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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 116
“Mother, you are back!”
“Of course, I am. Where else would I go if not come back to you?” Her mother kissed her small self’s forehead.
On hearing her mother’s words, Eve’s chest squeezed. Over the years, she had missed her mother, but nobody could fathom how sad she felt now. The ache in her heart multiplied.
“Mother,” Eve called her mother, who was talking to her small self. She took two steps toward her mother, and her mother looked up. Suddenly there was a thud behind Eve that startled her. When she turned around, she caught an unfamiliar man there.
“Are you looking for something, milady?” the man asked Eve.
Eve turned to look at her mother, who had disappeared along with her small self. Her eyes fell on the ruined furniture and dust collected in the house, which she had failed to notice earlier.
The man belonged to Brokengroves town and wondered what this young woman was doing in a broken house like this.
“Do you know what happened to this place?” Eve asked the man.
The man replied, “It must have been ruined during the attack that took place in the town over the years. The attacks keep taking place randomly. Either it’s the rogue werewolves or deranged vampires,” he explained to her.
Eve couldn’t help but take a few more steps inside the small house. There was a dressing table with a mirror on the wall, a bed without a mattress. The kitchen was empty. She noticed a dirty bathtub with no water but cobwebs covering it.
“Are you looking for something, Miss?” Asked the man, unable to look away from the woman who had entered their town.
“Have you been living in this town from the beginning, Mr…”
“Mr. Welbeck,” the man introduced himself. “I am one of the guards assigned to Brokengroves.”
Eve pulled the cupboard door and her eyes fell on dishevelled clothes there. Unable to resist, her hand reached out to the clothes and ran her fingers against the fabric that belonged to her late mother. The material was cheap and one which was torn, as people had taken anything they found useful in the house. She pulled the drawers and noticed a pocket fan that belonged to her mother. She slipped it into her dress pocket without the man’s notice.
At least she was sure about one thing. This was where she and her mother lived many years ago. Some of the memories she didn’t remember returned to her.
Eve stepped out of the house and went to the blacksmith’s shop she had visited two evenings ago with Eugene. When she almost reached the place, the guard, who had spoken to her earlier, called her from behind.
“Miss!” Eve turned to look at Mr. Welbeck, walking towards her. He asked her, “Are you looking for the elderly blacksmith?”
Eve nodded, “Yes.”
“The blacksmith and his wife aren’t here anymore,” Mr. Welbeck replied, leaving Eve confused.
“I met them recently. When are they coming back?” Eve asked, while taking a peek inside the blacksmith’s shop, and as the guard mentioned, she noticed most of the things she had seen before were missing.
He said, “The blacksmith said that he is moving to a better town with his wife. Said something about a better job and money. Yesterday, before dawn, he and his wife packed all of their things and left.”
Eve frowned because she had questions to ask them, and they were not there. She asked Mr. Welbeck, “Do you know where they went?” The blacksmith had told he wasn’t someone who liked to travel at his age, and he left?
The guard shook his head, “I have no idea. I didn’t ask them.”
Noticing the young lady turn quiet, he asked, “Did you have some business with the man? Did he not fulfil the work that you assigned him?”
“No, it is not that,” replied Eve, shaking her head and looking away from the blacksmith’s shop and toward where she had come from. She asked the guard, “How long have you been working here?”
“Maybe two decades, milady,” the man promptly answered her.
Eve pursed her lips before she asked him, “Then you must know the people who have lived here. The house that I entered earlier, do you know about the people who once lived there?”
Mr. Welbeck frowned while scrunching his face before he said, “That would be hard to tell, milady. If I am not wrong, that house has been left empty for quite a few years now, along with the other houses. Maybe if you tell me about the family a little more, I would know.”
“The blacksmith mentioned the woman’s name Becky?” Eve watched the guard shake his head as if the name didn’t ring any memory in his mind.
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“I am sorry, milady. Unfortunately I don’t remember anyone by that name,” answered the guard and Eve bit the inside of her cheek.
It took a lot of courage before she mentioned her mother’s name, “What about the name Rebecca?”
