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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 131
Music Recommendation: Love Theme- Guy Farley
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The emotions of fear that had been hovering around Eve before seeping into her, that she had been trying to hold back until this moment broke in Vincent’s arms. Tears continued to fall from her eyes, most of which fell on Vincent’s shirt as she continued to cry.
Since Eve had been captured and thrown into the cell, it had left her terrified and helplessness had caught her. She couldn’t stop crying, and soon sobs broke through her lips. She clutched onto the vampire’s shirt, wetting it with her tears and Vincent didn’t make any attempt to push her.
“Shh. It’s all over,” Vincent comforted her.
His hand that he had earlier used to bring her to him, to hide her tears from his coachman or another person, hadn’t moved away from Eve’s head. Her golden blonde hair which was usually tied was let down, and he gently stroked her head with his hand.
Vincent had always seen the governess put a strong front, meeting his eyes and words almost as if she was no less than him, even though he was the predator and she was his prey. He could tell that she was shaken.
“There there. Nobody’s going to hurt you now,” Vincent’s words were like a warm blanket to Eve’s ears. “You have been very brave, Ms. Barlow and you survived.” It was because only she could think of escaping from the dungeon, he thought to himself.
If Eve wasn’t overwhelmed with her emotions, she would have noticed the gentleness Vincent’s words carried, as if he was talking to a child. Her lips trembled, and her body experienced little tremors as she sobbed.
Vincent’s coachman, Mr. Briggs closed the carriage door without interrupting the two and went to sit on the driver’s seat before riding the carriage away from Raven town.
Once Eve spilt most of her emotions, her mind calmed down and the sobs quietened.
Her mind had been so wrapped around the events that had taken place in the dungeon that she hadn’t noted how she had buried herself in her employer’s arms. Once she started to come to her senses, she blinked before pulling away from him and trying to slip her hand in her dress pocket to pull out her handkerchief, but she realised her dress was lying cold in the corner of one of the dungeon’s cells.
“Take this,” Vincent offered his handkerchief to her.
Eve slightly bowed before using it without making too much noise.
Vincent watched the woman dab her eyes and nose, while she avoided his gaze. Her face had flushed, and the rim of her eyes had turned red. Her lips were parted to be able to breathe. She looked fragile, similar to a glass doll that could easily break and crumble if one were to touch her now.
“Drink some more water,” his words turned firmer as he continued watching her, and Eve followed his order without any question.
Eve sensed Vincent’s gaze, and her movements turned skittish under his eyes. Some of the water spilt on her chin before sliding down her throat. Closing the lid of the water batter, she placed it at the side. She then said,
“Thank you for what you did back there…” Eve didn’t meet his eyes. The state in which he had seen her in… it was the lowest she had been or let anyone see, and Vincent had not only seen her, but had helped her. “I will forever be grateful for what you have done, Master Vincent,” her voice was lower than usual, and Vincent detected the vulnerability in it.
Eve then picked up all the pearls that had fallen on inside the carriage, and once she was done, Vincent stretched his hands in front of her, “Let me keep them.” She carefully handed the pearls to him, seeing him slip them into his trouser pocket.
“Did you do something you were not supposed to do, Ms. Barlow?” She heard him question her.
Eve’s eyebrows slightly furrowed before she raised her gaze and met his dark red eyes that stared right back at her. She shook her head, “No.”
“Then why are you unable to look at me? Or is it that I have scared you with what you saw me do back there in the dungeon,” Vincent’s question was direct to her. He sat comfortably, crossing his legs, he said, “There’s no need for you to look down when you haven’t committed any error. I don’t think it has anything to do with me finding you in your inner dress, after all I have already seen more than that,” he tilted his head.
Eve didn’t know if this was his unconventional way of cheering her up. She pursed her lips before saying,
“Who am I to judge your actions, Master Vincent. Especially after you saved me. Even though I wanted to escape and tried… somewhere I realised that it was impossible. I didn’t know if I was going to rot in the dungeon, without anyone knowing where I went.”
