Siren
“Elias, could you.. Oh, I am sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
“Don’t worry, Jon. Please meet Captain Peter Lukas, our most generous donor.’ Peter huffed, amused. ‘Mr. Lukas, this is Jonathan Sims. The Archivist”
The way Elias said it made Jon’s skin crawl unpleasantly, but he didn’t know why. He forced a polite smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lukas. ” He extended a hand, but Peter did not shake it, so Jon just stood there awkwardly for a second and then cleared his throat.
“Maybe I will come by later… ”
“Have you heard about sirens, Archivist? ” Peter said out of nowhere, clearly deep in his thoughts. Jon blinked.
“Um… Yes, of course. The… Mythical creatures that lure sailors with their song to eat them alive? Those sirens? ”
“Indeed,” Peter said cheerfully and looked at him, or at least in his direction.
“Have you met any, Captain?” Jon asked, rather amused.
“Oh, I have.” Peter smiled, looking at Elias, who only rolled his eyes but looked pleased. “Those who are not careful often find themselves… Entangled in the siren’s song. Some people just can’t help themselves; they simply need to know.” Jon blinked, confused, whether Peter was talking seriously or just joking.
“Be careful, Archivist.”
“I don’t think I will be meeting any sirens in the archives.” Jon laughed awkwardly. He really wanted to leave.
“You never know. This one is particularly vicious. ” Peter said, looking at Elias, and stood up. Elias did the same thing, smiling. “Mr. Bouchard.”
“Captain Lukas. Should I expect you in a few months?”
“If you will sing loud enough.” Elias let himself laugh, and Jon could swear that Peter just vanished, and only then he realized that there was a fog in the office, and now it also disappeared, but the office was still slightly dim.
“W..where is he?”
“Just left.” Elias blinked, looking confused . “You must be tired, Jon. And don’t worry about his antics, he is an odd man. You needed something?” Jon nodded slowly and started talking about the statement he had found.
Next time Jon met Peter Lukas, he knew exactly what he meant, and Peter only smiled coldly at him.
“I warned you, Archivist.”