Sigyn's Song

by Meg Trotter

  What? Maera asked.

  “Sing that song again.”

  She blinked at him. Is ... is that really an appropriate response to this situation?

  “Do it. Just the first part,” he prompted.

  Maera hesitated but took a breath and started the first notes of the song. This animated something in Freydis. The woman’s gaze moved to Maera, though the look was still unfocused. As Maera continued the song, Freydis lowered her raised hand and took shuffling steps inside the room. Her expression shifted into something like wonder. She stared at Maera as if she were a goddess descending from the stars.

  It unsettled Maera. She snapped her mouth shut, cutting off the song abruptly. Freydis stopped moving toward her, but kept staring with an unfocused expression. Loki turned to her, his eyes shining. “You’re a siren,” he said with a laugh.

  Maera blinked at him. A what? The word was unfamiliar, and the god’s magic was not providing a translation.

  “Your father, is his name...” He frowned in concentration, snapping as if trying to call the memory to himself like a stray sheep. “Nereus. Is it Nereus?”

  It took a moment for her to recognize the sound of her father’s name in the human tongue but finally she gave a hesitant nod. “Y-yes?”

  Loki grinned. “You’re Greek! A Nereid!” He laughed again. “Oh my gods. It never even crossed my mind that-” He shook his head. “Nereus is one of the Greek’s gods. One of the extremely old ones who are fading out, but still a god.” Before she could digest this information, he pressed on. “Some of his daughters are sirens — beings who can control humans with their voices. I knew I was feeling something while you were singing, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I’m a god so it doesn’t work on me, at least not like that.” He nodded at Freydis’ blank stare.

  Maera’s mind was buzzing with questions, but she settled on the first she could articulate. What was it like for you? I noticed you were weirdly quiet.

  He shrugged. “Relaxing. I could have taken a nap.”

  “How is that different than any other time? You can usually take a nap,” Maera said. He snorted but made no further reply. Maera turned to regard her dazed friend. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “Yeah, she’ll snap out of it in a bit.” Loki peered at the other woman. “I haven’t seen a siren in ages. Some of them even had wings. Back in the old days, they would use their singing to lure sailors to smash their boats on the rocks and drown.”

  That’s terrible. Why would they do that?

  Loki smirked and looked over his shoulder at her. “I guess the sailors did something to piss them off? I mean, you knifed a guy for getting in your way a few days ago.”

  Maera frowned. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. Her father was a god? Had her mother been a goddess, or something else? What did that make her? What did that make her grandmother?

  Loki seemed to notice her unease. He left Freydis and came to stand beside Maera. “Hey, this is a good thing,” he said. He touched her elbow and let his fingertips rest there, breaking her out of her swirling thoughts. “You can use this on Erik tonight. One song and he’s yours.”

  Maera frowned. But will that count if I’m forcing Erik to love me?

  “He’s halfway in love with you all ready. Have you seen the way he looks at you? Just focus your intentions with the magic. Make him forget what’s holding him back. If he forgets about his throne and his ambitions for the night, he’ll focus on the thing that’s right in front of him.” He gave her elbow a squeeze. “And if he doesn’t, then you can always drown him.”

  Maera snorted a laugh and pushed him away. You’re terrible.

  “Only mostly.”

  Before Maera could reply, Freydis took a sharp breath and blinked as if being startled from the middle of a deep sleep. Maera felt a subtle pressure in the air beside her and glanced over to see Loki had shifted into female form. Freydis focused on Maera, looking startled.

  “Sorry, I ...” She trailed off and looked around, obviously wondering how she’d gotten there. “I was coming to help you with your hair and-”

  Maera smiled and stepped forward to rescue her friend from the awkward gap in her memory. “Yes, thank you. I could use the help. It’s a mess tonight.” She tugged at one of her knotted strands. After another few moments to orient herself, Freydis came to sit on one of the beds and patted the space beside her. Maera sat down and turned her back so her friend could work out the tangles. Freydis made quick work of it.

