by Giger, S. L.
“I alone won’t be enough.”
I groaned. “Yeah, quite convenient that of the few other Sirens I know, two are doctors and one already is a male Siren.”
“We have to talk to them,” Alex urged.
I grimaced. “I know. But how will I know that they aren’t withholding any more information from me?”
“Well, the Orbiters haven’t exactly given us concrete information either. If it was the Orbiters who told them to transform you, they probably did what they thought was best.”
I snorted. Roisin and Melissa had claimed exactly that. “Still. They could have been honest about it earlier on,” I muttered. “My Siren life would have made more sense then.”
“You don’t have to like them. We only have to work with them,” he suggested.
I sighed. “Do you want to come along when I talk to them?”
“The more information I have, the better I know where to start.”
“I will text them and schedule a meeting,” I said, my body slumping.
“I’m still expecting to wake up and find out that this has all been a dream.”
I punched him in the arm.
“Ouch.” He rubbed it and was taken aback.
“Nope, I don’t think you are dreaming.” I smiled.
We moved the drive to Cape Cod to the next day. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I hadn’t planned on re-connecting with my Siren family so soon.
Chapter 9
“So, should I knock or just enter?” I asked Alex as we were walking from the car to the entrance of Melissa and Luke’s home.
“You have lived here, after all. There’s no need to behave like a stranger now. Besides, they know we are coming.”
I settled on knocking and letting myself in right afterward. Roisin and Melissa were sitting on the couch. Luke was on a stool on the opposite side of the couch table, with an open laptop on his knees.
Melissa was next to us in a heartbeat, making Alex flinch.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” She smiled at him.
“No problem. I need to get used to that.”
“It’s great to see you.” Melissa’s eyes fell on me.
“Yes.” I briefly lifted the corners of my mouth in an attempt of a smile. Before it became too awkward that I didn’t make a move to hug her, I walked past her and nodded a hello at Luke and Roisin. Roisin winked at me and Luke got up to greet me.
“What a pleasant surprise to hear from you.” Luke squeezed my shoulder. “But if you want us all gathered together, I assume something serious has happened.” He took a step back to maintain my personal space. “Are you pregnant or something?” he joked.
I rolled my eyes. Obviously, he knew that Sirens couldn’t get pregnant. Our fertility organs were as frozen as the rest of the body.
“Where is Cathy?” I asked, not seeing her in the room.
“Had troubles getting out of a surgery,” Roisin answered.
“Nope, I’m here.” I heard her voice and then the door closed again. She brushed a strand of blond hair out of her face and looked like a perfect picture from a glossy magazine again. She leaned against the counter next to Alex, her face now expressionless. Nevertheless, it radiated unnatural beauty.
“Now, we’re curious what you have to say,” Melissa said, taking her place next to Luke on the couch, slipping her fingers into his hand. Roisin leaned against the dining table. She looked good with her bleach blonde hair with pink tips that were pointing to the sky in one block. I was standing in the middle of the room, their expectant stares on me.
“So.” I pressed my fingertips together. “Yesterday, Alex and I paid an involuntary visit to the Orbiters.” I paused and let them show their reactions. Roisin gasped, Cathy’s eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to the side, and Melissa asked, “You what?!”
“You are kidding, right?” Luke looked from me to Alex.
“Nope, they summoned us and delivered us a message,” I replied, deadpan.
Luke waited for me to make any sign that it was a joke after all.
“You are saying you personally talked to the Orbiters and they let you go again?” Cathy said. I could almost see how her mind had started rattling.
Roisin’s jaw dropped open. “Who are they? What do they look like?” she stuttered, “and what did they want?”
“Not so fast.” I held my hands in the air. “We didn’t see them.”
“No.” Alex shook his head.
“It was as if we were in a black hole,” I said. “There were only our bodies and their voices and absolutely nothing else. They said it was a parallel universe.”
“And you were there, too?” Melissa looked at Alex. “And you are alive?” She was stunned.
“Sounds almost as if it would be easier for you to understand it if I were dead,” Alex said, offended.
“Nobody,” Luke said, taking a deep breath. “There is no record of anybody ever having returned from the Orbiters,” he whispered. “So, what did they want from you?”
“That’s what we need to talk to you about,” Alex said. “And why are you whispering now?” He also whispered, irritated.
“Because that’s unheard of and it reminded me that they are listening to anything we say. Makes me feel monitored,” Luke said in a normal voice again.
“The Orbiters hear us anyway, whether we whisper or not,” I spat. “I don’t like it that they swipe us off the earth whenever they please and give us an exercise, just to watch us perform afterward, without any help.”
“Hello, I’m dying to know what this is about!” Roisin waved.
I smiled. “Now you know how I feel whenever you speak about something that’s so normal to you, but a human has never heard of it before,” I said and Alex made a big nodding movement to support this statement.
“Well...” I started and looked at Alex for reassurance. He nodded and I proceeded. “They say that the underworld will be exposed and overthrown by a powerful human guy and the only way to stop him is by creating an army of male Sirens.” I got it out short and sweet.
