The letter came in the mail on a Tuesday in early October.
You've been invited to the annual Halloween masquerade ball.
Dress up, mask included. The night will be filled with mysteries.
No location mentioned and no hour. It lingered on his mind during the day before he eventually forget about it as it got lost in piles of paper on his desk.
His mother found the invitation again as she was sorting through the papers in his office. She asked him about it when he came home and he just shrugged.
The next morning he found another letter in his mail, another invitation.
The masquerade will be held at the Witchfield Mansion on Crow Hill.
Take place on the courtyard before the clock strikes 6 o'clock on October 31st.
He put the invitations up on his fridge and made a mental note to go shopping for a mask and some clothes for the masquerade.
As the end of October rolled around, he was buried in work before his week off. The week around Halloween was sacred to him and he always took out his sick days during those days.
On October 31st, he had his costume ready and on, mask in hand as he walked up the gravel road to the courtyard of Witchfield Mansion. He was alone and the sun had begun to set as he stopped infront of the stairs. He glanced down at his wrist watch, watching the seconds tick by. It was getting close to 6 o'clock.
As he waited on the steps to the mansion, the wind picked up and he shivered through his thin gold embroiled jacket.
Just as the clock struck 6, the heavy double doors to the mansion flew up with a loud bang and he jumped up in fear. Leaves whirled up around him in the warm colours of golden yellow and bright flaming red and orange. A man in tailcoat stepped out and raised an eyebrow at the young man in his sight.
The butler clasped his hands together infront of himself and the man walked up the steps, raising his mask to cover his face.
"Good evening, sir." The butler said, his voice deep and stiff. The man nodded in acknowledgement and smiled slightly.
"Good evening. Am I late?" he asked, smiling nervously. The butler shook his head and eyed him up and down.
"No, sir. You're right on time. The other guests are waiting for you." He turned around and his feet moved into a slow walk, letting the young man follow with ease. He looked around in awe, the mansion lit up in a warm welcoming light. The wall were covered by colorful tapestry, embroiled with gold patterns and images of dancing people and festive events. The heels of his boots clicked against the marble floor and the soft sound of music reached his ears as they approached a pair of double doors painted in gold. Above the doors, hung a big Pride flag, making the young man smile.
The butler stopped infront of the doors and gave them a light knock. Just as the young man went to speak, the double doors opened. He was met with a sea of masks in various colours of green and gold, red and silver, black and gold. Men and women stopped moving and looked at him.
"Welcome, to the Halloween masquerade ball." The butler announced in a clear voice, making the man avert his eyes from the crowd of ball gowns and suits to meet the older man's eyes. He parted his lips, ready to speak but not a sound slipped out. He pressed his lips together and swallowed hard before stepping into the big ball room. In the middle of the room there was a big dance floor and in the ceiling, hung a big crystal chandelier. A case of stairs leading up to a balcony with golden railing towered up on the other side of the room, infront of him. The orchestra played soft music and a quiet murmur went through the room.
Suddenly, the music stopped and the only thing you could hear was the clicking of boots against cold marble floor. A door was opened and the young man looked up, eyelashes brushing against the rough edged glitter on his mask. On the balcony stood a tall, dark haired young man hidden behind his silver mask. His jacket and trousers were charcoal black with silver embroidering. He was enchanting. The whole atmosphere shifted as the man made his way down the steps. It became colder and more hollow, like someone sucked the life out of everyone. It was uncanny.
"Welcome, all my beautiful guests. Tonight, I have a very special evening planned out for us. Please, enjoy the delicious canapés and drinks. We have two rules tonight. One, keep on dancing, enjoy yourself and make new acquaintances. And two, do not take your masks off, whatever you do. We're not here to judge a book by it's cover." He smiled brightly, making everyone in the room hold their breath to hear the next word leaving his pink plump lips.
Time passed and the young man enjoyed himself, a flute of champagne in hand as he spoke to a young couple.
"So, you're a couple?" he asked, sipping his drink as they nodded. The girl smiled and grabbed her partner's hand.
"Yes, we are. They asked for my number through a coffee cup." she giggled and her partner grinned down at her. He smiled softly at them.
"That's really sweet." he looked around as the girl went on to tell some soppy story from their first date, causing him to tune out.
"And what about you? Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Partner?" she asked, her red painted lips stretched into a wide smile. He looked back at her, shrugging gently.