  When she was nearly done, a knock sounded at the door. It opened slowly and Valka peered into the space. However upon spotting Freydis, she looked as though she was considering closing the door and leaving.

  “Please, come in,” Maera called to her. Valka hesitated, but knew she couldn’t ignore the summons without being rude. She pushed the door open and entered, eyeing both Freydis and Loki with apprehension. Maera noticed that her friend was still dressed in her everyday clothes, though the festival started within the hour. “Are you well?” Maera asked to break the silence.

  Valka nodded, then shook her head, looking anywhere but at any of the women in the room. “I’m ... I’m not feeling well, so I’m not going to the festival. I thought you two might already be gone, so I was coming to quarantine myself here for the evening. But you’re getting ready, I won’t bother you.” She turned as if to head back to the door, but Freydis called out to stop her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just told you. I’m sick,” Valka said, though she still wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye. “Stomach ache. I’d hate to get anyone else sick on the night of the big festival so...”

  Freydis tied off Maera’s braid and turned to their friend with a raised eyebrow. Maera ran her hand over her hair to feel the intricate design. She tapped on it absently as an idea formed.

  Valka was hiding something. Could she use her new powers to make her reveal the secret? She glanced over at Loki, who seemed to be more interested in fixing her own hair than the confrontation going on in front of her. Maera took a breath and started humming the song again. This time though, she tried to focus her intention. Be honest, she thought. Stop hiding things. We are your friends. We love you. It’s safe to tell us.

  Loki stopped fiddling with her hair and her eyes darted to Maera. She’d noticed.

  “Did something happen?” Freydis asked.

  Valka fiddled with her skirt, biting at her lip. However when Maera increased the volume of her humming a bit, Valka let out a shaky sigh. “I changed my mind about Skarde,” she whispered.

  Freydis frowned. “What do you mean?”

  A light flush crept up the other woman’s features. “I mean, I’ve had second thoughts. I don’t want to marry him. I just keep thinking about it, and I think I was more attracted to the attention he was giving me than anything else, and-” She trailed off. Maera noticed a glazed look forming in her eyes and immediately quieted her humming. After a few heartbeats, Valka seemed to come back to herself. She gave her head a shake and continued. “And after father died, I was just afraid of being by myself.”

  “I’ve told you that you can stay with me,” Freydis said gently. “We have the room.”

  “I didn’t want to impose.”

  “You wouldn’t be imposing. I want you there,” Freydis said.

  Maera kept up the quiet humming of the song. The other two women seemed to have forgotten she was even there. Loki came over and plopped down on the bed next to her, watching the conversation with as much interest as a child watching a storyteller.

  Freydis sighed and started to run a hand through her hair, then stopped when she remembered it was braided for the festival. She patted her hair to make sure she hadn’t disheveled it and then let her hand fall back to her side. “I didn’t want to tell you, because I was worried it would hurt you, but last year Skarde approached my father to ask for my hand. They were in talks. But I eventually rejected him.”

  Valka frowned a little. “Skarde never mentioned
that.”

  “You can ask my father,” Freydis said. “Skarde was furious about the rejection, but skulked off and left me alone afterward. Last night he cornered me and told me he was going to marry you and take you away out of revenge.”

  “Revenge?” Valka asked.

  Freydis hesitated. Maera increased the volume of her humming just a fraction and repeated her internal refrain — stop hiding things and tell the truth. The dark-haired woman’s face flushed. “Because he knows how much I care for you.”

  Here, Maera cut off her humming. Forcing Freydis to talk about this seemed too much an invasion of her free will. She’d helped them start the conversation. Where they wanted to take it now should be up to them.

  Once the humming stopped, the two women looked at each other with flushed faces and obvious awkwardness. Maera cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her. She smiled. “Even if you’re not with Skarde, you can still come to the festival with us, can’t you?” she asked. Valka turned to Maera and blinked in surprise, as if she’d forgotten anyone else was in the room. Maera nodded at Freydis. “I bet Freydis can help you get ready in time. She just finished with my hair.”

