"What do you drink, Grandmother Sirena?" Estella ventured to ask.
"Green tea," the Elder said slowly, before she smiled. "It reminds me of a kind of kelp I am partial to. A touch of salt and it is the taste of home."
Estella and I bit into our fish. They were cold and tasted stale. I could understand why I might consider human food instead of stale fish. Perhaps tomorrow.
The Elder took a breath and let it out. "I take it you are here to do your duty for our people, to come to shore and carry home a child?"
Estella nodded, her mouth full of fish.
"Then we will purchase clothing that is simple and also revealing. Do you have preferred colours?"
I pointed at my bright dress.
Estella swallowed and said shyly, "I like the colour of your shirt, Grandmother."
The Elder nodded. "Red for Laila and royal blue for Estella. If we purchase clothing carefully, you may not need underwear, if you are only on land for a few weeks. It complicates matters, at times."
51. Joe
Vanessa had gone up to bed, but I stayed downstairs to watch the football. It'd been a long day after a night without much sleep, but it was a live Dockers match and I'd missed a few lately.
I must have fallen asleep on the couch without realising it. I woke up suddenly in the dark. The only sound was the voices of some after-game footy commentary show. The TV screen was dark, but the surround sound was still on.
I thought I heard dolphins. Disoriented, I felt around desperately in the dark, trying to make sure I really was in my own lounge room and not in the water somewhere with murderous dolphins. I'd never been so glad to get my hands on couch cushions.
I groped for the remote and turned the TV back on. The light glinted on bare skin. One, no, two naked women stood in the shadows beside the TV. One of them opened her mouth and began to sing, like a Smurf trying to imitate a dolphin. My thoughts started to go hazy, like I was going back to sleep.
The other naked woman reached for the remote control and took it from my suddenly nerveless fingers. She pressed a button and switched the TV off again.
I tried to sit up, to protest, but I couldn't move. One of them squeaked something at me. She repeated it, twice, but I didn't understand and couldn't speak to tell her so. The other approached me and started tugging at my pants.
"Vanessa?" I asked quietly, my heart lifting at the thought. The woman tugging at my pants held still for a second, then started pulling harder. I managed to lift my hand to push the woman away from me, swatting at her limply.
The singer started again, louder this time. My hand felt boneless and dropped to my side, no longer under my control. The other woman found my belt and started to unbuckle it.
I was helpless to stop them. I couldn't move. My pants slid down my legs. A naked woman crouched over me. She was too little to be my wife. Vanessa will kill me. She'll never believe I just lay here paralysed and let two girls smaller than she is take advantage of me…
"Vanessa!" I shouted as loud as I could. "Vanessa!"
I heard her feet running down the stairs. "Joe? What is it?"
I couldn't speak or move any more.
The steps skidded to a stop. "Silence! Leave him!" Vanessa's voice roared, in an eruption of volcanic temper. "How dare you touch a human under my protection?"
It was her hands that pulled my pants back up. "Joe, are you okay?" she murmured in my ear.
I tried to reply, but I couldn't open my mouth or shake my head. Her lips touched mine, briefly, before she stood up again.
"What did you do to him?" she barked at the two naked women.
A voice I recognised as the taller crazy girl, Laila, ventured a reply. "We did not intend to harm him. We thought that, as he had given you one healthy child and you enjoyed his attentions, he might be amenable to do the same for us."
Vanessa didn't let up. "And when he was not amenable you tried to force him?"
"I tried a song of control, so that he would be more cooperative," Laila protested.
"You think that forcing a human, even under a song, will not harm him? Do you not remember your mother's story of her first journey to shore?" Vanessa thundered. "You would force yourself on an unwilling human when you know the pain such forcing cost her?"
"The Atlantic sisters sing the humans under their control. The humans don't object to this and they are not harmed by it. They did not resist like this one," Laila insisted, pointing at me.
