“It’s fun,” Lyra said matching Wren’s ditsy tone. “No big deal. Here everybody just hold out your wrists.” She giggled as she turned her arm over and held it out in in the center of our circle to show us what to do.
We all held out our wrists.
“Get ready for the show to begin,” Gia added sarcastically.
Then all of a sudden Lyra reached out and scratched my wrist wide open with her fingernail that was shockingly sharp and hooked like a claw.
“Oh, God!” I pulled back in horror, but Wren held me down. She was unbelievably strong. By now blood was gushing from my wrist. It was just pouring out. I was struggling to get away, but Wren wouldn’t let up.
“Everlasting beauty, every boy will love you, superhuman strength…” Gia laughed.
Lyra reached out and scratched her sisters’ wrist. They loved it as the blood poured forth from their bodies.
“Hold still,” Wren commanded me.
I was screaming and crying by now. I urinated on myself and then threw up on Wren.
“Get ahold of yourself,” Wren sneered as she slapped me in the face.
I struggled to get up and almost made it to my feet, but Lyra pulled me back down.
“Sisters for eternity,” the three girls sang.
Lyra forced my bloody arm up in the circle and the triplets held their bleeding arms against mine.
I gagged and vomited again.
Strange tingling sensations began to rush through my body now. I feared this was the first stages of death. I thought I was going to die from blood loss. I knew slashing a wrist was the cause of death for many successful suicides.
Were these girls trying to kill us all? They were losing just as much blood as I was, but they seemed excited by it. I continued to struggle to get away though my efforts were futile. They didn’t let up on me and kept my bleeding wrist pressed against theirs.
“Blood sisters,” they said at once. It was like they were of one mind knowing just when to talk aloud in unison.
I started to feel terrible pains in my feet and legs. It was like my innards were reforming—stretching, twisting, turning.
Lyra let go of me and I fell on my back to the ground. “Just give into it, sweetheart,” she said softly.
“You will thank us later,” Wren sighed.
Gia got up. “I hate this part.” She walked over to the cliff as I watched her, my eyes wide with horror.
It felt like knives were stabbing through my back. The sensations of millions of needles penetrating my pours and twisting through the membranes shocked my senses further. I had never imagined death would feel like this. The pain was excruciating. I felt like my bones were being stretched and then like I was being run over by a car.
While it was happening Wren started explicating the history of their miserable existence. I think she was addressing me. “Gia, Lyra, and I are Pisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepi,” she said. “We are the children of the Greek river god, Achelous. Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility, turned us into sirens after she discovered we did not stop the abduction of her daughter and our dear playmate, Persephone. We were just too scared. That’s all. But Demeter would not listen…”
If only I could find the strength, I would tear Wren apart. I wanted her to pay for what she had done to me. Hatred burned through my veins.
She wouldn’t stop talking, “We are sirens. The boys playing the drums by the bonfire are our slaves as is Dylan.”
My body was writhing on the ground. Foam was coming up from my throat and out of my mouth.
“We are the most seductive creatures in the world,” Lyra added enthusiastically. “The world is your oyster now.”
“Just leave her alone,” Gia mumbled in a pained voice.
“Stay out of it then—she needs to know what she is becoming,” Wren reprimanded her sister. “You will have eternal life.”
“You will be extraordinarily beautiful,” Lyra added.
Wren continued, “All men will fall in love with you. Super strength will be yours by land, water, and air. Your voice will enchant. The world is yours…”
My entire being felt more animal than human now. I just wanted to kill. “Shut up,” I said through gritted teeth. But my mouth didn’t feel normal. I felt the tips of my canines protrude from my lips in sharp points. Was I in hell? I felt like I was reforming into some kind of wild animal, maybe a monster. “What the heck is a siren?” I coughed out the words as I rolled onto my stomach.
