Page 21 of Above All Else

Away from you, and this...

I looked around before taking the steps two at a time, the silks hanging from the ceiling a mesmerizing site.

Rushing through the crowd, my shoulder knocked into a man wearing a warthog mask with a woman in tow. I reeled around, reaching out in a reticent apology, then sprinted toward the sky-high windows.

Where is the door?

How do I get out of here?

My heart pounded like a wild drum against my ribs, and each beat sending a sharp, throbbing pain to my temples, making the world tilt and sway around me. The air was thick, too heavy, pressing down on me as I stumbled, my feet unsteady beneath me. I spun around, eyes darting through the sea of masked faces,all blurred and distorted like a fever dream.

Where the hell is he?

A wave of nausea clawed up my throat, acidic and bitter, as my gaze locked onto the grotesque spectacle above. Bodies swaying gently from the rafters, their skin a sickly shade of mauve, lips turned an unnatural shade of blue. Their eyes, lifeless and glassy, followed me, accusing, condemning. My stomach churned, the bile threatening to spill over as the stench of decay invaded my senses, thick and suffocating. I couldn’t look away, though every instinct screamed at me to run.

The dead hung there like grotesque ornaments draped in the blinding light, their lifeless eyes staring into the abyss.

Who would do such a thing?

“No, no, stop.” The door slammed shut with a bone-jarring finality, snuffing out the man’s cries like a candle extinguished by a sudden gust of wind.

A rush of shivers raced down my spine as a cold wave of dread washed over me—the walls closing in.

Men and women glided through the room, their laughter a thin veneer over the underlying tension, champagne flutes held high like trophies of a celebration that was anything but joyous. A mask obscured each face, a grotesque menagerie of animals in all shapes and sizes—some regal, others nightmarish.

A woman in a striking red cocktail dress, adorned with a feathered cardinal mask, loomed over a cowering woman sprawled on the floor. The black-haired woman trembled, her long locks cascading like a dark waterfall while ropes bound herankles, leaving her helpless against the encroaching menace.

The woman in red gripped a large, serrated knife in her right hand, the blade glinting. She seized the black-haired woman with her free hand, yanking her upward and exposing the delicate curve of her neck.

No.

My stomach dropped.

“Miranda, stop this, please.” The young woman grabbed the woman in red’s wrist, pulling at her hair.

“I told you that you would be sorry. Didn’t I?”

“I didn’t know. I swear it.” The woman wailed, her entire body trembling.

The masked woman cackled as she placed the knife at the woman’s throat and dragged the blade, splitting her flesh wide open.

My mouth gaped with a silent scream, and my stomach lurched, churning with vitriol.

The woman clawed at her neck, her fingers slick with crimson, blood pooling in dark, glistening puddles. The rope yanked her legs into the air, suspending her above a circle of ornate goblets that collected her lifeblood. Her body convulsed, a visceral dance of agony.

Applause erupted.

“It’s all so erotic, isn’t it?” Carter murmured near my ear as he wrapped his arms around my torso and pressed his hips into my ass. “Vengeance being placed solely in your hands.”

“You’re insane.” I gasped. “You’re all insane.”

His free hand slid to my waist. “I’m perfectly sane,” he murmured, “but tonight, I’ve granted myself the luxury of indulging in what I truly desire.”

My stomach flip-flopped as I shook my head, my face burning as my eyes remained on the twisted scene in front of me.

I swallowed hard.

How was a society of freaks able to operate outside of the law?

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