Deceit

Chapter 5

DAPHNE

After being freed by my rescuer, the police showed up. He must have called because I didn’t. They called my parents and took a statement from me. They were all looking at me in disbelief after seeing the gruesome scene. The police wanted to see the footage from the attack. My parents obliged of course. I watched with them to see my rescuer. All that was caught on tape was darkness. You could see nothing at all. The police thought I was crazy after hearing what I told them about the intruder and the man who killed him. Then, they quickly dismissed it and acted like it was a case solved. My parents didn’t seem to care much either.

I woke up the night after the attack in a panic. I had dreamed of a witch hunting me in the woods. I ran and ran but could not escape from her and she could never catch me. Just howling of the wind and panicked footsteps in the leaves. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of what I felt the other night when that wierd darkness came. As it all came rushing back to me i began to panic. I jumped up and went to check the safe room. To my surprise it was clean. My parents must have called someone to clean it or maybe the police sent a cleaning crew. Either way, I went to the kitchen and ran into my father.

“Good morning sweetheart! Happy birthday!” He exclaimed.

“Thank you father.” I spoke timidly.

This is not what I am used to. Father doesn’t usually speak to me at all. Mother was cooking breakfast which is also not usual. She dislikes me. Why would she cook a birthday breakfast. They haven’t even acknowledged my birthday for the last 5 years. They did tell me I was going to have a birthday party this year. However they made it clear that IT was mostly for the guests they invited. I don’t know these people but mom and dad said they are important for my future. I don’t know what that even means but whatever. I ate the pancakes, eggs, and sausage with a healthy dose of suspicion.

After I was finished I excused myself from the table and went to our monitor room. The monitor room had all of the security equipment in it. I wanted to see what exactly happened last night. I pulled up the video feed and advanced to the correct time. I saw the man enter the house and suddenly my blood ran cold. I gathered myself and continued. I forwarded a little more, I didn’t want to see all of it. I already lived it. Then, I saw him on one of the outside cameras… but I couldn’t tell who he was. The image was too blurry. He entered the house through the open door. He hurriedly went to the safe room. And then everything went dark. All the cameras, even the outside ones.

I switch camera feeds to see the rest. He entered the room and one of the most terrifying sounds escaped his body. A growl that could have sent demons back to hell. It sent shivers down my spine and made the hair on my body stand up. Who was this person? I listened some more and heard all the crunching and tearing did before.

Was I crazy? I heard him speaking to me. I’m not crazy. He spoke to me but I can’t hear any voice except my own. Then I could swear that just for a moment I saw a silhouette of an angel. I quickly called myself crazy. What in the heavens is going on? I’m questioning my sanity now… I am just floored. I watched the footage 3 more times. I didn’t make it any easier to swallow. I had no idea what was going on.

I was wallowing in my confusion when I heard my mother exclaiming.

“Oh! How divine! The counsel will love this will they not?”

“They will love anything you do darling.” Proclaimed my father.

The party planners must have arrived. I needed to go get dressed.

Several months ago my mother took me shopping for a dress just for this occasion. I didn’t think it would be very fancy but she bought one of the most beautiful gowns for me. It was an indigo slinky, form fitting, full length gown with an exposed back and spaghetti strap plunging neck line. It was VERY flattering to my figure. I loved the dress. It was covered in sparkles and it made the dress look like a back drop for the night sky. I decided to pair it with a pair of black strappy 6in stilettos. All of that paired with my long black curly hair, pale complexion and green eyes… I would be stunning. There would be no way I wouldn’t impress these people coming to my party.

I ran upstairs to my bedroom and started by taking a shower. I undressed, allowing all of my pale skin to be exposed to the cold air. It gave me goosebumps. I turned on the water in my shower that was attached to my room and let it steam up. I stepped in and carefully tested the water with my hands. It was warm and comforting. I let the water start running down my body. Over my face and hair, down my shoulders and back. It felt so good to be grounded. Water always made me feel better.

I exited the shower and grabbed the towel hanging on the rack. I wrapped it around myself and went to the closet to put some clothes on while I get ready. I threw on a pair of modal pajamas and went back to the bathroom. I started by doing my hair. I put some curl cream in it and then diffused it till it was dry. Then I pulled out my makeup and started that. I don’t wear a lot of makeup because I have some natural beauty. Like my eyelashes. They were unbelievably long. It looked like I had extensions but I don’t. I moisturized my face and then put a little mascara on in addition to some highlighter and lip gloss. I finger brushed my hair as a last minute touch. Just enough to make it look a bit unruly but not frizzy. I took one final look in the mirror and was satisfied.

I went back to my closet and pulled out the dress. I laid it on my bed and all of a sudden I was in terrible pain. Like seriously bad period cramps. I cried out in pain but it subsided almost as quickly as it came on. After catching a few breaths I stood up and started to put the dress on.

CHAO

I had taken my bike to the location. Mike and River took the truck with all the equipment. I arrived before they did. Something was different. This place had a different smell in it than before. It smelled… delectable. Like honey and lemon. It made me crave iced lemon cake and regret skipping breakfast. I brushed it off. This town was full of smells and there was so much going on on the property in preparation for the event that it could have been any number of things. I focused on the job.

River backed in the flatbed with all our equipment on it and we got to work. Setting up stages was easy. Even the audio equipment wasn’t complicated. I just went with it. We set up the stage and equipment. Now we have to sit around and wait to take it all down. Usually we help ourselves to the catering and just chill in the back not bothering anyone. We found a quiet place to sit and planted ourselves.

I was silently hoping that Daphne didn’t recognize me. The last thing I needed was for someone to try and engage in conversation with me. I took a sip of my whiskey neat and leaned back to look at the stars. Out here you could see so many more than in the city. But it was nothing like the sky in Otherworld. I found myself missing my home. I needed to stay focused. I planned on challenging the new king to take the throne. I am easily larger than any other fae in the kingdom because of my lineage. My powers were a whole other situation. My father had taught me how to fight at least. It should be a KO.

I was laying there minding my own business when all of a sudden the smell of honey and lemon got stronger. It sent my mind into a frenzy. I looked around and saw Daphne walking down the staircase.