Sipping her tea, she sat in comfortable silence in the garden, the moonlight shining beautifully on her father's prized red roses. Pausing when she heard a rustling from nearby, she shrugged it off and finished her tea. Standing with the intention of going back inside, she gathered her things and paused again when the rustling became louder.

"Stupid animals. They need to be exterminated," she muttered underneath her breath as she reached for the sliding glass door leading back into her comfortable, warm house. As her hand reached for the handle, she was yanked backwards by the hair. Screaming as what felt like claws digging into the back of her scalp, she was thrown onto the ground suddenly which caused her to scream louder. Feeling something big jump on top of her, she was effectively pinned to the ground and it only made her panic more.

Screaming loudly, she coughed as something suddenly wrapped around her throat. Struggling to breathe and get away, her frightened blue eyes locked onto the creature on top of her and she nearly passed out as she got a good look at it. The thing had large yellow eyes and a human body. Its face was far from human, however. Large teeth snapped at her as the claws tightened around her neck and she sobbed.

"We should all just be exterminated human? It's that what you said?" it hissed, throwing its head back and laughing as the girl started to struggle more.

Shaking her head, she bucked underneath the creature, trying to get it off her but it did nothing but cause the thing to grip her even more tightly.

"Such a beautiful garden. Don't you know such a sweet and visually appealing garden attracts the strangest creatures?" it whispered into her ear, its forked tongue coming out to trace her ear. Tilting its head back, it let out a scream that closely resembled a howl and then jerked down so its sharp teeth were mere inches away from the girl's throat. "Silly human. You were just begging to be eaten!"

Bringing its head down to bite her neck, it screeched in pain suddenly and then in another second, it's head was severed from its body, blood splashing over the girl's entire face. Screaming in horror, she scrambled to get up and found herself being yanked against a soft body as a hand clamped over her mouth.

"Be quiet," it hissed. "Now, I want you to listen to me, all right?"

The girl sobbed but nodded.

"I want you to go inside, wash off that blood, and pretend none of this ever happened," the voice whispered. "I'm going to let go of you and I want you to go inside immediately. By the time you look out your window, we will be gone and this night will never be spoken of again."

Letting go of her, the girl ran to the door and slammed it behind her, closing the blinds quickly. Sighing, she wiped the blood on her dress and turned around to see someone jumping out of a tree.

"Your cut was a little messy. Feeling tired?"

Sneering at the tall and lean dark haired man, she put on a pair of gloves and reached for the head. "Like you could do better."

"I tracked the damn thing here."

"Whatever."

Another individual emerged from the darkness and frowned. "Will you two stop it? We need to hurry up and get these remains destroyed. The longer we wait, the more time the Chaos will have to regenerate."

Grabbing a lighter out of her pocket, she nodded for the shorter male to pour the gasoline over the carcass and then she threw the lighter on it. "Let's get going before that girl decides she want to come out here."

"Did you put up the containment spell?"

"Eve, of course, I did. We don't need its soul running loose now do we?"

Smiling softly at the male, she nudged him and then glared at the man behind her. "I suppose I should thank you for sensing it."

"And I should thank you for killing it but I don't like to do things that will cause me to be physically ill and I'm sure the same goes for you."

"You know what, Markus? You can go to hell and I will gladly send you there!" she hissed, reaching for the dagger at her side but before she could throw it at him, the smaller male grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"Valentine, if you would just let me do it, things would be a lot quieter," she argued.

"Eve, get in the car," he muttered, sighing as she slid into the front passenger seat.

"I'm sorry, Markus. You know how my sister can be."

"You did pretty well tonight," Markus commented as he glanced over at him. It was hard not to smile when the male muttered something and turned away in embarrassment.

"It was only a Chaos and besides, you're the one that tracked him."

"My sister killed him for us. She is a pretty good shot."

"If she had aimed a little lower, she would've hurt that girl. I thought the point of all this was so we avoided hurting innocents?"

"You know how she can be in the heat of the moment," he explained with a small smile. "Eve gets over excited."

"Let's go!" Eve shouted as she stuck her head out the window. "I hear sirens and the last thing we need is the police on our tail again. Thanks for that by the way, Markus."

Gritting his teeth, he slid into the backseat as Valentine hopped in the front seat. "Ready?" he asked, all of them ducking their heads when a police car rolled by. "You're right, Eve. We really should get out of here before we get caught. That is the last thing we need right now."

