Evil Allure

by Wilde, Rhea

  “Longer than I can remember. Just know that you can trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

  He turned to me for a moment and the reassurance on his face put me at ease for the first time in a long time. Wherever he was taking me was much farther than I expected. We sped past the city and into the hills.

  There were less people out here. The tall and dilapidated buildings were replaced by clusters of trees. There was just one poorly-lit road that turned into the forest. I had never been in this part of the city before. I never had any reason to come out here. But it was a nice change of pace. The view was a contrast to the depressing scene of the gritty city slums.

  Irvine jerked the wheel and turned the car off of the main road. I started to worry for a moment, every now and then passing dangerously close to one of the massive redwoods. But Irvine managed to just miss each one of them, turning the wheel with such precision that you would think his car was on a track.

  We eventually reached a forest clearing. It didn’t look natural. It seemed like someone had been here and picked this specific spot to clear out all of the trees.

  In the center of it all, there was a quaint log cabin. It was small and unassuming.

  “I’ll be safe here?” I asked him. “Is there some sort of mystical protection this place has or is it because nobody would think to look here?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked at me with a smile as he parked his car right next to the entrance.

  “You’ll be staying here until things die down,” he said to me. “Once things get sorted out with the Rucai… Once I figure out what they’re up to and put a stop to this then you can go back to your apartment.”

  “You kicked the door in. All of my things have probably been stolen by now.”

  “Sorry. It couldn’t be helped. I’ll do what I can to try and replace whatever it is you lost.”

  “I… I don’t care about any of that stuff. I just want to be safe.”

  “That’s my first priority, Ms. Everhart.”

  I stepped out of the car and looked at the cabin. Up close, it was smaller than I expected. I wouldn’t be one to complain, considering how small my apartment was, but the forest clearing was so large that I wondered why the person who built this place didn’t bother making it larger.

  “So, now what?” I asked him. “Am I just supposed to stay here by myself? How am I supposed to get to work?”

  “Now that won’t be a problem. I know that for sure.”

  The front door of the cabin opened a woman dressed in a pair of black leather pants and a white blouse stepped out. I looked closer at the brunette then realized that her face was familiar for a reason.

  “Sasha?”

  “Welcome to the haven,” she said to me.

  The surprises never ended. She looked different when she wasn’t dressed in a skimpy outfit but it was more than that. Her demeanor was completely different. The girl who was always shy and kept to herself seemed much more confident than she let on.

  “I’m working with her on this mission,” Irvine said to her. “I prefer to do this alone but Sasha’s expertise will come in handy.”

  “Irvine, the only reason you managed to find Ariel is because of me.”

  “Wait a second,” I interrupted their friendly banter. “What do you mean you found me? How did you know that I was a target? You were working at the bar before I was.”

  “You’re right,” Sasha said to me. “It was just random chance that you managed to stumble into Frank’s bar when you did. You were lucky. A beautiful girl is a magnet for someone from the Rucai. It was only a matter of time before someone like Vaughn took an interest in you.”

  “Show her around,” Irvine said. “I’m heading inside to take a break. Make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble here.”

  “Don’t worry,” Sasha said to him. “I’ll take care of her.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes at Irvine’s attempt at humor. He disappeared into the cabin as I walked with Sasha.

  “You can’t see them but there are several traps buried underneath the dirt. They’re pressure sensitive. Only the weight of a werewolf will set it off. If you’re squeamish, make sure you don’t look in that direction.”

  “But Irvine drove his car here? How did he manage to avoid them?”

  “Irvine knows where they are. So he knew exactly where to drive. Come on, let me show you around.”

  I followed Sasha through a cluster of trees deeper into the forest. We eventually came upon a small spring with a waterfall splashing down upon it.

  “The cabin doesn’t have any running water. You’re going have to use this to take your baths. You can use the bathroom down there. Make sure you don’t mix the two up.”

  Sasha smiled as she pointed toward another small pond in the distance. It was all so strange to me. No running water and no electricity. I wasn’t rich but I was used to having at least the basic amenities. This was roughing it but I wasn’t going to complain to the people who were trying to protect me.

  “That’s pretty much it,” Sasha said to me. “I hunt for food, so there’s always plenty to eat.”

  She looked at the reluctance on my face and tried to reassure me.

  “...Or if that’s not to your liking, you can get something when you’re out in the city. You’re only getting the basic necessities out here. If you were living in any kind of luxury, you should forget about it for the time being.”

  My apartment wasn’t a palace but I missed it already. I was starting to realize how accustomed I was to the city.

  I followed Sasha into the cabin and it was a lot more cramped than it looked from the outside. The walls were dark with the finished wood. Candles were lit on several tables to the side and a fireplace housed a roaring fire. On top of it, there was a black pot with steam rising from it.

  “Are you hungry now, Ariel? Let me get you something to eat. Have a seat.”

  I sat down at the small table next to the fireplace as Sasha bent down next to it. I looked around but there wasn’t much else to see. Down the hallway, there were several doors that led to the other rooms.

  “How long have you been out here?” I asked her.