Wren laughed. “Our food is the flesh of boys and men. We will tear their bodies apart ravenously and feast on their flesh. No more will we be treated like objects, used and discarded for their pleasure. As sirens, they are ours…”
I thought of the teenage boys that had been found by the coves up north, their torsos torn to shreds. The pains in my body were subsiding now, but I felt too weak to get up. “Did you kill those boys that are talked about all over the news?”
“Aiden, Mike, and Mark?” Lyra asked.
I nodded lightly.
“We know you found my bikini and Mark’s wallet in the woods. Those boys were tasty, but not as delicious as DJ, Logan, and Jeff.” Her voice was soft and reminiscent. “Give it time. You will learn to love our ways. The transition is startling, but you will give in. It is your nature now.”
“The fishing ship is just yonder. It’s time to play,” Gia called out to us. Oddly, I heard her voice both in my mind and in my ears. It was like a telepathic transmission.
Gia lay at the edge of the cliff stretching out her gorgeous body in a tantalizing pose as she held up her lyre and began to strum it softly. Lyra took a similar seductive position beside her sister, draping her long black hair over her bikini top and plucked the harp in rapturous tune. The lovely music vibrated through my very essence as I lay on the ground. The girls were glorious sights and the sounds were breathtaking.
Wren joined beside them singing languorously the most heartfelt song: “Come ye sailors to our shore…” the vocals drew out long and slow.
Flood lights shined on them presumably from the ship’s deck. I could just imagine the lonely seafarers watching them through their binoculars. Their yearnings for the alluring young women must have been great.
I wanted more than anything to join my sisters in song, but I held back as the burning in my throat nearly choked me. I felt like fire was going to come out of my mouth.
“We call you now; we want you more. Come ye sailors to our shore…” Wren’s voice mixed with the instrumentals was the most beautiful sounds the men could possibly fathom. It was like the song of angels.
The melodies continued for some time. And then I heard a loud crashing sound. The cliff shook. I knew what happened. Horror filled my thoughts. My memories of Homer’s Odyssey came back to me.
They had lured the boat’s crew to the craggy shore by hypnotizing them with their bewitching songs. The ship was sinking and the men were swimming toward the rocks to their enchantresses. I knew this was true; I knew the legends of these creatures now.
My body started to stretch and change. This time the process was pleasurable. I rolled on my side and watched my sisters transform as I was into half women, half birds. My teeth elongated into sharp incisors as did theirs. Our legs and feet transformed into that of predatory birds with long talons for tearing flesh. Great wings tore through the skin of our backs. The long feathers were the stone blue color of the ocean. Feathery plumes extended from our tailbones. What beautiful, dangerous creatures we were.
I thought of my mother and father and cried. I thought of Dylan and my high school friends. All my hopes and dreams were shattered. I had become a terrible monster.
Wren, Lyra, and Gia flew off the cliff. Their upper bodies were of human form but their lower halves as well as their teeth and wings were of wild terrors, birds of prey. Magnificent wings soared downward. I struggled desperately not to join them. My hunger was nearly overwhelming, but I held out for now.
At once, I heard the scre
ams through the thrashing of waves, the tearing of flesh. I wanted to kill. But not my sisters. I wanted to rip through masculine skin and organs and taste the blood of my victims in my mouth. My talons dug into the ground as my torso shuddered in disgust with my longings.
There was a cold stillness now. The ocean quieted like it was full. The screams were silenced. I looked up at the stars and my body changed back into that of a girl, a beautiful girl now, I presumed from looking down at my hot, sleek physique. Though I had no mirror, I knew what I was, a dangerous seductress, a forever young diva of heartbreaking power.
I dragged myself to the edge of the cliff in repulsion and threw myself off. I wanted to die. My body tumbled through the air like a falling rock that crashed into the ocean. For some time, I must have been unconscious. I awoke and lifted my head out of the sea.
I wanted to drown myself. I didn’t know if it was possible, but before I could, I heard someone calling me.
“Hailey!” A male voice yelled out into the blue dawn. “Hailey, can you hear me?”
