Myranda. The only woman to have taken his mind off of his exwife. He smiled at the thought that she was not considered a beauty of the island, and he did not want her to be either. She was perfect as she was: her eyes, bright against her browned skin. Those slow and precise walks along the beach.
But Manolin could not, would not. He had an unparalleled respect for the doctor. There was something almost mystical about the bald man, a quality that someone so knowledgeable seems to possess. Between the two was a bond, a sharing of values. Manolin was conscious that his fantasies would not ruin that.
He let his thoughts flow.
Manolin and Santiago were both silent, both watching the horizon, the beach, the reef. Three hours drifted by. Nothing happened. The ichthyocentaur was still sitting on the beach, Jefry still behind. On the other boat, the doctor was standing up, scanning the horizon, but his body was in a relaxed pose, one hand rubbing his bald head. Why does he always do that?
The moon was higher. The fires of the village were bright. Manolin could smell something being cooked. Villagers went about their business. Their silhouettes and shadows moved discretely between the huts, the fire and the forest. Another half an hour and the fires were nearly out, thin trails of smoke rising in a line.
Manolin glanced back to the ichthyocentaur and it was now standing. Perfectly still, it was staring out past the reef.
Manolin nudged Santiago who turned to see it.
‘It’s standing,’ Manolin said.
Santiago was silent. He craned his neck to follow where he guessed the ichthyocentaur was staring, but the sea was calm, nothing unnatural moving on the surface. The ichthyocentaur stood there for some time. Then, it began to shuffle towards the sea. Jefry followed it to the water’s edge before the creature moved into the shallow water.
‘What’s it doing?’ Manolin asked.
Santiago didn’t reply.
The wind was picking up. The ichthyocentaur waded further out to sea, but was only up to its knees. Its arms were motionless. Jefry had his musket in his hands. Manolin could see him walking back and forth, his eyes fixed on the ichthyocentaur, which was nearing the two fishing boats.
There was a distinct sound. It was like a breeze racing along the beachhead, but silent, almost out of range for them.
‘It’s definitely related to the sound,’ Manolin said.
Santiago nodded, pointing at the ichthyocentaurs’ village, some distance away by the volcano. Fires were moving. He glanced towards the reef, the direction in which the creature was headed. Manolin followed his gaze, picked up a pistol. He could see nothing except the flat coral platforms some way off.
‘Row nearer,’ Santiago said, indicating the ichthyocentaur.
Manolin placed the pistol on his lap, picked up two oars from the middle of the boat. He pulled them onto the side, began to row across to the ichthyocentaur. The creature was waist high in the water.
‘This’lI do,’ Santiago said. They were about twenty feet in away from the creature. Santiago had his musket in his hands and rested it on the side of the boat. Manolin pulled the oars in, picked up his pistol.
Manolin never realised how dark it had become now that the fires had gone and the moon had fallen behind a cloud. It forced Manolin to rely on his hearing and the sound became noticeably clearer. ‘You hear that?’
Santiago ‘Yes, indeed. It’s clearly the sound bringing it out. Keep your eyes fixed.’
Manolin, watching only the ichthyocentaur, could hear the clinking of metal as Santiago loaded his musket. His heart began to beat a little faster, and his hands were clammy against the pistol. The creature seemed to be in a trance, not aware of its surroundings. It was struggling against the tide.
Santiago stood up, lifted his musket, placing the butt against his shoulder.
‘What’ve you seen?’ Manolin asked, standing up and rocking the boat.
‘Movement,’ he said. ‘Keep your eye on the creature.’
Manolin turned to see that the ichthyocentaur was standing still, the water lapping at its chest. Forb’s boat was coming along the other side, the women with pistols in their hands.
The moon came from the behind the clouds, and illuminated the scene. Barrels of the pistols and muskets shone. On the water where Santiago was aiming, there were distinct shadows. Something was breaking the surface of the water.
The current carried their boat further out, nearing the reef. Three distinct lumps had surfaced, which Manolin took to be seaweed, drifting forwards. His heart raced and he held the pistol at arms length. Santiago was calm and methodical, the weapon natural in his grip, and with the tip of it he followed the movements.
