SHORT STORY: His Siren - Part 5

Part 5 of Sienna and Immeral’s story is here! You can read the previous parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 5

A few days later, Immeral checked Ghis' normal drop site and was only partially surprised to see a small bag of Aiovan currency nestled inside the tree's hollow—his payment for the job with the fairy. Under the bag was a note:

Dancing Snake Tavern
Midnight

A new job… The relicti rolled his mostly-healed shoulder, testing it and then huffing at the twinge of pain. It didn't truly matter though—his magic was back to thrumming under his skin like an itch he could never quite reach. I could use another good fight. He ignored how unhealthy the thought was; one day, it would hopefully get him killed, then it wouldn't matter anyway.

Later that night, Immeral wrapped a cloak around himself, pulled the hood over his head to cover his horns, and left his small home. 

All too soon for his taste, he stood outside the Dancing Snake Tavern. He scowled; truthfully, he'd have rather not come back here, but a job was a job, and money was money.

Immeral had just reached for the handle of the bar's heavy wooden door when Sienna's lilting voice made him freeze.

"I think we're safe to skip the disgusting tavern this time." She sounded amused, and Immeral felt a shudder slide down his spine.

He let out a frustrated breath and stepped toward where she stood to the door's left. She was dressed much the same as the first they'd met, still showing large amounts of smooth, pink skin.

"Of course. What do you want this time? Got another tomb full of rotting creatures to rob?" He couldn't keep the annoyance of his now-wasted evening from his voice.

Her hand—still tipped with pointed, red nails—whipped out, and she grabbed his arm to pull him into the alleyway. The light from the tavern's hanging lantern disappeared as they went deeper into the shadows.

"Not this time," she responded once she'd stopped moving. "Although you survived those things, didn't you? Unless you're scared to do it again. Is the big, mean fiend having nightmares?" Her voice had taken on a sharp edge.

Immeral raised an eyebrow but didn't rise to the taunt. "Then what? Ghis doesn't match the same people together, ever."

Sienna clucked her tongue and let her hand fall from his arm, resting it on her hip instead. "I know; when I asked originally, he said it was 'bad for business.' But," her voice took on a sickly-sweet, cheerful tone, "Luckily for you, he owes me a favour."

"That tells me absolutely nothing," he said. Not to mention, it worries me how she managed to have him owe her. Ghis is careful—paranoid, really—about that sort of thing.

Her eyes locked with his for a moment, and he couldn't decipher the emotion in them before they slid away. Her voice pitched higher, "I need a bodyguard for a few days. The-"

"No," Immeral's voice was flat as he interrupted her. No way I'm going to be responsible for the type of woman that robs tombs and collects favours from men like Ghis. Besides, the last time I was someone's bodyguard… No, not again.

Sienna glared at him as the fake cheer in her voice bled away, "The family of the tomb you destroyed are after my head now. This is your fault, you have to help me."

"You robbed it," he pointed out. It's one thing to have kept her safe in that tomb for a few hours; it's another thing to be stuck keeping a constant eye on her for as long as it takes for the bounty on her head to get taken down. The longer I'm around someone… He tried to push the memory of a floor slick with black blood and the ruined rug from his mind.

She shook her head, bringing him back to the present. "Yes, but you are the one that brought the place down. They'd never have known the place was robbed if not for that."

Immeral briefly thought of mentioning the out-of-place death caeles magic he'd sensed before they entered. Someone powerful was protecting that place; they would've known. But he thought better of saying anything—no use in prolonging the conversation.

His silence seemed to irritate the fairy, and she snapped, "Surely, even a fiend has some sense of responsibility." She was silent for a moment before—eyes cruelly glinting—adding, "Although you live down here, so it's a safe bet that you've already abandoned your duties once."

The relicti crossed his arms and glared right back at her even as the memories rushed up again. They'd been threatening to overwhelm him ever since Tomir's visit. Blue blood, roof collapsing, where is she—

He shook his head and barked back—fury at her and Tomir for making him remember turning his words into barbed arrows, "It was your job to rob the place and you would have died if I had not killed those creatures. If you cannot handle the consequences of taking such a job, you should go back to whatever noble house birthed you, if they will even take you back."