For a moment, the man looked like he didn’t know the woman with that name before it dawned on him, and he quickly nodded. He said,
“Now that you mention the name, I remember she used to live in that house with her daughter. One day she disappeared along with her daughter. They probably moved to a different town, considering how much the townsfolk spoke about her.”
Mr. Welbeck continued, “Rebecca used to associate herself with men from wealthy families. A lot of townspeople cursed her for what she did, but I pitied her. She used to come back to the town with these ugly looking bruises on her face, as if the men she slept with, used to hit her. Rumour also had it that she was buried in debt.”
Her mother was no maid like Eve had thought… She was someone who earned money by sleeping with wealthy men. The thought took a long time to sink in, as this wasn’t something she had expected to find. Eve found it hard to digest, because it was the last thing she believed could be true about her mother. To think that her mother offered pleasure to the wealthy men…
She asked the guard,
“Do you know the men she was associated with?”
The man thought before shaking his head, “Unfortunately, I don’t remember as I never came across them.”
Eve nodded before saying, “Thank you for answering my questions.”
The guard bowed his head and so did she, watching the man leave her side and disappear from her sight.
Eve felt her head spin with what she had heard about her mother. Not waiting for the local carriage, she left the town on foot. The bruises on her mother’s body were not because she fell somewhere but because someone had hurt her.
Why did her mother choose to work in that line to earn money? How much debt was she in that she was forced to live such a life? Eve asked herself.
At first, Eve had nothing but questions for her mother, who didn’t exist. And once her mind quietened, the pain her mother had gone through all by herself burdened Eve’s mind. Her mother had not only been brutally murdered, but she had lived a harsh life… to sleep in different men’s beds and arms.
Two hours passed, and Eve continued walking without a pause with a distant yet shocked look in her eyes.
While walking, she tripped over a stone and lost balance, falling flat on her front on the ground. But the impact wasn’t enough to shake her out of her deep thoughts. When she tried to get up, her hands touched something wet on the ground. When Eve checked what it was, she noticed blood on her hands.
Eve’s eyes widened. Her eyes trailed to see the source of blood coming from, and her eyes fell on a person on the ground. It was a man who wore expensive clothes. She quickly went to the person and tried to wake him up,
“Sir!”
On shaking him, the man’s body turned. The person had a hole in his chest, where his heart was ripped out. The person was dead.
Two men walking in the opposite direction noticed Eve sitting next to the dead body on the ground with her bloody hands. One of the men whispered,
“Quick, call the guards! The woman has murdered someone!”
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 117
Music Recommendation: Be my Doll- Adrian VonZiegler
—
In Raven town’s dungeon, the guards harshly pushed Eve inside the cell. Earlier, she had tried to struggle to escape but to no avail as the two buff male guards had dragged her to this place.
Eve’s blood-covered hands were tied in cuffs and chains, and so were her ankles to each other with another pair of rusted iron cuffs. The guards locked the little gate and left. She ran to the front of the iron bars and shouted,
“I had nothing to do with that dead person! I was only walking through that place when I fell and saw him lying on the ground. Please believe me!”
Eve’s voice echoed through the corridors of the dungeon.
She had only meant to help the man on the ground, without knowing that the person was long dead. Who knew it would lead her behind bars as a suspect for murder..
“Is anyone there? I can explain what happened back there, and I know someone who can confirm my innocence!” Eve shouted, feeling panic starting to trickle up her spine again.
“Shut your mouth, woman!” A man shouted back at her, “I want to sleep here in peace.”
Eve quickly turned to see where the voice was coming from before her eyes fell on the cell next to hers. There sat a shaggy-looking man with his back leaning against the wall.
As more seconds passed, Eve panicked because she knew about this place. By word and rumours, she had heard about this treacherous dungeon that showed no mercy to its prisoners. Men and women, sometimes even children, were brought to this place for committing unspeakable crimes.
“I have done no wrong,” said Eve. If only she could let Aunt Aubrey or Eugene know about her being here, but who would inform them? Life was unfair to the poor. The uneducated women of the elite families had their fathers or husbands high status were safe, while Eve, a governess, was a nobody.
