The Hollow Ball

Chapter 14

For a moment, it was only him and I.

West and Maeve were gone. Where or when my mind couldn't comprehend, the tiny flash of panic from their absence rose and fell together. I could only stare at the boy in the skull mask; his presence loomed over me, sharp, otherworldly, and with the fluidity and power of a natural-born predator. The world around me wavered like the plucked string of a harp, a beautiful, tremulous tone ringing in my ears as the heat of West's body faded and my thoughts swam with recollection.

I knew him. I'd seen him—in a dream—in every dream—where I met an end.

"Would you honor me with a dance?" the Shadow asked. His voice was deep and encompassing, reminding me of the heavy thunder of a spring storm. A voice that could convince a person to do anything—including giving up their soul.

Honor him?

My muscles tightened, and whatever spell the Shadow aimed to cast over me slid from my skin like a too-heavy coat, and I stepped back.

"No," I said to the Shadow, panic lurching as my gaze darted through the crowd, searching for my friends. A couple twirled past while another couple swept through the space between us, the golden lights of souls fluttering through the air with the swell of the music. There—at the far end of the crowd, West dancing with a woman in the white gown, Maeve in the arms of a woman with a mask as tall as her hair, my friends were entranced by the creatures of this land.

"Then, why, may I ask, have you come here tonight?" the Shadow asked.

My gaze snapped back to his, sharp and furious. "With all due respect, Lord Shadow, If you're going to kill me tonight, at least give me the courtesy of the truth."

I didn't care if my words would offend the Shadow. Even with all they took against my will, I still had the leverage of my damned soul, and I refused any mockery at the hands of anyone involved.

How dare he?

The Shadow's green eyes glowed with mischievous delight, and he inclined his head. The bone-white skull of his mask looked more and more real the longer I stared at it, and I was afraid of who or how he acquired it.

Oh, no. What if he's looking for a new skull to replace it? And what if I gave him the perfect choice?

Just as I opened my mouth to apologize for my rudeness, a beautiful singing voice joined the music. With breathy and angelic notes, conjuring thoughts of the stars and a midnight sky, it reminded me of that fateful night in Hannover Forrest—just before the Shadows came—and a pressure formed behind my eyelids. Focus, Hayley. You have to focus.

The boy in the skull mask prowled closer. His lips tugged into a peculiar, predatory smile revealing sharp, pointed fangs, and he said, "I promise I won't hurt you, Hayley."

My focus slipped further and further away. Dazed, I asked, "Who are you?"

His fingers ghosted over my waist. "Dance with me, and I will tell you."

As the beautiful song pulled me higher out of my body, I nodded, and without another word, the Shadow swept us across the ballroom floor. Lights of souls—golden, green, silver, blue, and every color in between—swam through the air in a magnificent dance. Shadows, it seemed, did not devour their prey in a single bite. Beneath their masks, their eyes glowed as they inhaled the essences slowly, carefully—reveling in each shimmering breath.

My stomach roiled at the thought. Somehow, this was worse.

The Shadow's hands were cold against my skin, and the world blurred into sounds and colors with every sweep across the dance floor, left then right, in intricate circles and whirling skirts. "Who are you?" I repeated.