Staring the car, he pulled out of the parking space and drove off quickly.

At least they hadn't gotten caught this time.

xXx

"So what does the news article say again?"

Growling at him, she threw the newspaper in the backseat and snapped that it was on the front page. "It says that a young man by the name of Oscar, who had recently moved from California, disappeared late last night. He was last seen on the La Jolla beach walking with a young woman."

"Why is this concerning?" Valentine asked.

"The article says this is the fourth report of a missing male from this beach this year."

"So, what is California like?" he asked Markus with a soft smile.

"Hot. Very hot and crowded. I didn't care for the place very much."

"Why don't you go somewhere else then? You know a place far away from us."

"I said I'm saying with you until I repay my debt to your much nicer brother."

To put it simply, they were hunters. Trying to keep the balance between the supernatural and humans was difficult and they fell into it accidentally. The twins were born with gifts and always felt different. Orphaned at a young age, with their psychic abilities they were able to get a sense of the things that lurked in the dark and when Valentine was attacked by a Lycan one night, barely escaping with his life after Eve injured it, she had an idea. They were only teenagers then, barely seventeen but she felt like they should study and do this once they left the foster system.

It was an odd career choice, but Valentine went along with it and when they turned eighteen, they moved out west. There they pored over article after article and stumbled upon something. Their first creature was a failure. It got away but they tried harder and were able to come through. Five years later, they ran into Markus, a dark arts magic user who had been nearly killed by a clan of vampires. Valentine was able to heal the man enough so he could help him stand and get him out of harm's way.

He had been a dark arts user but he still had his honor and had agreed to offer his services to Valentine for an undetermined amount of time and then he would leave. It had been a year since then and he still had yet to leave much to the dislike of Eve who did not care for the man one bit.

"What do you think it could be?"

"A water nymph possibly," Markus spoke up. "Given the fact that it's been a few men who have vanished and near the water, leads me to think it's a water nymph."

"It's possible," Eve muttered as she leaned back in the seat. "So how long until California?"

"A few hours so you two better sleep while you can."

"I'll drive in three hours," Eve told him as she closed her eyes.

The drive to California seemed to take longer than any of them wanted and by the time they reached the beach, it was late out. "We need to watch this place for the next few days to really get an idea of what we are dealing with."

"I can be the bait," Valentine offered, shaking his head when his sister started to protest. "We need to get this thing before it kills anymore men."

"We'll see," Markus said firmly, the three of them getting a hotel room close to the beach.

They observed for three days straight but found nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, he grew sick of it all and decided to sit on the beach. Valentine was purposely waiting for someone to approach him and as the sun began to set, he heard someone shuffling beside him and then taking the empty seat.

"You've been sitting out here for nearly two hours. Aren't you lonely?" asked a melodic voice.

Tilting his head to the side, he glanced over at the woman and smiled. She had soft brown hair that spilled down her back with a beautiful blue flower tucked behind her ear. "I like to sit alone sometimes. It gives me time to think. What about you?"

"I enjoy watching the sun set. It's a peaceful and beautiful sight."

"I agree."

"Valentine!"

Glancing behind him, he saw Eve motioning for him to come and as he turned towards the woman he smiled. "Maybe I'll see you here tomorrow?"

"Same time," she said with a soft giggle before standing up.

Turning around he walked to where his sister was standing and frowned at her. "I wish you hadn't done that. I was getting close."

"You think she is the nymph?" Eve whispered in his ear.

"Her eyes were a deep blue and had a darkness to them. Only a creature of the water has those kind of eyes."

"We need to get rid of her because she is obviously waiting to attack again," she hissed as they went back to the hotel room.

"Were you out on the beach?" Markus asked dryly, sighing when he nodded.

"I found the nymph or at least I think I did. She had the eyes of the ocean."

"What exactly is she doing with all these men she is taking?"

Markus had to shrug. "It's never something I've heard of before. Usually, nymphs are not harmful but the ones that can become dangerous are the water nymphs. They are the worst out of all of them."

Nodding, Valentine decided he would be the one to go out tomorrow because the nymph was interested in him and no one else currently.

"I want to forbid you to do it," Eve muttered later that night and Valentine just gave her a cocked smile that she wanted to smack off his face. "Don't look at me like that!" she snapped.

