Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1) (15 page)

Alone in the deserted kitchen, I
hear the scurrying feet of the rats. Lifting the mask off my face, I grimace at
the pitch-black hallway. Cyclops rats swarm the entrance. Gods, I feel like
Alice going down the rabbit hole, except my hole is more demented. Alice has a
fluffy white bunny to follow and what do I have – hundreds of deformed rats.

The rats tumble off the ceiling
and bounce on the floor. I crinkle my nose in disgust. Taking a deep breath, I
descend into the dark doorway to seek out the Jenkins twins’ most guarded
possession.

Chapter Ten

Jenkins’ Secret

A light perfume, like the kind my
grandmother once used, wafts through my nostrils. Disgusting smell. How people
think it smelt good back in the day, I will never understand. The bottoms of my
naked feet feel slick. I do not even want to know what I stepped in. I wore
glass slippers earlier, but I do not feel like Cinderella tonight.

An outline of a doorway forms at
the end of the tunnel. My skin prickles at the sight of the Cyclops rats
scurrying on the grimy floors, walls, and ceiling. Their beady eyes are a
hellish red in the blackness. Creepy
.
I grip the doorknob, twist the
cool brass, and ease it open. Light stings my dilated eyes. It takes a few
moments for glittering sparks to leave. A grand corridor mesmerizes me for a
brief moment.

I inch toward the nearest light
on the wall. Golden hands cradle crystals orbs, which illuminates the corridor.
Examining an orb, I move to touch the smooth surface. The gold arm retracts the
crystal. I shriek and clutch my chest.

“I wouldn’t touch them if I
were–”

“–you idiot! Be quiet. Do you
want to give Jenkins a reason to break us?”

I spin on the spot. The corridor
is vacant of living beings, besides the rodents. The walls display decorative
moons and suns with individually crafted faces. They appear to be made of gold
like the lamp arms.

Picking one of the golden suns, I
trail a finger down its’ nose.

The nose twitches.

“Oh my god!”  Stumbling
backward, I bend my arms behind me to brace my back against the wall.

“Hey! Watch out for –
get your
hair out of my face!
” A voice squeals at the back of my head.

I pivot before I can hit the
wall. A weary moon with a mustache blinks back at me. “W-What are you?”

“Statues o’ course. What did you
think we are – paintin’s?”

“Don’t mind the old fool,
Darling.” A sun with curly beams and puffy lips glares over to the old moon.
“He’s been hanging around too long.”

The other statues break out in a
chorus of laughter.

“Fine, Adora. You lot keep
talkin’ with her, but I’m not givin’ Jenkins a reason to smash me.”

I tilt my gaze to the lady sun.
“Why would the Jenkins twins break you? Aren’t you part of his world?”

“Goodness! No, Darling. This
theater was originally the Goblin King’s home. He made us. You see, there are
so many corridors and hallways in this old mansion he needed guides. Therefore,
he created us. We also confuse people he’s trying to trap here in the theater.
We helped him rescue children all the time. It’s been almost a hundred and
fifty years.” Adora brightens with pride. “But, Jenkins controls everything
nowadays. He keeps us because he needs us to guide him, but we’re a constant
reminder Rosewood doesn’t belong to him.”

“I’m sorry.” I peer at all the
faces on the walls. “You must not see very many people anymore.”

“Not in many years and we refuse
to help Jenkins trap his victims,” another moon says down the hallway.

An idea pops into my head. I
speak to all the golden faces in the corridor. “I need your help. I’m trying to
free the Goblin King.”

Murmurs erupt throughout the
hallway. They are passing my declaration down all of the passageways and
hallways in the theater house. A male sun speaks up nearest the door leading to
the Peterses’ home. “What do you need of us?”

“I’m searching for the crimson
crystal. It’s supposed to be buried deep in the theater somewhere. The Cyclops
rats should lead me too it, but I’ll need help finding my way out.”

Voices of encouragement echo
throughout the hallway.

“We’ll do it! For King and
freedom.”

“Glad to be of service again.”

“You have our word, Darling.”

I beam at the faces and attempt
to express my gratitude, but clicking high-heels and angry voices echo from
around the corner of the corridor. A few of the Cyclops rats scurry away from
my kicking feet. Abandoning my happiness, I furiously begin yanking on the
nearest door handles. Not even one budges.

