Miraculous: Tales of the Unknown (7 page)

“That must be horrible for
you. Surviving off the souls of others.”

She smiled at his concern,
and without thinking she leaned forward and covered his lips with
her own. A shock ran through him. His entire body began to hum as
her tongue tickled his.

“I must be drunk.” He
replied when she pulled away.

“How else could I explain
being in a bar in the middle of a swamp being kissed by a soul
eating siren? I’m drunk, maybe I passed out at the table and Jared
is driving us home right now.” He began looking around the bar,
realization settled into his blue eyes bringing fear with
it.

Her heartbeat tripled,
stopped and then pounded inside of her chest. She felt like she was
dying. Never in her long life had Esilee ever felt this way. She’d
desired men before but only for their flesh and their soul. This
one made her want things she didn’t understand. Right then what she
wanted most was for him to stop looking at her like she was a soul
devouring monster, even though she was.

The panic began to build
in Aiden’s chest as he looked past her, searching the sea of glazed
eyes for Jared. When he looked back at her tears welled in her
green eyes threatening to drag her smoky eye liner down her
cheeks.

“I am sorry, please do not
cry.” He signed at her without thinking. Esilee took his hands into
hers.

“That was beautiful, what
was it?”

“I said, I’m sorry and I
don’t want you to cry.”

She was astonished there
could be so much power and feeling in words that were not spoken
aloud. All her life the power of her voice had been everything, now
this man, this mortal man was breaking her heart with the wave of
his hand.

Aiden couldn’t look at her
with tears in her eyes. Frightened and confused as he was, her
vulnerability moved him. She couldn’t possibly be a heartless
monster, if that was true they would all be dead by now.

“Say something else, with
your hands.” She whispered.

Aiden smiled and signed to
her, speaking softly as he did.

“Hi, my name is
Aiden.”

She watched intensely as
his hands moved.

“Aiden,” she said, tasting
his name on her lips.

“I’m Esilee.”

The bartender grumbled
pulling their attention towards him; he nodded towards the stage,
where the men were stirring from their stupor

“I have to eat Aiden.” She
paused, tears returning to her eyes as she kissed him
softly.

“Get your friend and
leave, go back towards town and don’t ever come into the swamp
again.”

He watched as her
beautiful face contorted as if in pain. Ruby red lips quivered as
he read them. He shook his head desperately signing at her as
quickly as he could.

“No. I will not leave you
here alone. I want to stay. I want to hold you and talk to you. I
want to get to know you. Dammit Esilee I want to love you.” He
plunged his hands into the red sea of hair framing her shocked face
and kissed her. Their passion consumed them. Her body melted
against his as he held her tighter. Aiden’s soft lips moved from
her mouth to her neck and back as he lifted her from the ground and
set her on the barstool. Esilee wrapped her silky legs around his
waist and sighed against his lips.

A hand pulled at Aiden’s
shoulder. One of the men stood behind him anger and alcohol burned
in his eyes.

“Hey asshole, how about
you share some of that action?” The man reached lazily towards
Esilee. Aiden placed himself between them shoving the man’s arm
violently.

“Back off.” Aiden growled.
Esilee’s heart swelled. No one ever tried to protect her, and even
though Aiden had to know she could handle the guy on her own, he
still stood protectively between them.

“What’d you say to me
boy,” the man sneered, “
bach
off? What are you? Slow?”

Before he could utter
another ignorant word Jared was swinging on him. His powerful right
fist collided with the man’s already crooked nose. It reminded
Aiden of when he first met Jared on the Kindergarten playground.
Three bullies were pushing Aiden around between them calling him
every name they could think of, when Jared rushed in swinging
wildly at all of them. His tiny fists flailed endlessly until the
boys ran away, all bleeding from either the nose or the mouth.
Jared had turned and stuck his hand out to Aiden and
shouted,

“My grandma don’t hear
either!”

They’d been inseparable
ever since.

Aiden reached down and
pulled Jared off the man who had long since stopped
resisting.

“Take that guy Esilee,
although I’m not sure how much soul he actually has.” He whispered
to her.

Esilee slid from the
barstool and hummed softly in the man’s ear. He stood and followed
her through a door next to the stage.

“Everybody out.” The
bartender barked. Slowly the room emptied.

Aiden gripped Jared’s
shoulder, “Thanks man.”

“Anytime, what the hell
happened? One minute I’m drooling over that hot babe, the next I’m
kicking some guys ass while you’re making out with her.”

Aiden blushed, “You know
me man, I’m a lady killer.”

Jared laughed and moved
toward the door.

“Come on, I’ve had enough
fun for one night.”

“I’m gonna
stay.”

Jared’s head whipped
around.

“Stay?”

“Yeah, we’re getting to
know each other.” Aiden smiled at him and wondered if his best
friend would leave him alone in a swamp shack with a
siren.

“Dude, I’m not leaving you
in the middle of nowhere with some chick and Murder Magee over
there.” Jared nodded towards the bartender who was busy washing out
glasses and tossing empty beer bottles.

“Come back tomorrow and
get me, or I’ll call you before then if I need a ride. I’m sure
Esilee has a car she can bring me home.” He was practically
pleading. He couldn’t leave, there’s was just something magical
about Esilee, she was like a drug and he needed more, so much
more.

She stepped next to them
as if conjured by Aiden’s mere thought of her. Her snow white
complexion glowed in the dim bar light and her eyes held a shine
Aiden hadn’t seen in them earlier. He wondered if it was the man’s
soul trapped inside of her.

