My Immortal Playlist (The Siren Collection #1)

by St. Clair, Julius

  “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  She picked up her binder and hid her face behind it.

  “So what are we talking about today?” I asked, looking behind Lucas to Margaret.

  “Not much,” she said flatly. “Since we’ve already taken care of the dance. Don’t have to worry about anything, at least for another month.”

  “Well, it’s never too late to get started, is it?”

  “Why are you so eager to get involved all of a sudden?”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said, standing up to address them all. “The thing is, I know I’ve been horrible. Making you all do the work while I went off and played. That’s not fair to you, and even though I did you wrong, you still kept a seat for me at this table. I really appreciate that, and I hope I can make it up to you. Please forgive me for not being a sister…and a friend.”

  “You’ll always be our sis,” Justin said in a muffled tone.

  “What did you do to her?” Theresa said, looking directly at Lucas. “You must be doing something right to get her to apologize like that.”

  “She did that on her own,” he said. “If anything, she’s the one trying to show me the straight and narrow.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Theresa said, her eyes still locked on Lucas’ lips. “So…what’s so special about Alexandra that it makes you want to repent of your ways? Because I might need a conversion.”

  I sat down slowly and glared at her.

  “If I didn’t know any better,” I said to her. “I would think you were jealous.”

  “Shhh,” she shooed me away. “The grown-ups are talking.”

  “What did you say?!” I shouted at her. I reached out to grab her hair, but Lucas held me at bay. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “So what is it?” Theresa addressed Lucas. “You attracted to the petite girls these days?”

  “It’s none of your business who I’m attracted to. As long as you know it’s not you.”

  “Theresa, you’re making a scene,” Margaret whispered, but Theresa ignored her.

  “So what? I’m not woman enough for you?”

  “Wait,” I said. “You two didn’t go out, did you?”

  “No, honey,” Theresa said, winking at me. OMG, I hated it when people my age called me honey. “We didn’t date at all. But we were well acquainted, weren’t we?”

  “Stop your lies,” Lucas laughed. “This is the first time we were ever this close physically.” He turned his attention to me. “She’s been trying to worm her way into my lap for the past year, and she never succeeded.”

  “But this one does,” she seethed, pointing at me. “Why is that? What makes her so special?”

  “Thanks, Theresa,” I said to her. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that for the sake of our relationship.”

  “She’s a Siren,” Justin yawned, getting up to stretch. “But that’s not what attracts him to her.”

  “What?!” I screamed at him, but then I immediately caught myself and calmed down. How did Justin know everything? He couldn’t be human. I could tell Lucas was doing all he could to ignore the stoner’s comment.

  “Well, Justin’s right about one thing,” Theresa scoffed. “This little…union, will end up in a train wreck. You know what happens to every guy she ends up with? They go missing or they leave the town altogether. You’re no different.”

  “Why are you saying this?” I cried out to her. “I thought we were friends.”

  “Yeah, we were,” she said, grimacing my way. “But that’s before you got with him.”

  “How was I supposed to know you were in love with him?”

  “If you were here, you would have known.”

  “Apparently I ruin everything I touch, so all you have to do is wait it out, right?”

  “Yeah, but then Lucas will be leaving town or have ended up in a ditch.”

  “That’s enough,” Lucas said, glaring at Theresa hard. “The facts are – I’m with Alexandra. Deal with it. If you can’t, we’ll be more than happy to find another table.”

  “No, don’t leave,” Margaret pleaded.

  “No, don’t,” Theresa smiled. “I’ll behave.” I didn’t like the way she was staring at Lucas when she said that.

  “Doubt it,” Justin said as he rubbed his eyes. “Hey, is this fifth period?”

  “It’s lunchtime,” I said to him. He nodded and started looking around.

  “Does that mean there’s food?” he asked, turning back to me.

  “Yes. That’s what lunchtime usually means.”

  “I’ll drown out your sarcasm with sweet and sour sauce,” he said with a smile, getting up to head to the lunch line.

  “We have to talk to him,” Lucas said, and I nodded. I patted his shoulder.

  “You stay here. I’ll do it.”

  “You think that’s a good idea?”

  “We can hear you, honey,” Theresa said, giving me a fake smile. I sighed and closed my eyes.

  “Yeah, stay here,” I said to Lucas. “You hungry? I could grab some food for you too.”

  “A perfect specimen such as himself,” Theresa replied. “Wouldn’t need chicken nuggets.”

  “Oh yeah?” I said to her. “Well, love makes you fat.” I turned back to Lucas. “So get ready for some calories.” Lucas scowled, but I ignored it and got up from my seat to join Justin in line. As I left I heard Lucas mutter: “I don’t know how to feel about that comment Alex just made.”

  I laughed as I stood behind Justin. His shoulders were slumped over and he was scratching his head through his skull cap. I tapped his back and he turned around so slow that I thought the gesture didn’t even register.

  “Hey, Alex,” he said, then started turning back to face forward. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face me.

  “I want to talk to you,” I whispered.

  “It’s chicken nugget day.”

  “What?”

  “You wanted to know what day it was, right?”

