Allure Of The Night

Music Recommendation: Father finds the children- Ben Frost

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Eve was surprised to see Vincent standing in front of the entrance door. 

He wore a dark grey coat with fur around the collar and the lapel fold. His coppery brown eyes looked slightly darker because of the fallen night in the lands. 

“Mr. Moriarty, what are you doing here?” Eve was surprised to see him here at this hour of the night. 

Vincent wore a serious look on his face, and he said, “I received word that there is an unknown creature hiding and living in the town of Meadow. I have come here to see it and capture it.”

  Eve, Eugene and Lady Aubrey turned alert when they heard the words from the vampire. The skipping of their heartbeats was camouflaged with the little commotion happening outside the house and in the town. 

“Unknown creature?” Eve asked him while questioning if he was waiting for her to come out with the truth. 

“Yes. I was hoping you could help me…” Vincent’s voice drawled, his eyes not looking away from her even for a second. “My men are busy searching for the creature, and I thought I would rest my feet and have a cup of tea here,” a crooked smile appeared on his lips. 

Eugene and Lady Aubrey let out an internal sigh of relief when they heard Vincent’s words. 

Eve nodded and stepped backwards, “Please come in.” 

Vincent stepped foot into the Dawson’s humble house and looked at the furniture and things there. Lady Aubrey, standing in the living room, offered him a bow, and he returned it. 

“I am Aubrey Dawson, Genevieve’s paternal aunt. Please have a seat,” Lady Aubrey introduced herself to Vincent. 

“Good evening Mrs. Dawson. A pleasure to meet you. I heard quite a lot about you,” said Vincent, and the elderly woman subtly raised her eyebrows. “Just like you sent your servant to look into the Moriarty family, I had to make a little background check about the governess I was hiring. I hope I am not interrupting anything,” his eyes fell on the half-written parchment, ink bottle and quill resting on the table. 

A slight nervous smile appeared on Lady Aubrey’s face while she tried to be hospitable to the vampire in their house. She politely answered,

“We weren’t doing anything important that cannot be resumed later. Eugene,” she turned to Eugene, who quickly nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. 

Eve and the others could hear the continued commotion coming through the windows and doors that they hadn’t caught on earlier. She tore her eyes away from the window and met Lady Aubrey’s eyes, who offered her a look of worry, which quickly disappeared when Vincent turned to look at them. 

“If I may ask, what creature are you looking for, Mr. Moriarty?” Lady Aubrey inquired who stood next to Eve. Eve watched how Vincent made himself comfortable on the chair in their living room, placing one leg over the other.

“Word has it that there is a siren living amongst the innocent and kind people of Meadow,” said Vincent, looking to the side where the fireplace burned logs of wood. “It seems like someone fell under the charms of the creature, which is why there was a recent death of the cattle in your town.”

When the incident occurred, everyone in the town believed it was a witch’s work who had slaughtered the cattle for her own benefit. But now that the truth had been found, it left Eve and the two humans in the house speechless.

Though a siren and a mermaid were both creatures that belonged to the water and had similar features, they were not the same. While the mermaids believed in peace and kept to themselves, the sirens lured men and women, not sparing even children who came in contact with them. They mercilessly killed and ate the humans. 

“I thought it was the magistrate or the head guard’s duty to look after these things,” said Eve, and Vincent offered her a conniving smile. 

“Indeed it is, but unfortunately, not all men are responsible and sharp in doing their work and that is where I step in. Have you seen or heard anything about it?” His eyes pierced through the two women, and his smile started to fade. 

Lady Aubrey shook her head and answered, “We haven’t. We would have been more alert, if we knew that a creature like that lived in this town. Is the siren really here?” A trickle of fear ran down her spine as she asked this. “I don’t think any person has died.”

“Which you aren’t aware of, Mrs. Dawson,” responded Vincent, “A whole family has not returned to their house for nearly two months now. A lot of people believe the family moved towns because the man was elbow deep in his debts, but I find it to be a very convenient reason. Especially after the skeletons of the family were recovered.”

The outcasts were not welcomed nor allowed to live like the other people in the towns or villages. At the same time, hiding and protecting these creatures was a grave offence that could lead to the person’s path to the gallows. 

Until now, Eve had been careful not to leave a single clue of who she truly was for the townsfolk to find out about her. To Eve’s luck, she had been taken in by Lady Aubrey and the people had seen her grow up in front of their eyes, turning her to be one of the least suspicious even though she was the most beautiful young woman in that town. 

“The authorized orders have already been passed and the guards are at the moment searching every house, while also making sure the siren or no one else escapes from this town,” on hearing Vincent’s words, Eve clenched her hands.

This was not good, not one bit, thought Eve in her mind, and the same thought ran in Lady Aubrey’s mind. If the guards had already started to search every person’s house while going through the things in the houses, it was only a matter of time before they would find the crushed sour rocks and ivory dust salts. 

Eugene brought the tea and offered it to Vincent, who calmly enjoyed it, while the other three panicked with every passing second. 

“Mr. Moriarty, would you care for some biscuits?” Eve politely asked the vampire. 

“Do you have some blood cookies?” questioned Vincent. Eve and the others blinked at his question. He softly chuckled and said, “I was joking.”

“Excuse me,” Eve went to the kitchen and Eugene followed behind her. 

Without uttering a word, Eugene made hand movements on what they would do before picking up the knife to protect themselves. Eugene’s idea was to buy Eve some time so that she could run. But they were well aware that it was highly impossible. 

Suddenly they heard a loud, demanding voice from outside the house. Eve and Eugene stepped out of the kitchen, where the latter held a jar of biscuits in his hands. 

“Everyone in the house, step outside right now! It would be better if you cooperate without any resistance!” The gruff voice of a man came from the main door. 

Eve noticed that it was the head guard, Septimus, whom she had met a few days ago and had a disagreement with. Behind him stood three more guards.