  “Since the murders started,” she said as she stirred the pot. “I’m the one who gave Irvine the order from The Agency.”

  “So, you work for The Agency?”

  “Yes, I work with them directly. Irvine is what you would call a mercenary. A freelancer. A contract killer. He makes a living doing this.”

  “The Agency… he mentioned it before. He said that they regulate all of the paranormal things that take place.”

  “Regulate is a harsh word,” she said as she placed a steaming bowl of the broth in front of me. “There are two worlds, Ariel. The one you’ve known your entire life and the one you’ve just been introduced to. We make sure the latter doesn’t interfere with the former. They say ignorance is bliss. For most humans, that’s true. They don’t even realize what’s going on all around them.”

  I tasted a spoonful of the warm broth and the heat of it going down my throat spread through the rest of my body. I sighed as I thought about the position that I was now in. It was getting crazier and crazier by the minute.

  “So, Irvine asked you to come along with him?” I asked her.

  “That’s right.”

  “Are you and Irvine…”

  “We’re business partners, Ariel. And only for now. This is strictly to get a job done. And right now, that job is protecting you and figuring out what is going on with the Rucai.”

  Sasha smirked at my sudden inquiry. It was a look that I had never seen from her before. Even though they were both humans, the life of a hunter and the Agency were still just as odd to me as the werewolves they were tracking down.

  “What do you think they’re up to?” I asked her. “I mean, what could the Rucai possibly be doing. Irvine said they aren’t normally like this.”

  “He’s r
ight. There are hundreds of werewolf clans all over the world. All of them live in peace. Every now and then one of them will get out of line and kill an innocent but never a whole tribe. Not like this.

  “I haven’t told Irvine this but I suspect that there are darker forces at work.”

  “Darker forces?”

  “Yes. Every clan has a chief. We have to locate the chief of the Rucai and ask him or her directly what’s going on. That’s the only way we’re going to get any answers.”

  “Wait. You don’t know who the chief of the Rucai is?”

  Sasha shook her head.

  “Like I said, most clans are at peace. There’s rarely a need to investigate. For one reason or another, they’ve come to this city and started wreaking havoc here. It’s up to us to put a stop to them.”

  “But it all seems like mindless killing. It doesn’t seem like there’s a motive to it. I don’t think there’s a reason or justification behind any of it.”

  “There is, Ariel. There has to be. And I think Vaughn holds the answer.”

  “Vaughn? Why him?”

  “I watched him when he first walked into the bar. His stench hit me from across the room. I was waiting to see what he was doing. He made you a target. But he hasn’t done anything to you. I was half-expecting you to end up dead. But...”

  “Could he be trying to protect me?”

  “Maybe. But there’s a bigger picture than that. Werewolves are instinctive creatures. They don’t think rationally or logically like most humans. They’re the line between person and animal and it’s hard to differentiate between the two sometimes. You and Vaughn seem to have a connection. But it’s hard to tell whether or not that connection is because of genuine feelings you have for one another or because both of your instincts are kicking in. You, falling prey to a handsome man, and Vaughn, the predator luring in his beautiful prize.”

  “You seem to know more about my relationship with him than I do,” I scoffed.

  “Let’s just say that I’ve been there before.”

  Sasha winked at me but didn’t give me an opportunity to follow up on her cryptic comment.

  “Finish your food,” she said. “You’ve had a long night and you need to get some rest. You’re going to need all of your energy to stay on your toes.”

  Sasha stood up and moved toward the window. I watched her for a second as she stared out into the night. I would never be able to look at her the same way again. I was beginning to wonder if anything in my life was what it seemed.

  I finished eating the rest of the soup that Sasha had prepared for me and she led me down the hall toward one of the rooms. I looked at her before I stepped inside, still thinking about the latest events.

  “Are you sure I’m going to be safe here?” I asked her. “Vaughn said I was marked. They’re going to be tracking me down and looking for me.”

  “If they wanted to find you, they’ll find you. It’s hard for me to say this, Ariel, but I want to be completely honest with you. They’re coming. And there’s nothing you or I or Irvine can do to stop that. We just have to be ready when that time comes. The moon is not yet full though. You still have time.

  “Now try and get some rest. I know you have a lot on your mind but you can’t let this get to you. It will all be over soon enough.”

  I nodded my head and stepped into the room. I was exhausted. I collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes. My mind was racing. I was learning so much new information that I was having trouble processing all of it.

  For a moment, I could see Vaughn staring back at me. But it wasn’t the Vaughn that I had grown feelings for. It was the beast of a man I last saw. His blue eyes were shining bright in the darkness of my mind. Just from his eyes, I could feel them doing something to me. It pulsed through my body and straight to my heart. I was suddenly overcome with a great feeling of sadness.

  I opened my eyes and remembered what I said to him. I pushed him away. But only because I had to. I didn’t have a choice. Even though my feelings for him were strong, I couldn’t tell if they were real or a predator influencing his prey. I wanted to be with Vaughn. I just wanted all of this to end so we could be together. Was I asking for too much?

