Chapter 38.1

 Markus swore under his breath while using his left hand to fidget with his collar. He was wearing a suit and a tie, and the latter was constricting his throat, making him uncomfortable. He drowned the glass of wine in his right hand before placing it on a wandering waiter's empty tray.

What a shitty party, He thought with a snort as he watched the people dressed in fancy outfits mingle.

As a second-generation nouveau, his father forced him to go to this party and attempt to gain a better connection with the man who sponsored the ball, Mr. Anthony Lockwood. Somehow, his father discovered that Lockwood was or had connections with a Council member, the elusive committee that oversaw the entire city, and sent Markus to participate in the ball.

However, Markus wasn't interested in this sort of party: he wanted to return home and train so he could be stronger than Alina. That way, he wouldn't have to bow to her every time they passed.

Bitch, Markus thought vehemently. I'll beat that goody two shoes and show her who's the boss.

A wave of murmuring passed through the crowd, drawing Markus's attention while the orchestra that was playing in the background slowly lowered the volume. Looking up, Markus noticed that the star of the party, Mr. Lockwood had arrived and was walking through the venue, shaking hands and having small talks with the guests.

Markus froze when he looked over. Cold sweat dripped down his back as he watched Mr. Lockwood proceed; the former's eyes were locked on the space behind Mr. Lockwood, where a hooded and faceless figure draped in a tattered cloak followed closely behind the latter. At first, Markus thought the figure was a bodyguard, but he noticed how no one seemed to pay attention to the figure that seemed to be more shadowy than corporeal and this was despite the fact that it was standing in a brightly lit room in the center of attention. He only realized something was wrong when a person brushed past the ghostly figure and walked right through it.

The fuck … is that? Markus thought as he shuddered and his entire body screamed for him to escape. Unfortunately, his gaze lingered on the being for too long and the hooded figure slowly turned its head, staring back at Markus who quickly grabbed another glass of wine and looked down at it.

Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me, Markus thought as he tried to calmly swirl the alcohol in his glass while he swallowed the bulge of fear in his throat.

He looked up after a minute but had to force himself not to fall back and scream. Standing only a few inches away from his face was the hooded figure. The latter tilted its head as it slowly leaned forward, studying Markus carefully as though it wanted to see if he could see it. At such a close range, Markus was able to see the hooded figure clearly and bit his tongue to stop himself from flinching. He could see that there was nothing underneath the hood, only darkness that was blacker than the darkest night.

"Tsk, what a boring party," Markus muttered, pretending to stare past the hooded monster and at the crowd, his gaze pretentious and arrogant. After a minute of staring, the hooded figure suddenly vanished from Markus's gaze when the latter blinked; the ghost-like being was back to following Mr. Lockwood like a grim reaper.

Reaper … Oh my fucking god, that was shit scary, Markus thought as he realized that his back was soaked in sweat. Excusing himself, Markus walked out the ballroom and into the men's washroom. He hurried to a toilet and started retching everything he had earlier in the day.

That thing wasn't human, Markus thought as he cleaned himself up. Whatever it is, it's a bad omen. I need to get out of here right fucking now.

Five minutes later, Markus was walking back to the ballroom when he heard screams. He shivered as every hair on his body rose. The screams were so horrific and he knew it had something to do with the hooded figure. Frantic footsteps full of panic approached his location and Markus swore in his mind; if people were escaping to his direction then the hooded figure might be pursuing them.

Markus ducked into a room and noticed that it was designed like a study room. He quickly vaulted over the desk and ducked underneath it as the screams and footsteps came closer. Lying down, Markus peered from the bottom of the desk, which had an inch of space between the floor and the board. He saw two pairs of legs run into the room and hurriedly closed the door.

"What was that?!" One voice said.

"Who cares? Help me blockade the door!" The second voice said.

As the two looked for something to block the door with, Markus covered his mouth and stopped breathing when he noticed another pair of feet that appeared out of nowhere and was now silently approaching the two. He heard the sound of slashing and blood spurted everywhere: the third pair of legs was the hooded figure and he killed the two men that were fleeing.

Markus continued holding his breath, especially when he noticed that the legs were approaching the wooden desk. He leaned further into the bottom of the desk as the Reaper stopped, his feet indicating that he was on the other side of the desk. The wooden desk creaked as the Reaper leaned forward and Markus nearly fainted as he realized that the Reaper was right above him. He could see the thin and gaunt fingers grasping the desk, the complexion as white as bones.

Please don't find me, please don't find me, Markus closed his eyes and desperately prayed to any and all Gods in his head as the Reaper rasped out a breath. He heard a creak and slowly opened his eyes to see that the Reaper was no longer leaning over the table. As quietly as he could, he shifted his body and peered from underneath the table again but didn't see any trace of the Reaper. He sighed with relief as his body gave out and his eyes got blurry as the world spun.

I'm never attending these parties again, Markus thought as he fainted.