  The other two women regarded her for a moment before Valka turned shyly to Freydis. “I ... suppose I could, if you have time.”

  Freydis gave a slow nod. “I think I have an old dress that would fit you. Want to come up to the house?”

  They stood together and headed to the door while Freydis started to list the things they would need to get Valka prepared in time. Maera waved them off. “See you at the festival!” she called.

  Once the door shut behind them, Loki let out a bark of laughter. “That,” she said, “was amazing. You just discovered your magic and are already wielding it like you were born into it. Which, I guess you were. You just didn’t know it.”

  Maera let out a shaky breath and turned to Loki. She was momentarily distracted by the pretty way the firelight made the goddess’ eyes shine with excitement. She smiled. “Now if it will work just as well with Erik, I’ll be in good shape.”

  Loki returned the smile, her gaze absently wandering over Maera’s braided hair and red dress. “It will work, no problem. He’d be crazy to resist you. I know I can’t.” Loki stopped, blinked, then hastily continued, “—Caaaan’t wait for the festival to start.” The goddess coughed and lurched to her feet, looking anywhere but at Maera. “Er, I’m going to go finish some last minute stuff. I’ll catch up with you at the festival.”

  Without waiting for an answer, the goddess headed for the door and slipped out into the late afternoon sun. Maera sat on her bed while her mind replayed Loki’s words a few more times. Had she really heard her right?

  Maybe her siren song worked a little better on Loki than either of them had thought.

  Chapter 23

  Maera had been impressed with the crowds in Kaupangen the first time she had been, but they were nothing compared to what met them the evening of the festival. As she disembarked the ship that carried the villagers to the trading town, she felt a little like a minnow dropped into a school of manta rays. People were swarming tow town from everywhere. People laughed, children shrieked — it was a mass of overwhelming sounds.

  Down the dock she spotted Erik dressed in a rich blue tunic. Next to him was Gunnhilde. The witch looked radiant in a grey-white dress that made her plaited red hair stand out starkly against the pale fabric. She laughed at something the prince said and brushed her fingers against his arm as she leaned in to say something in reply. Maera frowned at the intimate touch.

  “What are you waiting for?” Loki whispered. Maera jumped. She looked over to see him male again, now dressed in a green tunic with gold stitching along the hem. One mark was the rune symbol of Loki, Maera noticed with amusement. He sported a small braid at his temple. He nodded at the couple down the dock. “Get in there. She’s stealing your man.” He gave her a shove and Maera tripped forward.

  She recovered her balance and tried not to look in too big a hurry as she approached. When Erik noticed her, he broke off from his conversation and took a step forward to meet her. “Ah, Sigyn,” he said, taking her hand. “You look stunning.” He started to bend to kiss her, but seemed to remember himself and instead lifted her hand to his lips. Though at the last moment, he flipped her hand over and placed the kiss on her palm. Maera glanced over at the witch. The other woman had seen the intimate gesture, but she simply smiled. It was such an unworried expression that it bothered Maera more than if Gunnhilde had protested.

  Maera let Erik lead the way into the press of people. The bulk of activity appeared to be centered around the spot where the storyteller had been the last time that Maera had visited. A group of people with various instruments stood on a sloppily constructed platform, pounding out a beat. A trio of women on stage were singing a catchy tune. Maera itched to get closer to better hear the melodies, however she followed in Erik’s wake. She only had a few hours to get him alone so she could work her Siren magic and get the kiss that would satisfy the bet with Loki.

  However, as time wore on, she started to realize how impossible this was going to be. The crowd was enormous, and Erik was a well-known figure. Any time Maera tried to pull the prince off to the side, they would inevitably get caught by someone desperate to talk to him. An old man stopped him to talk about Erik’s father, and then by the time Maera tempted him away, they’d been caught in another conversation with a group of young boys eager to join Erik’s fight to keep his throne. This pattern repeated for ages.

