Lily stared at the door Luke had just left through in shock, still unable to comprehend everything that had just occurred.

The man on the floor groaned in pain.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, her voice full of concern.

"What happened…" he mumbled half consciously. Suddenly, he jolted awake. "You! It can't be… but…"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, moving closer. "Are you injured?"

She to move his hair to the side and take a look at his head, but he pushed her hand away.

"Do-don't touch me, siren!" he cried in horror. "I won't let you put a spell on me!"

Lily had not the faintest clue what he was yapping about, but she decided to respect his personal boundaries and avoid touching him if it caused him so much distress.

Since the huntsman was clearly in good enough condition to shout at her angrily, Lily focused her attention elsewhere. She went over to the door through which Luke had left. It was in horrible condition, ripped from its upper hinge and barely hanging onto the doorframe by the lower hinge. Although it was made of steel, it looked more like aluminum, with how bent it was.

Beyond the door was a small and dark storage room. It was rather empty, and on the other wall Lily saw a doorway leading outside. Variously-sized parts of a shattered wooden door were covering the sidewalk. Damn, thought Lily. Did Luke do all this?

"Hey, uh, Mr. huntsman…" Lily said as she turned back toward the kitchen. "Would you mind finally telling me who you are? And what the hell just happened he–" She suddenly stopped talking.

The man Luke had called "the huntsman" was sitting on the countertop. His right arm was dangling beside him at a weird angle, as if it was broken. In his left hand, he was holding a large, silvery gun, which was aimed directly at Lily.

"Do not move," he said.

"What's going – " Lily started to say.

"And shut your mouth!" the man shouted. "I am warning you!"

Lily stopped talking. She stumbled back in fear.

"I told you not to move!" Lily could hear the panic in his voice.

"Do – do you want to kill me?" Lily asked.

The man seemed to be fighting with himself. "Yes," he said. "I mean, no! Or, what I mean is… By rights, I should kill you, abomination. But… maybe I could use you to find the werewolf."

Lily felt deeply hurt. Never in her entire life had anyone called her an "abomination". Still, she decided maybe it wouldn't be the smartest move to argue with someone who was holding a gun. So she resigned herself to a more diplomatic approach.

"The werewolf… you mean Luke, right? The man who was with me earlier."

"Luke?" the man snickered. "Is that how you call the beast? How cute. Yes, I'm referring to that wretch of a man. Do you mean to tell me that you think of someone him like a friend? How pathetic!"

Lily ignored the comment. "Do you know what he was referring to when he said that I 'froze' you?" she asked.

The man looked at her for a second, and Lily could see he hesitated before he answered. "No, I don't have any clue what that idiot was referring to!"

"But," Lily said, "didn't you yourself said I had placed a spell on you?"

That wasn't exactly true, but it got the reaction Lily wanted. The man's face showed horror and shock. "What?!" he exclaimed hysterically. "I have no idea what you are talking about!"

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Lily knew he was lying – and she suspected that maybe she did know what Luke had referred to after all. Somehow, against all logic, the idea of placing a spell on that person, of affecting other people, resonated within her. Although she had never done anything like that before, somehow it still felt... correct. Like she had always known she could do that, on a subconscious level.

Surprising herself, Lily decided to take a chance.

"I command you to tell me the truth!" she said, her voice filled with passion and fear, and her heart beating deafeningly loud in her chest.

The man stared at her in hatred, his gun still aimed at her. I wonder if I'm going to die now, she thought.

Then, two seconds passed. No bullet came out of the gun, no trigger was pulled. Lily was still alive. Another second passed, and the man started talking – though it was with some difficulty, as though he was being forced to talk.

"I was not sure of it before, but this confirms it. You are a witch – a siren, I think they call it – who has the power to influence the thoughts and actions of others through speech alone. By singing, you can enslave a man's soul – or kill him. When you asked us earlier to stop fighting, this was enough to make me unable to move… you are very powerful. I am not sure, but I think the wolf must have had some sort of protection, because your spell only slowed him down instead of stopping him completely."

That confirmed Lily's suspicions. She was able to control his behavior, somehow. But being called a witch, being told she could kill people by singing - that was absolutely bonkers. She had never killed anyone by singing before! She decided to question him further.

"What do you mean, I'm a witch?" she asked. "And are you saying a siren is a type of a witch? Are there more types?"

"Don't pretend you don't know your true nature, witch. You are using your vile magic to make me talk right this moment. I know you are aware of it." He was right, of course. "Yes," he continued, "there are many types of witches, but I don't care for them all that much. In the end, you are all creatures of the night anyway, and must be destroyed. That is the will of God."

It would have been an understatement to say that Lily was shocked to hear someone call her a "creature of the night". After all, she had always gone to sleep early, and never did anything illegal or immoral – except watching pirated movies, that is. But everyone did that, right?

"I… I see," she said, trying to collect herself. "Thank you for that information. I have another question. Luke said you are a 'huntsman'. Is that right? What does that mean?"

"Yes, that is correct. I am a member of the Brotherhood of Light. We are God's righteous servants, the huntsmen who are tasked by Him with purging evil from this world, by finding and destroying ungodly abominations like you and that werewolf. We came here because we were told that a pack of werewolves will be here tonight, making trouble."

Suddenly, Lily remembered something Luke had told her. "Was there a spell making them look normal? And you – the Brotherhood of Light – you broke it? Why?"

"Yes," the huntsman said spitefully, "they were using a spell to prevent them from transforming into wolf form despite the full moon. But we broke it – we aren’t going to let those damned beasts hide between innocent bystanders. They are dangerous, always seeking to cause as much destruction and death as possible. You are very lucky you found your dear little wolf boy covered in fries."

"Oh, yeah, what was the deal with the fries?" Lily asked.

"You really are stupid!" the huntsman exclaimed. "You know nothing! Potatoes are the biggest weakness of werewolves. In their vicinity, their strength, wild energy, and killing drive weaken, and in large quantities the werewolf might fall asleep. How purely idiotic of that Luke you hold so dear to hide in a huge pile of fries – that made him completely vulnerable. I would have killed him, too, if not for your meddling."

Actually, Lily thought, I'm pretty sure you are the idiot here. Luke surrounded himself with fries intentionally! He probably wanted to protect innocent bystanders from himself.

"Well," she said out loud, "that was all I needed to know. Thank you for the information." She turned to walk away, but suddenly a thought came to her. "Actually, I do have one more question – "

Lily stopped talking as she saw the huntsman aiming his gun at her once again. "Don't move, witch. Don't say a word, or I'll shoot." He had the most unpleasant, slimy, evil smile she could have ever imagined – in fact, worse than any she had ever imagined. It was extremely disconcerting that someone who spoke of religious righteousness with such fervor could have such a twisted, evil mind.

And to be honest, Lily was really tired of him. She looked him right in the eyes, and spoke.

"Drop. The. Gun."

The huntsman tried yet again to fight the order – she could see it in his eyes – but eventually gave in. The gun fell to the floor, and the man remained seated on the countertop, powerless.

"Now, stay still and answer my question," said Lily. "What did you mean when you said you could use me to find Luke?"

"I don't – "

"Answer truthfully!" she commanded.

"I… I meant that the foolish wolf had probably given you his mark, back then. You will be able to find him by thinking about him and concentrating."

"Thank you," said Lily. She picked up his gun, and then went toward the door.

The huntsman got up from the counter and rushed toward her. Lily did not turn to face him, but raised her hand in the air and said just two words.

"Down, boy."

The huntsman found himself sprawled on the floor, his face painful from the impact. When he looked up, the young witch was gone.