A Dance With The Devil
1103 Words
Esdeath?”
“Hello, Joey.”
My mind went blank.
For a moment, everything around me faded into a blur—the basement, the men with guns, the ropes cutting into my wrists. All I could focus on was the woman standing before me.
Who would have thought that the lovely girl I met earlier today was the same ice-cold killer now staring back at me?
“Joey, why does she know your name?” Ron asked, his voice thick with confusion.
A faint smile tugged at Esdeath’s lips.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Ron.”
Ron turned to me, his eyes wide.
“Joey, why does she know my name?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“What are you all standing around for?” Esdeath said, her voice suddenly sharp.
The men around us immediately straightened.
“Untie our guests.”
For a second, nobody moved, as if they weren’t sure they had heard her correctly.
Then the ropes around my wrists loosened.
I rubbed the burning skin and kept my eyes on Esdeath.
The more I looked at her, the less she resembled the cheerful woman from the bus stop.
That smile was still there.
But now it felt dangerous.
“Was Esdeath really the best thing you could come up with for Mr. Death?” I asked with a shrug.
The pieces were finally starting to fit together.
“Joey,” Ron said, looking between us, “why do you know her name? And why do I get the feeling you two know each other?”
“I met her at a bus stop earlier today. I even offered her my scarf.”
“Oh, the scarf.” Esdeath smiled. “It was a big help. Thanks again for that.”
The sarcasm in her voice was impossible to miss.
“I feel completely left out of this conversation,” Ron muttered.
“Oh, you want me to fill you in?” I laughed bitterly. “Sure.”
I looked around at the armed men surrounding us.
“My dear Ron, we’re screwed.”
The smile on Esdeath’s face widened.
“Everything,” I continued, “from the letter that got sent to you, to me meeting her at that bus stop, to your phone call, and finally ending up here—every single bit of it was planned.”
Ron stared at me.
“What are you saying?”
I met Esdeath’s eyes.
“I’m saying we’ve been walking into a trap since the very beginning.”
The basement suddenly felt a lot smaller.
“We’re f****d, Ron.”
“Why do all this?” I asked. “What do you want with us?”
The smile on Esdeath’s face vanished.
Then it returned.
Sharper.
Crueler.
“Oh, we want nothing to do with Ron. In fact, we would’ve killed him a long time ago—”
“But you didn’t,” I interrupted.
She stopped.
“You didn’t because you knew you could get to me through him.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then a cold smile spread across her face.
“As sharp as I expected.”
A knot formed in my stomach.
“But why? What could you possibly need me for?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
“Has five years really made you forget everything, Joey?”
Her eyes bored into mine.
“What are you talking about?”
The smile disappeared completely.
“Don’t play dumb with me.”
“What does she mean, Joey?” Ron asked, panic creeping into his voice.
“I don’t know!” I snapped.
The words sounded weak even to me.
Ron looked from me to Esdeath and back again.
The realization was finally sinking in.
The little composure he had left crumbled away, and for the first time since I’d known him, I saw genuine terror in his eyes.
“You don’t know?” Esdeath repeated.
The way she said it made it sound like she had been expecting that answer all along.
She turned to one of the men standing nearby.
“Bring it in.”
The mafioso nodded and hurried out of the basement.
Silence swallowed the room.
A minute later, the man returned.
He wasn’t alone.
Another man followed closely behind him, carrying a small black briefcase.
The moment I saw it, a strange feeling settled in my chest.
Esdeath’s eyes never left mine.
“Maybe this will help refresh your memory.”
“What makes you think that little briefcase is going to make me dance to your tune?” I asked, forcing confidence into my voice.
Then I noticed something.
If there was one thing genuinely terrifying about Esdeath, it was her ability to completely change the atmosphere of a room without ever losing that smile.
The mood shifted again.
“Because,” she said, her grin sharpening, “I know how much you enjoy dancing with the devil.”
The confidence in her voice chipped away at my own.
For the first time since arriving here, I felt absolutely uneasy.
What the hell was inside that briefcase?
“You want to know, don’t you?” Her eyes locked onto mine. “What’s inside the box?”
She glanced toward the man holding it.
“Give it to him.”
The room seemed to grow quieter with every step the man took toward me.
Ron was in even worse shape.
The panic he’d been trying to suppress was written all over his face.
“Here.”
The man held out the briefcase.
I took it.
It felt heavier than it should have.
I looked up.
Esdeath was watching me.
Waiting.
That same ice-cold smile stretched across her face.
“Come on, Joey,” Ron said nervously. “Open it.”
I swallowed.
“I’m getting there.”
Slowly, I unclasped the locks and lifted the lid.
Inside was a single photograph.
Nothing else.
Just one photograph lying face down.
My stomach dropped.
“No…” I whispered.
A strange dread crawled through me before I had even touched it.
As if some part of me already knew what I was about to see.
Across the room, Esdeath’s smile widened.
“What is it?” Ron asked. “What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t answer.
“Joey, you haven’t even looked at the photo yet.”
My hand trembled as I reached inside the briefcase.
Please.
I picked up the photograph.
Please don’t be that.
My fingers tightened around its edges.
Please.
Please.
Please.
Slowly, I turned it over.
- Writer
