Broken (The Siren Series #1)

by L. A. Griffiths

  I found myself sitting in a woodland area. There was thick tall grass all around me with trees mighty high. Looking up, I could hear singing birds chirping their sweet tune while they flew around in the air above.

  “Rhea?” I called out.

  I got to my feet and looked around. There were no roads, no houses, just empty land as far as the eye could see.

  “Crap!” I said to myself. “Rhea, where are you!”

  “I’m here Ellie.” Rhea called out.

  She came walking over to me, watching where she stepped in her expensive high heels.

  “I thought you left me.” I said.

  “I would never leave you.” Rhea said with a smile.

  I rushed towards her and embraced her with a hug. “What happened?” I asked.

  Rhea gave a little chuckle. “Ellie, it sometimes happens to people who are new to teleportation.” she said.

  “Teleportation?” I asked.

  “Yes it’s like going from one place to the next without having to walk.” she explained.

  I pulled away from her and stared up at her beautiful sculptured face. She truly was a goddess.

  “Let’s go.” Rhea said.

  I looked around again. “Where? Did we stop at the wrong place or something?” I asked.

  “Over there.” Rhea pointed out into a dark park of the woods.

  Rhea walked in front and I tried to keep up, she was much quicker and light on her feet. The ground was uneven and I slipped a few times on some small rocks. (Plus trying to carry a full backpack did not help). Fly’s buzzed around my face while we walked deeper into the woods. It felt like we had been walking for what seemed like an hour, when Rhea stopped and pointed out. Looking where she was pointing, I could see nothing but more trees and long tall grass.

  “Rhea there’s nothing there.” I said.

  Rhea looked back and smiled. “Oh but there is, don’t you see it?” she asked.

  She waved her hand and before me stood a three story house. It was decorated beautifully with elaborated wood carvings around the house, along with clear glass windows. The house, coated in black and white with a modern touch mixed in to it. Gargoyles stone statues decorated at the sides of the house, giving it an old, yet new feel to it. I followed after Rhea who opened a large metal gate showing her garden. It looked like something out of a film. Red roses filled her flowerbeds along with many other types of flowers that I had never seen before. Perfect sculptured garden hedges stood along the stone path, and in the middle of the garden stood a high water fountain, shooting jets of water into the air. I stopped in awe. I’ve never seen such beauty around me before.

  “Lovely isn’t it.” she said.

  Rhea ushered me to the front door before I could explore more of the garden, a giant gold lion knocker was bolted to the door. The door looked hand crafted from the darkest wood from an enchanted forest.

  “Shall we go in?” She asked.

  Rhea pushed open the door showing the inside her house. I stood there, with my mouth wide open. Rhea’s house was decorated with shades of black and white. The floor was black marble and very polished. At the back there was a grand white staircase, it made my house seem like a small box. In the middle of the hall was a large round table and on top a large crystal vase, showing the blackest roses I’ve ever seen. The walls were decorated with paintings and hanging tapestries from famous artist I’ve only seen in books. At the sides of the grand hall were two doors that were completely white, with embroidered gold motifs weaved around the doors frame.

  “What do you think?” asked Rhea.

  I was speechless. I’d never seen a house so grand in my entire life. “It’s amazing.” I could only say.

  “Thank you, yes I like it very much and have been living in this house for many year now. Oh that reminds me.” Rhea said.

  “Sophia.”

  Rhea called out and I could hear footsteps deep inside the house. One of the white golden doors opened, and a small girl came out. She walked towards us with her head down, her white hair covering her face.

  “Sophia, this is Ellie.” The young woman’s head raised to look me in the eye.

  Sophia’s face was angelic and innocent. Her face resembled a china doll. It was perfect, her lips were perfect shade of pink, and her skin was the color of snow. Sophia had sparkling bright blue eyes that lit up her face. Sophia hair was completely white, and styled into a cute bob. Her choices of clothes were very strange. She wore a black knee high ruffle skirt that came out at the hips. High black boots with many laces attached, and a red and black corset that tightly pulled her in. On her corset she wore a big red bow that was attached just below her breasts.