He watched with wicked satisfaction as Sienna stiffened—confirming his theory. It'd been a guess, albeit an educated one, that she was from a noble family; the way she wielded magic with such ease spoke to a mortal who had been formally—and expensively—trained.

"How-" she started to speak and then seemed to change her mind. Instead, she opted to take a step away from him. "You know nothing about me, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't pretend to," she hissed.

"Likewise," Immeral matched her tone, "I will not play bodyguard to a silly mortal that crossed the wrong people."

Sienna sucked in a breath and blew it out in frustration. "I have the money to pay you."

"Obviously. But my answer is still no."

"Double?"

He leant back against the brick wall. "I do not need money. Least of all yours." A bit of a lie, but she didn't need to know that.

She threw up her hands in frustration. "Then why do you work for Ghis?"

"I do not work for him," Immeral felt the need to stress. "And my reasons are none of your business."

Sienna's wings fluttered as she moved closer to him—all traces of anger at him had disappeared. "Please?" Her voice was soft, eyes meeting his. "I'm so scared. I'm one, small woman. I need protection; they've been searching for me, and, last I heard, their orders were to deliver me to them, my head attached being optional."

He wasn't an idiot; she was trying to manipulate him. Unfortunately, knowing that didn't stop it from working—even if it was just a little. "You cannot insult me and then try to trick me," he bit out.

The scared mask dropped from her face and was instead replaced by now-familiar annoyance. "Fine. What will it take for you to protect me? What do you want?" The question was direct and made Immeral relax just a fraction.

Nothing you can give me. Immeral almost said but held his tongue. Whether she is actually terrified or not, she is worried about this. Ghis is powerful. She wouldn't have called in a favour to get in contact with me if this wasn't something important. He didn't want to give the small amount of guilt for his involvement in the situation an opportunity to take root—but it had. Maker forever damn me.

He regarded her momentarily, trying to decide what would make such an endeavour worth it. He thought back to the magically locked chest in his home and the money he'd saved. "Triple my price, you follow my instructions without complaint, and when this is over, you forget my name."

Sienna's brows furrowed as Immeral spoke, but when he was finished, she smiled wide. Her eyes swam with something that set off a warning call in his head. "I can work with those terms," her voice was lilting–teasing.

I'm fucked.

~~

Immeral hadn't liked the idea of letting Sienna stay in his home. Still, despite his demand that she follow his instructions, she'd convinced him that staying in his house would be the safest place for her. It sounded like Ghis was also involved in trying to make the bounty go away, and she'd assured Immeral they'd get the "problem" sorted as quickly as possible.

He watched as Sienna set her leather pack with extra clothes down on the stone floor and surveyed his—admittedly bare—sitting room with a critical eye.

"Problem?" He asked, trying not to feel too self-conscious. I shouldn't care what a mortal thinks of my home.

Sienna shrugged. "I guess I was just expecting—well, I'm not quite sure. Maybe more weapons or blood sacrifices—something less boring."

"Blood sacrifices?"

She grinned at him, throwing herself onto the plush chair his friend, Menande, had insisted he put in his sitting room for when she visited. "I don't know what fiends get up to when they're not destroying tombs." She shrugged.

He sat down on a chair across from her. "Ah yes, those blood sacrifices. They are in the basement."

She smiled at him for playing along, and he refused to acknowledge how his breath caught in his chest for just a moment.

"Any idea how long I will be cursed with your existence?" He asked instead. He liked it better when she was glaring at him. It was safer, and it didn't make him wonder.

She shook her head, the grin dropping just a fraction. "Hopefully, not more than a few days."

Immeral nodded, mentally counting the days. He'd somehow gotten roped into hosting a night of drinking and playing cards for his friends in a few days. He'd have to cancel. Tomir is going to be insufferable.