Halfway through her escape, Eve had started to lose all hope, and when the head guard caught her, she had believed that was her end.
“I thought no one would come for me…” Eve whispered those words, and tears started to form in her eyes again. She took a deep breath before asking, “Did you come to the dungeon for some work?”
Vincent stared at her. He then nodded, “Yes,” without admitting the fact that he had come to the dungeon for her, after discovering that she was the one who was blamed for Fowler’s case. He knew there were consequences for his actions, but at that time he was pissed. “You are lucky I came by the dungeon for a case. Did you see who killed the man?”
Eve shook her head, “When I arrived at the place, the man’s heart was pulled out and he was already dead.” She said, “Are we going to Darthmore?”
“Yes,” Vincent nodded, “Your wounds need to be treated. And I need to report what happened to the inner circle’s members and get you out of the little mess you swam into.”
“I am sorry,” Eve apologised to him. The number of guards he had killed was more than she could count in her hands.
“Don’t fret, I will deal with it,” replied Vincent before adding, “You must have not slept the night. Get some sleep before we reach Darthmore.”
Eve nodded, pulling his coat closer to her before letting her head lean against the carriage’s wall. With exhaustion that had taken over her body, and knowing her life was not in danger and she had Vincent sitting next to her, she quickly fell asleep. But over the time of the ride, her head moved from the side next to the window to rest against Vincent’s shoulder.
Vincent sighed and muttered, “What a troublesome little thing. Always getting into trouble.”
His hand slipped into his pocket, pulling out one of the pearls and bringing it in front of his eyes. As expected, Genevieve Barlow was a high-quality mermaid. Not only was her blood exquisite to taste, but the pearls that her tears created were beautiful.
It was said that, the more a mermaid cried in pain and anguish, the more beautiful the pearls were.
Vincent’s curiosity about mermaids had stirred when he was a young boy, when he had visited the fair in Crowbury and seen a small girl’s tear turn into a pearl. The next day he had gone to the town, looking for the girl, and the day after it and then the entire week, but he hadn’t been able to find her.
After an hour, the carriage reached Darthmore, which made its way through the gates. Eve woke up in time to pull away from Vincent’s shoulder that she had turned into a pillow and had drooled on him. She quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Vincent looked at her with a serious expression, “It looks like soon you are going to be in debt, Ms. Barlow.”
“I didn’t mean to do that,” when Eve went to deepen her bow, but only to wince in pain.
He clicked his tongue, “What are you doing, damaging my body.”
“What?” Eve whispered in slight shock.
“The blood running inside your body is mine, isn’t it?” Vincent questioned the obvious, and sent a small glare her way, “You are already in pain, there’s no need to move unnecessarily.”
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 132
Soon the wheels of the carriage and the horses’ hooves came to a halt in front of the large council building. The coachman stepped down from his seat and came to stand in front of the carriage door. But he didn’t open it.
Eve had never come by anywhere close to this place. Not just her, but any ordinary person, including those with a high social status, weren’t allowed to come here as the place was only for people who worked here. The inner council members held privileges as the King and the Queen of their country.
Looking away from the window, Eve turned to Vincent. She said, “People will see us.”
“My reputation in my eyes doesn’t scar easy, Ms. Barlow,” one corner of his lips curled. He explained, “It is night and most of them are either working in their office or have already left. There’s barely anyone to see us.”
Vincent raised his hand towards the carriage door, about to knock, when he asked Eve, “Are your legs still there?”
Eve nodded, “It hasn’t changed yet, but they are getting stuck…” She was trying hard to stop herself from transforming into her true self.
Without warning, Vincent leaned forward and raised the hem of her inner dress to her knees. He noticed the blue scales covering most parts of her skin on her legs, holding a shine and a gold tint. He said,
“Let us get you into the office before your tail comes out, shall we?” Vincent knocked on the carriage door and soon the coachman opened the door for them to step out. He carried her out of the carriage and into the building. As much as Vincent had told her that there would be fewer people, they met some of them on their way.