  “Uh, hello” I said shyly.

  She nodded and reached out her hand. I stared down at her out stretched hand, not knowing what to do. I didn’t know if she wanted to shake or my backpack.

  “Um no, it’s ok I can carry it.” I said hoping not to offend her.

  “Show her to her room please Sophia” Rhea asked her.

  We left Rhea in the main hall while Sophia showed me to my room. We walked up the grand white marble staircase. I followed behind her slowly. She didn’t talk once, and it felt awkward. At the top of the stairs I followed Sophia to the right. The upper hallway walls were filled with more painting of artwork and statue of a beautiful woman carrying a shield. In some of the clear cases were artifacts. One of them seemed to catch my eye. It was on a pedestal protected by thick glass. Inside the display case, laid a large battered brown book. It had no writing on the front or on the binder. Below on the plaque it read: The book of Thoth. Ignoring the display, I caught up with Sophia.

  Sophia opened one of the doors and I stepped in behind her. In the middle of the room was a four poster bed, along with a luxurious sofa in the corner of the room. The thick cream carpet matched the houses color scheme. Once inside the elegant room, I noticed there was a floor length mirror with gems incrusted around it. Looking into the mirror I noticed I was still wearing my pajamas. I looked awful. While walking through the woods my clothes had tears and my shoes were completely black. Looking behind me I noticed that I was tracking in mud. The cream carpet was incrusted with mud that I had brought in with me. I felt the colour drain from my face.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I immediately pulled them off and held the discoloured shoes in my hand.

  Sophia just stared at me with no emotion. She turned her back on me and continued her tour.

  There was another inside my bedroom that stood against the inner corner wall, and inside, was a room filled with wardrobes.

  “That’s your dressing room.” said Sophia.

  I jumped when I heard her voice from behind me. It was so soft and child-like. I entered the dressing room and opened up one of the many wardrobes. They were filled with different types of clothes, from designer to regular plain old t-shirts. At the bottom were arrangements of different shoes. Some I’d never seen in my life, but they were beautiful. I wouldn’t like to think how much they clothes cost.

  Sophia walked passed me and opened up another door that was beside the tall wardrobes. I peeked inside. The adjoined room was a toilet and a shower area. The tiles on the walls were glowing white and the floor was shining black marble. It was so posh. There was a lounge bath in the middle of the room with different buttons attached to it. On the opposite wall there was a large flat screen TV mounted on the walls.

  “How did Rhea afford all this?” I asked.

  “She has lots of money,” Sophia said sweetly. “I’ll let you set up. When you are ready please come downstairs, Rhea wants to talk to you.”

  Sophia turned around and left the bedroom. I was finally alone. I dropped my backpack onto the floor and sat down onto the bed. I started to contemplate what was going to happen to me. I thought about my friends and about Dad, would I ever see them again? Would Rhea keep me locked up here like a prisoner? I broke down into tears.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I didn�
�t want to be here, I wanted to be with my Dad, back home, safe and sound. What was going to happen to him? Would he be safe in the house? All these horrible questions attacked me at once and I just wanted to scream. I wiped the tears away with some tissues on the bed-side table. I opened up my backpack and changed into my clothes. I picked out a simple white t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. I left the bedroom and walked back down the long lit hall to meet Rhea. The main entrance was empty; there was no sign of Rhea or Sophia. I descended the marble staircase, looking around for her. One of the doors stood ajar in the hall and I peeked my head in, revealing a grand dining room.

  A long black solid dining table became the focus of the entire room. The table was surrounded by many white plush chairs and white roses filled many black vases, still following the color scheme. The walls were painted white and black stripes. At the very end of the room, there was a figure sitting at down in one of the chairs. I walked closer to see it was Rhea, she was reading from a big book. She looked up from the pages and smiled straight at me.