Esilee looked at Jared,
who was looking at his friend with such a pained concern it hurt
her heart. Aiden must be an amazing man to have a friend who cared
for him so very much. While the man eating siren in her enjoyed the
rugged bravery Jared possessed, she was attracted more to the soft,
passionate emotions that Aiden displayed with each move of his
hands. She didn’t care that when he wasn’t speaking aloud she
didn’t know what the movement meant. It wasn’t the actual words
that moved her, it was the raw emotion she could feel coming from
each gesture. She’d heard men speak for more lifetimes than she
could account for. They spoke with anger and lust and mostly with
lies, Aiden spoke with only his heart, and for that she instantly
loved him.

Their eyes met and
something stirred deep inside of her, she knew she couldn’t lose
him.

“I promise to bring him
back safe and sound.” She smiled at Jared, but he refused to
budge.

“Sorry sister, no man left
behind, he’s coming with me.” He reached for Aiden’s arm, but Aiden
stepped away.

“Not tonight Jared. I’m
staying.” Aiden wrapped his fingers between Esilee’s.

“Then I stay too.” Jared
said as he sat down on the barstool next to him.

Esilee and Aiden looked at
one another, unsure what to do next, both desperate to stay
together, alone. She mouthed a word to Aiden and he nodded, looking
away from his friend.

Softly, she began to sing
a song about deep rivers and secrets beneath the rushing water.
Jared swayed as if caught in the imaginary current, and drifted
towards the door. Without looking back he left the shack, Aiden
heard the truck start and pull away into the night.

“Will he make it home
okay?” He asked.

“Yes, he’ll be fine, I
promise. In a few days he’ll remember you were both here, but he
won’t remember leaving you here, or anything else about
tonight.”

Aiden looked towards the
door one last time as she led him towards the stage, towards the
same dark portal she’d taken the man earlier, the man she’d
devoured.

“Goodnight Rocco.” She
called to the bartender. He only nodded and headed for the parking
lot.

“Does he have any idea
what goes on here?” Aiden asked.

“Not really, I keep him in
a fog when he’s here. He knows he works here, he knows not to let
the men get out of hand and he knows to go home. Once he’s home
he’s normal until I see him again. It’s safer for him.”

She pushed open the large
wood door and Aiden couldn’t help looking around anxiously. The
room was large with natural wood walls and deep aqua marine
decorations. A circular rug covered most of the floor. It was a
deep blue with thin gold strands running through it. In the far
corner sat a king sized canopy bed, a deep blue curtain hung all
around it. In the corner across from the bed sat an antique
chifforobe and a dressing curtain. Esilee stepped behind the
curtain and Aiden waited patiently for her. With the curtain
between them he couldn’t tell if she was saying anything. Often
people forgot when talking to him that he had to be looking at
their face to understand them.

Her dress appeared
suddenly as she slung it over the curtain, followed by a sheer lace
bra. The idea of her naked behind the thin sheet made him ache. He
wanted to gaze endlessly at her flawless skin, to watch her move,
to taste her lips. He’d never wanted anything more in his whole
life.

Esilee peered around the
curtain watching with amusement as he shifted uncomfortably from
one foot to the other. There was something so pure and kind about
Aiden. She let the white T-shirt she wore every night to bed fall
over her head just before she stepped out into the room. The tiny
sound of Aiden sucking in air made her smile.

“Teach me to speak with my
hands.” She asked, walked seductively towards him.

The sight of her in just a
shirt nearly floored him. He pulled her close, kissed her deeply
before moving around behind her. He let his fingers traipse up her
arms towards her hands. Slowly he moved her fingers, her hands, her
arms fluidly, as if to music. Esilee lost herself in the rhythm of
the unspoken words he guided her through. She could feel his heart
beating against her, picking up pace as the gestures became more
pronounced, as he added more flourish and feeling into them. She
leaned back into him relishing the moment. Their bodies again
melding together, he pulled their hands to her chest, held her
against him, kissing the curve of her neck.

She turned wanting to see
his eyes. They shined, as he continued to sign. A sweet silence
enveloped the room around them.

“I want to try something.”
She said. He nodded his hands falling silent at his
sides.

Esilee stepped forward and
kissed the soft skin behind his right ear, sucking gently, her
tongue pressing against his flesh. She did the same on the other
side, before stepping back and opening her mouth wider than he
thought possible.

“AIDEN!” The power of her
voice shook the tiny shack almost knocking him down.

“Oh my god. I … I think I
actually heard you! Do it again.” He begged.

She began to sing, quietly
at first, her voice rising like the tide.

“Come to me, oh come to
me

All ye lost men at
sea.

Follow the sound til your
feet reach ground

And know you’re safe with
me.

Oh come to me, oh come to
me

All ye lost children at
sea

Hold my hand and we’ll
play awhile

Follow me I’ll set you
free.” The words burrowed into his ears and rang inside of his
head. His face lit up as the sweet sound of her voice filled
him.

“Come to me, oh come to
me

All ye lasses who’ve
jumped in the sea

I’ll take you home in the
briny foam

To become a witch of the
sea.”

His eyes filled with tears
as he clung to each note. It was surreal watching her lips move and
actually hearing the sound that came from them.

“Say my name.” He
asked.

“Aiden.”

“Say your
name.”

“Esilee.”

He cried at the sound of
her name.

“Esilee.” He
repeated.

“I love you Aiden. Stay
with me. Stay with me always.”

He nodded at her, signing
yes repeatedly, too overwhelmed to speak.

“It won’t last Aiden, the
hearing, I can’t make it stay but you’ll always hear me
singing.”

“That’s all I’ll ever
need.”