by Giger, S. L.
“Good job, Nathalie. I knew you were the one to do it.” Her raspy voice now had a youthful swing to it and her posture was a bit straighter and prouder.
“You weren’t sure?” I gasped. I really was in bad need of new adrenaline. I felt like my knees would buckle in soon.
“I was sure with you. Your name, your life - as if the beginning of us was repeating itself. You were always so determined. You don’t care too much about the outside of things or people, but you concentrate on what matters. Plus, you have a good heart.”
I lifted my head to look at her. Was she really talking about me? She returned my glance without the blink of an eyelid and continued talking. “I’ve tried to teach other Sirens before, but they were too preoccupied with their lives. They didn’t feel the necessity to sing deeply enough. But you did. Maybe, if they see someone else do it, they will believe in the singing and find their inner voice again as well.”
I took a deep breath and then straightened up. “And this will help against the VCP?”
“In the right moment, yes. Your singing will make everyone listen and if Monica isn’t expecting it, she won’t be able to shield herself from it either.”
“Monica is the woman who controls Dr. Palmer?”
Serena nodded, and I was amazed how she knew all this by sitting on this island.
“What can you tell me about her? Does she know magic? Does she have any dangerous powers we need to know about? You say I should sing to her, where and when would be best?” I bombarded her with questions. All the questions the Orbiters should have answered me a long time ago but didn’t.
She held up both of her bony, small hands and silenced me. “Not all at once, child. I only know about her because I’ve eavesdropped on some conversations between the Orbiters.” She grinned. “They are superior to all of us, but their flaw is that they underestimate how well some of us can adapt their own techniques. From what I know, she does not have any dangerous supernatural abilities. That’s what makes Monica’s powers even more incredible. She is creating a force field while also hypnotizing a human and leading this whole organization from the background. Frankly, I don’t know how she is doing it and where she got all that knowledge from.” Serena sounded almost admiring. “Don’t underestimate her, is all I am saying.”
I snorted. “I don’t. That’s why we have made such little progress and she has taken over almost the entire world. What if the singing doesn’t work?”
“It’s our best bet. I don’t know why she hates magic so much and wants to destroy it all. Yet, considering her purposefulness, her strength will probably last until all magical creatures are dead. So, you have to catch her by surprise. Sing to her when she’s not expecting any kind of attack.”
I pressed my lips together. At least now I knew what I could do. I only needed to get close to Monica again.
“To take some of the responsibility off your shoulders, you could bring your friend Eddie here. He needs some guidance and with his blue eyes he would feel more at home out here.”
“Why are you the only two Sirens with blue eyes? Does that mean anything?”
Serena laughed. “We aren’t the only two Sirens with blue eyes. There just are less blue-eyed ones than dark-eyed ones. It depends on how you are wired.”
I stared out onto the ocean. “But I love the ocean. As a child, I always wanted to live at the beach. Now, it came true.”
“To love something and to be drawn to something with every fiber in your body are two different things.”
I thought about Alex and how I felt worse the longer I couldn’t be with him.
“Eddie will feel better out here. He just doesn’t know yet that the absence of land is what he needs.” Serena said.
“Okay”, I breathed. “Thank you and thank you for showing me the Siren’s song.”
“It was about time. You should go now though; your energy is weakening, and the past five days have been hard on you.”
I sharply turned my head toward her. “I have been here for five days?” I bit my lower lip. That’s too long. Alex had no idea where I was and would be worried sick about me. Hopefully, they weren’t wasting their time with unnecessary search trips for me. And what if they’d have needed me for something? I should have been there to help!
“Learning takes time. On your way back, you should make a stop in China, you can find what you need there.”
I furrowed my brow. I don’t know what else I was looking for because all I needed right now was some fresh adrenaline. But so far, everything Serena had said or done had been of help and I didn’t want to strain her hospitality. “Thank you. I will be going then.”
She blew a kiss at me with her bony hand and I smiled.
“I’ll come back with Eddie,” I added. She nodded and closed her eyes, returning to her meditation. I threw one last glance at the old Siren on the white beach in front of palm trees and the ruins of a Hindu temple. I summoned the little energy I had left in my veins in order to run across the water. I tried to memorize the spot of the island so that I could find Serena again. Once the world was back in shape I’d return and ask her to teach me more as well. There was so much I wanted to learn. In my opinion, every magical creature should have to go through some kind of school at the beginning. Being taught by someone who had so much knowledge could only bring advantages. For now, however, I had more basic needs. Therefore, I set China as my destination, hoping I wouldn’t kill the first human who crossed my way. Hopefully, I would still manage to wait until someone did it themselves.
Chapter 12
In China, all the border posts were occupied and the only way to enter on the mainland was through electric metal gates. Luckily, I didn’t have to bother with that and ran along the oceanfront until I found a good place to enter the country.
The first thing that surprised me was that cars and buses were driving on the roads. The more I checked out the area, the more I realized the people here hadn’t transformed into a scared mob who blamed the first scapegoat they could find. Everybody followed their usual business. I felt a jolt of relief go through me when I heard the many heartbeats close by. Hope rose inside me that I could satisfy my hunger any minute now.
