Semblance by Logan Patricks

brother has made his decision, and might I remind you that he is the lord of the Midnight Society. Anyone who opposes this can take it up with him privately if you wish.”
    Dead silence.
    “Wonderful,” she said. “Refreshments will be brought out shortly. In the meantime, perhaps the Council of Seven can convene in the study, along with my ever-so-wise brother?”
    “How can I say no to my ever-so-lovely sister,” he replied with jest.
    While everyone was distracted, now was a good time as any to escape all this madness. I could scale the walls with some Spiderman shit and flee from this disaster.
    “As for the Golden Virgin, we’d lov e for you to attend our little meeting as well,” Calisto said, her attention focused on me.
    Shit.
    “You know, it’s actually getting kind of late,” I began.
    “Nonsense,” Calisto said. “This night just started and you, my little nightingale, are the centre of attention. Isn’t that what you always wanted? Attention?”
    “With a piano in front of me, yes,” I replied. “But the last thing I wanted was to get forced into some sacred love bond.”
    “Don’t you worry about that,” Calisto said. “We’ll sort that all out. By the way, there’s a group of lovely people that are dying to know more about you and your music. Why don’t I introduce you to them?”
    “Can I go home first and meet them over a cup of coffee later on in the week?”
    “They’re here for one night only,” she replied. “It’d be a wonderful opportunity for you.”
    They had no intention of letting me go.
    I was screwed.
    “I’m stuck here aren’t I?” I stated.
    “It’s really for your benefit.”
    Calisto strolled up to me, taking my arm in hers, and began leading me back towards the estate. Trailing behind her was a pair of large, muscular men in white owl masks, whom I assumed would snatch me up like a rag doll if I attempted to make a run for it.
    The feeling of dread was poison in my veins and I wished that I hadn’t come here in the first place. How stupid could I possibly be? I was lured into a spider’s web with the promise of money and fame.
    Ugh.
    “I think we’re going to become very close friends,” Calisto said with a wide grin on her face.
    That was funny, because I was thinking that by the end of the night, I was going to end up six feet under somewhere. I was scared shitless, but the only thing I could do at this point was play along until I could figure out a plan to get myself out of this mess.
     
    #
     
    Calisto led me into a large study, one of the typical manly ones you saw on television and in movies. Moonlight flooded the large bay windows, casting a cerulean afterglow against the tall oak bookcases, filled with leather tomes, stretching from floor to ceiling. Oil paintings of medieval knights and their insignias lined the walls, each piece exhibiting the European flavours of chivalry and romance.
    At the centre of the study, seated around a circle in large leather armchairs, were six well-dressed men, still donning their Venetian masks. I felt some relief when I recognized Abraham’s wolf mask along with Mr. Fox, whom I had chatted with earlier in the evening.
    “Abraham!” I practically leapt at him. “What’s going on here?”
    “Don’t be alarmed Ms. Valencia,” he said in his same reassuring tone of voice. “We’ll have this sorted out before you know it.”
    “You’re having quite the eventful night,” Mr. Fox said with merriment. “You went from being no one, to a music star, to a princess all in one night.”
    “I seriously don’t know what’s happening here,” I announced to everyone in the room. “I just want to go home. Look, keep the money you owe me, just let me go.”
    I was a sniveling mess. Between the walk from the gardens back to the estate, I had imagined hundreds of horrific scenarios.
    I saw myself lying naked on top of an altar, ready to be sacrificed to some pagan cult god; or being auctioned off into some