The shaggy man from the next cell clicked his tongue in distaste, displeased that his sleep was being disrupted.
“You can scream and shout your throat out, but nobody is going to listen to it,” the man laughed like a maniac. He turned his head to look at her, but his long thin strands of black hair covered his forehead and eyes, making it hard for her to meet his eyes. “Well well, what treat do we have here? Whom did you kill?”
Eve felt trapped in the four walls and suffocated with the thought that she had no way out. She said,
“I didn’t kill anyone. It is a misunderstanding—”
“I mean who did you see die?” The shabby man asked her.
Eve tried to remember the face of the dead person before she shook her head, “I don’t know. He was probably someone who belonged to an elite family,” hearing her words, the shabby man whistled.
“You might as well get used to this place until your turn comes,” laughed the man, and Eve looked at him with a deep frown.
She asked him, “When will my turn come?” Would she need to wait for her trial?
The person stared at her for a long time before he got up from the ground and walked near her side of the cell. He came close and placed his hands on the iron bars, curling his hands before letting a part of his face squeeze between the two rusty iron rods. He said, “This is the first time I have seen someone so eager to get the turn to step on the gallows.”
Eve shook her head, “But I didn’t kill anyone. I need the person in charge of the dungeon to explain to them what happened.”
“Do you think you would be here if you were not already under suspicion? Doesn’t look like you are someone from big status,” he sighed as if he wasn’t bothered being stuck in the cell.
Eve didn’t let the man’s negative words get to her. She turned her head to look at the corridor and yelled,
“Is anyone here, please! All I need is to explain what happened! I live in the town of Meadow, and I have nothing to do with tha—”
One of the guards arrived in front of her cell and glared at her. He warned her, “Shut the fuck up, or I will have to deal with you the way you won’t like.”
Eve didn’t stop talking and questioned, “Why am I being held here when I didn’t do anything? When will I be let out?”
The shaggy man whispered to her, “You are getting yourself into more trouble.”
Eve didn’t commit a crime and for the guards to think that she had done it just because her hands were covered in blood was not right. She said,
“You can ask the guard from the town of Brokengroves. I was there talking to him. His name… his name is Webleck.”
With every other prisoner inside the dungeon being compliant, the guard didn’t like Eve causing a ruckus. He opened the lock of the cell’s gate and stepped inside. The guard didn’t listen to Eve speak and instead grabbed her face. His eyes glowed red, indicating he was a vampire. He threatened her,
“It would be wise for you to shut up, unless you want to shorten your days here. You were the only one with blood on your hands up to wrists and clothes, do you think you can kill Mr. Fowler and easily get away with it?”
“I don’t know who he is,” Eve tried to wriggle free from the vampire guard’s hold. But the guard’s grip was firm on her.
“Whom are you working for?” demanded the guard.
“I don’t work for anyone! I have nothing to do with that dead person. Let go of me!” It was hard to defend with Eve’s hands and legs tied in chains. She didn’t even have her umbrella with her, as the guards had taken it away under their possession when they had captured her.
The guard noticed Eve’s blue eyes and was mesmerized by her features.
He used his other hand to place it on her waist. Circling her waist with a smug smile. He then slowly started to move his hand near and between her legs. Filled with disgust, Eve didn’t know what else to do but raised her hands and hit the vampire’s head with as much force as possible with the iron cuffs around her wrist.
The vampire guard staggered backwards, not expecting this human woman to do something so brave. He touched his head, and not feeling any blood, his eyes snapped to look at Eve. The iron chains jingled when Eve moved backwards and away from him.
“You whore!” The guard glared at her before raising his hand and striking hard across her face. He shouted, “You think you can get away doing something like this?!”
With the force with which the guard slapped Eve, she hit her head on the wall and fell to the ground. For a moment, she saw nothing but spots. She blinked a couple of times to gain her vision back to normal.
Eve tasted a metallic taste in her mouth.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 118
The guard caught hold of Eve’s ankles and pulled her towards him. She struggled by trying to kick him.
