Chapter Sixteen
The gothic mansion was dark and gloomy on the outside, if it weren’t for the buzz of people talking and music playing Sarah would have thought it was abandoned.
Asald parked the car and led the way, the large doors swung open slowly, a loud creaking echoing around the entryway. Asald was a tall man but even he looked tiny next to the doors.
The sounds of people partying led them to a huge ballroom. It was a Halloween party on steroids. Sarah couldn’t believe her eyes, her mouth gaping open. She stood silently taking in everything around her. There were people who looked part human part werewolves and bears, a witch, a large yeti, and so much more.
“Excuse me.” Sarah jumped as a pure white unicorn walked by, trying to get around their group. She reached out to touch it, she couldn't see any seems, but someone had to be inside since she heard it speak.
Penny grabbed her wrist, “You don’t reach out and touch someone you don’t know.”
“I think I’m losing my mind, please tell me you heard that thing talk,” She turned and pointed to a corner of the room, “and you see a freaking phoenix sitting on a table, right?” She spun the other direction and pointed to a group near them, “okay, come on, seriously? How the hell is there a satyr talking to Medusa and a dragon? They all look so real, I suddenly feel really cheap in my costume.”
“No second guesses now, you were the one who said you had to follow Seraphine’s orders.” Penny reminded Sarah.
A loud, piercing whistle caught their attention, four gargoyles were standing across the room, two identical ones were waving exuberantly. “Is that Pascal and Toussaint?” Their wings were as impressive as Asald’s, their skin was similarly colored but the angles to their faces and bodies were much sharper. “That must mean the other two are Aristide and Sebastian, did you guys plan to dress alike?” Sarah looked at Asald questioningly.
“Um, yeah, we thought it would be fun.” Asald rubbed the back of his neck nervously before taking off toward the guys.
Sarah and Penny followed closely behind, they nearly ran into his back multiple times, they weren’t able to pay attention to him when there were so many fascinating costumes around them.
They passed a table with a giant chocolate fountain flowing, tiny winged creatures were strewn all around it, some hanging out of the bowls with drool dripping from their open mouths.
“I guess the brownies over imbibed too soon, they are going to have serious chocolate hangovers tomorrow. At least we know they won’t be messing with us while we sleep tonight.” Asald shrugged and kept walking.
A shimmer at the corner of Sarah’s vision had her head whipping around, Adam was standing next to a table talking to Silver. She thought it was funny Silver wore the Anubis costume Seraphine had been pushing at him, against his wishes too. Both men were gesturing towards a mummy nearby who looked angrily towards them.
Sarah didn’t want to make the first move, if he was trying to get rid of her she wasn’t going to look like an idiot begging for his attention.
She stood back from the gargoyle group, not really listening to their chatter, her attention focused on Adam and where he was. He was easy to spot, not only because his scars were brighter in the firelight but also because he wasn’t in costume. Not that Sarah was complaining, his jeans were hugging his ass and his black t-shirt accented his muscular shoulders and arms.
When Sarah thought she was going to burst with the need to go to him he finally patted Silver’s back and dragged him to their group. It took Adam a second to find her, being in the middle of five giant gargoyles she was hard to spot.
She was relieved he smiled and waved to her, she prayed that was a good sign. As he got closer he took in her costume, his facial expression getting gloomier by the second. She stayed quiet as the group greeted each other. Finally, his eyes met hers, a tingle ran down her spine.
“You’re not in costume, you don’t like these types of parties?” Sarah licked her suddenly dry lips, waiting for his response.
“I am my costume.” Sarah was taken back by the tenseness in his voice. She didn’t respond, she wasn’t great at riddles and had no idea what he meant. Penny must have sensed her uncomfortableness and came to her rescue.
“I don’t get it, what does that mean?”
“My name is Adam, I’m the monster that was created by Dr. Frankenstein. Brilliant at his work but his cosmetic surgery skills were lacking.” His voice still had an edge to it. “And what are you?” His eyes hadn’t left Sarah’s, she was afraid to respond.
She finally cleared her throat, “I’m a mad scientist, I guess that means I created you?” She chuckled at her attempt at a joke.
“Awkward,” Pascal whispered to the rest of the group.
“That was the worst time in my very long life and you decide to make fun of it?” Sarah could see the fire in his eyes.
Silver grabbed his shoulder, “You sound exactly like Cade did a few minutes ago, weren’t you just telling me that he was being ridiculous?”
“It’s not the same.” He shrugged Silver’s hand off of him, “I have to go.” He nodded goodbye to everyone except Sarah, he didn’t look at her again as he turned and left the room.
Confusion, Irritation, and embarrassment were coursing through Sarah, she didn’t know which emotion was worse. Penny’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and she pulled her close.
“Don’t worry about him, I saw how he looked at you when he first came over. There is something there, give it time. From what I heard he’s been a hermit for years, seeing him interact with you has been a shock to everyone.”
“She’s right, I’ve never seen him with a woman in all the time I’ve known him.” Aristide hoping his words were comforting.
For a minute she stared at Adam’s retreating back, she decided anger was going to win the battle. “You know what, this party is awesome, you guys are amazing. I’m going to forget about that drama for a while and have fun.” Sarah said with steely determination.
Penny squeezed her shoulders, “Good for you, you deserve to let loose. What should we do first, Sebastian said there is an Arachne challenging people to a weaving contest or we can check out the Phoenix.”
“I’m sorry to say I have no weaving skills, I’m not even talented at sewing buttons back on to clothes. Let’s go check out the bird.”
The group moved towards the area where cheers were erupting every few seconds. They got close to the table and found shot glasses were being lined up in front of the Phoenix, it was breathing fire across them, engulfing them in flames. “What can I serve you, we have Flaming B-52’s, Bailey’s Comets, and the crowd favorite Flaming Assholes but I doubt it’s for the flavors as much as the guest maturity level.” The Phoenix coughed, a small puff of smoke blew into their faces. “Excuse me, my throat’s a little dry.” It grabbed a lump of coal from a bag next to it and chewed on it while he waited for them to order.
Sarah had sidestepped till she was almost behind the bird and leaned in close to its back.
“What are you doing?” Penny asked in exasperation.
“How in the hell are they doing this? I can’t see any wires and it’s not a puppet.” Sarah was inches from the bird.
“If he farts you are going to lose an eyebrow, get over here and grab a Flaming Asshole.” Penny held a straw out towards her friend expectantly.
Sarah didn’t want to admit out loud that the idea of sticking her face inches from a glass on fire scared her but she wasn’t going to be the weakling either. She grabbed the straw and sucked as fast as she could. Her taste buds exploded, she recognized Creme de Menthe and a hint of Banana too.
“That’s actually really good, I’ll do another.”