The Demon's Angel

Chapter 3

Mr Graystone nodded his head sharply causing the man in white to raise his hands and tug at the ribbons of her mask. As he did so, she felt a sharp pain as some of her soft golden locks were pulled out in the process. She looked up again just in time to catch what she swore was the same silver glint in Mr Graystones' eyes. The mask fell away and he grabbed at Mina's jaw with one large black leather clad hand. Their eyes were locked and Mina's stomach flipped over. She could feel the power radiating from him.

The spell was broken as he slowly but forcefully turned her head side to side. He stepped back, then moved with the other hand to brush her hair back from her shoulders using the tip of his cane.

Mina's pulse thundered in her ears, she was shaking at the thought of what this man might do. The cold metal tip of his cane ran down from her shoulder to the front of her dress and he allowed the pressure to tug at the bodice of her dress revealing more of her flesh. The tip was sharp and sprung a few of the buttons at the top, causing some of her breast to spill forwards. She was sure her cheeks would be glowing red by now.

Just as she thought her humiliation over, her palm was lifted and his cane nicked the skin there. To her shock, he raised the tip to his lips and let out a deep anamalistic growl.

Just as she had begun to work up the courage to ask what was going on, the cane withdrew and he turned his back to them all. Returning to the desk the man picked up the papers and thrust them at forwards. "Fine, Ms Agnola, we will see how it goes."

He did not turn back around, but the man in white put the papers before her. A beautiful silver filigree pen was presented to her, but no ink. Seeing none before her, with shaking hands she leant down to sign her name. Sure enough, a red ink flowed from the pen as she drew her signature.

With a million questions in her head,

Mina was ushered out of the room. Before he could close the door, she heard Graystone's barritone "Solitary!" and the door slammed shut.

Wondering what his words meant, she was lead back in the dimly lit room where they were greeted by a small woman clad in the white uniform. She smiled slowly and slipped a hand into the crook of Mina's arm.

Taken by suprise and confused by the events unfolding, she did not move at the touch.

They retraced their steps back through the two dim rooms and out into the main hallway. Before they moved to the staircase, Peter caught her arm.

"This is where I leave you Ms Agnola." he said with a small frown. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

She did not know how to answer. This surely could not be worse than the life she came from. The looming threat of her marriage to a deranged man to line her Uncle's pockets mDmade a shudder run through her body. The mere thought of Henrik and her blood turned cold enough to solidify her resolve.

She merely managed to nod and kissed Peter on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered gently.

Without a word more, they ascended the stairs.

As they climbed, Mina noticed the small woman, who she could now see was around 20, was still holding onto her arm. As they walked, Mina glanced over to her to get a better look. The woman had jet black hair and slightly tanned skin. Her lips were bow like and a lovely shade of pink, whilst her cat-like eyes suggested East Asian origins.

Mina almost stumbled as they reached the top of the stairs, her feet had continued to try to find more stairs in mindless repetition. Several revelers now stood on the mezzanine overlooking the entrance hall. Each one was disguised by a mask and some flamboyant attire. Laughter and ruckus conversation echoed across the ceiling of the large room.

Their group moved through the crowd and came to another large wooden door off of the mezzanine landing.The young woman left Mina's side and knocked on the door twice. It swung inwards and a man all in black, dressed identically to the one who had greeted them at the main door, bowed slightly at the waist as they entered.

This was another dim room, or more accurately a corridor, with multiple doors leading off of it. The small woman in white lead them down the hall. As they walked past each door, Mina could hear what sounded like fighting. She wondered if this was perhaps an illegal fighing ring, until they passed a room with the door ajar as a figure slipped inside.