Before the guard could do more harm to her, another guard appeared to inform him, “Deacon, the head guard has summoned you. Right now.”
The vampire guard who was inside Eve’s cell spat on the ground. He threatened her, “I will deal with you later.” He let go of her ankles and Eve quickly crawled backwards. The guard stood up from the place and left after locking the cell’s gate.
Eve took a deep breath, trying to calm her mind and her beating heart. When she touched her forehead, she felt something burn. She thanked God that at least her forehead wasn’t bleeding.
Hours started to pass one after another, and Eve was stuck in the cell room. With what happened, she tried not to agitate any more guards, but for how long would she need to be here? How was she going to get out of the dungeon?
Would she get out…?
The day turned to night, and while Eve was in the dungeon, in the town of Meadow, in Dawson’s residence, Lady Aubrey sat in the living room in front of the fireplace, knitting a sweater. She heard the tower bell in the town ring, and she stopped what she was doing. Her eyes moved towards the main door as Eve was yet to return home.
When she saw Eugene walking past the living room, Lady Aubrey asked, “What time is it, Eugene?”
Eugene turned to look at the cuckoo clock on the wall. He answered, “Eleven, milady. Miss Eve is late again. Do you think she is still in Hollow Valley? She did take the dress that she wore for the Moriarty’s ball.”
Eve had left home early this morning and usually returned home early on weekends. Lady Aubrey didn’t know what was holding Eve back in Hollow Valley.
Another hour passed, and Eugene came to stand next to Lady Aubrey’s side this time. He informed her,
“Milady, it is twelve. Miss Eve isn’t here yet.”
It wasn’t just Eugene but Lady Aubrey who had now turned worried. Eve had never been this late, but the older woman tried to stay positive and hopeful that Eve was fine and she was probably on her way home. But after fifteen minutes passed with no sight of Eve, Lady Aubrey said,
“Bring the carriage, Eugene. Let us visit Hollow Valley and see if we can pick up Eve. If I am not wrong, the local carriages don’t work past twelve in the night.”
Eugene nodded and quickly hurried to bring the carriage to the front of the house. Lady Aubrey accompanied him by sitting inside the carriage and keeping an eye outside the window in case she caught sight of Eve. On arriving at Hollow Valley, most shops were already closed or were in the process of being closed.
“I don’t think she’s here,” Lady Aubrey murmured while looking at the deserted streets of the wealthy town. “Did she say anything about going to work at Moriartys mansion?” She questioned Eugene, but he shook his head.
“No, milady. The Moriartys didn’t tell her to come work for them today. After all, today is a holiday.”
The frown on Lady Aubrey’s forehead deepened, and she asked, “Where would she go then? What about that young vampiress who had breakfast with us?”
Eugene again shook his head, “I don’t think Miss Eve spent her time with her either.” Worried, he asked, “Do you think something bad happened to her?”
“I hope not, Eugene. I hope not,” whispered Lady Aubrey. She didn’t know if someone caught Eve and humans would sell her or if the vampires had caught her and were drinking her blood. She didn’t even want to think about the werewolves… “It is time to go to the magistrate’s office and ask him for his help.”
“But right now the office is closed, and he will be arriving here only at ten in the morning.”
On their way back, Lady Aubrey hoped Eve had reached home and was waiting for them, but she was only hopeful. Because once they did reach home, Eve wasn’t there.
“Do you think it will be safe to let the magistrate know that Eve is missing?” Inquired Eugene, his eyebrows furrowed.
The elderly woman nodded grimly, “We have no other option to find her. We can go to the circus or other places where the bid takes place, but let us hope people have not found out yet what she is. People go missing in the towns, our best option is to reach where she is. If she is caught in the wrong hands, we shall think about it next.”
Eugene’s lips set in a thin line and he nodded.
In the Raven town’s dungeon, scarce light spilled from the fire torches that burned against the walls. A little more light passed through the small window of the cell.
Eve sat on the ground and against the wall, staring at the passage outside the cell in silence. One side of her face had swollen, and one of her eyes had turned small.