‘When should we shoot?’ Manolin asked.
‘Not until it’s right there, on him, and we can see clearly what the hell it is. I want to see what it is and I want to know where it comes from.’
Manolin’s throat felt dry as he passed the pistol from hand to hand in anticipation. Almost immediately he heard a melody, faint and almost untraceable.
‘Get ready to row, Manolin.’
‘Why?’
‘Because if we shoot, it’s going to swim very far, very fast, so I want to know where it goes.’
Manolin picked the oars up again, set them ready to row. Three heads appeared clearer, near the ichthyocentaur. Still there was the soft melody. The heads surrounded the creature. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The heads had long hair and delicate faces: they were women. Three women. The females circled the creature, which was standing motionless, either waiting or showing no control of its own. The women closed in, and Manolin could see their breasts, full and round, rise above the water. In their hands were blades.
A shot punctured the sky.
The sound echoed around the bay and there was a piercing scream as one of the women fell down. The other two stopped, turned. Santiago fired, a tiny explosion of water appearing to the right of the remaining two.
‘Row to the reef,’ Santiago said. ‘Quick.’
Manolin began hauling the boat through the water, not knowing where he was going, and he could see the two women’s heads cutting cleanly towards the reef. He started off ahead, but they were parallel then edging ahead. He lurched forwards, pulled the oars backwards, propelling the tiny boat. He was level with the reef, careful to steer the boat away from the coral platforms. Santiago fired, and a spark shot off the rock. He loaded again and fired across, following the heads all the time.
Manolin had passed the first ridge of the reef, continued, falling behind, sweat pouring off his head. Then the heads sank. Santiago fired once again into the water where he last saw them.
‘Fuck,’ Santiago said. ‘Fuck it, we’ve missed them.’
Manolin put the oars down, collapsed backwards, his chest heaving.
Santiago looked at him. ‘You’re unfit. We’ve lost them.’
Manolin lurched back up with a sharp gasp of air and stared, cold and hard at Santiago. ‘They went underwater. You want me to row underwater?’
Santiago stared at the sea, his foot up on the side of the boat. His head moved from side to side as he tried to see where they could possibly have gone.
A minute later, and Forb pulled his boat up alongside. Becq and Yana held their pistols uneasily.
‘I got one,’ the doctor said. ‘The ichthyocentaur’s still back there, a little dazed. I’ll head back and see what it was I hit. You see what they were?’
Santiago nodded. ‘Heard of creatures like this, but never thought I’d see one.’
‘What was it?’ Forb asked.
Santiago said, ‘A siren.’
‘A siren?’ Becq said. She looked at Manolin, leaned over the side of her boat. ‘You okay?’ He nodded, smiling with his mouth open, still catching breath. ‘Yes,’ Santiago said. ‘Thought they were myths. Still, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, as myoid lecturer used to say. I’d be very intrigued to see one close up, not that I’ve ever seen one before.’
‘A sir
en,’ Forb said, shaking his head.
‘I’ve never heard of them,’ Yana said.
‘Fishermen’s tales, usually,’ Santiago said. ‘Never known anyone to have actually seen one.’
He looked over the side of the boat, down into the water as the boats tapped each other with the water’s movement. ‘The water changes depths here, doesn’t it?’
‘Yes, by quite some incline. The reef follows the floor down a very steep fall.’
‘How far?’
Forb shrugged. ‘Can’t swim down particularly far. None of the villagers has ever gone deep. The ichthyocentaurs used to be able to go down for dozens of minutes at a time. Even an hour. They’re great underwater, but ever since they started being killed off, none of them went down that far.’
Santiago raised an eyebrow as he sat back down in the boat. ‘Really?’ ‘Yes. But they’ll hardly swim at all these days.’ Santiago said, ‘Well, that’s where our ladies went, so ... Let’s take a look at one then.’ Manolin looked back to see the ichthyocentaur had turned as was running up the beach then into the forest.