Vanessa's voice was deceptively soft. "And after the Atlantic sisters are done with the humans, they kill them. No human under their control may live to tell the tale. Are you suggesting this is not harmful to the humans?"
Laila squirmed uncomfortably. "No. I returned to our people because I did not want to kill the humans. Our people live in harmony with humans, but in secret." This last sounded memorised.
Vanessa nodded, slowly. "Touching a human without their permission is harmful. If you ever touch or sing to this human again without his or my permission, I will send you both home in disgrace. You will be sent to do your duty on some less hospitable shore. Do you understand me?"
The two girls murmured, "Yes, Elder Sirena."
Vanessa smiled a little. "Besides, neither of you is a strong singer, yet. Believe me, you will get better results with two beers, a pair of visible breasts and a willing human than you did with a song. In addition, the humans will not suspect you are anything but human. I suggest you try beer first." She took a breath and let it out slowly. "At night, you may swim or sleep, as you please. But now, you will leave us." This last was a firm command.
Both girls disappeared from sight.
"Oh Joe, I'm so sorry," Vanessa murmured, kneeling on the floor beside the couch. She slid her arms under my back and started to sing.
This was no dolphin Smurf. It wasn't her faint humming on our wedding day, either. Her voice was high, rich and powerful. This was the sound of a dolphin singing of the dawning of a perfect morning, or it would be if dolphins could sing like this. Her song burned away the mist in my head and gave me back control of my fingers, then my arms. I managed to sit up and the first thing I did was throw my arms around Vanessa.
Her last note faded into the air. I fully expected the sun to be rising, but it was still dark.
"Are you all right?" Vanessa asked softly.
"I am now," I said slowly. "But I think your grand-daughter tried to take my pants off. And I thought you said you couldn't sing."
She laughed quietly and replied, "You mean karaoke in the club? Oh, when I said if I sang, you all would have gone home. And you would have. I would have sung a powerful song of control and told everyone to go home to bed, because that was what I wanted to do."
I tried to wrap my head around what she was saying and I couldn't. "You can control a room full of people with a song?"
"I can. There are many songs among my people. Songs for summoning fish, calming sharks and controlling humans, to mention just a few." Vanessa sounded sad.
Oh God, please don't let my love for her be just a trick, some sort of mind control. Don't let me be just some fish she summoned. This is the happiest I've ever been, my whole life. Don't take that away from me.
"Have you…" I cleared my throat. "Have you ever used a song to control me?"
She hesitated. "Once," she admitted.
I took a deep breath. "When?" I asked, trying hard not to let my voice shake.
"The night my daughter flooded your boat with a misplaced wave. You grounded your dinghy on a rock, but a wave upset the boat and tipped you out. The girls were…not human when they found you, and you were sufficiently conscious to notice and ask questions. I sat beside you in the boat and sang you to sleep so I could take you back to your shack safely without betraying the secrets of my people." She smiled at the memory. "You took some waking, once you were safely home. It took even longer to get you warm."
My head was spinning. I managed to get the words out, almost as fast as I thought them. "You saved me from the water
that night and tied the dinghy up at my jetty. You got me back to my shack. You got me out of my wet clothes and washed them. And you…" I swallowed. You inspired the most amazing, sexy dreams I'd ever had. "I dreamed about you that night."
She laughed. "I'm surprised you had time to. I must have left you perhaps half an hour before Skipper woke you to pull the pots." Her voice turned soft. "We made Marina together that night."
Oh my God. In that one night, she saved my life, took me home, gave me the best blow job a man can have, had incredible sex with me all night and gave me a child. She's God's gift to man and she'd chosen to be mine.
My mouth went dry. "You're amazing," I told her thickly. "I love you."
She stood up and held out her hand. "And I love you. But if you'd like to sleep with me and not on the couch, we should head upstairs because now I'm really tired."
My fingers closed over hers. Hand in hand, we headed upstairs together.
