Allure Of The Night

Eve took deep breaths, and so did Lady Aubrey and Eugene to appear calm and unsuspicious so that they wouldn’t be caught before the guards even searched the house. One skip of their heartbeat was enough for the vampire in here to find out. 

Vincent finished drinking his tea and placed the empty cup on the table. Pushing himself up, he walked to where the head guard stood with his men in front of the house. He licked his lips and remarked, 

“Looks like the guards have a terrible eye when it comes to searching for odd and suspicious things.” 

Seeing Vincent here, the head guard appeared submissive, bowed his head, and said, “Our apologies, Mr. Moriarty. We have been keeping a close eye on the people entering and leaving the towns, but it never came to light until a while ago. We will get the bitch in front of you in an hour.”

The smile on Vincent’s lips fell, and his eyes narrowed, “You had more than a day and you will find the creature in an hour? Seems like you know who the siren is, Septimus,” his lips twisted, annoyance clear in his eyes.

The head guard apologised again, “You have my word, Mr. Moriarty the siren’s head will be brought and placed at your feet,” he kept his head bowed, and when he lifted his head, his eyes fell on the humans who stood in the house. Septimus’s eyes narrowed on seeing Eve. 

Vincent, who noticed this, looked between them and questioned the head guard, “It seems like you are familiar with my governess.”

“Not very well, Sire. She had an issue a few days ago when we caught the witch from here,” responded the head guard. 

Lady Aubrey turned to look at Eve with a stare. Vincent chuckled, “It wouldn’t be her if she didn’t. Now continue looking for the siren and stop wasting my time.”

“Yes, Mr. Moriarty,” the head guard bowed his head and took one step forward, only to be stopped by Vincent’s hand. 

“This house is clear. Get to the next house and I will go see if I can find the creature as you and your men have been dawdling,” Vincent ordered them. The head guard didn’t dare to raise questions at him and only obliged. The head guard spared a look at Eve before leaving Dawson’s residence. He then turned to Eve and smiled, “I shall see you at the mansion, Ms. Barlow.”

Eve, who had been counting seconds, bowed her head, “Yes, Mr. Moriarty.”

But before Vincent could turn and leave, his eyes fell on the jar of biscuits, and he said, “You don’t mind if I take it, do you?” 

Right now, if Vincent Moriarty had asked Lady Aubrey for her house, she would have readily given it to him. She quickly nodded and took the jar of biscuits from Eugene to give to the vampire. She said, “It was a pleasure to be able to serve tea to Genevieve’s employer, Mr. Moriarty. Please come visit us again whenever you want.”

Vincent turned around and stepped out of the house without bothering to exchange another word with the people there. Eve followed him a few steps behind him until she reached the gate and saw him walk away. 

Eugene turned to Lady Aubrey and said in a hushed whisper, “That was a close one, Lady Aubrey. I was sure we were going to be caught today. I was planning to dissolve the salts in the water, but then I realised Miss Eve has some of it in her room.”

Lady Aubrey let out a sigh of relief, and she shook her head, “God saved us today, Eugene. We were lucky that Mr. Moriarty was the one supervising the search, else we wouldn’t be breathing now.”

“Do you think there’s a siren living here?” Asked Eugene, and Lady Aubrey stared into space. 

“I don’t. Everyone looks the same and it is hard to differentiate the creatures unless they reveal themselves to us. Just like the vampires,” explained Lady Aubrey, and she touched her forehead, as a light headache had formed with the rise of tension in the room. “I wonder who the siren is.”

“AHHHHHH!!”

A high-pitched scream erupted from somewhere that brought many men and women out of their houses to see where it came from. But more importantly, curious to see the creature who had been living amongst them. 

“They have caught the siren,” whispered Eve, and she stepped out of the gate, following the other fellow people. Lady Aubrey and Eugene followed like the rest, making their way to the centre of the town. 

When they reached the place, a crowd had already formed, and Eve went to stand in a better spot to see what was going to happen. The guards caught hold of a fellow woman and man, who had been married a few months ago. 

“Is that the siren?!” 

“I spoke to her yesterday and she had invited me to her house! She would have killed me if I had entered her house!” Said another woman in shock. 

“Kill her!” shouted some of the people. 

“AHHHHHHHHH!”

The woman who had been caught screeched, making everyone wince and cover their ears. She stopped screaming when one of the guards punched right into her stomach to quiet her down. 

“You have been protecting a siren in your house! Do you know your sins?” the head guard questioned, and an iron collar was put around the woman’s neck so that they could drag her from here. 

“You have got to be wrong, my wife is not a siren!” The husband of the woman nervously tried to convince the guards. “She could have hurt me, but she didn’t. She’s innocent!”

Eve was standing on a drum in one corner, away from people. She looked at the woman trying to wriggle out of the guard’s hold. In an effort to escape, the woman’s features were slowly being revealed, starting with the jagged teeth bared at everyone. 

“How would you like to pay for your sins, by putting every other people’s lives out here at risk?” demanded the head guard, glaring at the man.

The husband suddenly looked scared on seeing his wife’s original form, and he turned speechless as if he had never seen her like this before. He sputtered, “I—I, this isn’t my wife. She cannot be my wife! Take her away from me!”

“What are you doing standing there all by yourself, little girl.”

Eve gasped at the sudden voice, not expecting Vincent to be here. She saw him pull out a cigar box from his pocket and light the end of it. 

She asked him, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be there?” 

“My work here is done. There’s no reason to stick around with the others,” Vincent took a drag from the cigar and blew the smoke out through his lips, which dispersed in the air. 

“What are they going to do to her?” Eve’s eyebrows knit together. Vincent climbed on another barrel, right next to the drum she stood on, letting his back lean against the wall. 

“Locked in the dungeon. Interrogate her on what she’s been doing here and if there are others with her,” replied Vincent, the expression on his face calm as he stared at the siren who was going out of control while the guards were having a difficult time handling the siren. 

Eve turned her gaze away from the scene and turned to Vincent, “And if she’s innocent?” 

“Do you believe sirens are innocent, little girl?” A smile cracked on Vincent’s lips, and he said, “It’s like telling us vampires don’t consume blood. You will see.”

And the next moment, Eve and the others saw the siren attack the human, her husband, who had been next to her—chew his arm off his body. Blood spilt from his arm, and he cried in pain. 

“Take the human away!” spat the head guard. The other guards pulled the siren by the iron chain to keep her still. The siren’s hands were bound behind her back, making sure she didn’t move. As it seemed like the creature was turning wild and wouldn’t be compliant, the head guard ordered. “Give me the sword!” 

Eve watched the siren continue to struggle. The creature’s eyes held blood thirst in there, which then fell on Eve. The siren stopped struggling, and her lips moved—

The next moment, the head guard severed the siren’s head from her body, and soon the lower part of the siren’s body turned similar to a fish’s tail.