Poison and Bane

1. Chance encounter.

August, 4.

Gwendoline Bane.

I hated my job.

I hated everything about it.

The blood, the gore, the bodies, the screams, the pleas, the mistakes, the purpose, the fact that it stole away the slightest pinch of normalcy my life could have been possible of.

I hated everything about it but the adrenaline rush. It was the only thing that I was capable of feeling these days.

The guilt and the nausea had long passed, and left me empty. Now I was just another mindless killer. A killer hunting other killers. Hah! What irony.

My locator vibrated from my belt. I pulled it out and saw the heat signals light up like the Fourth of July. The sea air was whipping runaway strands of my hair into my face. I dragged my mask over it, covering everything except my eyes.

I could see them now. But more clearly hear them. My vantage point looked out to the small cove that was situated a little away from the main coastal line of Jumunjin port. There they were, nestled behind the rocks, giggling in their alluring voices, waiting for the unsuspecting victims to row over.

I kept my eyes downcast from the moonlight, to prevent the glare.

Vangard claims I've had these nocturnal pair of eyes all my life. Or atleast when he found me. But there were several rumours that still went out about my uncanny ability to be able to prowl in the dark without a pair of night vision goggles. My favourite were that of Kyro and Yu Na's.

But that was a story for another time.

I decided to sneak closer to the cove, now that their attention was diverted by a lone rowboat that had two people. A guy and girl, I guessed, from what I could make out. Fog and Darkness make a very deadly combination, especially on nights when you're hunting. Those fools didn't know of the danger lurking in wait of them.

Annoyed, I picked up my pace, stopping every now and then at a group of boulders to maintain my stealth. Here I was, giving up a possibly fun Saturday night to save the necks of a foolish pair of love birds. Life was everything I wanted it to be.

Before I could get any closer, I put in a set of earpieces that cut off all the ambient noise. A siren's kiss was deadly, but her song was deadlier because it's what drags you to your death.

Making sure to stay on my toes so I could prevent the sand from crunching underneath my boots, I held on to the boulders for support. I could see those kids better now, the guy had a dazed look about his face, his hands moving haphazardly to row the boat closer to the sea witches, while the girl had one arm already in the water and looked ready to fall out of the boat any moment now.

The wind had picked up and the waves seemed to be pulling the boat closer to the cove irrespective of the whim of the people in it. I hissed under my breath, before slipping out the iron dagger that was sheathed on my back.

It glinted in the moonlight, a spotless vengeful weapon. I took a few breaths before crouching on the back of the boulders, right above where the sirens were huddled.

I took the jump, and something else did too. I aimed for the sirens while the something had aimed for me. The breath was knocked out of my lungs and I was sent sprawling into the water.

Ice cold water gripped me and weighed me down. It felt hot and cold all at once. Like a cold fire was lit over me. I thought I saw eyes swimming towards me, before I broke through the surface, panting and wildly groping for something to hold on to.