52. Laila
For our first foray alone among humans, the Elder took us to a drinking establishment called Little Creatures.
There were large numbers of humans inside, particularly male ones. The Elder spoke of a ship in port from another land and cautioned us to choose only single humans, or those with only one companion. She stressed that we should stay together as much as possible for our own safety.
Her warnings ringing in my ears, I looked fearfully at all the humans pressing close around us in the place she called a pub. Both Estella and I drank some form of fermented fruit juice that left me feeling as bubbly as the beverage with a disturbing desire to belch.
There appeared to be two kinds of humans. There were the fairly relaxed ones who spoke as the Elder and her consort did, sipping their drinks, consuming food and engaging in conversation with the small groups that surrounded them, which were both male and female. The other kind was louder, with a different manner of speaking. The majority of these were male and their eyes roamed frequently over us and the other girls in the pub. The female humans who joined them were quickly pulled into close physical contact with the loud humans, though they did not appear to know the men very well. Several times I saw pairs leave the pub – most pairs consisted of one female and one loud human – and head for the hotel nearby.
I stayed close by Estella at a small table, my fear growing each time one of the humans approached us. I kept my eyes firmly down on the floor or the table, drinking deeply from my glass. Estella sat smiling and looking around, sipping her drink until it was gone. She took my hand and squeezed it, surprising me into looking up to meet her smile.
"Shall I get you another drink?" she asked softly. Her eyes were sympathetic – she knew how little I liked being among humans.
I pressed my lips together, feeling an overwhelming desire to cry. I nodded quickly, hoping the tears forming in my eyes would not spill.
I closed my eyes for a few moments, before opening them to study the surface of the table in front of me. There were sticky circles on its otherwise smooth surface from the bases of countless glasses that had rested on it over the course of the evening. I sat rigid in my seat, hoping no one would approach me until Estella's return.
Of course I was not so fortunate. Three male humans came up, jostling each other for the seats around my table. "Why are you sitting here alone, sweetness?" one asked, a lazy smile on his face.
The second one winked. "You should come over and join us." He nodded his head toward a larger table where their fellow loud humans were seated.
The third one attempted to put his arm around me. "I think you're just beautiful. What's your name?"
I jumped to my feet, pushing the stranger's arm away. I'd never been so afraid in my life, not even on the ship. Then there had only been one human at a time – now there were three. I backed away from them, looking around in panic for Estella.
I backed away too far and bumped heavily into the table behind me. I whirled around, sure I was being attacked, but I realised that I was mistaken. Those seated around the table asked me if I was okay as they steadied their drinks on the surface. I nodded quickly and headed for the bar in search of Estella.
She had turned around at the sound of me crashing into the table, so she was smiling when I saw her. Estella stood at the bar, holding her drink and mine, with a strange man's arm around her waist. She set the drinks down and beckoned me over.
I weaved between the sea of humans standing around the pub with their drinks in hand, my eyes not leaving Estella, my safe harbour. When I was close enough, she reached out to pull me to her side, trapping the human's hand between us, her eyes glowing. I reached for my drink and downed half of the pint of cider, almost choking.
"Laila," she shouted in my ear as she leaned in closer. "This is my friend Dan. He's studying engineering at the University nearby. He's invited us back to his house to have some quieter drinks." As she spoke, the human's fingers caressed both her side and mine. She smiled and winked.
I looked at the dark-haired man uncertainly and he smiled. "As I was saying to Estella here, my car is parked outside and I live not far from here. I'd be happy to have you both over at my house."
I felt a weight of dread lift from me as I heard his voice, which spoke in the same way as Elder Sirena's consort. He sounded far more pleasant than the brash, loud men who had frightened me from my table. Still I hesitated, unsure. I took another large gulp of my drink, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
Estella looked from me to Dan. "We'd love to," she told him, lifting her face to kiss him.