Eve was thankful that no one stopped them to ask Vincent questions, even though she could tell by their curious look that they wanted to know why a pureblooded vampire like Vincent was carrying a human. But then this was Vincent and she doubted many had the courage to talk to him.
Patton, who was in the corridor, noticed Vincent walking and quickly greeted him, “Mr. Moriarty, good evening. So gla–What happened to the lady?” When the man took a whiff of air, he smelt blood and believed it came from Eve when in truth it came from both Eve and from Vincent, whose clothes had blood of the guards on him.
“Get Clarks to my office,” ordered Vincent, and a confused Patton left.
When they reached a deserted corridor, where the torches of fire burned on one side of the wall, while the other side of the wall was missing as a garden was built, the light from the torches fell on the white marbled floor, turning the place brighter. Eve listened to Vincent’s shoes clicking sharply against the floor. When they stepped in front of a door, Vincent kicked the door open and stepped inside the room.
It was a spacious room that had a desk, chairs, and red wooden racks built against the wall filled with books. On the other side was a couch and a fireplace. There was a carved wooden divider. Even though Vincent had only arrived at the room, candles were lit on four sides of the room.
Eve had taken a seat in front of the desk and heard Vincent say, “Clarks is a physician, and also an expert in dissecting bodies when we need more information that a naked eye cannot catch.”
“Won’t she find out what I am?”
“She knows to keep a secret, not about everyone,” Vincent offered her a charming smile and added, “I was the one who recruited her a few years ago. She’s loyal to me.”
Vincent left her side, walking to the other side of the room and behind the divider. She heard the water running from the faucet. She could only guess that Vincent being the odd one, had a bathtub in his room on the other side of the wooden divider that was being filled with water now.
Her eyes followed him, watching him roll up his sleeves until his forearms revealed the veins underneath his skin. He walked to one side of the room, pulling open the cabinet and picking up a small jar.
“Why do you have those in there?” Eve questioned him, realising what was in the jar.
“I like to collect things that some of the creatures use. It is good to be familiar with it. Makes it easy to catch them,” Vincent said before pouring the salts into the bathtub.
After a while Vincent turned off the faucet and stepped away from the divider. As he made his way to where Eve was, their eyes met. Someone knocked on the door from outside, but he took two seconds to respond as he continued to stare at her. He loudly said, “Come in.”
The door opened.
Eve saw the man Vincent had earlier spoken to and with him stepped in a brunette woman whose hair was tied in a pencil. The woman wore a golden framed glass. The physician smiled at Vincent, and her golden eyes fell on the human.
Eve stiffened when she realised this person was a werewolf.
“Good evening, Mr. Moriarty. I was told that you wanted to see me?”
“Clarks, meet Ms. Barlow. I need you to look at her wounds,” stated Vincent and the woman nodded. “Patton.”
“Sire?” Patton was quick to respond.
“I need you to run a little errand. Go to Meadow and visit the woman’s house named Lady Aubrey Dawson. Pass her a message that her niece is in my care and she will return home tomorrow.”
Patton bowed and closed the door behind him.
Eve removed Vincent’s coat that she had been wearing until now, letting it fall on the chair she sat on. Her hands clenched when the physician came near her to look at the wounds.
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“Those are some harsh lashes and are still fresh. The skin is too tender and she doesn’t seem human,” said the physician while turning to Vincent. “But you already know that.”
“Mermaid,” stated Vincent, making his way to where Eve sat when he could hear the hitch in Eve’s breathing.
A slight frown appeared on the physician’s face, and she said, “For a mermaid, she seems and feels–” before the woman could touch Eve away, Eve flinched. The physician pulled her hand back to her side and said, “–different. Smells like vampires, werewolves and… dungeon…”
“Do you have anything that could heal her wounds quicker?” Asked Vincent, and the woman pursed her lips before nodding.