  “It’s always chicken nugget day, Justin.”

  “Oh, then why are you asking?”

  “That’s not what I wanted to ask…I was going to ask you why you think I’m a Siren.”

  “You are a Siren,” he said, then he turned to cough into a fist.

  “You sound like you’re confident in that statement,” I muttered.

  “You’re the Siren. You don’t know what you are?”

  “No. I know who I am.”

  “Then why are you asking me? Alex, you got to get your brain checked. You didn’t even know it was chicken nugget day when every day is chicken nugget day.”

  “No, no,” I said, leaning in closer to him so no one would hear me. “What I want to know is how you found out, and…why you haven’t told anyone.”

  “You know what I do after school?” he asked, giving me a wide smile.

  “No.”

  “I get high.”

  “Okay,” I giggled. “What does that have to do with me being a Siren?”

  “People think I’m just a burnout…well, I guess I am, but no one notices me. I’m like the grass,” he lifted his eyes to stare at the wall behind me. “Yeah. I’m like the grass. I blend in. People can like…trample me or walk by me, and I’m right in their face, but they’re so used to it…oh man, I have to write this down.”

  He whipped a pen out of his pocket, pulled up a sleeve and began writing on his forearm in scribbles.

  “Um,” I said as I watched him. “So…you’ve been stalking me.”

  “Nah,” he said, still scribbling. “But I’ve seen you grab dudes and bring them back to your place. That’s when I followed you. That’s when I stalked you. But not before. There’s a difference.”

  “And then what? What did you see?”

  “Stuff that made me think about quitting smoking. I thought it was the hash.”

  “Maybe you were having a hallucination.”

  “It wasn’t the hash,” he said firmly, finishing his scribbles an
d pie charts. He put the pen back in his pocket and lifted his head to stare back at me with his blood shot eyes.

  “So why haven’t you told anyone?”

  “Because we’re sisters.”

  “Okay,” I tried to stifle a laugh. “But don’t you think what I’m doing is wrong?”

  “Not exactly in a place to judge right now,” he chuckled. “Though…you’ll definitely get in a lot more trouble for murder. If they catch you.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re being so casual about this. I kill people.”

  “Yeah, but it’s because you’re a Siren. People understand when they know that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know all those movies out there? Vampires? Werewolves? Ghosts? Angels?”

  “Yeah. They’re very popular.”

  “People dig that stuff. They think it’s boring being human. They want to fly and transform and be pitied because they can’t control their urges and stuff. Humans can stop our stuff if we want to, but those creatures in the movies? It’s natural.”

  “So my killing is justified?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not a Siren. Is it?”

  “I have no clue.”

  “Then why are you asking me?” he turned back around and I let him be. I had been playing human so long…maybe it was time for me to consider embracing my Siren heritage. I might even learn more about the rituals.

  “Hey, so Lucas knows what you are?” he asked me, his back still facing me.

  “Um, yes,” I said, unsure if I should tell him. He already figured out a ton on his own. Might as well be truthful.

  “Oh cool. Then you know all about him too. Glad you guys worked it out.”

  “I know he had a sketchy past, but we’ve moved past that.”

  “Man, Casper’s just becoming the meeting place for mythological creatures.”

  “I know. When I – wait, what do you mean?” He turned to face me.

  “Wait. What are we talking about?”

  “With Lucas, you were referring to his gang, right?”

  “No…” he trailed off. “Oh man, I messed up again. I shouldn’t be talking when I’m hungry. My brain gets fuzzy.”

  “Justin,” I said, grabbing his shoulders. “Tell me what’s wrong with Lucas.”

  “I shouldn’t.”

  “Is he human?”

  “Far as I know.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “It’s his aunt.”

  “What about her?”

  “You should ask him yourself.”

  “If you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to eat all of your chicken nuggets!” I shouted in his face. He looked at me in horror, but I think it was over the possible loss of his food and not so much my tone.

  “She’s a Siren too,” he said. “I thought maybe that’s why you two got together. Kind of like an arranged marriage thing.”

  I let him go, and I refused to look at him. Another Siren? Here in Casper? What were the odds? That two Sirens, a dying species, could be living in the same meaningless town? Unless…

  This Siren was here to examine me. Seeing if I was safe to approach.

  No, that couldn’t be it. Lucas had been living in Casper for a few years. Surely, his aunt would have come to me by now, unless it truly was a coincidence, and she didn’t know of my existence.

  Is that why Lucas stuck with me? To get more information? Learn how many transformed prisoners I had under me and how powerful I was? Was that why he came back even after Noah dumped him outside of Angelo’s?

  I looked over at Lucas. He was bored, leaning his elbows onto the table and trying not to fall asleep while Margaret and Theresa argued about something. I couldn’t believe he was just using me…but then again, he had been a good liar with the other airheaded girls. Maybe it just took a little longer for me to fall under his charms.

  I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t…

  Justin caught me as I fell forward, and that was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

  TRACK 16 – Doomed (The Pamela Experience)

  “Are you okay?” Lucas asked as my eyes fluttered open. My head was lying in his lap and we were in my car. I shot up to attention and scurried over to the passenger seat.

