Blue Mage Quest Collection: 4 Tales of Fantasy Romance Adventure (Blue Mage Series)

by Eden Redd

  The two other sirens threw their spears in rapid succession. Sylk sang on as their points struck home and bounced off. Turning, Sylk eyed her opponents as they looked to each other and then pointed their gaze at her.

  Merra swam about lazily. “The shield song works both ways. You cannot attack while the shield is up and the enemy cannot penetrate unless your mana is spent or you stop singing.”

  The three sirens opened their mouths and screamed. Sylk knew this attack because she used it many times herself. What caused her eyebrow to arch was that the sonic vibrations from their screams had focused. Instead of a wide dispersal, the scream concentrated into a single line and hit her shield from three directions. The power from it was enough to cause Sylk to disrupt her singing and her shield to disappear. A sonic stream hit her shoulder, causing the siren to spin into the water. Merra dived down and scooped her up, holding her close and smiling.

  “I didn’t know it could be focused like that.” Sylk said as she rubbed her own shoulder.

  “Now that you have experienced it, you should be able to emulate it.”

  Sylk looked to Merra and was in awe of her confidence. It was enough that she didn’t mind when the green siren ran a webbed hand under her thigh. The moment went on for a few more seconds before Merra turned her head to the murky water.

  From the ocean gloom, three mermaids appeared, swimming directly toward them. Merra let go of Sylk and eyed them as they swam right to her.

  “The Wicked Coil is coming this way. She has captives.” The mermaid said with cool eyes.

  Merra looked to the others and nodded her head. The group of sirens scattered to the background. Bodies moved into plant beds and hid among rocks. Sylk lost track of them in a matter of moments. Merra took hold of Sylk’s wrist and they both dived down with the mermaids. Finding their hiding spot, they hugged close to rock outcroppings, eyes up into the murky depths.

  “What is happening?” Sylk asked as she scanned the water.

  “Further training, a slave ship carrying captives is coming down this route. It is one of the bone ships the Scylla use for their surface raids. They capture any male they can get their tentacles on for breeding. We are going to save them and destroy the ship.” Merra said in a low tone.

  Sylk’s eyes widened. “You planned this!”

  Merra smirked. “You are an experienced warrior. What better way to train then actual combat.”

  Sylk was about to say something and then closed her mouth. She had nothing to come back with and placed her trust in the green siren’s webbed hands. Accepting what was about to happen, she simply nodded and went back to looking at the murky water.

  The sea had become eerily silent. The blue siren watched as her magical heart began to race. Something red moved in the distance among some waving seaweed. Looking to the plants, Sylk gasped as the red male siren appeared, his eyes searching. Merra looked to the male and frowned. With a hand signal, a female siren leapt from her cover and took hold of the surprised male. Dragging him down along the sandy floor, they made their way to Merra’s hiding spot with Sylk.

  The female slammed the males back against a rocky wall and held him there. Merra moved in closer, eyes burning with rage.

  “Why did you leave camp?” Merra growled.

  “I wanted to see Sylk train. I wanted to be there as she became stronger.” The red-skinned male said with a nervous look in his eye.

  “Males. Never doing what you’re told.” Merra growled.

  The red male looked to Sylk. “My name is Ness. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

  The blue siren looked to the love struck Ness with incredulous eyes. Merra took hold of the male and shoved him to the sandy floor causing it to stir.

  “Stay here and stay down. I will discuss your punishment later.” Merra said as she shoved his face into the sand.

  It was then when they all heard it, a dark vibration sending cold tendrils around them. Hunkering down, they watched with intense eyes as something big moved toward them. A giant blob of white first appeared in the distance. As it moved closer, its hazy form began to solidify. Sylk could not turn her gaze away. A large mouth with teeth bigger then her head arose first. It was attached to a ship with sails made of skin and white bones melded together to form a hull. Sylk knew of sailing ships but this one defied logic. They were many fathoms under the surface but the ship moved under water as if a wind filled those horrid sails. Instead of wooden boards, white bone glowed a pale light. Figures moved on the deck, holding spears and glancing over the sides. Sylk narrowed her eyes and saw her first Scylla as the ship approached. They appeared like beautiful women from the waist up. They had long hair and thin features. Gold armor wrapped over their shoulders and arms bands covered their forearms. From the waist down tentacles moved, holding onto the railing.

  “You said they capture men for breeding. Why do they need surface men?” Sylk asked.

  “Scylla killed all their males thousands of years ago. They discovered that the seed of surface men produce only females. They believe the only male they should know is their Dead Sea god, Draygon. Now they send out ships to capture and enslave men. The Wicked Coil is one of those ships and we are going to liberate it.” Merra said as her eyes gazed at the oncoming ship.