  Sometime later, Loki found her leaning up against the side of a building, taking a swig from a mug. Erik was off talking to a couple of men about old battles. Loki pushed sweaty hair out of his face and raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s going on? Why are you over here?”

  She took a swig of the drink and winced at the bitter taste. “I can’t get him alone. There’s too many people trying to get his attention. Where have you been?”

  He nodded back toward the mass of people. “Keeping Gunnhilde busy. Haven’t you noticed she’s been missing?”

  Truthfully, Maera had forgotten all about Gunnhilde. She cocked her head at Loki and his sweat-damp hair. “What have you been doing with her?”

  “Dancing. But she finally got bored and slipped off. I’m not sure where she went. I figured she’d be headed toward Prince Rippling Muscles there.” He nodded at Erik, who was laughing at something the two older men had said.

  Maera sighed and glanced up at the sky. Night was in full swing now. She took another swig of her drink. “I don’t know that I can even make him hear me over the noise of this crowd.”

  Loki held out his hand for her drink, and she passed it to him. He took a swig and handed it back to her. As if having the same thought, they both looked over at the platform where the musicians pounded their instruments. Then they looked at each other. Loki spoke first. “We’ve got to get you up there.”

  Maera grimaced. “I don’t know that I know how to focus the magic enough just to direct it at Erik.”

  Loki shook his head. “I’ll get him close enough to the stage to hear. The people closest to the stage will just be collateral damage. Anyone much further than that won’t be able to hear you anyway. It’s too loud.” When Maera still looked uneasy, he added with an urgent click. Maera, you’re running out of time.

  Maera glowered into her drink. However she huffed and tipped back the mug, finishing the last of it in one pull. She let out a breath and pushed the empty mug into the god’s hands, but before she could head out into the crowd, Loki caught at her belt. She turned, questioning.

  The god set the mug down and slid his dagger out of his belt. He tucked it into hers with a grim expression. When she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, he gave the weapon a pat. “Listen,” he said. “As a last resort .... if this singing thing doesn’t work ... there’s one last way to save yourself and undo our bet. Kill Erik.” When Maera started to sputter a refusal, Loki shook his head. “No arg
uments. Take it.”

  “Loki, I’m not going to-”

  “But bring it back,” Loki continued, fixing her with a steady gaze. “Boda gave that to me.”

  The last of her protests died on her tongue. She gave his fingertips a squeeze where they still rested on her hip. “Thank you for trusting me with it,” she said softly.

  He snorted and retracted his hand. “Yeah, well, I figured you’d probably just steal it again anyway. Might as well hand it to you myself this time.”

  “Probably a good idea.” Maera smiled and winked at him before she turned and headed out into the crowd. She spotted Valka and Freydis off to one side, both sharing some kind of sweet bread and talking together. Maera ducked away before they could spot her. The closer she got to the stage, the more closely packed the bodies. By the time Maera pushed her way to the front, her hair was slipping down out of the braids, and she had ripped the hem of her skirt a bit.

  The current song ended, and Maera motioned to the closest musician. When he bent toward her, she told him she wanted to sing. They turned toward the musician closest to him and shared her request. While Maera waited, she turned to see if Erik was coming, but couldn’t make out anything from the press of people around her. A hand descended in front of her face. Maera looked up to see one of the musicians smiling at her. She took the offered hand and let him pull her up.

  Once she made it onto the platform and turned, the size of the audience startled her. She’d known there were a lot of people, but this vantage point made it even clearer. Anxiety closed up her throat.

  “What song you want?” asked one of the musicians.

  Maera muttered the name of the song. It was the only one she knew. One of the men wrinkled his nose. “Awfully slow song for a festival,” he muttered. “You sure?” When she nodded he shrugged, and they all picked up their instruments. Down in front, Maera spotted Loki leading Erik to the stage. The prince looked uncertain until he spotted her there. His face lit up with a smile.