So, China was the biggest surprise on my tour around the world. I thought they were a very superstitious people and therefore would be amongst the first ones to line up behind Dr. Palmer. I had imagined they’d start building something they could sell to the rest of the world, so they could fight the Alternatives. On top of that, before the big fear around the world had spread, the first night flu cases had appeared in China. Yet, apparently, China’s leaders weren’t impressed by Dr. Palmer. So, the only consequences for China were that they had an even stricter visa policy now.
Finally, a heartbeat danced out of order. An agreeable shiver went through my body because the attraction of the vital adrenaline in that heart was so strong. Someone’s body was clearly struggling to survive. My mouth filled with saliva as I thought about injecting this adrenaline into my body. It would satisfy the desire which had forced me to chase half around the globe.
The body was still fighting but it was losing the fight and soon, the person would be dead. I had to be there before that happened. At the back of a construction site, in a small area fenced by some trees and garbage containers, I found a guy in a pool of blood. He had fallen off a bamboo scaffold. None of his co-workers had noticed this drama yet as nobody worked on this side of the building and the air was filled with hammering and cutting noises. However, if anybody came around the back of the house, they’d see me and therefore, I’d better not waste any time. Plus, the sight of the blood made me feel even more queasy on my empty stomach. “I’m so sorry this happened to you and I’m even more sorry for your family’s loss.” I grimaced. He couldn’t see or hear me though as he was long passed out and so I took out my thin needle and stabbed it into his chest before his adrenaline would be wasted. I pulled out his heart’s adrenaline and then inserted it into my own he
art. Instantly, my body filled with a pleasant warmth. Whereas before, the slightest physical activity felt like a marathon, I was now even looking forward to the rest of the way back to Cape Cod. To stretch my legs a little. I took in a long breath and relaxed. Then my eyes fell back on the poor Chinese guy who no longer had any life inside him and I felt bad for not having been able to help him. Hopefully, his spirit now was in one of the many other spheres Serena talked about.
Before anyone could see me, I got up. Finally, I could return to Alex.
On my way out of China, I marveled at the traditional old wood houses with pretty Chinese signs. Before I had been too hungry to even notice my surroundings and was only concentrated on listening for panicking hearts. Funny, how you could tune out your senses like that. Perhaps this was the key how to get Monica. We needed to give her a visible show or something which would completely engulf her eyes, so she wouldn’t be prepared for my oral attack.
Without any more stops, I rushed back to Cape Cod where I wanted to inform the others about what I had learned about myself and Monica. The most important new development was that I alone was enough to fight Monica. Really, nobody needed to risk their lives for me any longer. Losing Cathy had been one death too many. Themba could stop spying and Eddie could join Serena, where hopefully his spirits would lift. Also, it would make me feel a lot better if Alex wouldn’t have to be around several Sirens who had trouble controlling their adrenaline lust. If he was fine, I was fine. However, if anything happened to Alex because one of us had been too careless, my heart wouldn’t be able to take it. Even just thinking about losing him made my whole body ache and I had troubles controlling my muscles to tell them to keep running. As Themba’s prophecy stated and Serena said as well, I was the one who could stop Monica. No doubt she was a dangerous opponent and no doubt I’d have felt better with an army of supporters behind me. But in the end, it would come down to me and her anyway, and why risk anyone’s life in the fight to get rid of Monica and PaNacea?
Chapter 13
After the self-regulatory countries of Europe, the hard-working people of China, and the many islands without any fences, the US with all its gated areas appeared like an uninviting prison. Even Orleans which had been such a friendly small-town, now was marked by the gray fences around the fire station and the high school gym. I couldn’t wait to get to our house, hoping that they’d still be there and the VCP hadn’t raided it as well. From the outside, the grey window paint really made it look as abandoned as we wanted it to.
“Hello, I’m home”, I yelled when I entered, impatiently waiting for an answer because I finally wanted to share my experiences from the past days. My spirits had been lifted by at least three times since the day at the medical congress. Meeting Serena had given me so much perspective and being fueled up with new adrenaline I felt like I finally had a shot at this.
“Thank God, you are back.” Alex exhaled and was by my side. “What on earth took you so long?” His eyebrows were pulled together to a serious frown. He didn’t even greet me with a kiss.
“I’m sorry. It was so hard to find dying people to get new energy.” I lay my arms around his neck, feeling the strength of his muscles.
“So, you, too.” He swallowed. “It’s not only me who has trouble finding anything to eat.”
“No, not by far. I met some wizards who were in a very desperate situation.” I looked behind Alex into the empty living room. “Where is everyone else?”
“Melissa is searching for more food supplies and Luke is somewhere close to Eddie’s work shed. Eddie is in the shed.”
“Alright.” I dropped onto the couch.
“You don’t understand.” Alex sat next to me. “We had to lock Eddie into the shed. It’s the only place where he is calm enough to stay in one place. Now Luke is there to watch after him.”
I put my hand over my mouth. “What happened?”
