Salem Falls

It was dead silent. Not the type of silence that comes with peace or comfort, but the kind that comes with goose bumps, that kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It was the kind of silence that did not typically bother Siren, but as she sat in her home, her green eyes scanning over old spells, she couldn’t help but look up from her book.

A blanket of silence wrapped around her. Her eyes darted around the room and she felt a shift in the air, almost unnoticeable at first, but growing in size. Her heart beat a little harder, and as if on command her grandfather clock in the study gonged once, long and loud, echoing into the abyss of her dark home.

It was not striking on the hour, or anywhere near it. On the contrary, it was twenty-three past eleven at night, hardly call for a clock to signal the hour change. Which is why it alerted Siren. It was a special heirloom in her family, letting them know when there was a dark power that ebbed out of the norm was around.

Siren was very still, licking her lips. It was the fifth time the clock had rang, in the past few weeks. Every single time it went off, unmatching with time, she felt her pulse quicken, and heard the haunting sound echoing in her mind like an empty cavern.

Closing the book silent, Siren looked down. She had not told anyone of the constant ringing of the bewitched clock. She had not informed Zayn, how she would stop in the middle of the night, feeling the shift in the balance of power. Because she hoped at first, that it was just her, that she was crazy. But it wasn’t.

There was one thing, that Siren had come to learn, about being a mage. No matter what side you are on, no matter how much good or evil you wish to do, there is always a constant balance. Siren could make all the sacrifices she wanted, do all the dark magic in the world, as long as she kept in check what she was doing, as long as she didn’t cross the threshold between evil and down right insane.

In a world built out of darkness, the girl knew the different between what she did, and what the darkest of all mages did. And despite the misunderstanding, she knew that it was two totally different things, even if Niall didn’t always see that. In a world built out of darkness, Siren knew that something was causing a power shift, and it was something that even she, the essence of darkness wouldn’t dare to do.

It was why she had placed protection on Niall. It was why she feared, for the first time in her life, to tell Zayn something. Because as strong as Zayn was, and as smart of a mage as he was, Siren got the feeling that he couldn’t stop whatever was alerting the balance in the world. That scared her.

After what seemed like ages, the feeling passed. Unlike all the other times she had felt it, this time it had lasted longer. Whatever was going on was getting stronger. She knew that there was no way the others didn’t feel it. All mages were attuned to feel shifts in the magic world, especially when it was a lean in favor for the bad side.

The girl bit her lip. There were a number of things she could do. She could go an examine whatever was causing a power shift, which granted, was death. Or she could go to Zayn and inform him that something was going on, which, granted, was pain, depending on which side she chose to stand on.

Sides. It was becoming blatantly clear that there was going to be side choosing soon, between good and bad. Siren knew that she would stand with her coven no matter how much Niall wanted her to come to Lunar Circle. No… Siren was not her mother.

“Fuck,” she muttered, standing and grabbing a jacket, pulling it over her dark curls. Pulling the hood up to block the cold wind that had picked up outside- thought it was summer- she stuck her hands in her pocket, making her way to Zayn’s. “Why do I have to do everything. Huh. Should’ve just gone to bed, Siren. You can chose the winning side later when it comes.”

It was like that, talking to herself and walking through the woods, which was the quickest way to Zayn’s from her own home, that Siren stumbled upon a site that was bleeding with dark magic, so much that she when she walked into it, she backed up immediately, choking on it.

Looking around, everything in the tiny clearing was dead. The trees were burned black, the ground charred ash. The reek of evil and decay hit her nose, nothing like she had ever smelled before. She clutched onto a tree, her stomach roiling. Even demons did not smell this horrid.

Green eyes scanned the ruined area, knowing that it was worse than Chernobyl could ever hope to be. This peace of land would forever be marked, the earth officially labeled as a black spot. A single body lay in the middle of it all, a girl dressed in white but painted by her own crimson blood.

Bouncing on her heels, Siren didn’t know what to do. Trying to decide a course of action was impossible, because she usually just went about her business, ignoring dark things like this. But now that Niall had influence of her, had sway over her decisions, she was finding it harder and harder to ignore the difference between right and wrong.

Cursing, she stepped into the glade. The ground beneath her let out a hiss, as if it were burning the bottom of her shoes. Black magic left an acid on whatever it touched, so she knew she shouldn’t stay long, making her hurry to the body, which she made sure not to touch.

The girl was paper white, her inky, dark hair covering much of her face. But not her empty, lifeless eyes. It was the first time she’d ever seen dead human eyes looking at her, and she had to admit it did not create the greatest feeling ever in her gut.

Upon examination, she could see that the wrists were cut, the flesh there dried and raw, her skin tattered. It was far from pretty. Her chest was also painted red, and Siren could only imagine what they removed from the girl’s chest. A lover’s heart was a prized thing, the world of mages, which is why she had a sneaking suspicion that was taken.

Deciding that the girl was drained of blood and that her heart was gone, Siren quickly left the opening, practically running the rest of the way to Zayn’s house, even though what she really wanted to do was go home and stay out of the way of whatever was making this massacre. Which she had half a mind to do.