Forb hauled the body of the siren on to the beach. Manolin helped him by pulling on the siren’s other arm, and her body carved a trail through the sand. They couldn’t help but stare at her. She had a shot wound through one eye, and where the it had punctured, a thick, black liquid had leaked. Half her face couldn’t be seen. A group of villagers had gathered to see the spectacle. Yana and Jefry stood further back. Yana looked across at Jefry for some time. He never once looked her way.
Pain gripped Yana’s face. Becq walked up to her, took her hand. ‘Are you all right? Please tell me if something is wrong. I can help you.’
‘Oh, I’m not sure you can,’ Yana said. ‘I’ll tell you when we go to bed.’
Becq rolled her lips thinly in a smile.
A gasp went up from the huddle of villagers as Forb and Manolin lay the body down in front of them. The villagers muttered amongst one another. Santiago flicked open a small knife then walked up to the body. Forb, Manolin and Santiago crouched down next to it.
The siren was disturbingly beautiful.
Five feet long, she looked like a woman, up to her waist, where a thick, oddly-textured tail extended. It looked like half a giant snake, with two fins strapped on the end. Ribs contained thick flaps, like gills. Her breasts were firm, round. Her hair was long, black and slick, face was almost translucent.
‘You know, she’s quite an attractive creature, all things considered,’ Santiago said. He pulled back her remaining eyelid. A ghostly orb stared at him. The old man shuddered and he laughed awkwardly as he kneeled back, then dropped the knife as the lid closed.
‘You really think so?’ Yana asked. ‘I can’t see it myself.’
Jefry grunted. ‘Well, you’ve never had any taste, have you?’
‘I know what you mean,’ Forb said to Santiago. He looked up. ‘Mhuli, what say you?’
A tall villager stepped forwards, his slender limbs oozing forward. He had cropped hair and a wide, elegant face, and wore shortened breeches. ‘Thy speaks truths, Forb. A man could wonder greatly at her beauty. For why did thou ask of my opinion?’
‘You have different tastes than us,’ Forb said. ‘What you find attractive isn’t the same as me, usually.’
Mhuli stepped back into the group.
‘Gilli, and you?’ Forb said.
A plump, stout woman, who was considered beautiful by the islanders, bounded forwards. She was almost naked and her hair was tied back, revealing large, Iow-hanging breasts.
‘What say you, Gilli?’
‘She possesses no beauty. I pray you could do much better than this, doctor.’
‘Where’s this going, Forb?’ Santiago asked.
‘I find it peculiar that every man finds her attractive, but none of the women. Moreover, we’re men with differing tastes, yet we all find her pleasing to the eye. I think that’d very odd, that’s all.’
Manolin nodded thoughtfully, his vision bound to the siren. He picked up a strand of her hair and it felt gelatinous, almost like kelp. His eyes settled on her face with ease. She was indeed pleasant to look at and he felt sad that she was dead. It disturbed him to look at her wound. An inexplicable urge took him. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to take her with him. He didn’t know where.
Forb leaned over her, pressed her body to feel the texture. Santiago, too, touched her. All three of them were touching her, hunching over her, a primitive and suggestive display. They seemed lost and their eyes glazed over as they focussed on the siren.
Yana stepped forwards, shook each of them in turn. They looked up, confused at what she was doing. ‘You’re under some sort of trance, you idiots,’ she said. ‘Stop looking at her.’
Manolin couldn’t explain the deep sensation that had just filled him. Stunned at what was happening, he rubbed his face vigorously. Not only was there mystery here, but danger.
Forb stood up, followed by Manolin and Santiago. They glanced down at the body as they stepped away. Yana said, ‘You men are useless at the best of times. There’s obviously something in her make up that affects males.’
Forb nodded, rubbing his chin. He blinked rapidly. ‘I think you’re right. Incredible stuff. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. What about you, Santiago?’
‘Nope. Only heard of these things and seen drawings. This is something quite special indeed.’
Yana, with her arms out wide, steered them back. ‘I’m sure you think that, all right. But how about we focus on facts? This thing has some strange effect and tried to kill.’ She stepped aside as some of the villagers moved in around the body.
