Ruby (Landry 1)

When they reached me, one of them, a tall man

wearing a white and black wolf mask paused at my

side.

"Are you all alone?" he asked.

I nodded. "I just arrived."

A light sprang into his light blue eyes, the only

part of his face not hidden by the mask. He was tall

with wide shoulders. He had dark brown hair and a

young voice causing me to think he was no more than

twenty-five.

"So did I. But this is no night to be all alone,"

he said. "You're very pretty, but it's Mardi Gras. Don't

you have a mask to go with that umbrella?" "No," I said. "Someone gave me this as soon as

I got off the bus. I didn't come for the Mardi Gras. I

came--"

"Of course you did," he interrupted. "Here," he

said, digging into his bag and coming up with another

mask, a black one with plastic diamonds around its

edges. "Put on this one and come along with us." "Thank you, but I've got to find this address," I

said. He looked at my slip.

"Oh, I know where this is. We won't be far

from it. Come along. Might as well enjoy yourself on

the way," he added. "Here, put on the mask. Everyone

must wear a mask tonight. Go on," he insisted, resting

his sharp gaze on me. I saw a smile form around his

eyes and I took the mask.

"Now you look like you belong," he said. "Do you really know this address?" I asked. "Of course, I do. Come on," he said, taking my

hand. Perhaps Annie Gray's voodoo magic was

working, I thought. I found a stranger who could take

me right to my father's door. I took the stranger's hand