Siren's Call

Chapter 5 - Leaving

5 - Leaving

Danae's eyes opened to meet sunlight the next day. She was not in the circus, but back in her own bed. As she sat up, she hardly believed exactly what she had done the previous night, and to what she had agreed to. Like a curtain falling over a lit stage, her euphoria had extinguished. How was she going to tell Vincent?

She washed up hurriedly, and just as she was changing she heard shouts coming from downstairs. A voice drifted up from the stairs to reach her ears: "You're not taking her anywhere!"

Vincent. 

Dread filled her. She finished changing and ran downstairs into the living room, where two men stood, with Vincent blocking their way. They noticed her noisy arrival, and turned to her. "What in the world is going on?" she snapped as she moved to stand beside Vincent. She turned her gaze on the two men. "Who gave you permission to enter the house?"

The two men cleared their throats. "We rang the doorbell, but this man answered the door. We were told you live alone, so we thought something bad had happened."

She snorted. "Obviously, I'm fine," she pointed out, and watched as a faint guilt rested on the men's faces. "Now, who are you and what do you want?"

They bristled, but before their answers had left their mouths, Vincent replied, "They're the police. They say they have found plane tickets that leave for England today. They want you to leave."

Danae stiffened as she studied Vincent's expression. Fury brought the beautiful lines of his face into sharp relief. She saw something beneath the anger: a deadliness. Suddenly, she was afraid of what he might do. 

But she faced the two men. "Is that true?"

One of them reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flashed his I.D. at them, but his pointed glare was directed at Vincent. "Yes. We would like you to leave with us, Miss Levesque." He gestured towards the open door.

Her reply was one that echoed Vincent's own reply. "No. You told me next week!"

"Your aunt is waiting for you, Miss Levesque."

In response, she crossed her arms, and did not take a step closer. "I don't know her. I never did. You're asking me to leave today? Sweet dreams, guys. I'm not going anywhere."

A light smile touched the corners of Vincent's lips as the men stifled a groan and said, "Miss Levesque, please don't make it hard for us."

"You don't make it hard for me! The court said next week. I agreed. Please don't make me go now." A plea had threaded itself through her words. 

Vincent took a step forward such that suddenly, Danae was behind his outstretched arms of protection. "You heard her. Now please leave," he snapped. His hand reached for the rifle that Danae's father had hung upon the wall, a gun that both he and Danae knew was fully loaded. It was a subtle movement that neither of the men caught, but the anger and tension rolling off from his body was something that they all sensed too easily.

Vincent's unspoken threat hung perilously in the air as Danae walked over to stand beside him. She touched him lightly on the shoulder. He turned his head slightly to look at her. "Don't," she whispered. Her eyes flashed to the men, and her next words were meant solely for them. "One day. I just want one more day here in Lithewall, then I'll leave."

He turned his now surprised eyes on her. He opened his mouth, but the gentle nudge that Danae gave him was enough to stop him from asking anything. Not here, she mouthed.