  “Have you been crying my dear?” asked Rhea.

  I nodded.

  “Ellie, please know that you are safe here,” she tried to reassure me. “So what do you think of your room?” she asked.

  “Yeah it’s very nice, thank you” I replied sheepishly.

  Rhea closed the book and set it aside. “Please sit.” she gestured to the chair beside her.

  I pulled one of the chairs out and sat down. Rhea turned in her chair and faced me.

  “Ellie, you do know why you’re here don’t you?” she asked.

  “Kinda’,” I said. “I know it’s not safe for me out there anymore.”

  Rhea nodded with agreement. “You are too special. Some people will do anything if they knew a siren was around.”

  “What is so special about me then?” I asked.

  “Well, sirens were powerful beings, Ellie. They can influence anyone they touched and by their voice” Rhea said.

  “I can only influence by touch though.” I said.

  “Yes but in time you will learn much more.”

  Rhea continued to about the Sirens. “Anyway, they were so powerful that other supernatural’s started to despise them, and started to capture them. This went on for quite some time. Think about it, if you could make anyone do what you wanted and control anyone, you would be unstoppable. But sadly the Sirens started to die out and not even I know why.

  “So there are not many left then?” I asked.

  “That’s right Ellie, but that’s why you are special. Your powers are unique.”

  “I don’t want to make people do what I want.” I said.

  “That’s because you are pure.”

  “I don’t feel pure.” I mumbled.

  I started to think. Sirens, my people were used and captured for their powers. Was that why they are after me? What were they going to do with me?

  “Rhea,” I asked her. “What do they want with me? Are they going to kill me or just use me for my powers?”

  “To be honest Ellie, I do not know. I will not let anyone take you, besides try not to think about It.” she said.

  Behind me a door opened revealing Sophia (Just how many doors does this place have?). She was pushing a pristine silver trolley into the room. Sophia laid the table for Rhea and for me. She placed down knives and forks, along with glass cups and a large jug of water filled with ice cubes.

  “Sophia, won’t you join us?” asked Rhea. “I’m sure there is enough to go around.”

  Sophia placed another plate down for herself along with a knife and fork. She came around to the trolley and placed a covered plate in front of me.

  Oh god I hope it’s not foreign food. I thought.

  Sophia lifted the lid to reveal a plate full of pasta.

  Thank god! I screamed inside my head.

  “I had a feeling that you liked Italian food.” smiled Rhea.

  “Thank you,” I said. I didn’t want to know how she knew, I was just thankful I was able to eat it.

  I took my provided fork and dived in. I spun the pasta around my fork and took a bite. The flavors exploded in my mouth. I had never tasted something so delicious before.

  “This is amazing, who cooked this?” I asked.

  Sophia’s face started to glow red.

  “It’s amazing, thank you Sophia.” I said.

  “Thank you Ellie, I was a bit nervous cooking it for you, and I even added a few things.” she said modestly.

  I took more bites of the delicious food. No one was talking at dinner, they were busy eating, but still, it was very awkward. I wanted to break the silence.

  “So Sophia, how long have you known Rhea?” I asked.

  Sophia pale skin started to turn a shade of red again. “Well I’ve know her for some years now.” Sophia quietly said.

  “Yes, Sophia and I have been together for quite a while.” Rhea said.

  “I really enjoy being with Rhea, she treats me well.” said Sophia.

  “Please don’t embarrass me Sophia.” laughed Rhea.

  “Well it’ll be nice to have someone new in the house for a while.” said Sophia.

  “I hope I don’t cause you too much trouble with me staying here.” I asked them.

  “Far from it Ellie, now finish your food” Rhea said.

  I took more forkfuls of Sophia’s food while washing it down with some refreshing water. I finished the delicious meal and neatly placed down my knife and fork.

  “That was amazing thank you.” I said to Sophia.

  “It was no trouble at all Ellie, and I’m glad you liked it.” Sophia said.

  “You have quite the healthy appetite, don’t you?” Rhea chuckled.