“I have an ointment. Her healing should speed up in her true form faster than the human form,” advised the physician while looking at Eve’s skin, “I will bring you the ointment so that you can put it on her. I will be back in a bit.”
The physician stepped out of the room, returning after ten minutes with a small box and handing it to Vincent. Before leaving his office, the woman informed him,
“Mr. Moriarty, I found something that might interest you. If you have time to drop by the laboratory,” she smiled at Vincent, bowing her head, she left the room with the door clicking behind her softly, leaving Vincent and Eve alone.
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 133
Between a stranger who was a werewolf and a pureblooded vampire Vincent, who had saved her from the dungeon, there wasn’t much question on whom out of the two, Eve was comfortable. And whom she knew wouldn’t kill her. At the same time, her employer was a man. She closed her eyes and told herself that it was going to be okay.
Society frowned upon an unmarried man and woman spending time alone while not being chaperoned. If it weren’t for her current situation, she would have refused, but she wasn’t in the position to refuse help. Even she knew she had to appreciate the help she was receiving.
She heard Vincent say to her, “You will need to adjust with the cold water. This place doesn’t have the facility for hot water, except in the laboratory.”
“I am surprised that the council offices have bathtubs in them…” Eve replied softly and heard Vincent chuckle at her words.
“Not every person’s office. Just mine and a few higher ups with some privilege.”
Until now, she thought he was someone who didn’t directly work or involved himself in the council’s duties, but it seemed like she was wrong. Vincent Moriarty held more reins on things than he let people see.
“Why?” Asked Eve, a subtle frown forming on her forehead. Was it because he slept here sometimes?
Vincent tugged the coat that Eve was sitting on, and she used both hands to grip the sides of the chair so that she could raise her body. He slid it from the chair and threw the overcoat on the desk. His eyes moved to look at her and he said,
“As much as I enjoy putting people in their… place, I prefer to stay clean and not reek of blood that belongs to the lower kind. Like today, if I was going to continue my work here, you would have seen me immersed myself in the bathtub now.”
“I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to see you like that,” Eve looked away from him, and her eyes moved to stare at the objects in the room.
Vincent noticed Eve zone out as if she was thinking something sad.
“How perverted to imagine me naked, I take showers with my clothes on!” One corner of Vincent’s lips pulled. And though Eve was tired and lacked energy, her eyes snapped to look at him, “I thought it was only fair for you to see me as I have seen your back,” Eve glared at him. “It’s time to put the fish in the water.”
When he bent towards her, his face came close to her. Eve noticed the specks of copper in his red eyes. They were clear, and they looked right into her eyes. Lowering her eyes, she put her hands around his neck and the next second, Vincent picked her up before carrying her to where the bathtub was in the room.
By now, Eve’s legs had turned slippery and she knew she couldn’t hold back her transformation any longer. This was the longest she had held back, and once Vincent descended her body into the bathtub water, the lower half of her body changed.
The bathtub was big enough to accommodate Eve’s mermaid body and the water that Vincent had filled earlier splashed outside the bathtub.
Vincent’s eyes fell on the finest mermaid that his eyes had ever laid upon.
He was stunned as he drank in Eve’s appearance. Because of the line of his work, he had come across many mermaids and sirens, but no one looked as magnificent as this one who was now in the bathtub.
Gone were Eve’s human legs, which had merged to take the appearance of a fish’s lower body with a tail and its delicate fluke that peeked out beneath her beige inner dress. And though her lower body tried to hide behind her dress, the dress had soaked itself in water, turning transparent.
Vincent’s eyes fell on the ocean blue scales on her lower body, which had a gold outline on each scale on Eve’s body. Unable to keep his primal instincts at bay, his red eyes darkened, and his fangs ached to take a bite from the mermaid. It was because he knew how divine her blood tasted on his lips.
And while Vincent continued to stare, Eve let an inaudible sigh of relief escape from her lips as her body was soaking in water with salts. She was relieved to have finally turned as it had been turning painful. It soothed her body, and she sank further into the water.