I recognized the vibrations of the sounds. “I’m here!” I waved my arms.
Never could I forget such a beautiful voice. I started swimming toward him. It was Dylan. His desirable face was flushed and wet from the ocean. He had come to rescue me.
I could see him clearly even though we were a considerable distance apart. My vision must have improved immensely in the transformation. I felt my pulse pounding now. My breath became short and rapid.
He gazed at me from across the expanse, his familiar eyes boring into mine. My body tingled all over. I got the feeling that he could see as clearly as I could with my newly advanced vision. With so many emotions rushing through my mind, I couldn’t help but glance away from the intensity of his stare. When I looked back, he grimaced.
My heart sank. He must have seen the changes in my appearance. Was he repulsed? But then he started swimming toward me. My heart pounded even faster now. I couldn’t help it—when he reached me, I threw myself into his arms. He held onto me, probably out of pity and looked at my face.
“Oh, Hailey.” He held me tighter and brushed his hand over my long hair. “What have they done to you?” he said again, his expression falling.
“I’m a monster now,” I mumbled, my voice shaking as I spoke.
“No.” He shook his head and then took my chin into his hand. “You could never be anything other than perfect.” To my surprise, he ran his fingers down my cheek affectionately.
And now he chuckled. I wondered what he could possibly be laughing about. But then his mood shifted and his expression seemed angry.
“Why did you rush off to the island?” He breathed, pulling me away from him.
“Why do you think?” I responded, miffed. My legs were strong in the water now after the transformation. I hardly had to work at all to hold my head up.
He looked away again, and then glanced back at me through his thick black lashes. His emerald green eyes were blazing. “I told you not to go.”
“You should have been clearer about it,” I responded, sternly.
His expression looked pained and then he scoffed. “They would have killed you right there.”
I looked down, feeling embarrassed. He had tried to save me I realized. “You wanted to hurt me, so that I would run back to my parents, right?”
He seemed cold and indifferent now. “Maybe,” he mumbled with a devilish glint in his eyes.
I studied his expression, trying to figure out his angle, but he was unreadable. “I wish I would have taken the cues.”
“Do you?” His eyes appeared to narrow slightly.
His implications surprised me. “What? Do you think I enjoy being tortured against my will?”
His nostrils flared, but he held a grin with some effort. “What you receive in return far exceeds the discomfort.”
I couldn’t believe what he was saying. But he was right on some level. Most girls would die to have the beauty and power of a siren. “I love my parents,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes uncontrollably.
“Come here.” His velvet voice softened as he pulled me to him. “I’m gonna kill Gia, Lyra, and Wren for doing this to you.”
My body tensed as I looked up at his breathtaking face.
His jaw clenched as his mind seemed to reel in torturous thoughts. “They are going to pay for what they did to you.”
I shuddered at his intensity, fearing he was planning to put his life in danger on my behalf. “Can sirens die?” I asked hesitantly.
Looking inward, he mused slyly, “We are eternal creatures, immune to natural diseases, but we can be killed.”
He held me tight for some time. I could feel his heart beating against my chest. Every breath he took sent sensations through my body. I never wanted the moment to end.
“I’m sorry, Hailey.” With his fingers, he brushed my hair out of my face. “I tried to stop them. I tried to save you, but the other slaves grabbed me and tied me up. It kills me to know what you went through.”
“You’ve experienced the same.”
He glanced down at me with troubled eyes. “They converted me too, but the conversion of a slave is less excruciating because we are not natural killers, but scavengers.”
“Come.” He stroked my wet hair again. “Let’s go.” His lips lifted into a wry smile. “Sirens are great swimmers. They only need to come up for air about every twenty minutes. We are similar to dolphins in that way.”
I loved swimming and the idea excited me. We swam underneath the dark waters back to shore hand in hand. The sky was a greyish blue and the earliest hints of morning were approaching. I heard a long howl and I knew it was the wolf greeting me as I lifted from the sea.