"No, not at the moment. I got out of a tricky relationship not long ag-" he stopped mid-sentence as he caught the eyes of a certain tall, dark haired man. He felt something pull in him, urging him to approach the beautiful man.
"Excuse me for a moment." he offered an apologetic smile and moved past them, sipping his champagne. The tall man smiled at him.
"Hello, pretty boy." he grinned, smile side-looped and showing off a set of pearly white teeth.
"Hi." he bit his lip, a faint blush covering his cheeks. The dark man chuckled softly and nodded towards the flute of bubbles.
"May I offer you another drink?" he asked, causing the younger man to smile.
"That'd be lovely. I'm Ashley. And you are?" he inquired, eager to find out the man's name. The tall man winked at him.
"I'm not gonna tell you yet." he smirked and Ashley raised his eyebrow. The beautiful, tall, dark haired man looked down at him, meeting his eyes. It caused Ashley to stumble and he blushed hard as he regained his balance.
The evening went on with small talk and gossip with each other as other people danced and ate of the buffé. Ashley heard a lot of information about people at the ball. He also noticed how the crowd of guests decreased in number during the hours passing. The girl with red lips was nowhere to be seen and her partner had been around to everyone, asking for her, with no result.
As Ashley stood by the buffé, talking to an older woman in a black sparkly dress, he saw the tall man exit from a door under the staircase. He wiped his hands with his handkerchief and licked his lips. Their eyes met and Ashley's heart skipped a beat, for the eyes of the dark man shifted in colour. Ashley quickly looked away.
Later on in the evening, as the time neared 9 o'clock, Ashley found himself on the first steps of the staircase, something urging him to go upstairs. His heart was beating fast, mind going back to think over the earlier hours. More and more people had disappeared, leaving behind confused guests and partners on the dance floor. They were only twenty out of a fifty left. Their host had barely been present and kept showing up after the guests had disappeared. Ashley was confused.
"Ashley, come join us for a drinking game!" called Cameron, a person he had gotten to know during the night. They were very kind and very gorgeous, but Ashley couldn't bring himself to make a move as he was lusting for another, their host. Ashley descended from the stairs and went over to the ring of people, sitting down next to Cameron, who smiled charmingly at the young man.
During the night, people had tried to make a move on Ashley, but it never led anywhere. Because they disappeared without a trace as soon as he turned away.
Cameron broke his train of thoughts with a kiss on his cheek, causing Ashley's eyes to widen and a soft blush spread on his cheeks.
"What was that for?" he looked up at Cameron who was a few inches taller than him. Cameron smiled and grabbed his hand gently.
"I kind of like you, if you haven't guessed that already." he replied softly and Ashley felt his heart skip a beat. He found Cameron very attractive but he was captivated by those color shifting eyes.
"C'mon, let's go get some air." he said softly, rising to his feet and pulling Ashley up with him with a smile on his face.
They went outside onto the balcony, leaning against the heavy stone railing. The courtyard was lit up by lamps, giving off a soft glow in the night. Ashley was pushed up against the railing by Cameron, a soft smile playing on his lips.
"Hi.." he whispered and Cameron grinned charmingly, leaning in closer. Their lips almost touching as their breaths mingled in the cold October air.
"You're beautiful.." Cameron whispered, brushing his lips to Ashley's. Ashley shut his eyes slowly, leaning up slightly but before his lips reached Cameron, a scream was heard and Cameron's body was pulled away and thrown onto the floor. With eyes wide and breath caught in his throat, Ashley cowered back in fear at the sight of Cameron's lifeless body.
"How dare he lay his hands on you?!" a voice boomed from the shadows before stepping out into the light. Ashley gasped, heart beating hard.
Infront of him stood the gorgeous man, mask off and clothes torn. His eyes a dark red colour, the colour of blood. He looked furious, standing with closed fists and lips crimson red in a tight line.
"S-Stay away from me!" Ashley cried out in fear, trying to crawl away when the man advanced, stepping closer to him.
"You can't run, darling. You're mine now." he chuckled darkly. Ashley whimpered as his back hit the cold stone. He looked up at the man, meeting his eyes.
"Who are you?" he whispered and the man smirked.
"I'm Lucifer, darling." the name rolled off his tongue with ease, sounding so kind behind the evil name he wore.
"Lucifer?" Ashley whispered as the devil himself nodded.
"Yes. And you're mine."