The water turned slightly pink because of Eve’s blood. As Eve relaxed, her eyes fell on her inner dress and noticing the transparency, her eyes widened. She quickly looked up at her chest, which was submerged in the water, and though the water’s surface wavered, it wasn’t enough to hide Eve’s bosom.
“Turn away!” Eve shrieked while covering her chest with her hands, and she noticed Vincent’s eyes on her tail.
When Vincent’s gaze turned to her, Eve threw a handful of water at his face, “What do you think you are doing?” He narrowed his eyes at her. Eve winced in pain when she turned to hide her front by turning her back to face him.
Eve had many things running in her mind that she had failed to notice something so obvious and hoped that Vincent had not noticed it, as she had seen him staring at her tail earlier.
The next time she moved, the fabric of her dress grazed against her tender wound, and she hissed in pain.
“If I am going to apply the medicine on the wounds, we cant do it with your dress on. Unless you have eyes on the back of your head and can reach with your hand,” stated Vincent, watching her water drip down her skin. Before she could say something unintelligent, he said, “I won’t bite you, you have my word.”
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 134
Music Recommendation: The intensity of Resonances- Matt Wilier
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The candles lit in the room continued burning brightly, and so did Eve’s cheeks, which had turned flush. She slowly and carefully removed her inner dress that was still on her body. It wasn’t an easy task, as she couldn’t stand and had to take it out while sitting in the bathtub.
“Are you done?” Eve heard Vincent question her from the other side of the room, which was separated with the help of the wooden divider.
“Not yet,” she replied before finally taking the dress off her body. Completely naked now, she quickly brought her golden blonde hair to cover her bosom with it.
A little anxious, Eve peeked through the carved holes of the wooden divider and noticed Vincent sitting on the edge of the desk whilst he read a parchment. Never had she imagined sitting in someone’s bathtub or taking off her dress in a male’s presence before getting married.
“I am done now,” Eve informed. She saw him drop the parchment on the desk and make his way to where she was.
She turned so that her back would face him and heard his shoes click against the room’s floor. She didn’t dare to turn and look at him because she knew if it was possible, she would have drowned in the bathtub. But she was a mermaid who could breathe underwater.
Vincent’s eyes fell on Eve’s naked back. He noticed her shoulders, and because of her parted hair, he could see her slender neck. He took his seat behind her without using a stool, noticing the two beautiful caudal fins stretched out as feathers, elegantly swaying in the water.
The wound she had received had turned dark against her pale skin. He asked,
“The prisoners are usually never hit on the first day in the dungeon. Did you do something to irk them?”
Vincent had noted how Eve didn’t appear shocked with the way he had killed the guards back in the dungeon. The shock had entered and left without causing trauma. As if she had seen something like this before.
Hearing his question, Eve moved her eyes away from the water’s surface and to the corner even though she couldn’t see Vincent.
“I tried to explain that I wasn’t the murderer. Bringing up yours and the Duke’s name didn’t help either.”
“Mml. Most offenders come up with stories to get out of there,” stated Vincent. He picked up the small box the physician had given earlier.
“I realised it late,” Eve’s voice had turned low and angry that her words had gone unheard. “It is something to wonder… on how many innocent people are stuck in the dun–ouch!”
Vincent had started to apply the medicine to her wounds, and it felt like it was lit on fire. He said, “It would be best for you to think about yourself rather than worry about others. After all, it is that very thought of yours that even got you in this position.”
Eve gritted her teeth because of the medicine. She took a deep breath before asking, “You are telling me not to help anyone and let people die?”
“To take care of the ones whom you know, and can, which would not put you in a compromising position. The world isn’t yours to take care of, Genevieve Barlow,” stated Vincent. He swiped the greasy white cream on his finger and applied it on another wound on Eve’s back, and she clenched her hands. “What’s the point of offering help if you are going to drown in it? But I know you…” his voice drawled.
Eve turned her head, where she could see his silhouette.
