House of the Seven Sirons

Chapter 1

The first rays of light streamed from the dazzling golden sun at dawn as it gradually rose above the horizon. Its radiant orange glow turned the early morning cloudless sky into a mixture of reds and yellows as it graced the magnificent, picturesque Bay of Greymore with its presence. Its reflection shimmered off the calm, indigo-blue surface of the ocean. Over sounds of distant cries from seabirds came the soothing swishing sounds of gushing gentle waves as they steadily washed up onto the sandy shores and drenched the golden sand.

Along a sheltered coast is a small commune coastal town called Hamlet. Soaring high into the cerulean coherent sky above the bustling town were the verdant, desolate green hills and the ominous grey, craggy, serrated mountaintops of Wrenlock.

House of the Seven Sirens on the corner of Olde Hallows Street near a small crossroad was a newly refurbished luxurious villa that was recently renamed by the new owner, who had not long moved into town from the city.

On the outside, the luxurious Greek-style villa had a variety of exotic flowers around the colonnade garden with two large marble water fountains in the middle. The interior of the entrance hall looked much like a Roman Villa with its mosaic floor and its beautiful frescoes of mythical creatures on the walls at the end of the hall was a red varnished desk, behind the desk was a large dusty old bookcase full of unusual looking books. Sitting behind the desk, typing on the laptop was a young woman from Singapore called Erlyn.

Erlyn had long black hair and brown eyes and light tanned skin. She wore a newly tailored black dress suit made for the job with a pair of black high heels. She crossed one slender leg over the other as she relaxed in the chair. Now and then, she slipped her heel in and out of her shoe as she typed on the laptop, her brown eyes filled with annoyance with the task at hand, deep in thought.

'Why do I have to re-write the same report? when it is no different to the other one?'

She looked up from the laptop and watched as her boss George stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut behind him with a loud bang that made her jump.

George was a tall middle-aged man with brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in an immaculate brown suit and matching tie with a pair of black shoes.

He strode in her direction and wore a grim expression on his stern-looking face. She could tell from the way his eyebrows furrowed together, that something has annoyed him and since she hadn't finished the report; she expects that he would shout at her.

"Have you finished that report yet?" demanded George as he strode up to the desk.

"I will have it done by the end of my shift," replied Erlyn. She looked down at the laptop while she continued typing. "I'm sorry that I haven't completed it yet."

"Just make sure it's finished before you go home," demanded George, harshly, as he looked at his watch to see what time it was before he sneakily looked up at the bookcase behind her. She looked back over her shoulder to see what it was that caught his attention, but all she could see is the old bookcase.

"What are you looking at?" Asked Erlyn as she looked at Mr Edwards.

"Nothing," replied Mr Edwards, his voice harsh as he stormed off into his office and slammed the door behind him with a loud bang.

Erlyn turned and looked at the old bookcase and wonders why Mr Edwards was looking at it. Quietly she got up and walked towards the bookcase and studied the old books suspiciously. She ran her fingers across the worn spines, her brown eyes narrowed as she checks each of the titles in turn, that is until she came across one called Offering to the Cult. She reached for the book on the top shelf on her tiptoes, and took it from the case and looked at the dusty old cover of a young woman being sacrificed to some hideous looking creatures. She opened the book to the first page. She read it quietly to herself, and what she found in the first pages sent goosebumps up her spine. Then as she closed the book, she heard something loud stirring behind the shelf. It sounded a lot like footsteps and seemed to get louder as though whatever it was moved closer. She didn't know where the sound is coming from, but the noise seemed to emanate from behind the bookcase, but that made no sense, as there was nothing behind it except for the drywall. She backed away from the bookcase, she was certain that the sounds came from behind the bookcase.  She talked herself down quietly and convinced herself that it was nothing to worry about, she returned to her desk to finish the report for her boss.

Erlyn quietly sat back down and resumed typing. Her immaculate manicured purple nails clicked on the keyboard despite the sounds in the background. It made her feel uneasy, her hands shook uncontrollably while she typed. Suddenly, she felt something warm on the back of her neck and immediately; she stopped typing. Her fingers froze, and her body stiff with terror. Paralysed with fear she was frozen to the chair, her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She gasped in horror, eyes wide with terror, she felt the presence of someone behind her and as she opened her mouth to scream for help, someone quickly grabbed hold of her and put a dark grey hand over her mouth. Its sharp black nails dug into her skin. So that she could not scream for help as the attacker dragged her off the chair that hit the floor with a loud bang! It slowly dragged her away, kicking frantically. Her high heels fell from her feet and hit the floor with a loud thump as she was hauled away towards the bookcase where a hidden doorway had opened into the darkness. Her milky tanned feet arch as the heels of her feet dug into the floorboards making a loud screeching sound. The lines running across her soles deepen and her toes curl as they drag across the floor. She disappeared into the eerie darkness where her fate awaits her. The secret doorway slammed shut behind them with a loud bang! As the door closed behind them both.