Salem Falls

“You look like your mother.” Siren whirled around to see Niall’s mother standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair was pulled out of her face. She was dressed in white, garbed for battle. Siren thought it a little cliché that most of the member of Lunar Circle were dressing in white. “Though, she wore white the last time I saw her.”

Siren herself was dressed in black. She was dressed for battle as well. In a single night, Zayn and Liam had brought the few members of Sixth Circle to the entirety of Lunar Circle. It had been countless hours, sitting at Evelyn’s house and finally deciding that the only thing to do now was to meet Sixth Circle head on.

Naveed, it seemed, was trying to kill humans. And not just kill them- he wanted to wipe them out entirely. It was the same disagreement that the two clans had hundreds of years before, the reason the two had gone their separate ways in the first place. And it seemed history was repeating itself.

Siren did not know how many members of Sixth Circle were following Naveed, but she did know how many weren’t following Lunar Circle. And she wasn’t sure how many was going to be enough. The unknowing left her feeling worried and insecure.

“Black is the color that I was raised in.” Siren finished pulling her hair up, turning to face Niall’s mother. The two had not said much to one another, since Niall had introduced them. But every time she looked at Siren, it was like she was seeing a ghost. “I cannot help it that it is my dress.”

“Or is it because you do not know what side you are on?” Siren stared at her blankly. “I knew your mother for a long time, Ame- Siren. She had a hard time deciding what was right, but when she did… Your mother was a good person. And there was not a day that went by that she wanted to come back to you.”

“Then why didn’t she? Why didn’t she come for me? She left me.”

The woman moved into the room, but Siren backed up. Emotions were welling up in her throat, emotions that she did not want before she and dozens of other mages were about to go to the darkness of the woods to approach the members of Sixth Circle.

Looking away, Siren glared out the window. It was morning, but it did not seem like it. Thunderheads were rolling in, swollen and purple, filled with rain and bad omens. Siren thought it was a bit cliché, that a storm was rolling in when they were preparing to attack.

“Your mother wanted you do make the decision to come to Lunar Circle, or stay with Sixth Circle, Siren. She did not want to influence you like her mother did to her. She wanted you to have a life free of the troubles that she would have brought you into.”

“So she left me for my own. Seems like a poor way to show she cared.”

She sighed, and Siren glared at her. “Your mother loved you. You should know that. And if you’re indecisive right now, it’s okay. Your mother did not decide until it came to the last moment.” Siren watched her leave the room and then turn over her shoulder. “But if you decide to stick with the colors that you have on, and you come near my son, I will remove you. Do you understand?”

Siren looked at her. “Absolutely.”

The girl dressed in black was left alone in the room. Downstairs, she could hear the noise of the coven getting ready. She could hear Lucie’s voice from down the hall talking to Liam, and she could hear Evelyn across the hall talking to her mother. Siren was alone, with no one to talk to before she was about to march off with her enemies to her probable death.

A sound at the door made her turn around. Niall was standing in the doorway, looking at her. For once, his face was not bright and happy, but serious and had some sort of underlying emotion she couldn’t read. She gestured for him to come in, so he walked in and closed the door gently behind him.

Niall looked good in white. It made him look like an angel as he crossed the room, his eyes so deep that it was easy to get lost in them. She simply just watched him as he moved across the room to her, standing in front of her. She could feel the slight tingle that was still in him from the incident with Azazel.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, raising his hand and brushed her cheek with his fingers. She fought a shiver that was threatening to run up her spine. “Like a dark angel ready to reign down from the heavens.”

She smiled softly, letting her eyes fall to the ground. “I’m not an angel.”

“Are you ready?”

“You mean to fight the people I grew up with? To maybe even kill the people that raised me as a whole? No, I’m not.”

Niall grimaced. “If I could have it any other way, I would never have you go through this. But I want you to know something, okay? I want you to know that if it goes bad-"

“Don’t.” Siren shook her head closing her eyes. His hand was still tracing patterns on her cheek, soft and tender. “This is some weird ass movie where we give our goodbyes, alright? This is real life, Spielberg.”

His pink lips turned in a soft smile. “Do you always have to be like that?”

Siren ran her hands up his arms and shoulders, only letting them rest around his neck. She caressed the back of his neck with her fingers, bringing him in close to her. “I thought you liked my wit?”

He laughed, holding her face in his hands. “Or maybe I liked that you were on the wrong side. You know, a bad girl vibe.”

“Shut up.”

Siren pressed her lips against Niall, stroking the back of her hair as she kissed him. He tasted like herbs and something pure; he had drank something before the fight to make sure he was protected. They all had.

Pulling away, she whispered, “If I don’t um, make the right decision here, I fully expect you to let me, okay?

Niall furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about.”

“Niall. I’m about to face my family and the only people I know in a possible battle, at least that’s what we think is about to happen here. I told you, I’m not ready for something like this. So if I- if I make the cowardly decision and I can’t be the person you want me to be-"

“Siren.”

“I’m being realistic. You know me. I don’t want to do this. So just… know that I am still unsure of just what it is I’m doing. Because I am going against everything I know here. If I can't do it, trust me.”