“You will jump to help people, you want the world to be fair,” said Vincent, a chuckle escaping through his lips. “But nothing is fair, and it is better to watch your own back, little girl.”
If the world went by Vincent’s words, she would have never been saved by Lady Aubrey and Eugene, thought Eve. But at the same time she understood his words. Then again, it wasn’t like she knew someone’s death could put her in such a predicament. It had been bad timing and luck.
Eve didn’t retort as not only was he right with how things had panned out in the last two days, but Vincent had also saved her. She watched the cuts on her lower body and the earlier blood on her skin mixed into the water when her tail moved.
She felt very aware of Vincent’s cold fingers touching her. If the water wasn’t already cold, she would have shivered. Somewhere in between, she closed her eyes, feeling his finger graze across her skin, making her skin and heart tremble.
When Vincent’s finger made contact with another wound, Eve hissed in pain and moved away from him.
“It hurts,” Eve confessed.
“Bear with this one,” said Vincent, and her eyebrows drew together. He questioned her, “What were you doing near Raven’s town?”
“Walking…” replied Eve, remembering what she heard about her mother.
“Did the air around Meadow turn stale?” Came Vincent’s sarcastic words. He said, “I know you were walking, considering your coachman wasn’t caught with you. What were you doing there by yourself?”
Eve stayed silent for two seconds until she yelped in pain when Vincent’s finger grazed on her wound and she gritted her teeth. She explained,
“I went to visit Brokengroves by the local carriage. I went to visit an old couple who had helped Eugene and me last week when our carriage wheel broke, but I couldn’t meet them. The guard there said they left town. I left from there on foot, not realising I had walked into the outskirts of Raven town.”
She heard a rustle behind her, and saw Vincent stand. He said,
“Your back is done. Bring your tail out.”
Eve looked at her chest before doing what he asked her to do. This time Vincent sat on the edge of the bathtub. She saw Vincent touch one of her caudal fins, and her cheeks reddened. He then let go of it.
“You didn’t tell me why you went to Brokengroves.”
Eve frowned, “I did.”
“Why does it feel like you are giving me half information. It’s fine,” said Vincent, and for a moment Eve was relieved until he said the next words, “I will send someone to question the guard of Brokengroves, so that it can be presented in front of the council when it comes to clearing your name from being a murder suspect,” he calmly said, while applying the medicine.
Eve didn’t want her mother’s name to come out in the open. It would not only ruin her mother’s name once again which was resting for some time now, but it could also alert the murderer.
They stared at each other in silence. The look in his eyes was nothing less to a predator looking at its prey and she softly gulped.
Even though Vincent had tried to prove nothing to her, his actions towards her spoke louder than any words. She asked, “Can you promise to not tell anyone? Not even the council.”
Vincent’s eyes turned curious and he said, “Let us hear about it.”
Eve pursed her lips, seeing him wait for her to start speaking. She took a deep breath before explaining to him how once she used to live with her mother in Brokengroves, before her mother was killed. About Aunt Aubrey and Eugene finding her by chance and taken in by them. She tried to keep it brief and during that time, Vincent finished applying the medicine and lit a cigar.
“… and that’s why I went to Brokengroves, to know about the people with whom my mother was acquainted with,” Eve concluded her words.
She saw Vincent continue to stare at her, taking a drag from the cigar and blowing out the smoke from his lips. He then said,
“Seems like your mother wasn’t too bright. She could have sold the pearls and earned her living.”
Eve had come to wonder about it before. She defended her mother, “Maybe she was scared that someone would find out about me.”
Vincent tapped the ash of the cigar at the side, and hummed, “Could be. Mermaid father, human mother, and mermaid daughter. Your kind don’t live as long as you do. Sirens maybe, mermaids barely.”
Eve took her tail back in the water, letting it soak back in the bath salts.
“Not to demotivate you, but I have seen mermaids and sirens who wander into the past in the name of revenge never survive. What happened to your mother is sad and unfortunate, but if you want my advice, drop the idea and continue to live your life. It isn’t as if you don’t attract enough attention when you are keeping a low profile.”
