Evil Allure (18 page)

The entire bar watched them as they headed toward the exit before finally leaving.

“It’s okay, everybody,” Frank shouted. “It’s just a little friendly encounter. People get drunk. It happens. Resume your conversations. Let’s hear some music, huh?”

Slowly, everybody got back to what it is they were talking about before their interruption. The band proceeded to play the music that nobody was listening to.

“Are you okay?” Irvine asked Sasha.

“I’m fine,” she said. “It’s nothing.”

“He didn’t kiss you, did he?”

“No, I didn’t give him a chance. He wasn’t even close.”

“How about you?” he said as he turned to me. “Are you all right?”

“I’m just a little worried, that’s all,” I said to him. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. Irvine…”

“Yeah?”

“The report was on the news. The one about… what I saw the other night. They didn’t find the remains of the people you took care of.”

“What?”

“Sasha said that they were revived. She said that they saw through my eyes. And just now, they could see what I was seeing.”

Irvine turned to Sasha and she nodded her head. He was lost in thought. I could see the gears moving around in his head.

“What are we going to do?” I asked him.

“You’re not going to do anything,” he said to me. “There’s nothing you can do.”

“But—”

“The next full moon is approaching. When it’s here, they’ll be at full strength and who knows what they’re capable of. They came here tonight to send a message.”

“What kind of a message?”

“It was a warning, Ms. Everhart. They were scouting. Now there’s no question that they’re coming for you. There’s nothing left to do except prepare.”

Chapter 19

I didn’t know how many there were. There are too many to count and it was too dark. Shadowy figures bumping up against one another, their illuminated eyes the only thing there to separate them.

They were always there. Invading my thoughts and haunting my dreams. It would come when I was sleeping and when I was awake. The same image of the werewolves coming toward me. There was only one constant with all of these images. They were getting closer and closer. It was inevitable.

When Irvine said that we needed to prepare, he didn’t waste any time. He set up traps all around the cabin. Metal teeth hidden under the dirt and grass. Among the trees, invisible wires extended from one branch to another. He even built a lookout tower as tall as the largest tree. Irvine and Sasha got so much done in a short amount of time. And from how hard they working, I knew that this was real.

Inside, they barricaded the windows. It was all they could do. Any traps inside of the house were likely to pose just as much a threat to us as them.

It was the day of the full moon. Night hadn’t yet come and the sun was still up. Irvine was hammering another bear trap into the ground. I sat at a table and watched him.

He had been working for nearly three days straight. His shirt was tossed to the side because there was no point. His body covered in a permanent layer of perspiration. I admired his hard work and a part of me thought his physique deserved equal praise. The striations were all over his body, from his defined abdominals and chest, to his bulging back and broad shoulders. Every now and then he would take a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. One deep breath was all he needed to get back to work and pound the trap into the ground. I appreciated everything he was doing for me and thankful that I knew at least one person had my back.

“I spoke to Frank,” Sasha said as she came out of the cabin. “Neither of us are coming in to work tonight.”

“How did he take it?” I asked her.

“He’s pretty upset. With Summer missing and now you and I not coming in, he’s pondering whether or not he should stick the help wanted sign back up.”

“Maybe he should.”

“He’ll never be able to replace Summer. But after tonight, he’ll need a replacement for me.”

“You’re leaving…”

“Yeah. That was just a cover, Ariel. My life is back with The Agency. You know that.”

“Yeah…”

I looked at Sasha and felt my heart sink a bit. I didn’t see Sasha as the shy girl who I worked as a waitress with. That image of her left me a long time ago. I didn’t like the Sasha that I was looking at now. It just reminded me that this entire situation was all too real. But more than that, I just missed a woman that I had grown close to. She was looking out for me. After tonight, I would be saying goodbye to someone that had grown into a close friend.

Sasha took a seat next to me. We both watched as Irvine continued to work hard.

“They can see this,” I said. “Won’t they know there will be traps waiting for them?”

