Mesmerism (o.h.)

⚜5⚜

A steady drum solo sounded through the ballroom and Madelyn turned her body toward the staircase as eight men carrying Jamaican drums made their way down the steps, beating on their drums with their drumsticks and their hands.

She saw Hayley standing in front of the staircase as the guest all made a hole for the drummers. Madelyn herself stood closer to the staircase as she had just been talking to Davina Claire, the witch that received no gifts from the guests.

Madelyn saw as Elijah moved across the floor to stand beside Hayley as they watched the drummers. Madelyn had to look away from them before she got angry. She didn't understand how she could get so jealous, because she had never met him before the fire at the plantation. She didn't know him. She didn't hang around him. Hayley did.

As the drummers stopped in the middle of the floor, they finished their drumming. "Happy Fête des Bénédictions," one of the men shouted to the guests. "We have a message for all of you from Marcel Gerard."

Murmurs broke out from people of the crowd, and, judging by the looks on Hayley and Elijah's faces, Madelyn got a bad feeling about the "message" that this "Marcel" guy.

To speak true to her bad feeling, all eight drummers produced a switchblade first. They popped them open in unison, and then proceeded to cut their wrists. Madelyn's lips fell open slightly at the sight of the blood oozing from the men's wrists.

She looked around to see each vampire in the room with the veins showing under their red eyes and their fangs out. They all started hissing in hunger at the sight of the blood, but none of them attacked.

Madelyn became practically still when she saw a few of the vampires were close to her. She didn't dare breathe as she watched Elijah walk out into the middle of the floor. He turned to the guests and looked between the vampires. "You will control yourselves," he told them calmly. "This is a vulgar trick. We do not violate our agreement."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the room went dark and the guests started screaming and shouting. Madelyn ducked and tried to get to Hayley in the dark as the vampires started hissing. The iron scent of blood filled the air as they attacked anybody they could grab.

"Hayley!"

Madelyn's sensitive ears picked up on Elijah shouting Hayley's name over the screams of the fleeing guests. Something struck her in her gut as she listened to him shout Hayley's name. She stilled in her flight from the room, and that's when strong arms grabbed her.

Sharp fangs sank into the flesh of her neck and she gasped, finding it hard to scream as she felt the blood start to leave her body. Her reflexes took over and she used her strength to shoved the vampire away. His teeth yanked her skin, ripping it as he detached himself. He hissed at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, twisting his head to snap his neck. He dropped to the floor and so did she.

She gasped to breathe as blood flowed down her chest, covering her wound with her hand as if it would stop the blood.

The lights came back on and Madelyn saw the carnage that the darkness had created. All eight drummers, along with several of the guests, were all dead on the floor.

"Elijah?" Hayley's voice rang out.

"Hayley," he said.

Madelyn turned to see him knelt down beside Hayley, helping her to her feet. Madelyn felt tears in her eyes, but silently pushed herself to her feet. Neither of them saw her as she turned and ran out of the room. Her adrenaline was still pumping through her body, even as she lost blood.

She made it all the way outside before the adrenaline was gone—as quickly as it had come on. She didn't run. She stumbled as she made her way through the alley. She tried not to think about the sight of Elijah at Hayley's aid. She had to get over the silly crush she had on him, no matter what.