To Seduce A Siren

4. A Human Voice

Raz had been in a panic the moment he had cornered her.

He should have been cool and level-headed when he arrested her but all he could think when he slipped the handcuffs on was, 'Finally I have her.'

Which was absurd.

He was lying to himself if he said her neck didn't look enticing, as if when he leaned in, he didn't smell the most potent scent. He couldn't even describe. But it made him want to sniff up on her like a dog.

He was losing his mind.

And was it not wildfire he felt when he touched her? Touching a woman's hands shouldn't send him into a cardiac arrest and yet it almost did.

He may be resistant to her call but the rest worked just fine...

He sneaked a glance behind him. She was trudging along. Not the picture of lethal grace she seemed in the bar.

He didn't know how she was walking on this dirt road in those heels for so long. She looked a little fragile with her hair mussed up by the wind and dust patches on her skin. It was a lonesome road, it stretched forever with nothing in sight except some trees here and there. The town was a distant dim light behind them.

He wanted to comfort her. To tuck her somewhere safe and tell her it was okay. Which was a lie. She would be jailed by the end of the week.

This is how sirens got them. If their song wasn't enough, they were blessed with raw magnetism. They pulled people in that way. Raz was beginning to understand why sirens were reviled amongst redeemers. This sham of attraction was a mockery of everything they stood for.

But still, there was the strongest sense in him to spare her. A nagging suspicion tore at him. When their leader had first assigned him to this, Raz had been too enthusiastic to ask questions but now he wondered how did Theron know that he could resist her?

He knew he could not resist all siren songs. In a previous mission, he'd worn protective ear pieces because sirens might have been present.

Then why this one?

***

Raz had been in the halls of Elysium, their castle atop a mountain, eating a sandwich when Theron approached.

He'd been surprised. Theron never talked to him if he could avoid it.

"Raziel", he said in a booming voice, "I have a mission for you."

"Really? My first solo job?"

Theron nodded, the sunlight filtering through to his blond head, giving a perfect halo.

Theron wasn't just the leader of the Defenders, he was also the king of Redeemers. The fact that the world bowed to him showed. He had heavy shoulders, proud but down and a face like granite. He had never seen him smile.

"After this job, do I finally earn my wings?" Raz said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

It didn't work. Theron noticed and he frowned. He didn't like shows of emotion. It weakened a redeemer when they were already burdened with the responsibility of making the world right.

"Perhaps."

A long silence made the air between them stale. Raz wished he'd talk to him properly. He would give anything to have Theron look at him with admiration.

"What's the job?"

Theron passed a file to him, "The details are here. Bring the girl back to us in four weeks." Theron turned and walked out of the room before Raz could even think of something to say back to him.