  I laid in the bed and listened to the sounds of the forest echoing into the cabin. I could see the light of the candles burning underneath the doorway. I was out in the middle of nowhere, away from anything I knew. I grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it tight. With my eyes shut, I prayed that this would all finally end as the tears trailed down my face.

  Chapter 17

  Moonlight was creeping in through the small window on the wall and shined down onto a single spot on the floor. The rest of the room was lit by several candles that burned around the room. Everything had a grayish tint, coming from the stone bricks that made up the walls.

  I was in a room that looked like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was like something from medieval times. The structure of the walls and the columns that held up the roof consisted of cold granite, stones shaped so that they could fit on top of one another with cement filling in the cracks in between. The room was dusty and cobwebbed like nobody had been in it for hundreds of years.

  At one end of the room, there was an opening. It was complete darkness. I couldn’t tell if it led down a hall, toward another room or absolutely nothing at all. I shuddered thinking about what was there in the darkness.

  On the other end of the room, there was a short set of steps that led up to a raised platform. On that platform was a single chair. More interestingly, there was a man sitting on the chair.

  He was wearing a simple outfit but out of place for any man during these times. He wasn't wearing a shirt, showing off his hard body. Hair trailed from between his chest and down toward his midsection. His pants were a black leather and his dark boots were the full length of his calves, resting just below his knees.

  He wasn’t an ordinary looking man. His mustache was neatly trimmed over his lips. His long, brown hair fell just below his shoulders. The symmetry of his face was practically perfect. Two brown eyes with no expression coming from them.

  I stared at him, waiting for a reaction, but there was nothing. His lips were tight, none of his teeth showing, as he solemnly stared straight ahead.

  I took a step forward into the room. The dust kicked up underneath my heel with each step. Slowly, the room became brighter. But not entirely. I could only make out clearly what was directly underneath the moonlight coming from the window. Everything else was shrouded in shadows cast by the candles all around me.

  I hadn’t noticed it before. I don’t know why because it was right in front of me. It was some device. An elaborate contraption I had never seen before, not even in a photograph. It was something my wildest imagination couldn’t even dream up.

  It was a long plank, made from steel or iron. The metal looked cold and uninviting.

  Holding it up were four metal legs resting at each corner. But they weren’t ordinary table legs. They were firmly implanted into the ground. Resting at the corners of each leg were sets of chains. The links were piled on top of one another, rusted and worn from use and old age. At the end of the chains were collars. I don’t know what they were meant for. Arms, legs, perhaps a neck. It didn’t matter. It all looked painful either way and I didn’t envy anybody who had the misfortune of being shackled by them.

  It rested just below my knees. I didn’t understand why the platform was so low. It was too low for a chair or a bed. But it was easy to tell that this thing wasn’t used for any type of relaxation or pleasure.

  I reached out and touched it. The cold underneath my fingertips was unpleasant. It felt more disturbing than it looked.

  I turned to the man sitting in the chair at the end of the small room, just in front of the contraption. I looked into his eyes. Something told me that he had the answer I was looking for even though I had no idea what the question was.

  But he didn’t move. The expression on his face didn’t change and h
e sat there, motionless and begging the question of whether or not he was even alive. But I could feel him looking back at me. He was staring at me, his brown eyes like a cold brick wall that could resist anything.

  Then I saw it. His lips twitched. I stared at them and slowly but surely, they began to curve into a smile. But there was nothing friendly about it. It was a wicked smile. A grin that hid evil intentions behind it. Between his lips, I could see the pearly whites. Canines and incisors that looked like they were extended longer than any normal human being’s.

  “Ariel…”

  I heard the voice coming from him even though his lips hadn’t moved.

  “Ariel, be mine…”

  The voice again rang in my head. It was coming from him. He was communicating directly with my thoughts.

  Suddenly, I was grabbed on both arms. I struggled to resist but it was pointless. Shadowy figures all gathered around me, lifting me up off of the ground. I kicked my feet in a futile attempt to break free but I felt the life draining from my body. I was completely exhausted.

  I tried to scream but nothing came out. My throat was sealed tight. It was like I couldn’t gather the strength to just force the air from my lungs.

  The figures lifted me up into the air. I felt the hands underneath my body. I was naked. The fingers were pressing against my bare skin, the nails digging into my flesh. I squirmed but was met with more hands that continued to hold me up. Without warning, I was slammed down onto the device in front of me.

  “Uhh!”

  I felt the wind knocked out of me but then it was over.

  I found myself sitting up in my bed in the cabin. My heart was racing. The perspiration covered my entire body. I felt the air rush from my lungs but slowly felt it beginning to return.

  Just another nightmare. But it couldn’t be. It had to be more than that. It all felt too real. I felt it underneath my fingertips. I felt the hands against my skin. And the man. His eyes. His voice. They were all so vivid in my memory, not fleeting like all of the other dreams I had.

  I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to try and gather myself. When I opened my eyes, I realized that the night was over. Sunshine was shining through the windows. In the distance, I could hear the sound of birds chirping in the forest. There was a knock at my door.