“Try the door at the very end.
It’s always unlocked,” whispers the male moon on my right side.

The laughter increases as I rush
to the last door. It opens. I scoot inside and wrench the silk train of the
dress through the door. I hide inside the unlit room, but deliberately leave
the wooden door cracked to spy on the intruders. The mask is still on my head.
I yank it down and wait in utter silence.

Victoria Blare and one of her
followers materialize into view. Victoria’s face looks corpse blue. Her fangs
are like tarnished silver. Both girls are wearing lacy white masks, which
attempt to give the wearers a feminine quality. It fails miserably. Even with
Victoria’s hideousness, she is pretty compared to the girl next to her, who
resembles a half-decayed zombie. I wonder if the older they get, the more
decayed they will become. The two girls enter the room across from my hiding
place. Dazzling hues burst into the corridor. The room they occupy has a
multitude of different costumes, but most take the form of ballroom gowns.

Victoria’s back is to me. She
says, “I can’t believe he’s going to do this to me. After everything I’d
sacrificed for him! I even forgave him for getting my parents killed.”

A burning sensation forms in my
gut.

“Curse him!” Victoria tosses a
few costumes on the floor. “Jenkins will be sorry he ever messed with me.”

“I wouldn’t go trying to pick a
fight with him. If he has no more use for you, he might kill you. If you get in
his way.” The blonde haired girl fidgets with a new bejeweled mask in her
bluish hands. The mask descends back into a trunk resembling a treasure box,
and the girl shuffles the contents in search for a new mask. “I’ve lived for
almost fifty years in Rosewood, and I’ve seen him do grotesque things to people
he supposedly cared about. He killed the last girl he was involved with before
you came along.”

Victoria grunts and bends over
the trunk. “Well, with any luck, maybe Temptation escaped from Rosewood. Then
Jenkins will have to forget about her. I mean they haven’t even found her yet.
Have they?”

“No, but Jenkins has eyes and
ears everywhere. She can’t escape. You should know. Besides, when the winter
solstice comes around, he’ll be free to leave Rosewood. He would hunt her down
no matter where she ran.”

Victoria pivots on her heel and
exits the room. “Come on. I might still be able to sing tonight if they don’t
find her in time.”

The two girls pass. New masks
made of raven feathers shield their eyes. I wait until the girls are out of
earshot, before emerging from my hiding spot. I need to hurry. A fat rat
scuttles past my feet. I follow the ugly rodents. Traveling down so many halls,
and taking so many turns, I am thankful for my newfound allies.

A few times, I swear someone
watches me from the shadows.

A sharp chill enters my lungs.
The lights dim and flicker. The sound of cheering and applause pulses up ahead.
I study the old floor and cringe at the sight of Cyclops rats covering the
dusty wood. Mrs. Peters obviously does not clean up here. Yuck. At the end of
the corridor, three rickety steps lead to a deep balcony overlooking the grand
ballroom. I make sure to stay in the shadows. The bone mask, repositions a
little higher, hiding my face as I peer over the edge of the balcony. Corpse
blue faces with razor-like teeth gleam everywhere. The townspeople cheer and
watch the stage. I merge with their line of sight.

Aunt Sally and Uncle Jack are
cowering together with a crowd of other humans on the stage.

No!

Mr. Peters did not make it in
time.

New screams capture my attention
and, to my horror, my two cousins are dragged up on the stage. Aunt Sally
snatches up her children, holding them protectively between herself and Uncle
Jack. The Jenkins twins enter the stage. All the townspeople applaud, while the
captives shake with fright.

“Welcome to this year’s
Masquerade Ball!” Jerald and Herald announce. “As the King of the demons, I ask
you all to join me in our annual feasting of the humans, and admission of a few
new members. This year is special, because it’s our last year of imprisonment.
We’ll rejoice in our freedom, when the gates between our world and the human
world, open. The year is also special, because I’ve decided to choose a queen.”

In the crowd, Victoria’s face
sharpens.

The clock strikes nine.