“Male Sirens,” Cathy repeated and turned her head to Luke, who looked at me in shock.
“That’s against nature,” Roisin said. “And the Orbiters talked to you directly? It wasn’t a trick or a dream?”
“You said he was human,” Melissa threw in. “Why would they need so much unnatural force to fight him?”
“You think I am making this up?” I said, amused.
“No,” Melissa replied. “But it does seem a bit over-reactive.”
“I was there as well. They think I can help,” Alex said, and they all looked at him as if they had forgotten that he was there. “And it clearly was something supernatural that happened to us, while they delivered us the message.”
“If that is true, it would be amazing!” Luke jumped up. “This means there is a way. It’s not just a coincidence that I can exist. And it might get easier, too.”
“You know, I was always curious how it worked for you.” Cathy dabbed on her porcelain white cheek with her index finger. “I’m by no means a fan of how the Orbiters go about their business, but if they ordered you to do this, they will point you in the right direction. There is no way this mission is going to fail.” She gave a short laugh.
“But are you sure the message came from them?” Roisin probed again, which was very atypical for the dynamic, reckless kind of person she usually was. “Since you got here, we haven’t heard anything from them except for the few puddles you received. What if this is a trick of somebody else?”
“Why would it be a trick? We haven't had any contact with other magical groups,” Cathy said. “When we received the puddles to transform our little prodigy, none of you doubted that it was the Orbiters who demanded this from us. We all knew our task wouldn’t stop there. Maybe that’s what it would come down to all along.”
Since Cathy believed me, I ignored that she called me a prodigy again and retorted, “Yet, above all, they seemed int
erested in what Alex could contribute. I don’t know what role I should play in this.”
“I don’t know why you are questioning this so much.” Luke looked at his wife. “Isn't this great news?”
“Yes.” Melissa got up and hugged him. “I just don’t like that in the same phrase as male Siren, you mentioned the word army.” Melissa guided her words at me. “I love the idea of more male Sirens. But not if they will be created to fight. Who are we fighting anyway?”
I bowed my head. “They didn’t say. They spoke in riddles. But that’s what they wanted.”
“And if they want something, they will get it,” Cathy said.
“As if you ever cared what they wanted. You only do something if it’s in your best interest.” Roisin said snappishly.
Cathy raised an eyebrow. “Not much different to them, am I? And what’s up with you? Aren’t you always for progress and modernization?” she shot back.
“Not if I’m always the one who has to do the work for others.” Roisin glared at her.
Alex cleared his throat. “What happens if you don’t follow their orders?”
“Your right to a supernatural life is over,” Cathy said, matter-of-factly. “They take away your power, which in the case of a Siren leads to immediate death. I saw this happen to my creator.”
The other Sirens in the room frowned or lowered their gaze to the ground. It was clear that they had heard this story before. However, for me, it was the first time I'd heard someone mention that the Orbiters weren’t simply a threat to scare new Sirens but that they followed through with their executions.
“What did she do?” I asked and walked to Alex to gently place my hand on his back because his heartbeat had quickened slightly.
“She had a human husband, and like all humans, he gradually grew older. When he turned sixty, she got scared about him becoming weaker and eventually losing him.” Cathy spoke in an even tone. “Since they didn’t have any other family, Carmen called me to let me know that she would tell her husband the truth and transform him. In case anything went wrong, I could deal with their house and so on.” Cathy closed her eyes for an instant. “I didn’t even try to stop her. I didn’t believe the ominous Orbiters would indeed act on it. And then it was too late because they lived in Norway and I had already moved to North America.” She closed her mouth and studied her nails.
“They killed her?” My voice was a whisper.
Cathy took a breath. “First she transformed him. The problem was that he didn’t fall into a month-long transformation phase. He awoke right away as a changed monster.”
“So, this was something special?” Alex asked.
“Definitely,” Melissa answered. “It was the same with Luke. But I was at least prepared for this reaction.”
“Yes,” Cathy said. “Carmen wasn’t. Apparently, he was uncontrollable, overcame her, and killed the neighboring family. That’s when the other Sirens in the area noticed that something unusual was going on. Together, they managed to pin him down and tie him in chains.” Cathy pressed her lips together, that it took a moment for the color to come back to them. “They recounted everything to me once I traveled to their house, after I had learned about her death. The problem was that nobody could talk any sense into him. Her husband remained a ravenous monster although Carmen was with him the whole time and tried to soothe him. In the end, they let him starve to death and when he died, Carmen died as well, on the spot.” Cathy shook her head. “They told me that there hadn’t been any visual outside influence and since she was too young to die, it had to be the Orbiters.”
My mind started circling around something this story had triggered but I couldn’t quite put a finger on it.
“So, they killed her, and now the Orbiters want us to try exactly that again?” Alex remarked.
Then it hit me. Cathy had also tried to transform the love of her life because he had had a sudden cardiac arrest at a basketball game. Thomas had also turned into a killer. “Um, I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t know how to phrase this otherwise,” I shrugged apologetically, “but why are you still alive?” I looked Cathy in the eyes.
