The councilman's eyes fell on the person inside the cell, and he questioned Deacon, "Why are some of the prisoners put here when there are vacant cells up there?"
Following the councilman's line of sight, Deacon's eyes fell on the person who was hurled in a fetal position, with bare legs visible but head hidden in the dark because of the lack of light in this part of the dungeon. The head guard turned to the councilman and explained,
"The one's at the top are noisier than these ones. Also some here are not worth mentioning and are better forgotten with the long-term punishment before being put up there," Deacon wasn't interested in talking about these prisoners when he wanted to find the human. The woman didn't know what was coming at her for trying to escape, thought the head guard.
"Have these prisoners shifted at the top. And look at the dust collected here along with cobwebs!" Mr. Cripps scolded before looking away from the cell.
The guard who carried the torch looked closely at the prisoners inside the cells. He then reached the cell where Eve was.
As he stepped closer, so did the light crawl on the ground, inching closer to where Eve lay.
Sensing the brightness in the cell increased, Eve clenched her jaws and her hands turned into fists while trying to keep her heart still without letting it fluctuate much. The light from the torch had entered the cell, and as the guard moved closer, Deacon's attention went back to the cell, ready to catch sight of the woman they were searching for.
The light moved closer to Eve, ready to touch her, when another person ran in, calling the councilman's attention.
"Mr. Cripps!"
This pulled Deacon and the rest of the men's attention away from the person in the cell. It was a councilman who had entered the passage.
It was a fellow councilman, who whispered something in Mr. Cripps's ears, and on hearing whatever news was informed, the councilman's face turned sour. Mr. Cripps turned to Deacon and said, "I will be back in a few minutes. Find the woman and bring her quick. This is your territory and neither you nor your guards have been able to find her. Pathetic."
The two councilmen left the corridor as if they had to attend to a pressing matter immediately.
Deacon turned to his guards and demanded, "Where the fuck is that bitch?"
The underling guards quickly bowed, and one said, "We have been searching for her, but we haven't been able to find her so far. It's like she disappeared in ai--"
Deacon slapped the man to get him quiet, "What the fuck do you mean she disappeared in thin air? The guards at the gates have not left and there's no way she knows how to get out of here. She's somewhere in here, so you better start looking for her. Because it was your carelessness that she's out of her cell!" He glared at the guards.
Blood dripped from the guard's mouth as Deacon had slapped hard. The head guard ordered, "Keep looking for her. We aren't going to stop until we find that woman."
"Yes!!" The guards replied collectively and dispersed from there.
Soon Deacon left the place and walked away where Eve had earlier walked, which finally turned the passage on this side of the dungeon quiet again.
Eve didn't move for the first few seconds, fearing someone would return. When she was sure there was no one, she turned her body and took a peek to see no one outside the cell. Getting up, she decided to leave her outer dress in the corner of the cell and stepped out before continuing to walk and hide.
She wondered how much longer she would be able to keep herself from being caught. She wondered if she had any luck escaping because even the councilman who had spoken to Deacon seemed cruel.
Away from where Eve was, the two councilmen continued to walk. Mr. Cripps questioned,
"What is he even doing here?!"
The other councilman who worked for Mr. Cripps looked nervous and said, "He told me he was here to tour the place."
Mr. Cripps clicked his tongue in distaste and said, "Bullshit! He's here to steal the case from us. Where is he now?"
"Right at the entrance, Sire," replied the other councilman as they continued to walk through the passages. When they reached the entrance, he said, "I saw him right here," he frowned.
Mr. Cripps looked around before calling the guard at the entrance and questioned, "Did Mr. Moriarty leave?"
"Mr. Moriarty?" The guard asked before answering, "He went inside looking for you."
"For me?" Mr. Cripps questioned. He turned around, once again stepping inside the dungeon. "We need to find him or this woman. This case is ours, and the sooner we close it, the quicker we will have a name for ourselves. Do you understand that?"
"Yes, Sire!" Replied the councilman, following Mr. Cripps back inside the dungeon.
Inside the dungeon, Vincent walked through one of the long passages with quiet and quick footsteps as he looked for the governess. His eyes had turned darker, and a frown on his face. He wondered what condition he would find the mermaid in. He was slightly annoyed.
When he came near the passage that he would have found Eve in if she hadn't escaped, which now was empty. He looked at the prisoners who stared at him.
One of the prisoners commented, "Looks like today we have many high standing visitors here. How fortunate."
Vincent turned to the prisoner and questioned, "A woman was brought in here yesterday. Where has she been taken?"
"Looks like Deacon's woman is in demand, hahaha," the other prisoners laughed and jeered at it.
Vincent would have enjoyed talking here, but at the moment, he wasn't in the mood. Not when his dessert was stolen from him. His eyes fell to the ground, and he picked up the small piece of wood.
He broke it to sharpen the little piece of wood and played it between his fingers. He demanded,
"Do you know where this said woman is?"
But the prisoner only mocked Vincent and said, "Who the fuck knows? She would have been in my cell or next--"
Vincent threw the wooden piece that passed between the rusty rods and then into the vampire's open mouth before getting stuck in the back of the vampire's throat.
"AH! ARGH!" The prisoner caught hold of his neck with both hands and struggled to speak, while his eyes widened because of the pain the sharp wood caused inside his throat.
The other prisoners who were smiling suddenly turned quiet and stared at Vincent.
The other prisoners didn't know what Vincent had done to have one of the inmates groan in pain. One of the prisoners then raised his hand and pointed to his left, "T-they took her this way. The floor below."
Besides guards spread out in different parts of the dungeon, the two councilmen searched for Vincent and the woman while Vincent looked for Eve.
Deacon had turned back and returned through the earlier passage when his baton fell from his hand. He picked it up and was about to leave when he paused and turned to see the cell he had earlier been standing in front of. His eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the previous prisoner there to be missing.
When he got closer, he noticed the woman's dress crumpled and placed in the corner.
"Bitch!" Deacon cursed before running past the cells and looking for her.
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