  I took another sip of water to hide my embarrassment. I hopped I didn’t make a pig of myself. I picked up the napkin to wipe my mouth. I wanted to speak more to Rhea so I turned towards her. “Rhea, can I ask you something?” I asked.

  “Go ahead.” She waited for my question.

  “Will they go after my Dad?” I didn’t want to know the answer but I had to know if he was safe.

  Rhea placed her knife and fork down and turned to me. “Ellie to be honest I don’t know, but I have people looking out for him.”

  I was taken aback. Shocked to hear Rhea did not know what would happen, and that she just didn’t seem to care. It was wrong to come here and leave him all alone. I had abandoned him.

  “Oh my god what have I done?” I said slowly.

  “Ellie?” Rhea asked.

  “I’ve left him to die alone, he’s all alone. I have to go back, please take me back.” I pleaded with Rhea.

  “Ellie it’s safer for you here, please know that.” Rhea said.

  “But are you sure he’ll be safe? I just cannot just sit here and eat like nothing is wrong!” My voice started to crack and I started to panic. I started to breathe heavily pants.

  “Ellie please calm down. Listen to me.” Rhea placed her hands on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes.

  “Ellie, it’s you they are after not your Father. He’s nothing to them. If you went back, you would just be putting him in danger. I’ve got plans in place Ellie, there are people watching him. Do not worry.” Rhea dropped her hands from my shoulders.

  Listening to Rhea’s voice had a calming effect on me. “I hope your right Rhea. It’s just so hard being away from him.” I said.

  I took tiny sips of water. The cold liquid felt good going down my throat. After a few minutes had passed I was finally calm.

  “Sorry.” I said.

  “It’s ok.” said Rhea.

  “Don’t worry about it Ellie, we won’t let anything happen to you, or your Dad.” Sophia gave me a big bright smile.

  Sophia got up and cleared away the plates and pushed the metal trolley back into the kitchen.

  “Ellie why don’t you get some rest?” said Rhea.

  “Yeah, I do feel a bit drained.” I asked her.

  “It is getting a bit
late and you’ve had quite a day.” Rhea said.

  Just thinking about sleeping made me yawn, and I could feel my strength leave my body.

  “Maybe I will have a rest.” I agreed.

  I pushed away from the table and started to walk out of the dining room. I was stopped by Rhea’s voice.

  “Goodnight Ellie, get some rest.” she called sweetly to me.

  I turned away from her and continued to drag my tired legs to my room. Remembering how to get back to my room, I turned right at the top of the stairs and walked down the well decorated hall and into my room.

  I quietly closed the bedroom door and the whole room turned dark. I fumbled my way to the bed (not caring about the lack of light) and climbed on. My whole body was tired. I was absolutely drained of energy. Too tired to take off my clothes, I decided to leave them on. The bedding was fresh and so soft against my skin. Too tired to think, i closed my eyes and I was dead to the world.

  My peaceful sleep was disrupted by, what I could only guess, was whispers coming from outside my bedroom door. The whispers were there for only mere seconds, and continued down the hall. Flipping over onto my side, I tried to get back to sleep but something was nagging in the back of my mind. I just wanted to go to sleep. Giving in to the weird and irrita-ting need, I rolled off the bed and walked towards the door in darkness. I pushed down the door handle and peeked out slowly. I could hear more faint whispers. Quietly I crept out into the hall and slowly, trying not to make a sound, walked to the stairs. Rhea was standing in the main hall walking back and forth with her arms folded tightly. She was also talking in hushed tones to Sophia.

  As I was on the top of the stairs looking down, there were loud noises coming from outside the house. I gave a little yelp. Rhea turned around and looked up towards the stairs.

  “Ellie why are you up this late?” She asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” I replied to her.

  I walked down the stairs to meet up with Rhea. She embraced me in a hug. I was now even more confused.

  “Rhea what are we going to do?” asked Sophia with a worried look on her face?