Sirens and Scales

by Kellie McAllen

  “My foot’s stuck!” Asha cried. “You have to help me!”

  One of the cables snapped. The life raft titled to the side. Asha screamed and fell further into the raft where Tameka couldn’t see her.

  Asha!

  She shoved her head inside the tarp, noticing the fire was slowly going on. She reached for her sister. AS they clasped hands a thought came to her.

  If you let Asha die, then you’ll be the only child.

  The two sister stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

  “Tammy?” Asha asked, crying with terror.

  She knew what Tameka was about to do.

  Tameka smirked and pulled away. She gave the life raft one last kick for good measure and the whole thing plummeted into the sea.

  Poor little Asha.

  She looked over the side into the water, watching the life raft as it slowly started to fill with water. She couldn’t hear her sisters screams for help as she drowned over the noise of the dragons and their crying, burning victims, but she could feel her. Her sister was inside her head, begging for help, begging for her beloved sister to save her.

  Tameka turned her back and went to find her parents. As far as she was concerned Asha was dead and gone.

  She ran for the restaurant, ignoring the stinking, charred corpses on the ground. She only cared about them now.

  “Mom!” she screamed. “Dad!”

  The restaurant was an inferno. She witnessed human shapes writhing about in the flames, burning to death. She screamed, putting her hand on the door, but the heat forced her back. There had to be something she could do! She couldn’t just let them die!

  “Tammy!”

  She turned to find her parents rushing towards her. They were a little singed but seemed in perfect help.

  “Mom!” Tameka cried.

  They pulled her into a hug. In that moment Tameka had never been so happy. She had them all to herself now. They’d only love her.

  As they pulled her away from the fire her mom said, “Where’s your sister?”

  “She ran off to find you,” said Dad. Something exploded on the ship, rocking the deck beneath them. It reminded Tameka of the earthquake they’d had in Blue City just last year. “Have you seen her?”

  The hopeful but terrified looks on their faces broke her. They only cared about Asha. They couldn’t care less whether Tameka, the first born twin, was alive or not.

  They’ll only ever care about Asha.

  I’m glad that bitch is dead.

  “She’s dead,” said Tameka, her crocodile tears pouring forth.

  Her parents’ devastated faces perked Tameka up a little. It felt good to destroy them. They deserved it.

  “Are you sure?” Dad asked.

  Tameka nodded. “A dragon ate her.”

  She took a moment to savor their delicious grief when something snatched her mom out off the deck. It was a dragon, red and terrifying, its scales splashed with blood. As it ripped her mom in half, tossing what was left aside, Tameka screamed.

  It really is a dragon.

  Her dad screamed. Tameka stood frozen as the huge reptile lumbered forward and lunged, biting her father’s head clean off.

  The older Tameka staggered away, falling to the pier. She could still smell burning flesh and feel the heat of the fire; the sounds of the dragons roaring in triumph and their victims screaming in pain as their flesh melted. Most of all, though, the sight of her father’s headless torso flopping to the deck was tattooed on her eyes.

  She looked up at Asha, numb. “What…what happened next?”

  “I don’t know,” said Asha. “They’re your memories. But what I remember, after falling into the water, is waking up reborn as a mermaid.”

  Tameka felt her new memories would tear her apart. If she’d known they’d be so awful she never would’ve consented to have them back. How could she have been such a vile child? How could she have done such awful, unforgivable things?

  “I tried to kill you,” said Tameka. “I tried to kill my own sister because I was jealous. What kind of person did I used to be?”

  The words made her want to vomit.

  I sent my own sister to a watery grave!

  Asha was like stone as she said, “I don’t blame you.”

  Tameka shook her head. “I was a psychopath and I killed you.”

  Asha leaned down and placed her hand on Tameka’s arm in what she obviously assumed was a conciliatory gesture. Tameka knew there was no feeling, no emotion, behind the act whatsoever. Her sister, the sister she’d tried to murder and inadvertently sent to be turned into a mermaid, was an emotionless rock.

  “I’ll leave you to think,” said Asha.

  Tameka nodded, not even hearing her sister as she swam away to who knew where.

  The dragons killed my parents – and I tried to kill my sister.

  19

  “Are you okay?”

  Tameka looked up from where she was sitting, a rickety bench near the marina on a small patch of grass. She hadn’t had the guts to go home or talk to anyone since learning the truth. She’d even switched her cell phone off.

  It was the old surfer dude she’d met down here the other day. He seemed in high spirits, though concerned about her. It touched her a little that a complete stranger could care. Maybe he was a serial killer?

  I could take him even if he was.

  “I…found my dog,” Tameka lied. She instantly flipped into the persona of Antonia Pebble, Bronx student. “He was dead.”

  “I’m so sorry,” said the man.

  “These things happen.”

  The man sat down on the bench beside her. He had what appeared to be a packed lunch in a brown paper bag in his hands. He took something of the bag and offered it to her. It appeared to be some type of donut hole.

  “Want one?” he offered.

  She took it and took one bite. It was heavenly.