She could only imagine how worried Lady Aubrey and Eugene were about her. She wanted to reach out to them, but even if she did, the question was if they would be able to get her out of here. They weren’t part of the high society, which put them at a great disadvantage.
“Staying awake is not going to help. You might as well accept how things are and sleep,” came the words from the person in the next cell.
Eve turned to look at him, but she couldn’t see the man.
“It is good that you quietened down, else who knows, if you would have lived to see tomorrow,” the man laughed as if he found something funny.
“Why are you here?” Eve questioned him. “Were you falsely accused too?”
Several seconds passed in silence, where the man didn’t reply to her. She then heard light footsteps. The man made his way to where the moonlight spilt on his face through the small window of his cell.
“I killed my parents, with my bare hands,” he turned his gaze to look in the direction of where Eve was, and her eyes widened. “I heard them scream, saw them struggle, and felt the panic… like how I feel yours now,” he whispered, but Eve heard him.
She didn’t know how to respond to it and fell silent. After a minute, she asked him, “Why did you kill them?”
“They weren’t the nicest people. My father used to come home drunk, beat me and my mother didn’t care about me. She forgot a mother’s duties to protect me, and started to sleep with men. Women who looked for men out of marriage deserve to die,” the man smiled as if remembering it.
Eve was speechless and avoided commenting on it. Cautiously asked him, “Since how long have you been here?”
“I stopped counting after a decade passed. I have lived it well here,” replied the person. “Where are you from?”
“Meadow.”
“Ah… Meadow. Much better than my own, but still the same in living conditions. I had been there a few times when I was young,” the man turned around and sat on the ground with his back facing the moonlight.
“Which town did you come from?” Eve asked him.
“The one with the groves,” he sighed.
“Brokengroves…?”
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 119
Music Recommendation: Haunted Corridor- Adrian VonZiegler
—
This man was from Brokengroves? That means maybe he would know something. Eve stared at the person from where she sat, her curiosity peaking with every second that passed. The man appeared to be in his late forties. She asked him,
“You grew up in Brokengroves?”
The man clicked his tongue and replied, “Isn’t that what I just told you? How is it now? From what I know it must have only turned worse,” he huffed as if he didn’t care about it. “The town was doomed to die with poverty hitting hard and rising taxes.”
“Can I ask you something, if I am allowed to ask?” Eve’s words were polite.
“What?”
Eve’s hands clenched into fists on her lap, and she made her way near the rusted iron rods that separated both their cell rooms. With a lowered voice, she asked him,
“Do you know anything about a woman named Rebecca?”
Silence filled the room, and Eve patiently waited to hear him.
“Never thought I would hear that name here,” replied the shaggy man. “The woman every man secretly wanted to take to his bed. She charged quite heavily for her service, and people of the Brokengroves couldn’t afford her. Only the rich could. Why are you interested in that woman?” He turned his head, keenly looking at her face that was slightly camouflaged by the shadows in the cell room.
Whenever Eve heard about her mother’s work, it deepened the hurt she felt in her chest. She said,
“Do you know anything about the men who were associated with her work? Whom she spent time with,” The words she uttered were nothing but bitter and painful.
The man turned his head and looked closer at her before chuckling in awe, “You are her daughter. I remember seeing you.”
“I am not,” Eve quickly denied it, her body turning rigid. The last thing she wanted was for the murderer to discover that the woman’s daughter who had witnessed him kill was now backtracking his footsteps to him.
“You are Rebecca’s daughter. I remember.”
“You are mistaking me for someone,” Eve was firm with her words.
“I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the bruises along with the slight resemblance you hold. It is the eyes that speak volumes,” said the man before crawling closer to where she stood. He then said, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” he smiled at her, “I won’t tell it to anyone, not that I have anyone to tell.”
The dungeon was filled with criminals and this man was one. It wasn’t a place where one could trust another. He asked her, “Why don’t you ask your mother? She will be able to answer your questions better, after all, she did have a very very close relationship with all of them.”
If her mother was alive, Eve would have never asked about the men her mother had slept with in the past. But she had no other way to find out about her mother’s past.