“They’ll know,” Sasha explained to me. “But they won’t be able to pinpoint exactly where they are. The visions you share with them, they’re like dreams. They give you a general idea but they’re still cloudy and muddled. Not to mention that werewolves are not as logical or rational as humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“They have a beast mentality. Their instincts drive them more than anything. When their chief gives them their orders it’s like they have a single-track mind. They’ll stop at nothing to get to you. And that’s all they’ll be focused on.”

Before I could dwell upon what was going to happen tonight, Sasha put her arm around me to ease my mind.

“But they won’t get you,” she said to me. “We’ve dealt with them before. We’ll stop them.”

Sasha looked at me with a determination in her eyes that was infectious. She had me believing that everything was going to be okay. She stood up from her seat and walked over to Irvine.

“Let me help you with that,” she said.

Irvine directed her to some of the tools to the side and together they continued to prepare for the inevitable assault. I asked to help but Irvine brushed me off, telling me that I needed to conserve my strength. On the other hand, after all of this time, through all of the sweat and hard work, Irvine still looked like he had energy to spare.

Hours passed. The sun was beginning to set. The sky turned orange and the shadows of the trees turned in the other direction. The entire time, I had watched Irvine and Sasha continue to work. Eventually, Sasha walked back over to me to see how I was doing.

“At least you get the day off from work,” she said with a chuckle.

I smiled at her and shook my head.

“And you’ve still got your sense of humor, too. Listen…”

She took a seat next to me to catch her breath.

“Are you ready?” she asked me.

“I-I don’t know,” I said. “How am I supposed to prepare for something like this?”

“Just know that they’re not going to try and kill you. They’ll do everything they can to protect you.”

“But you…”

“I have a job to do, Ariel. Irvine knows it, too. Why don’t you go to the spring? Take a dip while the sun is still out. It’ll help you get your mind off things.”

“I don’t know…”

“Trust me, Ariel. You can’t dwell on this. When it happens, let it happen. We’ll be ready even if you aren’t.”

Sasha shooed me away and I did what I was told, making my way through the trees and toward the spring. As I neared it, the sound of the waterfall splashing into it added to the ambience of the wildlife of the forest. I looked around to see if I was alone then stripped myself naked.

The water was cold and refreshing against my skin. My muscles were tense and the gentle pressure from the water soothed them just a bit. I dived down underneath the water and submerged myself completely. Then I swam back up to the surface and whipped my hair behind my head. I gasped a deep breath and felt a release from my body. I don’t know why exactly it was therapeutic but it was. Being alone out here, wearing nothing at all, in the honesty of the woods. It was all so simple. I could stay out here forever.

The serenity in the water was matched by a tiny brown fawn that had walked in from between the trees. I watched as it made its way up to the spring. It bent down and started to lick the surface of the water, drinking it up. It put a smile on my face. The simple act of a peaceful animal satisfying its thirst was so new to me that I couldn’t help but appreciate it.

I started to swim toward it and it raised its head up. The innocence on its face warmed my heart.

“It’s okay, little fella. I won’t bite.”

I moved closer to it and it took a step back from me.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay.”

I swam closer to the edge and the fawn broke its gaze with me, disappearing back into the trees. I didn’t mean to scare it away. My intentions were just to pet it. I assumed it must not see a lot of humans around these parts, so it’s understandable something like that could happen.

I didn’t know how much time had passed but I didn’t care. The sky was growing darker but the sun was still out. I wanted to enjoy every moment I could in the water before the moon was out.

I dived back into the water and swam toward the waterfall. Underneath the splashing of the water on the surface, I floated in the small cove and enjoyed the peace by myself. I closed my eyes, free from any thoughts I might have and there was nothing. There were no eyes staring back at me. There were no figures moving around in the darkness. For once, my thoughts were all my own.

Then I heard something moving among the trees. Through the waterfall, I could see a figure on the edge of the spring. Someone had come from the forest. My heart stopped. Did they come to get me now? Were they already here?

I took a deep breath and submerged myself in the water, as if trying to hide myself. Swimming back underneath the waterfall, I slowly raised my head above the surface to identify them.