We crossed the sand and stopped at the stairs at the bottom of the hill that led up to the campground. When I looked up, I saw there was a police car parked at the top with its light swirling.
Then I heard my mother calling my name from the campground. There was panic in her voice. I yearned to run to her and assure her I was okay. My mind reeling, I stared upwards contemplating what to do.
I couldn’t help it—I started to cry once again. Hatred lifted in me toward the triplets for how they had destroyed my family. My poor mother and father.
“You can’t go back to your parents,” Dylan warned. His dark eyebrows knitted together in worry.
He was right. My stomach churned with that acknowledgement. A tight knot grew in my throat.
“It will terrify them if they see your face. You are recognizable, but not the same.”
I knew I must have appeared as striking as Wren, Lyra, and Gia now. It was almost an ethereal look. Dylan was correct. I knew I could not explain what had happened to me. They would be so terrified at my sudden transformation that I’d probably give them heart attacks.
“I can’t imagine never seeing my parents again,” I whispered somberly as I draped my long wet hair over my shoulder.
“Like you said if you go to them now it would be too shocking. In time you can visit them on occasion. They will think you grew into a striking young woman believing your changes were natural.”
His advice comforted me. It would be painful for my parents now thinking that I disappeared, but in maybe a year I could come back to visit them. That would comfort them knowing that I was alive.
As much as my heart ached, I knew the decision was for the best.
Dylan took me into his arms as we stood there on the shore. “I will take care of you, Hailey. Please don’t cry.” He brushed his finger across my cheek, wiping away a tear.
As sad as I was, being in his strong arms comforted me. Dylan was everything I wanted and more.
He leaned over and kissed my forehead lightly. The warm touch of his soft lips sent electricity through my body. The feeling was even more powerful than I could have imagined. He held his cheek against mine. My feelings grew in intensity and I knew that he was my one and only true love. I hoped he desired me as I did him. Together we
could soar to great heights.
And then I heard it. The song. It was loud in my mind. “Do you hear that?” I asked Dylan.
“I do,” he breathed, resting his hand against my heart.
The sky was growing lighter. “We have to go.” My back grew in pleasure now. I reached around and touched between my shoulder blades. There was a bulge moving under my skin like a soothing massage.
He held out his hand and we jogged toward the ocean. The hump broke through my skin as did his. I let out a loud wail as I ran. Our feet started lifting from the ground. Our wings were huge and expansive. They pulled us up into the grey blue sky.
The song was so powerful, a splendorous beckoning. Dylan’s heartbeat was entwined with mine. I heard the sounds of his body rhythms like they were my own. I wanted to be with him forever.
Wren, Lyra, Gia, and the gorgeous slave boys were high in the sky. They were calling us and we had no choice but to join them. As we flew up, we took hands with the flock acknowledging each other.
A part of me wanted to tear them to shreds for what they had done to my folks. I wanted them dead. They should pay. But the other part of me, the instinctual part, yearned to be with them. We were of the same flock and as much as I hated them, I was them.
We dropped our wings. They folded into our backs and we dived through the air, soaring downward in a great free fall right into the blue shimmering sea.
Part 2
CHAPTER ONE
There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors. –JIM MORRISON
The music at The Highbar nightclub in Las Vegas was loud and entrancing. I could feel it in my veins. Everything within me wanted to sing, to cry out my passions, but I held in my pain. Palm trees lined the rooftop swimming pool, swaying in the hot night wind. Young people with the odors of warm, coursing blood chatted on lounge chairs, in standing clusters, and from the overlooking hotel balconies. I dug my fingernails into the cushion of my chair.
Dylan and I were sitting outside at a round table watching everything. We had perfect seats with great views of the surroundings. At present I was trying not to attack the girls in platform shoes and sparkly costumes who were dancing on the bar top to the side of us. It was quite a show like hot juicy steaks before the face of a predator in starvation. They were doing cancan kicks in a line now with their arms connected to each other. They were taunting me.
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