“I cannot ask her…”
“You poor thing… Ashamed to confront? You should be. What woman goes whoring around, from one man’s bed to another. To think I once wanted to marry her,” he smiled, and Eve noticed his crooked teeth. “She was such a delight to look at, and I proposed marriage to her. But she refused, telling she couldn’t. She was meeting someone, but then that man disappeared, leaving her. I am sure she regrets it now.”
Eve guessed it to be her father. Her mother told her father had gone far away and wouldn’t be able to see him again.
The man continued speaking in a hushed tone, “If she would have married me, she would have been happy, but then she also wanted to whore with wealthy people, and a whore never changes her paths. Once a whore, always one.”
Eve’s eyes hardened, and her hands turned pale because her hands turned to tight fists. Her mother might have worked like that to bring food and put a roof over their heads, but she wasn’t a woman of low value. She would never accept her mother to be disgraceful like the people spoke about her.
“What’s the matter? I thought you wanted to know more about the woman,” the man moved himself a little closer before standing face to face in front of Eve, with only the rusted bars separating them.
“I am listening,” Eve replied while staring at him.
“I don’t remember a day where she stayed in the house. Even you– were not home. Always outside,” said the man, quickly trying to grab Eve between the gaps. But Eve quickly stepped backwards and looked at him warily. She heard him mock her, “Just because I couldn’t get her, doesn’t mean you and I cannot spend some time with each other. You are going to be here for a very long time.”
“Answer my questions. You must have remembered the names of the men who slept with her,” stated Eve, noticing the man pushing his hair to the side to reveal the dark circles around his eyes, and he stared at her with lust filled eyes as if he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her body.
“How about you let me touch you, and I will try remembering the names. Just for you. It has been a very long time since I remember those things,” he smiled at her.
If Eve’s hands were free and she wasn’t in this state in the dungeon as a prisoner, she would have punched the man’s face until she received an answer. She wasn’t sure if the person really knew the men’s names or he was lying about it.
“Come now. There’s no time to waste when it is scarce,” the man laughed at Eve.
At the same moment, Eve and the man heard a pair of footsteps echoing in the corridor, which got louder, and the light outside the cells turned brighter. Soon two guards appeared in front of the man’s cell room, opening the cell gate, and one of them ordered the man,
“It is time. Come out!”
The man turned to look at Eve and sang, “So near… yet so far…”
Eve turned to the guards and questioned them, “Wait! Where are you taking him?” She wasn’t done with her questions. She needed a lead that would take her to her mother’s murderer.
One of the guards replied, “To the Gallows. His time here is up.” The guard turned to the man and shouted, “Now start walking!”
Eve’s eyes widened, noticing the man smiling at her like a maniac, and she shouted in desperation, “Give me a name. Please!”
“Heart. A troublesome heart,” said the man before he was pulled away by the guards, leaving Eve clutching the iron rods.
What did that mean?!
She closed her eyes in frustration. The man had answers, yet it had been too late before she could get a hold of it. But right now, what was the point of finding the name if she was only going to be put up on the Gallows.
The entire night, Eve stayed awake, unable to sleep.
The slightest noise alerted her; it seemed like the man next to her cell wasn’t the only one to be dragged out. Two more people were dragged from their cell rooms, and one was a woman who screamed and yelled for help. The screams left chills in the air before it turned distant and silence fell in the cold and deserted passages of the dungeon.
Before the break of dawn, Eve, who had slipped into sleep out of exhaustion, was quick to wake up when she heard a noise from outside the little window. She stood up and took a peek outside. The three prisoners, including the man next to her cell, were pushed to climb the stairs of the Gallows.
Nooses were put around the prisoner’s necks, and in a moment, the wooden platform upon which the prisoners’ stood on opened, hanging them to their deaths. One of them struggled for a few seconds before his body went still.
“Don’t be scared. You will be next.”
