Page 5 of Red Lace Manor
“Whatgame?” Exasperation crept into my tone.
Reaper froze for a beat before placing his glass back on the table. Even the soft clink of the crystal hitting the wood made me jump.
Bone man grunted before popping the rest of the bread in his mouth, completely ignoring me, and the thing at the end of the tablestilldid nothing. It was the clown that spared me the mercy of knowledge.
He leaned forward, planting both elbows on the table and lacing his gloved fingers. His bells jingled with the slightest movement, even a deep breath caused them to echo through the chamber.
“Thegame,” he practically sang the word, “is the reason you’re here. We don’t invite pretty little things here every day, you know.”
Pretty little things?
I stared at my distorted reflection in the wine glass, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been referred to as pretty. And, though I knew this was aterribletime, butterflies joined the fear pooling low in my gut.
“You’ll have until sunset to prepare,” he continued, “then, all you have to do is survive until sunrise. And thenBAM,you’re ten million dollars richer! No debt, no worrying, no more struggling for therestof your life.”
My breathing slowed, and the second half of his sentence wassoappealing that Ialmostdisregarded the wordsurvive. Once that registered, my eyes widened and I choked on my breath.
“S-survive? Likenot die?” As far as I knew, there wasn’t another definition for that word, so asking that outloud made me feel a little silly, to say the least.
A cackle of maniacal laughter left the Jester, and he nearly doubled over. Bone man joined him, and I wondered what the fuck was so funny. Still no reaction from the creep in the corner.
“Exactlythat,” Reaper confirmed.
“Survivewhat?” I asked, unsure if I wanted the answer.
“Us.”
That singular word sucked all the air out of the room, leaving me to blink at him, slow and stupid.
“I… You’re going to kill me?”
“Kill issuchan ugly word,” the Jester added. “Plus… there’s more thankilling.”
“This is ahunt,” Bone man growled. “We don’t just want tokillyou, we want todevour youwhole, sweetheart.”
His teeth seemed impossibly sharp, like they belonged on a shark rather than a man. My twisted, horny thoughts immediately went to them on my neck. Realistically, he’d probably murder me if he got that close… but if he didn’t?
“All of us will be hunting you. It’s what we were designed to do–think of it as a game of hide and seek.” Reaper sounded completely calm. “You can run, fight, or hide, and we will arm you with a knife, a torch, and a gun with exactlyonebullet.”
“... Why?”
This whole situation seemed like it was ripped out of a bad dream, and it made nearly as much sense as one. The more I tried to rationalize everything, the less successful I was.
“The moon needs blood. And we need abride,” Bone man declared, licking his lips as he looked at me.
“The cycle can only end whenwefind a woman who takes us, as is.” confirmed the clown.
“Can’t you all download a dating app or something?” The cynical sentiment slipped from my lips, and laughter erupted from the three men near me.
The person in the corner moved slightly, confirming theywerealive, but no sound came from them.
“This one has some fight in her,” commended Bone man.
“Your spunk will serve you well.” Reaper shifted in his seat. “But that leaves one question. Will you join our game? Or will you run back to a life determined to chew you up and spit you out like the piece of meat the world wants you to be.”
“You’ll end up dying anyway, sweetheart. At least this way you do it onyourterms.” Bone man’s words were gravelly and dragged across my skin with just as much force.
My jaw clenched–it wasn’t fair how good their speech was. And, what was worse, was the fact that they were both right. The world hadn’t done me any favors. There had been no handouts to save me from starving, or life lines to pull me from drowning. Here, I had a choice, even if it was a fucked up one.
