Children of Night and Snow

37. Unexpected Change Of Plans

Today was the day. The event, a New Years party or something, was starting early afternoon which meant Lucia and I began getting ready quite early. And for once I was in my element. Before the Solstice celebration, I was too tired to enjoy it, but this time was different. I enjoyed doing my make-up, styling my wig, putting a tight short lace dress and high heel boots on. This was something I knew. Something I did many times before. Even if for different reasons, the familiarity of these small actions brought unexpected comfort into the chaos bubbling within me. It helped ease my nervosity and gave me a much needed confidence boost. For once, I knew what I was doing.

"Wow, that eyeliner is sharp enough to kill a man," Connor noted when I walked out of the closet, Lucia in tow.

"I know! Freya is so good with this stuff! She even completely transformed my face!" the redhead behind me exclaimed. I had a lot of fun earlier, when I fully covered her small facial scars and dragon tattoo which was so unique, it could easily make her stand out. Not something we wanted if we were to cause a commotion and get away with a historical artifact we'd steal from a black market merchant.

"What kind of magic is this?" Nolan questioned when he walked out of the bathroom and I couldn't help but laugh.

"The power of make-up boys. The one thing I know how to do right," I replied, really proud of myself.

"I don't know. I could recall at least one other thing you do right," Nolan closed the distance between us and pulled me into his chest.

"And what's that?" I bit my lip while staring at his.

"Want me to show you?" He replied in half whisper.

"No, we don't. Keep this for the celebration. How about that?" Connor ruined the moment, clearly not at all interested in our public display of affection. Nolan growled in response, making me chuckle.

"We'll be late, let's go," Lucia rolled her eyes at us as she pointed at the open door and without another word, we all grabbed our coats and followed her outside into the cold night air. Once again, I remembered how much I missed daylight.

I've never seen the Duskfall packhouse before. In fact I had no idea such a thing even existed here or where to look for it so when we reached the four story tall building with obsidian foundation and wooden walls, with massive windows and decorated by fairy lights similar to those from town's square, I was in awe. It was still so hard for me to grasp how such beautiful places could stand in this cruel wilderness. How could they be built by the very people who live here, people who wouldn't hesitate to kill their own.

As we showed our invitations and walked inside the warm hallway, I couldn't help but remember Devan's story. Him and Demi grew up within these walls. This was once their home. Did they find it hard coming here for errands? Were there things here they remembered still like furniture or staff even? Were there old photos of them as children somewhere in this house, maybe locked in a forgotten box somewhere up in the attic? Were there still stains on the walls somewhere within, faint remnants of the horrors this house has seen and will see again given the cruel nature of the land and its people?

"Freya, focus," Connor hissed in my ear as we reached the main hall, where the crowd was already buzzing.

"Where is our man?" I asked when I composed myself, careful to avoid the word target. Everyone here could hear us which meant we had to be vague about things. Even more so than usual when we were out amongst the people.

"By the food tables," Connor replied and took my hand, leading me onto the dance floor. He spun me around giving me an opportunity to look at the man as well as assess our situation. According to our map, the room where the necklace was stored was on the second floor at the end of the hallway to the left. Problem was that there was a rope preventing guests from entering the second floor to begin with.

"Well, shit," Connor cursed under his breath when he noticed the barricade. It wasn't something that would stop us, but it did mean our plan just got way more complicated. I tried to think. Was there any other way to do this? And then I got an idea.

"Connor, I have an idea," I said, surprisingly confident.

"What is it?" he asked, clearly skeptical.

"Just trust me and go with it," I told him as I stirred us towards the edge of the room, where the food tables and our target were. I made sure to give the man a few discreet smiles over Connor's shoulders as we did so. A small hint, a request if you will. And a bait. One he took without hesitation.

"May I have this dance?" he asked me, practically tearing me from a very surprised Connor's arms. I managed to shoot my friend a mischievous wink as I led our target deeper and deeper into the crowd.

"You're absolutely stunning tonight," he complimented me.

"Well thank you. You don't look so bad yourself," I replied, leaving my lips slightly parted as I looked him up and down. He wasn't bad looking, but he wasn't my type either. He was too old for me, about my height. And while he was quite muscular as everyone here, he lacked the charisma which I noticed our boys had. In a place like this, where facial and body scars were so common, where people painted their life stories on their bodies in ink and everyone seemingly worked out like crazy, it was the charm which defined how attractive a person was. And this guy had none of it. But I wasn't there to advise him on his love life. No, I had other plans.

"May I have your name?" he asked, now eager for my attention. It was almost too easy. A charming smile, a compliment and a gentle touch as well as my body pressed against his. The oldest trick in the book. I was almost surprised how fast he fell for it, but thankfully that made everything much easier. This insanity may work out for me just yet.

"Hm... how about you get us two of those glasses of delicious looking champagne and I may be more keen on sharing it," I whispered into his ear and I could practically feel the goosebumps it caused on his skin underneath the suit he wore. Clearly women didn't talk to him much.

"Waiter!" he called the young wolf holding a tray with champagne glasses and snapped his fingers. How rude. I hated snobs like this. Colin would do this when he took me out for a meal. It usually ended up in a fight. But now was not the time. I wasn't here to lecture this man about decent behavior, I was here to steal from him. And to do that, I needed him drunk. As drunk as possible, thinking I wanted to go to bed with him so that he took me to his room.

"Cheers!" I smiled as our glasses met mid air for an unspoken toast. The night was only just beginning, but I was now eager to prove myself. And for the first time since I moved in with them, I felt like I was worth something. Dress up, flirt and seduce, I could do that. I knew how to do that. I did it all too often back in the Summerlands. It was part of who I was. Over there it ended with my nudes being everywhere, my name and reputation dragged through the mud. But here none of that mattered. It was nothing but a child's play in my past. What mattered was that I could get the job done. I would get the job done.