Eve heard the guard named Deacon tell her, who stood outside her cell. Eve turned her head, knowing that if no one could prove her innocence she would share the same fate as those three prisoners.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 120
The following day didn’t bring light but dark clouds and a gloomy atmosphere. In Moriartys mansion, Alfie arrived before Vincent and bowed his head.
“Sire, your carriage is ready for your use.” The butler helped his master in wearing the overcoat.
Vincent looked at the end of the hallways and questioned, “Did the governess arrive?”
“No, Sire. Ms. Barlow is yet to arrive. It seems the bridge near Timberport is under repair and she will have to travel the other way round,” Alfie replied while following Vincent out of the mansion and to the carriage.
Vincent was already aware of the broken bridge’s condition, which had taken place three days back. He stepped onto the carriage without uttering another word and left town.
The carriage reached Darthmore, where the headquarters of the Council was located. It was surrounded by thick and high walls, with only two entrances and exits through the passage of the gates guarded by men.
Noticing the expensive wood and polish on the carriage that belonged to the Moriarty family, the guards opened the gates and Vincent’s carriage entered. The building wasn’t to one’s immediate reach and was instead covered around the forest, at the far centre, where the carriage finally halted.
The coachman pulled open the carriage door, and Vincent stepped out. Patton, the man who worked under him, quickly greeted him.
“Good morning, Mr. Moriarty,” Patton offered a deep bow while Vincent noticed a few more carriages parked than usual.
“Is there a council meeting taking place to discuss Fowler’s death?” He questioned, his coppery eyes moving across the place.
Patton nodded, “You have heard about it?”
“I am not deaf to not hear things, Patton,” Vincent started to walk towards the large building. “Fowler is one of the men in the inner circle. It would be odd if there wasn’t a meeting held.”
Patton nodded before he said, “You are right about it. Though the woman was brave enough to kill him.”
“They found the culprit? That’s soon,” replied Vincent, “That’s quicker than one would get caught. Especially when you are killing a person like Fowler.”
Vincent’s long legs took long strides on the ground, while Patton tried to walk quicker because of his short legs. Patton said,
“I believe they are trying to figure out who hired the woman to kill Mr. Fowler. Who do you think is behind it?” He turned to look at Vincent with curiosity.
“You.”
Patton’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “M-me? But I d-did—”
A grin cracked on Vincent’s lips and he asked, “Where is the meeting?”
“In the backroom of the ground floor,” Patton released a sigh. Since he had started to work for Vincent Moriarty, he had gained more than ten grey strands of hair out of stress.
Vincent made his way through the clean white marble-floored corridors. On reaching the room, he stepped inside and took a spare seat. In the room were the other five members of the inner circle who sat in the front on one side, while the others sat on the other side of the room.
Mr. Morris, who was in the room, questioned, “If a man like Fowler’s status can be assassinated so easily, how do we know that any of us are safe anymore? I demand an increase in punishment for these criminals.”
“We aren’t here to talk about people’s safety, but on what caused Jones’s murder,” said a man who was part of the inner circle.
“Mr. Fowler’s coachman said that Jones stepped out of the carriage and told him to wait. That he was going to meet someone. That he would be back. But as you know, the man never returned to the carriage,” explained another person. “We have captured the person involved in it. A human.”
“Did you get any answers from her?” Questioned another person from the inner circle, who had a thick moustache on his upper lip. “If we already have a lead, get all the information. It is obvious that it wasn’t planned by a human. There should be more people involved in it.”
“The human is being held in the dungeon of Raven’s town.”
“A woman?” A man huffed in the room. “What kind of a woman is able to pull such a stunt? Did you even capture the right person?”
Another person who had made sure to see the culprit be escorted to the dungeon stated, “We did, Sire. People saw the woman rip out Mr. Fowler’s heart out of his chest. There was blood on her hands and clothes.”
Vincent tilted his head and questioned, “Since when is a human able to rip another human’s heart out, Mr. Keith?”
“It is possible. A similar case had been filed last year, where a human pulled out another human’s heart,” replied Mr. Keith.
“I think you are forgetting the word carved here. The man carved his neighbour’s heart out with a knife. Not with bare hands,” stated Vincent, and he offered a smile when Mr. Keith glared at him. It was because the other people didn’t like when Vincent started with the ‘know it all’ on them.
