Allure

Chapter One

I walked through the market, the early afternoon sun kissing my shoulders. My eyes flittered about. There was so much to see. Trinkets, pottery, handmade tie-die scarfs. I was at home. The warm dusty wind picked up my long brown hair and teased it gently around. I breathed in deeply; that warm summery scent of spices and dry grass made me smile.

My hand reached out and I turned over a piece of jewellery that caught my eye.

"Found something you like, love?" The old lady behind the market stall asked me. I smiled at her, admiring the clear purple stone that seemed to be ensnared by a web of fine golden threads.

"It's beautiful." I replied, my French accent immediately marking me out as a tourist.

Just then, I felt a shiver ripple through my back. The old lady stiffened, wrinkled lines tightening around her lips. It was still sunny, but the tense atmosphere seemed to suck all the warmth from the day. The lady's eyes seemed to be warily focussed on something just behind my shoulder.

Slowly, very slowly, I turned around. Five burly guys strolled through the market. By strolled, I mean they were walking casually enough. The same couldn't be said for everybody else. Everyone was frozen. The stall keepers, the shopping mothers, even the young children had stopped playing and running around. Everyone kept absolutely still. But what really terrified me was how everybody avoided eye contact. It was like they knew the five men were there but were all making a desperate effort to not be noticed. That is, all except the old lady behind me.

"Disgusting" I heard her mutter beneath her breath before she spat loudly on the ground.

One of the burly, black clad guys flinched, but that was the only indication that they had heard her. They kept walking through the market, occasionally peering down to inspect some person's wares, terrifying the silent sales person as they did.

Minutes passed before they finally left and the entire market place seemed to let out a tired breath. Slowly the market seemed to come back to life, a little shaky, but definitely persistent.

I turned back around to the old lady but as I was doing so I caught the eye of a man who was leaning on the back pole of the market stall. His eyes were a clear crystal green with a volatile blue encircling the iris. They stood out on his rough, tan face and seemed to glow with unspoken purity. And the pupils of his eyes were blacker than I'd ever seen, an infinite shade that was even darker than his loose uncut hair. At first I thought I was hypnotised by the green-blue of his eyes, but as I fell into that blackness I realised that there was no way I could escape. Seconds passed, minutes even. I was sure time had stopped. Eventually, he teared his eyes away and I was free once again.

He nodded at the old lady.

"Nan?" He said, a question in those devastating eyes.

"Oh, my boy, why couldn't you just – " He interrupted her before she could finish.

"Nan." There was no room for question this time, only dominating authority. I raised an eyebrow. Hadn't he ever heard that he should respect his elders? I heard him breath out slowly and as he made to leave I felt his gaze roll over me one last time.

A minute later I moved onto the next stall, determined to put all that mysterious strangeness behind me and finish looking around the market. As I started walking a rush of wind brushed onto me and I inhaled its warmth, a strong hint of spices on the tip of my tongue.