My attention reverts back to the
Jenkins twins as the captives on stage emit screams of terror. My heartbeats
quiver for a fraction of a second. The Jenkins twins toss a black cloak over
themselves, covering their bodies from head to foot. Horrible roars echo out
from underneath the cloak.

I lean out of the shadows, trying
to see what is going on beneath the thick folds of fabric.

Movement underneath the cloak
ripples.

It seems like every human and
creature in the theater is holding their breath. Not a second later, the
Jenkins twins’ stand, and allow the cloak to fall from their bodies. The crowd
roars, but I am confronted with confusion. The twins are gone. Instead, there
stands the figure of a beautiful, but frightening man. His unruly black and
orange hair sticks out like a crown of thorns. His eyes swirl an electric
violet and crimson. Black veins cover his exposed skin and razor teeth glisten
in the chandelier light, while he grins down at the adoring crowd.

Enlightenment hits me. The reason
why the Goblin King and the biker gang call them Jenkins sinks in and it
horrifies me.

The Jenkins twins are one person.

He does not look like a teenager
anymore. There is something timeless about his face.

Jenkins extends his
claws to silence the cheering devotion from the crowd. “I’d like to announce my
queen. Temptation Falls!” He pivots to his left, but frowns at the
unaccompanied guards. “Where is she?”

“My king, we’ve searched
everywhere. We still can’t find her.”

“Craven,” Jenkins yells out to
the crowd.

I spot the biker gang in the back
of the theater. They are standing with Mr. and Mrs. Peters. Craven says, “Back
here.”

Jenkins glares in their
direction. “Have you seen Temptation tonight?”

Craven’s expressionless
countenance twitches. He answers, “No.”

“I saw her with her cousins
earlier,” someone shouts out from the crowd.

Jenkins reacts in lightning
speed. He snatches up Daniel around his freckled neck. Daniel thrashes about
and screams, while the guards are holding his parents back. Nathaniel rushes
forward and punches Jenkins, who snatches Nathaniel in his other hand, and digs
his claws into Nathaniel’s arm until he draws blood.

Nathaniel cries.

In the midst of deciding to
expose my position, one of the idol moons calls for me to retreat.

“You mustn’t reveal your
whereabouts. All will be lost if you do. Please do not condemn our king to
death.”

“But he might kill my cousins!”

The moon’s mournful voice offers
little comfort. “They’ll be dead if you’re captured. Their only chance of
survival rests in the hands of the Goblin King. It’s your choice.” The moon
stares forward. It is blank and motionless again.

I return to my place on the
balcony as Jenkins starts talking again.

“Boys, you’re going to tell me
where Temptation is or I’m going to start dismembering you until you talk.”

The crowd erupts in cheers, while
Mr. and Mrs. Falls try in vain to reach their children. Sally Falls shouts,
“Temptation was at the house last time we saw her. She went back to her room to
grab something. Please, leave my children alone!”

“But she was seen tonight, Mrs.
Falls, which means she did leave the house and she did at least speak to your
sons. Boys, what did she say to you?”

Daniel glares at Jenkins. “I’m
not telling you anything...unless you promise to let my family and I leave
Rosewood.”

Jenkins grips Daniel’s neck
harder, until he chokes. “I don’t have to bargain with you, but as it is your
cousin I want and not your family, I’ll let you go.”

Daniel visibly relaxes.
“Temptation followed those ugly rats. She’s going to try and help the goblins.”

“WHAT!” Jenkins face contorts
with rage. “Guards! Search the theater and find her.” Jenkins releases
Nathaniel and shoves him back to Aunt Sally, who embraces her youngest son. He
then thrusts Daniel to the exit.

“Wait, what about my family? You
said you would let them go.”

“I said I’d let you go. I never
said anything about them.” Jenkins bares his gruesome teeth. “Either you leave
or you join your family and share their fate.”

Guards stomp up the corridor. I
tear myself away from the balcony and rush through hallway where the rats are
scurrying. Jenkins will definitely go to the rats’ lair to make sure the
crimson crystal remains safe. The air becomes colder. My breath rises in a
cloud of mist. The hallway connects to the top of a staircase. The Cyclops rats
slink along the walls and nip at my feet. Courage drives me onward as I descend
the stairs and disappear into the darkness. The minutes drag by and still, I
descend further beneath the theater house.