“Let’s put it like this. Eddie has a strong urge to wander. Luke had to go after him the whole time and running everywhere, all the time was too exhausting. If we knew he’d take the serum and if the world wasn’t in such a magic-hating state right now, we could let him go live on his own.” Alex sighed, and his chest deflated a little. The chest I had imagined cuddling up against when the search for my next heart was at its hardest. “We also wanted to wait for you to get back. Perhaps your presence has a better effect on him than ours.” He puffed his cheeks.
“I wouldn’t see why. He doesn’t remember anything about us.” I pressed my lips into a flat line.
“Luke even managed to bring him to the institution where they keep his wife. We thought seeing her in flesh and blood would evoke some kind of emotion. Of course, he could only see her from a distance since his eyes are still an unchanged ocean. We couldn’t try contacts yet since we can’t go to the supermarkets.”
“But he didn’t recognize her?”
“No, no reaction at all from his side. Which is like a tragic comedy if you think about it. She lost her memory due to a bad reaction to a shot and forgot about him and now he forgot about her as well due to our serum.” He pulled his mouth to a flat line.
“It’s still a good serum though. If we’d have transformed him to save him from a fatal accident it would only benefit him to forget what happened. To start fresh as a Siren you have to cut the ties to your old life. Just look how humans can be turned against magic because there is something that scares them. The longer I watch what is going on, the more I understand why we can’t show ourselves to humans.” That thought had been forming in my head for a while, but this was the first time I spoke it out loud.
“Wow, what kind of new insight is that? Are you still the same person?” Alex’s eyes widened.
“We sat in a room full of highly educated people and they all bought a crappy explanation about some people cursing the world. Sometimes magic can turn bad, like with uncontrollable Sirens or Vampires who attack humans. However, it’s in their nature. They don’t mean anything bad by it and it doesn’t mean all magical creatures are dangerous. However, imagine if humans knew about that.” Would I betray my family if I didn’t tell them about my new life? I wasn’t completely sure yet whether it would include them as well. I was speaking about humanity and the magical world in general. “But, yeah, I think in general not remembering your past will make it easier for new Sirens and Eddie will be alright.” He was probably simply missing the open ocean, as Serena had suggested.
“What if you have to change me one day and then I won’t remember you?” Alex said sullenly.
“If that ever were the case, it won’t be for a long, long time. Who knows whether the serum develops until then?” I kissed him, and he pressed my head against his a little longer when I wanted to pull back. “Even if you forgot about me, I’d stick around until you’d fall in love with me again.” I smiled. “But I want to see you grow older, so don’t do anything stupid.”
“It’s not about doing anything stupid, it’s about us all starving to death soon.” His jaw tensed. I should just go to a town shelter and let you do your job.”
“No, we’ve talked about that. We couldn’t stay in contact then. We need you here for the serum.” I insisted.
“I am neither strong nor fast enough to look after Eddie and none of you plan on changing another Siren soon.” He said, calmer now. “I’m of no use here, I’m hungry and I still waste your time with looking for something to eat for me.”
“But it will all be over soon, I’m sure of that.” I took his hands excitedly.
“What makes you say that now? Did you get a chance to talk to Roisin after all?”
My shoulders sank. “No, I don’t know what she is up to. This doesn’t have anything to do with her. The reason why it took me so long to get back is because I met the first Siren that ever existed. She is still alive!” I couldn’t hide my excitement. “And she taught me the Siren’s song.” I gave Alex a meaningful look and a crease appeared on his forehead. “She knows a lot about the world
. Probably even more than the Orbiters. She thinks if I sing once I’m close to Monica, I can distract her enough so that the Orbiters can get through to her. Monica is the woman who controls Dr. Palmer.” The words bubbled out of me.
Alex frowned as he was thinking. “Or if not, she will kill you because you are a weirdo who is chanting a magical curse.” He took a breath. “This doesn’t all have to rely on you. We could mobilize some other people in the shelters, get them to revolt and not idly stay in there and wait in line for meals and showers.”
“A revolution would lead to many more killed innocents,” I said a bit heated. “The Orbiters must have picked Sirens for a reason and Serena confirmed it. If this won’t work, nothing will.”
“So, let another Siren sing. It doesn’t have to be you.” He squeezed my hands.
“We have so much more knowledge than everybody else. Plus, apparently, all the other Sirens have lost their voices. That’s why they transformed me in the beginning.” I puffed my cheeks, thinking out loud. “I could try to teach Melissa though and see if she can sing as well. Perhaps Serena and the Orbiters are wrong about that. The more, the better.”
Alex wasn’t entirely happy with that answer and crossed his arms in front of him. “Sing for me then, and we’ll see what kind of effect it has.”
I bit my lower lip. True, I had no idea whether my singing really had an effect on humans. There hadn’t been anybody on the island. Nervousness crept into my body and I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “It’s exhausting,” I said but got up. “But okay, I’ll show you.” I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my inner energy flows again. I seriously concentrated on myself for at least two minutes but then I realized I’d never have so much time when it came down to it. Then, I became aware of Alex expectantly staring at me, which was kind of embarrassing. My focus fell apart and obviously, I then didn’t even manage to produce a slight shiver. “I can’t focus.” I cringed. “I need to practice, and I should talk to Serena again. She told me to bring Eddie to her anyway.”