“It is the words of the villagers and not mine,” Mr. Keith replied to Vincent. He then turned to look at the inner circle members and said, “We already have a lead and we are trying to get an answer from the person. We will get it done by this evening.”
“I hope you find the answer quickly,” said another person from the inner circle. “It doesn’t reflect well that a member of such a high position was killed. Also try to know what business Jones was upto, that he left his coachman. It was away from Raven’s town.”
A young boy sat at the same table as the other inner circle members. He looked annoyed with the discussion. His name was Clayton Turner. Though young in appearance, he wasn’t a small boy, but seventy-three years old. He questioned,
“If the culprit was caught yesterday, what are you doing until this very moment? Find out from the human and others who saw him.”
“If I may speak, Clayton,” started Vincent, bringing everyone’s eyes to him. He said, “It would be excellent if people who are present here in the meeting and people who are absent in the council meeting write to the Head of the inner circle on what they were doing since the last two days.”
Noah, who was in the room, asked calmly, “Mr. Moriarty, do you believe that someone from here administered Mr. Fowler’s murder?”
Vincent smiled at the Duke’s question, “Not believe, but at least we can clear the names of the people from the suspicion list.”
“You are trying to bring suspicions and doubts among us, Mr. Moriarty,” stated Mr. Morris in a disgruntled voice.
“Don’t be upset, Mr. Morris. This is a simple step, after all, we want to find the murderer of our very much beloved Mr. Fowler. He was a good man,” the men in the room didn’t comment on Vincent’s words because Mr. Fowler, though human, wasn’t someone people liked around here. “Unless you have an issue with it and are worried that your name might come up during the investigation.”
Mr. Morris huffed before he said, “I have nothing to be scared of.” Vincent gave him a grin.
“Excellent,” said Vincent.
“I will expect everyone to send me the detailed report of what work and where you have been since the last two days in an hour. Submit them in my office right away,” ordered Clayton before saying. “The meeting is now adjourned.”
People in the room slowly started to disperse, and Noah came near where Vincent stood. Vincent offered a polite smile to Noah and said,
“I heard you didn’t stay back for dinner? We do not offer poison to werewolves, if that was what you were worried about.”
Noah stared at Vincent with his ever-calm expression, “My apologies for missing it. I was tired of entertaining the women at the ball. I needed to rest, Mr. Moriarty.”
Vincent hummed, “True. You were quite popular at the ball.”
“I didn’t know you kept track of things, considering how you yourself were missing from the ballroom,” Noah stared into Vincent’s coppery brown eyes.
“Well, what can I say? I was the host, and it is necessary for me to see that every guest has been served well,” Vincent responded with a knowing glint in his eyes. He then continued, “Though I am surprised that you noted my absence amid the crowd of women who tired you with their affection. Including my very dear sister. She’s very smitten by you.”
“She’s a lovely lady,” Noah complimented Marceline.
Vincent thoughtlessly played with one of his sharp fangs until it pricked and brought out a drop of blood.
“Marceline can be charming when it is needed,” said Vincent, “In fact, she was waiting for you to send her some flowers. I have heard from my governess that you are a gentleman in such matters.”
At the mention of Eve, Vincent noticed the slight change in the air around Noah. The Duke looked at him in seriousness and said,
“Genevieve is a kind woman. I hope she will be spared from the similar fate of your last governess. I won’t sit quietly if something bad happens to her.”
Vincent tilted his head to the side and replied, “What a friendly man. Maybe then you wouldn’t mind having a cup of tea with my sister Marceline? You have upset her by not taking a bite of the mermaid’s meat that she offered you.”
Before Noah could say something, the vampire who looked like a small boy called, “Vincent.”
Vincent and Noah stared at each other for a second more, before Noah offered a slight bow and left the room, while Vincent’s gaze followed the Duke.
To not be able to eat mermaid’s meat and refuse, “How fascinating.” Vincent smiled before turning to walk to where Clayton was waiting for him.
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