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