Niall stared at her. “You’ll make the right decision.”

Before Siren could answer, there was a knock on the door and she stepped away from Niall. The door opened, revealing Lucie. Siren raised her brows in surprise. Lucie was dressed in white garb, identical to that of Lunar Circle’s. The color looked heavenly on her.

“You’re in black,” she noted, but did not sound surprised. “So is, um, Zayn. Harry and his girlfriend or whatever she is are off doing something for Zayn. It’s just us.”

“Are we ready?” Siren asked, trying to get rid of the awkward tension that had suddenly flood through the room. Lucie nodded, opening the door all the way and stepping into the hall. “Okay, good.”

*

The woods were cold and dark, as the many members of Lunar Circle made their way through the woods. The smell of burning and dark magic had hit them fifteen minutes ago when they entered the trees, following the feel of it to the heart of the woods. Above, black storm clouds were rolling in, crashing together.

As the air got thicker, a faint chanting could be heard, rising and falling like a song in the wind. Siren got chills as the words of power were fell on her ears. She looked at Evelyn’s parents and Zayn, who led the pack. Zayn and Siren were the only two members in black.

And then they were at the edge of the clearing. It had become silent suddenly. It was the kind of silence that made ones ear roar, where you strain to hear anything and everything. Siren moved towards the front of their small crowd, peering at her coven of black.

Naveed was standing in the middle of them, looking at those garbed in white as if he had been expecting them. A chill that she could not stop ran up her spine as she looked at all the faces of the people that she knew. Some of them were missing. They would not join the fight.

“Good afternoon,” he said, his voice holding some sort of quality that made Siren want to plug her ears. “And welcome to my circle.”

“Naveed.” It was Evelyn’s father who had spoken, his voice holding authority and power. “I think you know why we are here. Let us talk diplomatically, and not have a fight.”

“But you are so dressed for battle.”

“A precautionary-"

“You cannot defeat me, Cornelius. You know that. We all know that.” Naveed looked away from Evelyn’s father and to the people standing beside him. “You have no need to fear me, my fellow mages. You know that humans are lesser beings than us. They make us hide, they make us pretend we are not who we are, and when they find out who we are, they scream names at us. Abomination, devil, witch. The time has come for us to rid us of them. You can join me, and be free of them, be free of the hiding. Or you can die with them, though I would not relish spilling any blood of my own people.”

An uncomfortable silence fell down on them. The only sound was that of the wind rolling through the trees, causing the leaves to whisper against one another. Siren looked around. No one in white moved. Siren looked down at the ground, and suddenly she felt a very heavy weight on her, pushing her down.

It was hard to breathe, and she felt like she was being smothered. She swayed slightly, finding it very hard to breathe and finding that she was struggling. Niall was looking at her, seeing that something was wrong with her. Siren looked up, and she saw that many of her own people’s eyes were on her, watching.

Taking a breath, Siren took a single step forward. She had only taken that one step and Niall snatched her wrist. She whirled her head around, looking at him. Awe and horror was on his face. “What are you doing?”

“Siren,” Evelyn hissed behind her.

“I told you I wasn’t ready to do this.”

“Siren,” he warned, voice thick. “Please don’t do this.”

She pulled her hand away from him. “I know what I’m doing.”

Naveed smiled at her, opening his arms as she walked across the small clearing. All those dressed in black looked at her with smiles on their faces. She stood next to Mark, one of the mages her age. He gave her a grin. “I see Siren is the only one who is going to make the right choice.”

Looking across the field, Siren was met with gazes burning into her, hatred and pure loathing being drilled into her. Niall looked at her with teary eyes. But he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand. But he would. “Hey Horan,” Mark called, making Niall grimace. “Sorry your girlfriend came home. I think you’re going to be first on me list.”

“Naveed-"

Cornelius was cut off, a sonic boom going off as Sixth Circle members made their first move. Siren was moving already, winding and ducking as magic exploded around them, both sides hurling themselves forward. Siren ducked and rolled on the ground away from a spell, hitting her head on the ground.

For a moment, she was dizzy. But shaking her head, she got back up, getting to her feet and bolting into action. She ducked spells and curses thrown at her, wheeling around those in white. She made a beeline for Niall, who Mark was fighting with, concentration on both of their faces.

Mark kicked Niall’s feet out from under him and sent him down, a cheap shot. Siren was next to Mark in minutes and he smiled at her. “Let’s do this together, Siren.”

She smiled. “Guess what, Mark?” She raised her fist, the entire thing engulfed in flames. “I lied.”

Siren hit mark full on in the face, burning the flesh there. He screamed as she shouted words in Latin at him. Five words of the ancient language later, he wasn’t moving, but Siren was. She grabbed Niall off the ground, who ripped away from her. Shocking her with his hand, making her yelp. “Traitor.”

Siren looked at Niall hard. “No.”

“What-"

“Do you get it yet?”

And then Niall blinked. “Good cop, bad cop?”

Siren grinned. “Absolutely.”

And they plunged into war.