  “I make them myself,” he said. “I love baking.”

  She ate the donut and he passed her another one. Before long she’d eaten the whole bag. She didn’t feel guilty. Antonia just wasn’t that type of person.

  She stood up, pushing back Antonia. She needed to go home and think in her own bed, with familiar things around her.

  Except I have trolls living with me.

  She directed her gaze at the man, whose name she realized she didn’t actually know. It was probably on the Facebook address he’d given her the other day. What did she do with that note? Was it still in her pocket?

  “Can people change?” she asked him.

  “Of course they can,” he answered. “Believe or not I used to be someone very different, someone who wasn’t well liked. I took it upon myself to become someone better.”

  “I used to be a horrible child. I did some wicked things.”

  “Are you sorry you did them?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled. “Then you’ve already changed.”

  It was the answer she was expecting, but not the one she wanted. The truth was, if she couldn’t remember being a sociopath then how could she change? And now she could remember, was she heading down a path of becoming that person again? It didn’t make any sense, and she wished it did. She just wished she had more memories of her sister, of their lives together before the cruise, rather than what happened in those few days.

  Red was in his office when she arrived at the police station. The place was busy, with hordes of detectives and uniformed officers bustling about. She was about to ask one of them what was going on when she remembered the raid on the warehouse last night. She had no idea what they’d made of the enchanted humans and boxes of magical artefacts.

  “Can we talk?” said Tameka, standing by Red’s open door.

  He looked up from his desk, flustered. There was piles of paper files surrounding him like a moat. He sighed with annoyance.

  “Have you seen all this paperwork?” he complained. “Look at it all! How am I supposed to deal with all this?”
/>   She entered and closed the door behind her. She didn’t want anyone else hearing what she had to say.

  “What happened at the warehouse after we left?” she asked.

  Tell me if you know the dragons killed my parents!

  “When the police arrived they found twenty-seven humans, all of whom couldn’t remember where they’d been the last few years of their life,” Red explained. “The mayor ordered they be let go, so they were. I have no idea what they’re going to tell their families.”

  “What about the artefacts? Surely some of them are dangerous?”

  “I have to tell the dragons what happened so they can take over the warehouse. I’m sure they’ll find somewhere to keep them where they can be kept out of harm’s way.” One of the towers of files toppled over onto the floor. Red groaned. “And so that sorts that out all nice and tidy.”

  Tameka didn’t like the idea of the dragons having control of such things. They were murderers. They didn’t deserve to have the power they had.

  They killed my parents and hundreds of others on that cruise ship for no reason.

  “What’s up?” Red asked. “The trolls keep you up all night?”

  “I’m fine,” she snapped.

  “If it’s about your offer last night then…”

  She laughed bitterly. “I’ve forgotten all about it. Did you think I was serious about wanting to have sex with you? I was joking. I needed a laugh after all that death.”

  “Hmm.”

  It was obvious he didn’t believe her, but he was too much of a coward to say anything to the contrary. She wanted to punch him. Instead she said, “You want to come with me back to the docks?”

  “What for?” he asked.

  “To see if we missed anything. We didn’t really get a chance to look around.”

  “Good idea.”

  Red was a good person, even if he was a dragon. He couldn’t have known what really happened to her parents any more than she did. He wasn’t the type of person to keep something that important from her. But what if she didn’t know him, not really? What if he’d been playing her all this time?

  She tried to look back into her recently retrieved memory. The red dragon that had killed her parents had been half obscured by flames and smoke. She hadn’t really had a good look at its face. Could it have been Red?

  Red isn’t like that. He’s not a monster.

  “What did you do before you were a cop?” she asked. She tried to act casual, as if she were merely making conversation.

  “I lived with the dragons,” he said, getting up from his desk. “Why do you want to know?”

  “You did nothing for thousands of years?”

  “I’ve done lots of things. It’d take me a very long time to tell you everything.”

  She grinned. “You can tell me on the way.”

  Red couldn’t have possibly have killed her parents, but now that she’d implanted the suspicion was in her head it had taken root. It festered, making her question everything that had ever happened between them.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. His concern was real, genuine. A monster wouldn’t care so much. “You seem distracted.”

  “I’m still a little shaken from last night,” she admitted, which was the truth.

  He looked like he didn’t believe her, but she ignored him. They needed to find Galina.

  Could he have been the red dragon on the cruise ship?

  “What do you think?” Yenay asked.

  Vincent studied the apartment with dread. It was spacious and tidy but it wasn’t right. Her and Verina had put so much effort into making the house they’d fled into a proper home for their family. They couldn’t just move somewhere else. It felt like a betrayal.

  “The children like it,” Vincent conceded.

  The little trolls were running around the living room, playing catch. She was glad they were enjoying themselves before the fact that their mother was dead caught up to them again. She wished she could forget. Verina’s defiled body would haunt her mind forever. Vincent was just glad the kids didn’t see it.

  “I wish we could go home,” said Vincent. She smiled sadly. “Verina would want us to be a family there.”