It was Irvine. He was shirtless, his back turned toward the spring. I watched him for a few moments as he stretched his arms out. I heard him let out a sigh as he extended his hands up. I could see the muscles of his back flexing as he stretched toward the sky. Then his pants suddenly dropped down to the ground and I got a good look at his bare ass.

“Irvine!”

I shouted out to him and he immediately pulled his pants back up as he turned around to look at me.

“Ms. Everhart! Sasha didn’t tell me you were here. I’m sorry.”

Irvine quickly buckled his belt back together and started to make his way back to the cabin before I stopped him.

“Wait! Don’t go!”

“I don’t think it’s right that I—”

“Please. I’d like your company out here. Even for just a moment. I’m almost finished.”

“But you’re naked.”

“I know. But I’m underneath the water. You can’t see anything.”

“But still…”

“Please?”

“Very well,” he sighed. “If you insist.”

He took a seat on a rock just to the side of the spring and he watched me as I swam by myself. I took some of the water into my mouth and spit it out like a fountain, causing Irvine to give me a sarcastic smile. Then I swam to the edge of the spring where he was, only my head above water, my nakedness shrouded.

“What will happen if they get me?” I asked him.

“They won’t, Ms. Everhart.”

“But what if they do.”

“They won’t.”

“But—”

“If that happens, then you’ll find out. But I fully intend to keep you alive and safe, Ms. Everhart. It’s my number one priority. It’s my only priority.”

“Irvine… You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

He thought about the question then exhaled a deep breath before answering me.

“I’ve seen werewolves do some things that I can’t explain. I’ve seen them kill. I’ve seen them rape. I’ve seen them eat and pillage and destroy. Every time I’ve been offered an assignment, it’s always been to put down a wolf that’s gotten out of line. And I’ve never failed. Every contract I signed has been fulfilled.”

“But this is different.”

“That’s right, Ms. Everhart. This is… Well, it’s much bigger than any single wolf. There’s a larger force at work. So, to be completely honest with you, Ms. Everhart, no, I haven’t done anything like this. Not to this degree. Not on this scale. Not an entire clan.

“But don’t think that I’m not capable. I’m actually kind of excited to put this on my résumé.”

“What about Vaughn?”

“What about him?”

“You’re not going to… I mean…”

“Ms. Everhart, I’m here to deal with the Rucai Clan. That’s something that Vaughn is a part of. That means I have to deal with him as well.”

I sighed as I listened to Irvine’s reasoning. It had been so long since I saw him but I still thought about him. I wondered what he was up to. I wondered if he truly was like his brethren like Irvine said he was. My feelings for him had not diminished. Irvine said that it was part of his influence. There was a venom inside of me. But what I had with Vaughn felt so real. I just didn’t want to accept that he might really want to do something vile to me.

“Why did you take this contract, Irvine?”

“The Agency offered me more money than they’d offered me before.”

“Is that all it is to you? Is it just a paycheck?”

“No, Ms. Everhart. It’s not just about the money. Sometimes, it’s just about doing what’s right.”

I looked into his eyes from the water and Irvine stared at me with a sincerity that you wouldn’t expect from a man who was dubbed as a mercenary.

“Have you ever turned down a contract?”

“Yes.”

“What was it?”

“...There are just some things that I don’t want to be part of.”

“Like what?”

Irvine looked at me and smiled from the corner of his mouth before turning his attention up to the sky.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “The full moon will be here soon. I’d suggest you get out of the water now.”

“You’re just trying to kick me out so you can use the spring.”

“I’ve been sweating all day, Ms. Everhart. I don’t want them to be able to smell me so easily.”

He chuckled at me and I nodded my head at his reasoning. I started to get out of the water and he turned his back to me. After drying myself off just a bit, I placed my clothes back on and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and looked at me. The sky was beginning to turn black. Underneath the fading sunlight, I could barely make out the pupils of his eyes. We stared at one another beneath the shade of a tree.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him.

He nodded his head to me.

“Ms. Everhart, I just want you to know that…”

He paused for a moment and then sighed.

“I want you to know that I will do whatever is in my power to keep you safe.”

“Because they’re paying you a lot,” I smirked at him.