The Forgotten Sin (Purifiers Book 1) (11 page)

           
"I told you... you should have come back an hour earlier from your walk with Yuki
then you would not be rushing around like you are now!..."

           
Father tapped Mother on her shoulder and nodded on the top landing of the stairs
where Iliana now stood. Iliana wore a full length sleeveless champagne coloured dress. The
fitted bodice had detailed silver lace appliques on top and a round her neck with pearls on
her shoulders for decoration. The tulle skirt flowed down to the ground, giving her a short
trail behind her. Her diamond and pearl cuff bracelet with specks of light blue sapphire
glinted under the light from the landing as did her diamond and sapphire drop earrings. Her
hair was left cascading down her back like black satin. Mother and Father stared at their
daughter in awe. As Iliana lifted her dress up to make her way down to them she showed
off her gold heeled shoes.

           
"Do I look all right?" Iliana asked flicking her fringe into place.

           
"You look like an angel." Father replied trying not to get too tearful.

Iliana smiled then ran her fingers down the arm of his tuxedo.

           
"You do not look so bad yourself Mr. Bond." She said jokingly.

Father chuckled then stood in between Iliana and Mother with his elbows raised.

           
"Well... my two Bond girls... shall we go?"

Laughing, Mother and Iliana took his arm then all made their way to Andrew who was
waiting for them by the car. Andrew raised his driver’s cap revealing his mass of brown
hair as he opened the car door and Iliana slid into the car.

           
"Thank you Andrew." Iliana said.

           
"My pleasure... I must say... you look ravishing tonight." He complemented.

Iliana smiled then said... "Thank you" before he closed the door.

Just arriving at the gates of Lord Baddesley’s mansion and queuing to drive through,
Mother turned to Iliana.

           
"You still have not told us who you have invited to the party yet." She said wiping
her hand over her updo hairstyle.

           
"You will soon find out." Iliana said smiling nervously.

Iliana had a feeling that Mother would not approve of inviting Kazuki as he was not to her
standards in wealth. So keeping it a secret to everyone was much safer and easier, luckily
Kazuki agreed with it without knowing her real reasons why.

           
The cars parked by the flight of steps to the white mansion which much resembled
the White House in America. The men in their tuxedos and the women in their gowns made
their way up the flight of marble steps which led to the big entrance of the mansion. Once
the three cars in front drove away a group of people directed Andrew and the two cars
behind him to park next.

           
Father opened the door for Iliana while Mother was helped out by Andrew. Once
they were standing at the bottom of the steps Andrew slipped back into the car and drove
away to the designated parking area behind the mansion. It was only then Iliana noticed
how gorgeous Mother looked in her refreshing green full length deep V neck and back
gown with a delicate handmade embroidered bodice which flowed down to the hips, giving
Mother a glittering look. And the chiffon skirt just cascaded down to the ground like a
waterfall.

           
"Mother." Iliana said before Father lead Mother up the marble steps. "You look
stunning."

Mother smiled placing a hand softly on Iliana’s cheek.

           
"Thank you... and your Father is right... you look like an angel."

Seeing her Mother give her the warmest smile made Iliana almost forget that Mother’s
inner demon is beginning to take control of her. But as Father led Mother up the steps, it
suddenly flashed back into her mind. Iliana shuddered at the thought... the thought of
Mother being possessed, and also somehow involved with Lord Baddesley’s plans.

           
‘Pretending that none of this true is a ludicrous thing to do... what else can I do?’
Iliana thought sounding deflated.
‘What should I do?’

A car tooted making everyone turn round including Iliana. A red Mini Cooper made it’s
way to park in front of her. Jung was sitting in the driver’s seat with the window down.
Once he parked he stuck his head out with his eyes almost popping out.

           
"Holy crickets... Iliana! You look like a goddess!" He cried out quite loudly that few
people stared at him with their noses up in the air.

           
"Jung!... It is good to see you." Iliana said standing by the car door. "Why are you
here?"

           
"Had to drop off Prince Charming here." Jung replied as the passenger door opened.

Kazuki got out the car and slammed the door shut. Iliana’s heart skipped a beat when
Kazuki’s crystal blue eyes quickly glanced over to her as he walked round the front of the
car. He wore the black tuxedo that most of the men including Father was wearing. But he
looked so dashing that he even caused a flutter of murmurs and gasps from the ladies
around them. It was when Kazuki combed his fingers through his dark brown hair away
from his eyes which made Iliana almost weak at the knees.

           
"I love it when he does that." Jung said as Kazuki stood next to Iliana with strands
of his hair slithering back over his eyes. "That hand move always
gets the girls in a jitter."

Iliana had to tear her eyes away from Kazuki and looked at Jung who was smiling at her
with his eyebrows going up and down.

           
"What?..." Iliana asked wondering what he meant with his strange looks.

           
"Aah!... Adolescence can be so cute." He said with a snigger.

           
"You can go now." Kazuki said to him in a bored manner.

           
"Okay, okay... but remember... you can have fun..." Jung started then lowering his
voice. "In between your... you know what... Bye bye."

Jung waved through his open window as he drove away towards the exit.

           
"He is a nutter!" Kazuki said under his breath turning round and making his way up
the steps.

Smiling Iliana followed him then saw Mother’s eyes piercing down into her’s with so much
disgust, it nearly made Iliana’s heart shrivel like a rotten tomato. A much different look
than she had about five minutes ago. When Iliana and Kazuki reached Mother and Father at
the top of the steps Kazuki held out his hand.