  “How did you get in my car?” I demanded. He laughed. “And why is the heat on?!”

  “Your car doesn’t lock, and your keys were in your back pocket. I figured it was good for us not sit in the cold.”

  “What were you doing feeling around in my back pocket?!”

  “I just grabbed the keys. It’s not like I did anything else,” he chuckled. “What’s wrong? You seem uptight.”

  “Do I look different?”

  “No,” he replied, and I pulled down the passenger side mirror and examined my face. Nothing changed. Not that it should have. I had fed so recently, there was no reason for my body to be getting ready for another hunt. The only other explanation was that I had fainted out of anxiety. A little bit of stress perhaps.

  “What happened?” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

  “I was hoping to ask you. You were talking to Justin, then you yelled at him, and then you passed out. Justin wouldn’t explain why, but he was dodging my questions like he was afraid of me. What were you two talking about?”

  Now that I had gained my composure, I studied his face carefully. It was full of concern and worry, but I wasn’t sure if I could have believed it. He seemed so foreign to me now, and in my mind, we were right back to the first day we met. He was still gorgeous, but just as dangerous.

  “What do you think got me so upset?” I asked him. It was his last chance. To come clean. To tell me the truth. I had already revealed so much about myself, and if he was really planning on taking what he learned to turn it against me, it didn’t matter how I felt about him. I would have to perform the ritual on him as soon as possible.

  I didn’t have anything to knock him out in the car, but I promised myself to change that from that day forward.

  “I have no idea why you’re upset,” he said, attempting to take my hand. I snatched it away. That should have been a good clue for him.

  “You have no idea why I’m mad?”

  “It seems like you’re upset with me.”

  “Am I?”

  “I don’t know. Are you?” he asked in exasperation. He was getting frustrated.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Tell me why.”

  “Did Justin tell you something about my past?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Listen, I’m sorry that I was with those girls. They really didn’t mean anything to me. I wish I could take that back now that I’ve met you, but I can’t.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me, so we can move on.”

  “There might not be any moving on with what I’ve just found out.”

  He studied my face meticulously, my eyes, my pursed lips, and my clenched fists, and realization came upon his face. But he wasn’t ready to surrender just yet. He had no way of knowing for sure what I was talking about, and he was preparing to keep it a secret until the bitter end. I shook my head as I felt my cheeks flush with disappointment. My eyes were already beginning to water as I grit my teeth.

  “I trusted you,” I said slowly. “With everything. I showed you who I was.”

  “And I did the same,” he said softly.

  “No. No you didn’t. You’re still hiding, and I don’t know if I can trust you ever again after this.”

  “That’s not fair. We’re still getting to know each other. It’s not like we’re a couple of days away from our wedding. We’ve barely met.”

  “Still,” I said, punching him in the arm. “Knowing what I am. Knowing what I do…you could have at least told me your aunt was a Siren!”

  It was like I had hit him in the chest with a shotgun. His entire body reeled back and his face changed instantly, from one of innocence, to that of dark
sorrow. Without a word, he adjusted himself in the driver’s seat so that he was facing forward. I was breathing so hard that I couldn’t even ask what he was doing at first.

  “I’m taking you to see her now,” he said like a zombie, putting the car into drive.

  “Who says I want to?” I snapped at him, taking my cell phone out of my pocket and beginning to text Elliot. “But if we are headed there, I’m calling for back-up.”

  “No!” he said, trying to slap the phone out my hand, but I dodged the attempt. “Don’t do that! That’s the last thing you want to do!”

  “Why? What’s she going to think? That’s I’m a threat? She’s the one who made the first move by making me fall for her spy!”

  “It’s not like that,” he said quietly, driving out the parking lot. “But I promise that I’ll tell you everything from now on.”

  “It’s too late.”

  “If you’re going to ask for back-up, can you at least have them wait outside the house? If they walk in with us, I guarantee that things will end bad for this entire town.”

  “What is she? Some super Siren?”

  “She has more power than you can imagine,” he said, turning to me for a second.

  “I’m not afraid of her.”

  “You will be,” he said ominously. I texted Elliot the details, but I made sure to tell him and the boys to stay outside the house. I shut off my phone once I was done and drilled a hole through Lucas’ skull with my eyes.

  “You know we’re done,” I said to him, and I could see him grip the steering wheel harder.

  “I hope not,” he replied.

  “How are we supposed to come back from this?”

  “We came back from Reign and his gang attacking us. We’ll survive this too. Listen, I may not have been completely honest with you, and yes, I was sent to you to retrieve information, but…the feelings are real. What I said about not being able to get you out of my head. That weekend without you…that’s where everything changed. I wanted to get to know you for me, and not my aunt. I care about you more than you could know. Can you blame me for waiting to tell you about this? You were thinking of doing the same.”

  “It’s different,” I said, calming down a bit. “You were purposely sent to spy on me. You could have at least told me that much. Even if it was something like, your aunt suspected I was a monster and she needed some evidence. As crazy as it sounds, I could forgive that way more than this. But no, she’s a straight up Siren getting ready to do who knows what to me.”