All three of us finished up our drinks and clunked the empty glasses down on the bar. Estella fitted herself under Dan's arm and seized my arm in hers. "Together," she murmured to me as she towed me out of the pub in their wake.
The cider swirled in my head, but I didn't stumble as I followed them outside to the cool, salty breeze in the car park. Dan approached a dark, shiny, metallic vehicle with an open box on the back and opened the door for us. Unlike Elder Sirena's car, this had only one row of seating, including the driver's seat. "This is my Ford ute," he told us proudly, as he noticed me staring at the strange vehicle.
I heard loud laughter behind us and moved closer to Dan and Estella. Almost without thinking, he curled his other arm around my shoulders and I did not throw it off.
"Nice pickup, bud," shouted a voice from across the car park.
I turned to see the three men who had frightened me earlier staggering across the pavement with some difficulty.
Dan looked from Estella to me and grinned, his arms tightening around us both. "They sure are, mate," he called in response.
The three men laughed loudly. "I meant the car!"
Dan shouted back, "Thanks mate. Can't beat a Ford ute!"
Estella and I quickly climbed into the front of the much-admired Ford, eager to leave. The man's house sounded so much safer than a pub.
53. Joe
"Come watch a movie with me," I coaxed. "The crazy girls are out, Marina's asleep and you've read every book you own. This one's a classic and you said you'd never seen it…"
Vanessa gave in and cuddled up to me on the couch. I started the DVD and left the remote control in easy reach. I wasn't moving far when I had her so close and it was just us awake in the house.
I think I was about as close to content as I could be with my clothes on. I had my arms around Vanessa's boobs, my breath fluttering the neckline of her nightie so I got a good view of them any time I cared to take my eyes off the TV screen, and we were watching Fight Club. I even had a cold beer within reach.
When the sex scenes appeared, I watched Vanessa's face carefully, wondering if I should broach the subject of unusual positions.
"You might like that one, but it does nothing for me," Vanessa said suddenly, as if she was reading my mind. "The other one, though…I recall we both enjoyed it immensely the first time we tried. If you'd like, later..." she trailed off, a faint flush on her cheeks as she looked at me.
I stared at
the screen, trying to work out how to phrase my response. "I'll have sex with you in any position you like, Vanessa, you know that. I don't remember that one, though, and it's not one I'd forget…" I had vague memories of a dream once where…shit. "Unless it was the night we made Marina."
She cuddled closer to me, so there was no way she couldn't tell I was ready for her. "After the movie, I'll remind you," she murmured. Damn. At least she's promised later…
I shifted so I wasn't poking her quite so aggressively. I tried to distract myself with the movie again.
At a point which I didn't think was funny at all, Vanessa suddenly lost it laughing. "Oh, that's Cantrella!" she gasped out.
"Cantrella?" I asked, more confused than ever.
Vanessa tried to catch her breath. "Cantrella. Laila's mother. She's a Watcher. Just…like that!" She burst out laughing again.
She cuts guys' balls off? Great. I'd better start wearing that shark shield…
I wasn't as turned on as before and Vanessa noticed the difference. She moved closer to me again as she started to explain. "Watchers are our security. Laila will choose to be one, too, I think. That bit where he says, 'We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us,' is exactly the description of what a Watcher is and does."
I turned cold and even Vanessa on top of me wasn't enough to warm me. "You mean that crazy girl who paralysed me last week does shit like that? I'm going to wear my shark shield in the house, Vanessa. She's not safe around people!"
Vanessa's voice was soothing, though her hands on me were far from it. "She wouldn't dare try that with you, not after her misguided attempt last week. She won't even speak to you now without permission."
"Where did they go and when will they be back?" I asked, hoping they'd be gone a long time. I had a real strong desire to christen the couch with Vanessa tonight and I didn't want us interrupted.
"To the pub, to seduce a human man or two," she replied, demonstrating how effective she was at seducing her own human man. "They should be back by morning."
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