Manolin looked up as if he had been reminded of something he’d done whilst drunk. ‘Of course, yes, she did. Right, well what I want to know is how come the ichthyocentaur was stuck dead in his tracks. What was it this thing did?,
‘It had to be the sound,’ Santiago said. ‘We all heard that sound. It was gentle, like a song. I’ve noticed it before. The ichthyocentaur up there,’ he indicated the volcano, ‘were stirring, too. It didn’t really have an affect on us though, so I suggest it was outside of our hearing range. Too high, or something.’
‘I think you’re right,’ Forb said. ‘Question is, where did they come from?’ ‘They’re obviously local, else these killings wouldn’t be frequent,’ Manolin said.
Santiago turned and looked out to sea. It was night, and he couldn’t see where the horizon was. He could hear the water lapping against the shore. ‘What’s the other side of the reef, Forb?,
‘Depends how far you go. Islands further up, as you know.’
Santiago said, ‘What about down?’
‘Come again?’ Forb said.
‘The other side of the reef, and down,’ Santiago said. ‘What’s there? The sea floor drops steeply, you say.’
Forb shrugged. ‘As I said, don’t really know. Can’t dive particularly deep. Don’t have the equipment to go down that far anyway. And don’t know of the technology to do so. All the diving equipment I’ve known only takes you down so far. After a while, the air from the surface becomes toxic, doesn’t it?’
Santiago nodded, smiling. ‘We have the technology.’
Forb raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? How?’
Santiago leaned closer to the doctor. ‘Relics.’
Forb smirked, then laughed. ‘Where the hell did you get one from, and what is it?’ ‘You know ‘bout relics?’ Manolin said. ‘Course. I was involved with government when I was in the city. I know about stuff the public doesn’t.’ Forb turned to Santiago, respect suddenly in his eyes. ‘So, what’ve you got?, ‘Submersible. Seats up to six. You can get gas mixtures in Escha, just had to get them in the right containers. We can follow the reef as far down as it goes. And more. Just have to be careful we do it slowly, else it isn’t pretty.’
‘Where did you find it?’ Forb asked.
‘Money can get you anything in that city,’ Santiago said. ‘Too much. So it wasn�
�t difficult, if you know where to go. And I do.’ ‘We’ll go tomorrow, if you want.’ Calyban and Soul barged through the group, and the villagers muttered annoyance as the two approached Forb. The two agents paused to look at the siren.
‘So, that’s our killer then, eh?’ Calyban said.
‘Indeed,’ Santiago said.
Manolin couldn’t read their faces in the dark, so he trusted them less. Calyban said, ‘Why didn’t you tell us you were after one tonight? We should’ve seen this. It all needs to be recorded.’ Santiago shrugged, turning his back. ‘Really? I could’ve sworn I did.’
‘Where did it come from?’ Soul asked.
‘Not sure, but possibly the other side of the reef, in the deep,’ Forb said. Calyban nodded. ‘You’re going to see what’s down there then?’ Forb nodded. ‘We’re coming with you. Whatever you find, we want to know. Okay?’
Santiago said, ‘Why? Why must you?’
‘Keep telling you, Mr DeBrelt. Whatever you see, we also need to see.’ Santiago smoothed down his moustache, then rubbed his face. ‘Fine.’ ‘Good,’ Calyban said. The two of them turned and joined the group of villagers that were huddled around the siren. Santiago walked away with Manolin and Forb. Yana, Becq and Jefry followed.
‘We’ll have to bury the siren, you know,’ Manolin said.
‘Sure,’ Forb said. ‘It’d be a shame to let the beauty decompose out here. We’ll do it when all the fuss has died down. I did think that Santiago expressed an interest in keeping one. For use as a specimen. Either that or one of the ichthyocentaurs. I can’t keep up with him at times.’
‘You and me both,’ Manolin said.
Yana and Becq took a stroll along the edge of the forest. It was late, but neither felt tired. The tide was ebbing. Yana was silent for most of the walk, although the quietness wasn’t awkward. She seemed content merely to listen to eh sounds of the island. Occasionally, she would laugh to herself.
The Reef Page 24