Eve bit the inside of her cheek, while trying to heed Vincent’s words. Lady Aubrey had also advised her the same, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to let go of it. But it was hard when the memory of her mother’s eyes, full of life, turned hollow.
“What you experienced in the dungeon was the tip of the iceberg. The more you try to find out, the worse it will get, where you will sink into the depths of the darkness that will ruin you,” stated Vincent, bringing the cigar to his lips and taking another drag.
Vincent wouldn’t have wasted his breath on this woman, not only because of her blood but also because he had seen how she was with his little sister. He then said,
“Get some rest. I will go talk to the head of the council so that we can clear your name quicker. I will lock the door from outside.”
Before he could leave her side, Eve stopped him, “Master Vincent.” He turned to look at her. “Thank you for helping me,” and for not being like the other men she had encountered in the last twenty-four hours.
One corner of Vincent’s lips pulled and he remarked, “Get better quickly, so I can bite.”
Eve watched Vincent leave the side of the bathtub, making his way to the door and stepping out of the room. She heard the sound of the key turn and click, and silence filled the room. Alone now in the room, she slid further down in the bathtub such that her body was completely submerged in the water, and she looked at the ceiling of the room.
She weighed the words that Vincent said to her.
Letting go of something was often the hardest, and Eve loved her mother. Until now, the vines of pain had wrapped around her hand. She decided to heed the Vampi 🦇
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ALLURE OF THE NIGHT
Chapter 135
The flames in the torches softly wavered against the wind that drifted from the forest where the council had been built. The corridors of the council building were deserted, and it appeared to look quiet from the outside.
In one of the council rooms that belonged to the Head of the Inner Circle, Vincent now sat in front of Clayton, where the young-looking vampire looked displeased. It was because he noticed the blood stains on Vincent’s clothes. Clayton grimly questioned,
“Whom did you kill this time?”
“Some low level vampires who didn’t have the ability to listen. I had to kill them to save an innocent human,” responded Vincent, taking one last drag from his cigar that he had lit earlier before pressing the tip of it on the ashtray.
A frown appeared on the young-looking vampire. It was because he knew there was more to it and said, “I am surprised. Who is that fortunate or unfortunate human?”
“My little sister’s governess. She was framed to have killed someone and was put under punishment of being whipped until she bled and couldn’t walk. Isn’t that pitiful?” questioned Vincent, and Clayton wondered if the vampire in front of him had learned to offer help to the humans. “I did the right thing, right?” he asked the Head, who warily looked at him.
“I guess,” replied Clayton.
“Great, because the woman is the person who was accused of having killed Fowler, and the one’s I killed were the guards,” Vincent leaned back against the chair, and Clayton’s eyes narrowed.
“What?!” The head of the inner circle glared at him and asked, “What happened to Cripps?”
“He’s cleaning up the mess he made in the dungeon. He should be here soon,” Vincent brought his hand in front of his face and yawned.
The young-looking vampire placed his hands on the table with a light thud and demanded,
“I thought I made myself clear about who was handling the case. Yet you went and meddled in it. Do you think the other members of the inner circle will quietly sit back when they find out about it?” questioned Clayton, “Your reputation of killing people has surpassed anyone’s name in the council. One mistake and you cannot save yourself from not being a prisoner in the same dungeon where you put others.”
Clayton stared at Vincent, hoping Vincent had a good reason for going against the protocols of the council.
Vincent’s eyes moved to the corner and his lips quirked, before saying, “Why don’t you ask Cripps himself?”
The next second, someone knocked on the closed room’s door from outside.
“This is Cripps reporting,” came Mr. Cripps’s voice, and Clayton’s gaze shifted from Vincent to look at the door.
“Come in,” Clayton barked, and the door opened.
When Mr. Cripps opened the door, his jaw tightened on seeing Vincent sitting there. He bowed his head and before he could raise his head, Clayton demanded, “What happened in the dungeon, Cripps?”