  “It’s not safe there,” Yenay reminded him, a little unkindly the troll thought. “But then again I’m sure they could find out where Tameka lived quite easily. I suppose there’s no safe place, not in this world.”

  “You’re not comforting me.”

  Yenay had turned up just after Tameka left, claiming to be Tameka’s best friend, with an offer of a new apartment. Vincent had no reason to distrust her, even though her voice was starting to get on her nerves.

  “You have more people to protect you here,” said Yenay. She smiled, looking contrite. “Sorry if I freaked you out a bit.”

  “The fact I’m miserable has nothing to do with your words of doom, though they didn’t help.” Vincent watched her children play for a while before adding, “I miss my wife so much.”

  Yenay smiled and hugged her. Vincent was surprised at the warmth the woman offered seeing as they’d only just met. It was a pleasant surprise and it did, remarkable, make her feel just that little bit better.

  The kindness of strangers.

  Vincent sighed. “Fine. We’ll take it.”

  Yenay made an excited squealing noise that startled Vincent. It sounded like a dolphin that had got its fin caught in a boat’s propeller. It was very strange. Humans were very strange.

  Tameka pushed aside the yellow crime scene tape. The door to the warehouse was locked but she kicked it open easily. The police should have left a guard here. Anybody could get in.

  “What do you think will happen to all the enchanted workers once they get back home?” she asked, searching for a light switch inside. It was pitch black. “How are they going to explain where they’ve been if they can’t remember?”

  “I’ve got all their names on file,” Red answered. “If they run into trouble I’ll send someone to help them.”

  “Someone who knows what really happened, though, right?”

  “I told you there’s a liaison for the paranormal who works for the force. He’s only called in when needed. He’ll do fine.”

  She found a switch and pulled it down, enveloping the warehouse in light. It wasn’t nearly as enormous inside as it was yesterday. Without Galina’s magic it was just a normal, average sized warehouse now. The crates were gone too.

  “The dragons have been already,” said Red. His voice echoed a little. “It’s a shame. I wouldn’t have minded having a look through some of those crates. There could have been some interesting things in them.”

  “What do you think was in them?” Tameka asked. They were walking across to the metal stairs that led up to Galina’s office. “Something powerful?”

  “I honestly thought she was a witch. There’d been rumors of someone collecting magical artefacts from this and other dimensions for years. A while back I ended up putting a name to the rumors; Galina Trade. I wish I’d have known then what she is.”

  Tameka looked up, noticing that the stairs led up to nothing. The office had obviously been part of the spell. She grew angry. They should’ve gone in there before the spell wore off. There could have been dozens of clues to discover. If only the police hadn’t turned up and got in their way.

  “Let’s try the basement,” Red suggested.

  Tameka nodded and they went on their way. As they walked she said, “It must have been boring doing nothing all day. Surely you did something before you became a cop.”

  “I did many things,” Red explained. “I explored. I learned. I…”

  She stopped, noticing his hesitation. He was keeping something back from her, something important.

  “What is it?” she asked, a little more angrily than she’d intended.

  “Nothing,” he said. “Like I said, I did a lot of things.”

  They entered the doorway to the basement. Tameka watched him as they descended the stairs,
wondering what was going on in that reptile brain of his. Was he wondering whether she knew what he’d done?

  “So what have you learned over the years?” she asked.

  They passed by a patch of troll blood on the floor. It must have leaked from Vincent’s wife’s corpse when they were carrying it out.

  “Over fifty languages,” he confessed. “History. Art. Medicine. Philosophy. Car mechanics. I can even decode a computer.”

  “A dragon that can use Excel? I’m impressed. Did you know Shakespeare?”

  “Not really.”

  “Leonardo da Vinci?”

  He shook his head. “I never met anyone famous in the human world, though I did date Veronique Blatt for a century.” At Tameka’s blank look he explained. “She’s a famous artist among the dragons. Her work is visionary. I wish you could see it.”

  They peeked inside one of the rooms in the basement, finding no crates in there. The only thing inside was a rat having a puddle bath.

  “I like art,” Tameka confessed. “You could show me one time.”

  “Humans aren’t allowed in Ladon.”

  “What’s Ladon?”

  “The dragon city.”

  Tameka held onto Red’s arm, stopping him short. She must have misheard him. She could’ve sworn he’d said “dragon city.”

  “There’s a dragon city?” she demanded.

  “Of course there is,” he said. “Why wouldn’t there be?”

  “Where is it? Why hasn’t anybody found it yet?”

  “I can’t tell you where it is, and the reason no human has found it yet is because humans are stupid. No offence.”

  She shrugged. “What can I say? Humans are morons.”

  They searched every room in the basement and found nothing. They even reluctantly ventured back into Verina’s torture chamber, which was stinking of rotting flesh now. There wasn’t a single clue to Galina’s intentions anywhere. The kraken had been meticulous in scrubbing the building clean of any trace.

  Tameka closed the door behind her, banishing the image of Verina’s body from her mind yet again. She didn’t know where to go or what to do next. How were you supposed to track down someone who used magic to hide? It was an impossible task.