153 No Breadcrumbs
Eve couldn’t take her eyes away from the siren’s floating dead body, and the water tank which had turned redder. She asked Vincent,
“Did you know that she was a siren?”
Eve’s head turned to look at him, and Vincent stared back at her. She noticed his eyes had turned darker than the last few minutes.
Was it because of his work that he knew the difference, or had he just gone for the kill as the mermaid knew about her and him? Because the woman looked like a mermaid.
“A siren has that look in her eyes, which many believe is similar to the mermaids, but this one didn’t do a good job in hiding her true nature,” Vincent stepped away from her and started to walk towards the other tank, where the younger mermaid looked at him in terror. He continued, “Many will say that when on land, it is hard to distinguish between a mermaid and siren, but there’s a subtleness that only a few can identify. It is the eyes and the shape of the ears.”
Seeing Vincent go near the young mermaid, Eve said, “The siren said she wanted to go back to the sea.”
“Those are words of the siren, but none of us have any guarantee, do we, my snowflake? They have a reputation of manipulation.” When their eyes met, Vincent’s eyes were utterly serious. His hand went around the younger mermaid’s neck. “Everything is subjective, just like we could have gone with the thought that this little mermaid wouldn’t speak about you or me to anyone.”
“I thought siren’s were fierce when it came to attacking people. Why didn’t she do it?” Asked Eve because until now, from what she knew, sirens were often never caught because of their clever and cunning nature.
“Her body must have been weakened due to lack of food for quite a long time and the merchants didn’t give her any salts, to keep her under their control. Malnutrition works great when you need to control minds.”
Before Vincent could inflict death on Isla, similar to the siren, Eve stopped him, “Wait!” A glare was directed from Vincent at her while the younger mermaid trembled in fear.
“I hope you aren’t going to tell me to spare her. We have made quite an impression that revenge is the only thing that will run on her mind, just like yours,” stated Vincent, and Eve shook her head.
“No…” Eve whispered, feeling her throat dry. She noticed the pain and anger filling the mermaid’s eyes, but more than anything, horror filled on the small face. She said, “She doesn’t know any better about her situation. Can you make it less painful and quick for her?”
The hard glare in Vincent’s eyes softened at Eve’s words and she looked away from them. She closed her eyes, hearing the mermaid thrash and splash in the water like a fish pulled out of the water, struggling for air. The next moment he killed the mermaid with a snap and the young mermaid’s body sank into the tank while the tail stopped splashing water, going still.
When Eve opened her eyes, freckles of yellow appeared in her iris, which went unnoticed by both, as she looked away from the young mermaid’s dead body and Vincent stood next to the tank.
“There’s one thing you can be happy about today. You saved people’s lives from a siren that could come to create trouble in the future,” said Vincent, but that didn’t ease the heavy feeling Eve felt in her chest.
Though it was partly true what Vincent said, the siren’s death came with the expense of more death. Eve slowly turned around, by which time the yellow freckles in her eyes had disappeared. She noticed Vincent now drinking the mermaid’s blood. She asked him,
“Are all vampires built like you?”
Vincent licked his lips clean and said, “I am not sure if it’s a compliment or an insult here.”
“Killing anyone without a thought. Doesn’t guilt catch up to you?” Eve’s eyebrows furrowed, there was an obvious question in her eyes.
Vincent used his finger to wipe the trickling blood near the corner of his lips, “Guilt catches up with only ones that have a good heart, little girl,” he put the finger in his mouth to suck the blood off of it.
Eve couldn’t look long and turned her back to the scene. The feeling she had when they had left the tower bell and how she felt now were starkly opposite. As her eyes fell on the two dead merchants, she noticed blood smeared on the ground. She asked him,
“What are we going to do about them?”
“Nothing,” replied Vincent. “Death isn’t uncommon in Hollow Valley. There is more than wealthy footsteps that walks up and down the streets and alleys.” He walked in the direction where the merchant earlier had come from, disappearing behind the door; he reappeared.
When Vincent turned to look at the windows, Eve asked, “What happened?”
“People are coming this way. It is time to leave,” said Vincent and made his way to where she was. He caught hold of Eve’s hand, pulling her out of the building and away from the place as quickly as they could.
When Eve and Vincent crossed one alley, she felt something churn in her stomach. Not feeling well, she stopped where it was just the tow of them in the alley. Walking to the side before throwing up the sweets that Rosetta had made her eat along with her a few hours ago.
“Don’t worry, it happens to everyone,” stated Vincent, and he added, “I was surprised that you didn’t throw up the time when I killed all those guards.”
When Eve was finished throwing up, she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her lips. She asked, “Did it happen to you too?”
“Mhm,” Vincent responded. “Like I said, it happens to everyone. Let us get you some water to drink.”