Her expression turned serious. “Ever since Thomas was killed,”—she clenched her jaw before continuing— “I wondered why they spared me. I mean, the wizards even had to change the memories of the people at the basketball game.”
Alex gasped, probably as amazed as I was that erasing memories was possible.
“I was angry that he was dead, and I had to go on living. He was my everything.” Cathy’s face turned unreadable again. “That’s why I believe that sooner or later, every Siren will encounter a situation where they want to transform a man. This isn’t just something the Orbiters need. It’s something all of us could benefit from.”
Luke got up again and started pacing up and down. “So, the question is, how do we approach the matter? It’s ruled out that we transform men by trial and error. We need a structured plan.”
Melissa nodded pensively.
“I need to have a closer look at your DNA.” Alex took a step away from the counter to gain more presence in the room. “There has to be a way to manipulate your genes so that planted in a human they can transform into something else. But I will need your help for it. It’s not the first time somebody has tried to find a remedy for the aging process in the human body or to give it superpowers. But so far it has never worked.” Alex laughed. “I don’t want us to have a second Frankenstein disaster.”
“I’ve put some thought into how to transform men into Sirens as well,” Cathy said. “To create something that’s able to survive, you always need a cell from a mother and a father. We can only create Sirens because we mix a human’s blood with ours. Humans can’t create superpowers because they don’t have a natural donor whose genes they could use.”
“But if we have both, we might succeed.” Alex nodded and smiled at Cathy. It appeared that they had reached an exciting conclusion together and I had no idea what the fuss was about.
“We need a lab,” Cathy said.
“So, you are in?” I asked disbelievingly. “I expected you to be the first one to storm out of this room because you wouldn’t support the Orbiters.”
“I’m not helping them,” she spat. “However, I don’t wish for any more Sirens to go through the same as Carmen and me.”
“Is there an empty lab at your hospital?” Luke asked Cathy.
She laughed. “No, there is no extra space at any hospital.”
“And we can’t set up a room in The Library, because Alex won’t be able to enter,” Luke thought out loud.
“Why wouldn’t I be able to access the library?” Alex asked.
Luke chuckled. “Because The Library is a special library. Humans don’t know it exists and can’t access it either. It’s a marvelous place. Nathalie, it’s time you accompany me on one of my visits.”
“What do you mean The Library is special? Is it a magical place?” I clenched my jaw and felt myself tense up toward them all over again. After all, Luke had disappeared to work there almost every day and they had forgotten to mention to me that it wasn’t a normal library.
Luke held his hands in the air. “Wait. No need to get angry. It is magical, but the reason why we hadn’t told you about it yet is because you had to get used to the Siren world first. We had to make sure that you were ready to learn that Sirens are by far not the only magical creatures.”
I let go of a sharp breath.
“This keeps getting better and better.” Alex smiled in disbelief.
“I think you underestimate me,” I tried to say as composed as possible. “The more I know, the more understandable everything would become.”
“Fair enough,” Luke replied. “No more honeymoon period from now on. Meet me tomorrow after school.”
I nodded, trying to radiate Cathy’s coolness while being extremely curious what would await me.
“Great,” Luke said. “Because while you’ll work in your lab, I will scan thr
ough the creation books again. Maybe I missed something. Frankenstein was a good keyword.” He nodded at Alex. “That wasn’t the only time people created monsters by manipulating genes. Perhaps there will be something useful in that documentation.”
Alex gasped. “You say this as if Frankenstein existed.”
“More things exist than you can imagine.” Melissa smiled. “Authors have to take their ideas from somewhere, don’t they?”
After Alex had awoken from his trance, he continued. “Maybe we can have a lab at the university.” Then, he pulled his mouth into a frown. “But I don’t think they would listen to anything I say, after having disappointed them with the thesis.”
“I could come up with a fictional research program and be the leading surgeon.” Cathy stepped in. “I’m sure your school would love to have someone aboard who has my kind of credentials.”
Roisin breathed out sharply. “Sorry, but if this goes wrong, you will be creating uncontrollable killers. Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?” Roisin looked at each of us in turn.
“No,” I said. “But if that’s the reason the Orbiters keep Alex alive, I won’t stand in the way.”
“Who says we will succeed anyway?” Luke said. “It’s a slim shot. If indeed we find a way to transform men into fully functioning Sirens, that doesn’t mean we have to create an army of them.”
“Right,” Melissa said. “Don’t expect an active role from me though. I just won’t create any opposition.”
Roisin growled. “There have to be other ways to fight against this human. First, we should figure out who he is before we take any unnecessary measures.”
“Perhaps that’s what your task can be,” Luke said. “It can’t do any harm to know as much as possible about this guy.”
“I’ll try to find the Minotaurs. Maybe my connections can help me. Which means I won’t be here if you do something stupid, and I can’t help you,” Roisin said sternly.
“Really, I don’t know what your problem is,” Cathy said, a bit waspy. “So, Luke will do some more research, Alex and I will set up a lab, Roisin looks for Minotaurs,” she summed up. “Melissa can listen at the hospital to what remedies the doctors might come up with against the flu. And what will you do?” Her eyes rested on me.