           
"Mr. and Mrs. D’coye... good evening. I am Kazuki Jacob Williams." He said quite
poshly.

Father took Kazuki’s hand and shook it.

           
"Pleasure to finally meet you. Iliana has kept the identity of her invitee a secret. I
was afraid she was inviting Yuki, her dog... as a joke!" Father said humorously letting go of
Kazuki’s hand.

Smiling Kazuki said...

           
"I have met Yuki once... she has more manners than I."

Father laughed out loud.

           
"And I... she has a lot of personality too. Anyway... shall we go in otherwise there
will be no food left." Then lowering his voice down added jokingly. "It is the only reason
why I came really."

Iliana and Kazuki smiled but when Father led the way Mother gave both Iliana and Kazuki
a dirty look before turning her nose up then linked her arm with Father’s.

           
"I am so glad your Mother likes me." Kazuki whispered sarcastically.

All Iliana could do was smile awkwardly already knowing that Mother would have
disapproved inviting Kazuki because of his rank in society. They passed through the vast
lobby and was directed into the Great Hall by two men who were dressed smartly in black
evening tailcoats accompanied by trousers featuring black satin stripes. The Great Hall was
colossal. It was nearly the size of a football ground with white Greek style pillars which
stood in a row either side of the room. A large crystal chandelier hung from the centre of
the ceiling which seemed so far up, Iliana felt like an ant looking up to it. A red velvet
carpet ran down the centre of the room on top of the marble floor, where crowds of people
stood chatting and drinking in their finery.

           
"I was not expecting so many people!" Iliana remarked. "I thought it was a gathering
for the prestigious people."

           
"There are a lot of prestigious people in the city!" Mother exclaimed then added
coldly. "I am surprised you did not invite one instead of the common one you have brought
with you this evening!"

Iliana gasped in shock of Mother’s tone but Father was the one to speak out first.

           
"Jane... that is uncalled for!" He said angrily. "Apologise at once!"

Mother glared at Father with intense look but her eyes lit up at the sight of a man in a red
velvet dinner jacket.

           
"Lord Baddesley!..." She called out.

           
"Jane!..." Father snapped grabbing her arm.

Mother gave him a fierce look that made Father let go quickly. Iliana watched them both,
her heart wrenching with the sight of her parent’s attitude towards each other. She had
never seen them like this before. Kazuki looked at Iliana with a burst of feelings in his heart
and pity was one of them.

           
"Jane!..."

The man in the velvet red jacket came over and gave Mother a kiss on the cheek. Then
shook Father’s hand.

           
"Leslie!... I am pleased you were all able to come tonight."

           
"We would not have missed it for the world, Lord Baddesley!" Mother said smiling
as if nothing had happened.

           
"And this beautiful young lady must be the Iliana that I have heard so much, yet
never had the pleasure of meeting."

Iliana forced a smile. He was a small built man and only a couple of inches taller than
Iliana and she was not that tall. He was probably a few years older than Father and had a
mass of light iced blond hair that was swept over his head. His dark brown eyes looked
intently in Iliana. The more she stared at him the more she saw darkness pouring out from
his eyes. But it was when she shook his hand she felt as though she was dragged into a dark
and isolated world. Her body and soul went cold and she could hear faint screaming in her
ears, but Iliana could not tell if it was a male or female screams or even both. Flashes of
fire and black smoke rushed around her, making her feel dizzy and nauseated.

           
Suddenly she felt something warm on her shoulder and Iliana felt like her soul was
lifted out from the dark place back into the hall. Iliana quickly let go of Lord Baddesley’s
hand and looked at her shoulder to find Kazuki’s hand laid on it. She looked at him, feeling
warmth rushing back inside her by just gazing into his eyes. But he frowned at her as he
lifted his hand off her shoulder.

           
"Are you okay Iliana?" Father asked worriedly.

Iliana turned to Father but found Lord Baddesley staring at her confused and with his hand
open in front of him. The awkwardness was broken when Lucas stepped in.

           
"The atmosphere within this little group feels rather intense... what is going on?" He
said.

           
"Just introducing myself to the daughter of the D’coye family." Lord Baddesley
informed then turning back to Iliana added. "It was most interesting."

He looked at Iliana as if he was studying her for a moment. Lucas also turned his eyes to
her. After their awkward talk a few days ago Lucas had not even attempted to get close to
Iliana again... much to her liking. He then turned to Kazuki and smirked.

           
"Well, well, well... if it is not Kazuki Jacob Williams... not too posh for you is it?
Although I must say... you do look fine in that tuxedo even though it is only a disguise of
your lower ranking. I still do not understand why your Father married that pauper."

Kazuki clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white, yet he did not say anything.
Even Father looked as if he wanted to say something but just looked away. Lord Baddesley
smirked.

           
"Jane... may I introduce you and Leslie to a few people while your Iliana enjoys
herself with her company?" He asked changing the subject.

           
"Of course."

           
"Lucas... come, I want to introduce you to them too."

Lucas smirked at Iliana before he followed Lord Baddesley and Mother. Father softly laid a
hand on Iliana’s cheek then patted Kazuki on the shoulder, encouragingly before he too
followed them. Unable to look straight at Kazuki, Iliana bit her lower lip and tried to think
of something to say.