"Eve, I'll be fine. We can all handle ourselves," he assured her as he rolled over and said a soft goodnight to her before closing his eyes.

Lying there Eve huffed and glanced over at Markus lying on the couch. Sneering at him, she pulled the blankets over her and closed her eyes, eventually falling asleep herself.

In the morning, she found the room to be empty and panicked until she heard voices coming from out on the small deck.

"Be careful you don't look into her eyes for too long. That is how she can trap her victims and I imagine that's how those other men died."

"What do you think she is doing to them?"

"I can't really come to any conclusive answers because I've never heard of this before."

"In your dark magic days did you encounter any nymphs?"

"I am still a dark magic user, Valentine. Don't forget that."

Cocking a smile, he shifted closer to Markus and Eve grimaced, clenching her teeth as she forced herself to look away. "You know that doesn't bother me. I trust you."

"Your sister doesn't."

"Does it really matter?"

"No, because I am here to assist you and not her."

"I would like it if you two could get along."

"That will never happen."

Valentine seemed to smile softly and then he glanced over his shoulder to find Eve watching them with a dark look in her eyes. Smiling at his sister, he walked in and told her good morning before heading out the door. "Are you going to wait on the beach already?" she asked in an angry tone.

"Yes. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled because she will surely try to hypnotize me."

"Did you make a block?" Eve asked, referring to a psychic block a gifted person was able to use to prevent other people from reading or controlling their mind.

"Of course I did."

Stepping out on the door, he sat on the beach and drew his knees to his chest. For a while he just sat there enjoying the sun and as the time passed on, he wondered if the woman was really going to come. He would be disappointed if she didn't and then would think of another plan if needed. She needed to be stopped before she killed anymore men.

"There you are again."

Glancing up, he saw the woman looking down at him and smiled faintly. Patting the seat next to him, he looked over at her as she sat down next to him and shifted slightly. They sat there, talking until the sun started to set. Feeling her move closer, he looked at her and was only mildly surprise when she leaned close and kissed him softly on the lips. "You are forward aren't you?"

"I'm only trying to thank you for this day. It was simple but very pleasant. Will you not accept my expression of thanks?"

Nodding, he kissed her again and as the kiss became deeper, he felt himself getting drawn in but he made to not to get drawn in too much. If he did, he would certainly fall into her trap. Allowing himself to be pulled up, she was leading him to a closed off area and then sea and as his feet brushed the water, his glazed over eyes suddenly snapped back to looking clear. Looking into her face, he saw her mouth splitting unnaturally and it hit him.

This nymph was the rarest of water nymphs. Most did not eat much other than fish and small sea animals but some, driven but hunger became crazed and there was no way back. They would sometime lure human male – females occasionally – and then eat them. He hadn't remembered this until now and as he watched the mouth reaching to close over his neck, he snapped his fingers and then three stones flew towards him. They lined up in a perfect triangle around the nymph and then he felt fangs pierce his neck.

"Markus!"

Wincing, he heard Markus chanting something but it was muffled as the pain of the fangs finally started to get to him. Then the nymph released him and he was thrown out of the invisible cage keeping the nymph trapped. Landing on the ground, he reached for his injured neck and swallowed when he saw the blood on his hand.

"You goddamned idiot!" Eve screeched, falling to her knees as she ripped off a part of her dress to press against his neck. "Hold it there," she hissed as she turned to the nymph but before she could attack her, Markus stopped her.

"Eve, sit this one out. You're angry and you might get sloppy."

"You didn't even let me in on any of this!"

"It was your brother's idea and it was a good idea. I will not betray his trust."

Growling, she stood back and took a deep breath, watching as the nymph threw herself against the shield and hissed loudly, cursing them in her language but a mad nymph's curse would never go that far.

"Go to hell you water-bitch," she screamed, kicking the stone away and aiming the knife for her heart. Twisting it, she gripped the knife tightly and then yanked it back out. Attacked to the knife was the heart, beating wildly. "We need to burn this. At least that way her victims' souls will be released from the ocean."

Nodding, Markus helped Valentine up and Eve twitched when he whispered something in his ear and her brother leaned against him. "We'll rest for the next two days before we move on. Valentine needs it."

"I wouldn't stay otherwise," she grumbled, as she followed them, the beating heart still attached to the knife.

When they got back to their room, she burned it and the souls were finally free.