“Moriarty failed to listen to the orders and took the accused involved in Mr. Fowler’s death,” Mr. Cripps tattle-tailed while glaring at Vincent. If Vincent thought that he could get away, it was a big mistake, thought Mr. Cripps to himself. “Not only that, it was only later did he mention that he had the lead to the ac mentioned about an important information related to the case.”
Clayton turned to look at Vincent, who explained,
“I was following instructions by not meddling in the case. And frankly, if your incapable men did a proper interrogation, you would have saved everyone’s time and stopped the innocent from being tortured.” Vincent then continued, “If we are talking about protocols and breaking them, I believe that it is known that no prisoner shall be harmed in the first twenty-four hours of time. But Mr. Cripps ordered the woman to be mercilessly whipped, someone who had nothing to do with the case.”
“I never ordered for the woman to be whipped. It was the head guard, who took matters in his own hands,” Mr. Cripps defended himself.
“Easy to blame the dead,” hummed Vincent, and Mr. Cripps walked further into the room.
“You were the one who killed him! This is all a ploy of Moriarty to frame me and to justify his actions,” Mr. Cripps explained to Clayton, who was turning annoyed. “I was going to interrogate the woman to find the truth, but he interfered–”
“That’s enough!” Clayton snapped at them, glaring at the men. He took a deep breath and said, “Both of you will face consequences for the lack of following the rules. Mr. Cripps, the case no longer is under your care. You forgot to do something so basic. Were you so eager to close the case?”
Though the Head of the Inner circle looked young, he had experience in dealing with people in council for many years now, and there was nothing that passed his eyes.
Mr. Cripps tried to explain, “Sire–”
“Clean the mess that was made today,” came the blunt words from Clayton. His eyes shifted to look at Vincent, “Even if you are a member of the council, you cannot go against the protocols and kill the guards.”
“I wouldn’t have to do it, if this one didn’t order the guards to manhandle the innocent woman and also beat me,” remarked Vincent. Clayton gritted his teeth because earlier, Vincent had made him approve of his actions.
Clayton said to Mr. Cripps, “I would like to speak to Mr. Moriarty alone.”
Mr. Cripps bowed his head and left the room, closing the room behind him. Clayton said to Vincent, “The people at the inner circle table won’t overlook your actions. You are lucky that Cripps made a mistake.”
Vincent nodded and he replied, “I know, which is why I did what I did.”
“You could have left them alive, but you killed them,” Clayton’s red eyes didn’t look away from him.
Vincent smiled at Clayton’s words. He said, “I think it is time you handed me the case. You and I both know I am far better suited for the job.”
“After you killed the guards in the dungeon?” Clayton raised his eyebrows.
Vincent asked, “Don’t you think the head guard’s actions are questionable? What if someone tipped him to close the case entirely? And did you expect me to let them off the hook? The damage was done and it needed to be fixed.”
“Because according to you, death is what answers the questions?” replied the Head of the Inner Circle, and it widened the smile on Vincent’s lips.
“That’s half the answer. Torture does,” Vincent replied with a coldness in his eyes. Though Vincent had advised Eve to let go of her past, he didn’t apply the same to himself. He liked to settle scores with people.
He wasn’t always like this.
When he was young, an incident had changed him and his sister, Marceline. They had perceived the trauma differently. He smiled at the memory before looking at Clayton, who was watching him.
“You should get some rest. After all, good little boys go to bed soon,” Vincent remarked as he got up from his seat, which struck a nerve in Clayton, and the young boy scowled at him.
“One day I will myself throw you into the dungeon,” Clayton said dryly.
An hour had passed since Vincent had left Eve alone in the bathtub, still submerged under the water. After having calmed herself, she now released bubbles under the water, where it moved upwards before bursting at the surface. She failed to hear the room door unlock, and Vincent stepped inside before locking the door again.
Vincent heard the bubbles’ sound and noticed the mermaid
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