her face, reminding her of the extraordinarily comfortable mask covering her features.

  Free at last! She chanted to herself in glee. Less than four steps from the dance floor, she heard a husky, masculine sound voice her thought from a second ago.

  “Free at last, I see. I sincerely hope you didn’t kill that poor jester trying to woo you. May I have this dance? As you do seem so eager to hit the floor.”

  Confused for a moment, shocked that someone appeared to read her mind, she turned around. Unfortunately, she turned so quickly she almost lost her balance on the newly waxed dance floor and she skidded slightly on her stilettos.

  “Whoops! Had a drink or two, my dear?”

  The man caught her arm easily, and steadied her. As she laughed and stood fully upright again, she had the grace to blush as she realized that, while she hadn’t made a fool of herself, if this man hadn’t steadied her, she might have.