His house in sight, Siren took off at a full sprint, reaching the door to Zayn’s house and banging on it. She cursed when he took forever, worried he wasn’t home. When he finally opened the door, he frowned at her. “Can you try knocking a little less like King Kong?”

“There was another murder,” she said quickly, ignoring his joke. His face fell, going serious. “In fact, can we go inside? There are just… a lot of things I want to discuss. Dark things.”

Zayn nodded, moving aside to let her in. For the first time ever, Siren felt like she was doing the right thing. And she hated it.

*

The sun was shining brightly, a light summer breezing blowing through the open law to Siren’s home. She anxiously sat on the porch, bouncing up and down. As much as she knew it was a bad idea, Niall was supposed to be coming to her home today, though he had told her she could come to his. She knew the protective procedures she had taken would not allow her in.

But after what she had discovered in the forest, she had no intention of bringing him in their ever again. No, she refused to have their meetings in the woods anymore, where he could be harmed. Even if that meant him coming to her house, risking both of their lives.

Niall was smart, though. He parked down the street from her, several houses away, and even we he got out of the car, he hurried along, making haste. He didn’t want to be seen going to her home either, because even though Ev knew about his on going with Siren, one else did. It was too dangerous.

When he was in front of her house she turned and open the door, letting him run up the stairs and inside. Closing the door behind him, she sighed, watching him look around the large house in wonder. She knew it was sort of extravagant for a single girl, but it had been in the family for years.

“Wow,” he breathed, looking up at the chandelier above them, impressed. Siren had made an effort, magically cleaning the house and opening all the curtains to reveal sunlight. She had to admit the old Victorian style home looked beautiful in the sunlight. “Not what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?”

He shrugged, following her into the living room. She gestured to a couch and he sat down, her across from him. He picked up one of the cookies on a plate she had been picking off of. “Dungeons, chains, the whole nine yards, you know?”

“Have I ever mentioned how funny you aren’t?”

He grinned at her. His happiness reminded her that he had no idea what was going on out there in the world, that something was wrong. Or at least, if he did know, he wasn’t scared enough to let it bother him. That was something she loved about him; his unfailing happiness. “We can’t all have your sense of humor, Si.”

“Ugh,” she groaned, shaking her head. “Really? Of all the nicknames?”

He shrugged, a red blush creeping into his cheeks. “I like it. It rhymes with Ni, which is what you call me.”

They both fell very silent for a moment. Siren smiled at Niall, biting her lip to hide it, but he already saw it. Around him, Siren was an entirely different person. And it was getting worse and worse, the more time she spent with him. Her smiles came more often, as well as her laughter, even if she was laughing at him.

Before long, they fell into their typical conversation, talking about Niall’s childhood. They never talked about Siren’s because quite frankly, she didn’t have much of one. She was not raised by any single person after her mother left, but rather a collective group of people. She had lived with Lucie sometimes, Harry another and Zayn for a period. She was shared with everyone, but never really gave herself to any of them.

When she mentioned it to Niall, he seemed to pity her. She knew he wouldn’t say it, but he did pity her sometimes. Because Niall had it fixed in his mind, that Siren was this great mage, who could do great things if she tried, if she put her mind too it. She just didn’t agree. “You know,” he said, looking down at his hands after she shared that piece of childhood. “I don’t think that’s what your mom ever intended, for you.”

She was quiet. They never talked about her mom, though the subject of her mother had been weighing heavy on her mind as of late. She knew that Niall had information on her. she just wasn’t sure if she wanted it. “Then tell me, Ni,” Siren whispered, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. “What did my mother intend for me? Because after all this time, I’ve never found the answer.”

Getting up, Niall moved to sit on the couch next to Siren. For the firs time since they had met, her eyes were vulnerable. He took one of her hands in his, looking at it and brushing his thumb over the top of it, feeling how soft her skin was. For someone so brutal, she was soft as a cloud.

“I know,” Niall said quietly, looking into her eyes, “That what your mother intended for you, was to grow up free to make a decision without her making it for you. She wanted to give you a choice, to have options and to not live under the pressure that she had grown up under.

“You remember your grandmother. She was relentless in her hatred for other ways of living, Siren. Do you really think your mom wanted to raise you like that? No. So she ran, which is all she knew how to do at the time.”

“But it didn’t work,” Siren growled, clenching her fist. Niall covered it with his hands. It felt nice. “She left and I still got screwed. I made the only choice I could; fix my families name. She ruined all of that. She gave me no choice.”

“How could she have understood?”

Siren’s eyes were dark. “She could never have. And you don’t either. You don’t know anything about me, Niall. So stop looking at me like I’m going to wake up one morning and change just because you want me to.”

He looked astounded, “That’s not-"

“Don’t lie.” She ripped her hands from him and stormed away. “From day one you’ve wanted me to be more like you, and less like me. Don’t lie to me, and don’t lie to yourself.”

When she was gone, he looked down at the ground, realizing that she was right. What had he done?