Uncharted Waters [II]

"Come," the siren said blankly, her solid blue eyes staring straight into Edric's soul. It seemed almost like a command, he had to stop himself from following it instinctively.

The woman held out her hand, they looked soft, and he found it hard to fight the temptation of reaching out for it.

~Just what is she?~ he thought to himself in excitement. He felt like a child again, it had been so long since he had found something this interesting. 

This woman was a pit of temptations, without even trying she could make weaker men kill themselves for just her touch. And here she was, staring at him as if he were the interesting one.

"Do you know her?" Edric asked, now looking at the clerk who seemed to be in shock. Afina was still hiding behind the counter, her eyes were closed so she probably wasn't even aware that it was all over.

"E-Excuse me, sir?" the clerk asked, before looking at the woman, as if only just noticing her presence.

"M-Miss Selene," he stuttered quickly, before dropping eye contact and bowing.

"Don't call my name, you unsightly insect," the woman replied. There was no malice in her tone, and despite the insult, her voice made it seem as if it were a compliment.

The clerk smiled slightly, before bowing his head even lower.

~I suppose that means yes,~ Edric thought to himself.

"I'd like to follow you, but-" he said, gesturing towards his twisted ankle.

"Why don't you heal yourself?" she asked, her face displaying genuine curiosity. However, she quickly dismissed it, before humming a slow soothing song.

Edric had to fight the urge to cover his ears, out of fear that she might use a spell like the last one. Though he soon realized that this wasn't the case.

~Magnificent,~ he thought in awe, noticing his ankle slowly repair itself. After a moment, it was completely healed, and Selene held her hand out once more.

"Thank you. But where exactly are we going?"

"She will want to see you. She likes beautiful things like you and me," Selene replied, before grabbing Edric's hand.

Her touch felt warm and unnaturally pleasant. In that moment, Edric knew that he wouldn't be able to properly resist her if they were in contact.

"We don't need to touch, you can just lead the way. I'll follow behind," he said politely, quickly pulling his hand away.

He was in a very tricky situation, he had to make sure that he didn't fall for her charms whilst simultaneously keeping things cordial. After all, she could end his life in an instant if she wanted to.

"Very well," she replied blankly, before putting on her hood, and leading the way.

For a moment it seemed as if they were going to walk right into a wall, however with a wave of her hand, the wall wobbled and faded out of existence, revealing another set of corridors.

Velvet carpets lined the floors here, and the ceiling was decorated with glistening red gems, that glowed at a warm intensity, setting a raunchy mood. 

There were doors lined on both sides of the corridors, each numbered with odd symbols. Edric could imagine what sort of stuff happened behind those doors.

He couldn't help but wonder if she also provided services here too. He wondered if anyone could survive such an experience.

"Wait for me!" a voice shouted from behind.

A moment later, a hand grabbed Edric's.

~I almost forgot about her,~ he thought to himself, looking down at Afina. 

"Who's that?" she asked, hiding behind Edric ever so slightly.

"Try not to offend her," Edric replied flatly, before following on.

*

The corridors seemed to go on forever, in fact, it was beginning to seem like they were going in circles. Certain hallways seemed to repeat themselves, certain door symbols too similar to be different.

Selene hadn't spoken a word since they passed through the false wall, and Afina seemed too comfortable with this amount of walking.

It took another loop for Edric to piece together what was going on.

"How long are you going to keep me in this illusion?" he asked suddenly, before staring down at Afina.

She looked up at him with an innocent expression for a moment, before revealing a sinister smile. Her face began slowly morphing, her features melting away and being replaced with others.

"Are you satisfied now, Irene?" Selene asked from the front, for the first time, her voice seemed to betray her true emotion -anger.

"Very," the creature beside Edric replied. She had the same porcelain skin, ocean-blue eyes, and oddly floating hair as Selene. Though she seemed less enthralling, and somewhat more dangerous.

~I'm in a den of sharks,~ Edric thought to himself, though he tried to maintain outward composure.

"Then get your hands off him," Selene added, a clear threat.

Irene slowly let go of his hand, however her final touch lingered a little longer than it should've. And the eye contact she maintained with him was predatory at best.

Selene stopped at one of the doors to their right. Edric recognized the symbol on it, they had passed by it several dozen times.

With a wave of her hand, streams of blue mist emerged from it, before forming a fishtail symbol. A moment later, the symbol disappeared and the door opened.

~Incredible,~ was all that Edric could think.

The room's flooring was made entirely out of polished blue crystal, that glistened like fresh water under the chandelier overhead.

There was a massive glass table on the other end of the room, where a woman was sitting.

She had bronze skin, black hair, and golden eyes. Although her form was human, it bordered on the fringes of divinity.

Edric's instincts screamed in terror. She was more powerful than even Selene, so powerful in fact that Edric couldn't properly gauge the extent of it. 

~So she's the boss around here,~ he thought

"A Chromalith drasvalik, I was told you all went extinct. Yet here you are, a paragon variant no less," the woman commented, flashing a dazzling smile.

"My question is, what is a beauty like you doing in the sewers of a forsaken city?"