  “How are we going to do that? I see twice as many of them compared to us. There may be more below deck.” Sylk readied herself.

  Merra gave a wicked smile. “This would be poor training if we outnumbered them.”

  Sylk gripped the rock she was hiding behind. “This is crazy.”

  “This is entertainment.” Merra bent her legs to the sandy ocean floor. “Every bone ship has a heart. We are to free the prisoners and destroy that heart. Once it is destroyed, the ship will not be able to regenerate. Stay close and don’t get killed.”

  The bone ship moved overhead, oval eyes looking over the railing as if expecting an attack. Merra launched herself up, bubbles trailing behind; she sang her shield song with the power of a Valkyrie. Spears rained down, bouncing off her shield but the green siren did not let up. Sirens and mermaids launched up from all sides. Sylk pressed to the sandy bottom and used all her power to torpedo up into the fray.

  The attack turned into a maelstrom of chaos. Scylla clashed with siren and mermaid. Spears were thrown, bouncing off shields while mermaids slammed into tentacle women with unrestrained force. Merra swam with determination in her oval eyes. Dropping her shield song, she lanced forward with a controlled sonic scream. A Scylla was struck dead on, eyes shutting from the blow and hitting the deck. She moaned as her body floated. Sylk appeared over the railing, her scream joining several others. Some of the enemy dodged the streams of screams while others formed water shields on their arms to deflect them. A volley of spears streamed past, one nicking a mermaid tail. The blue siren kicked with her legs, propelling herself at one Scylla. Tentacles rose up to grab the siren. When they were inches away, Sylk screamed. The vibrations knocked the Scylla soldier away, a dazed and confused look in her eye.

  “Get below deck and free the prisoners. We will keep them busy.” Merra shouted to Sylk.

  The blue siren swam to the double doors leading to the lower deck. When she took hold and wretched them open, a group of spear holding scylla were waiting. Sylk sang her shield song just before the spear points stabbed. Sharp metal points bounced off her invisible shield. Time slowed down as Sylk dropped her shield. The Scylla were about to stab again when the siren let out a sonic boom. The vibration knocked them all further down below deck. Sylk swam in, tentacle women floating and groaning.

  Pushing past them, the blue siren continued her search for any prisoners. Another deck down, she spotted metal bars along a hallway. Swimming closer, four of eight cells held men with a bubble around their heads. Seeing the siren, they reached through the bars, begging to be set free. Without hesitation, Sylk screamed at the metal locks, causing them to shatter on impact. Opening the doors, men swam out and past her for the stairs.

&
nbsp; When all the prisoners were gone, Sylk turned to head deeper into the ship. Going down another flight, she saw a long hallway with doors lining the sides and a big metal door at the end. Cautiously swimming forward, the siren searched for any scylla. A blast of black ink engulfed her, blocking out her vision. Tentacles reached through and took hold of limbs. The siren struggled but the tendrils held her like a vice. The black cloud faded into the surrounding water and a Scylla leered. Sylk struggled and a tentacle wrapped around her throat, preventing her from screaming. The blue siren gasped as the tentacle coiled tighter, threatening to break her neck.

  “Leave her alone!” said a voice from behind.

  A red-scaled fist struck the Scylla in the back of the head. The tentacle woman loosened her hold and scaly arms wrapped around her neck. Struggling continued and the scylla let go of the blue siren. Sylk turned around to see Ness with his arms around the scylla’s neck. A tentacle pulled a dagger from tentacle woman’s belt and drove it into the male siren’s thigh. Wisps of blood drifted up but the red male continued to hold her in his arms. Sylk took her chance and opened her mouth. The sonic blast hit the scylla in the chest, stunning her. Ness let go and the tentacle woman slumped to the floor.

  “Stay close.” Sylk commanded.

  “Yes my love.” Ness nodded and swam closer.

  Together they swam to the end of the hall and floated before the big metal door. The sounds of fighting could still be heard in the distance. Sylk had no idea if they were winning. She was told to free the prisoners and if these doors led to the heart of the ship, she could stop the battle right now. Reaching out, the siren took hold of the handle and pulled. The door did not budge. On closer examination, there was a key hole above the door handle.

  “I don’t suppose you picked up a key on your way down here?” Sylk said with a tired inflection.

  Ness shook his head. “No my love.”

  Sylk swam back a little and looked at the lock. Opening her mouth, she blasted a sonic stream at the metal lock. The metal stood up to the blast as the siren poured it on. Sylk closed her mouth. The door stood, unharmed.

  At the end of the hall, figures fought their way down the stairs. Sylk and Ness turned to see Merra fighting off three Scylla. Kicking their legs, they swam to help her. Merra screamed, blasting one in the face, blood pouring from her nose. A webbed fist slammed into another Scylla’s cheek while an elbow crashed into the third ones nose. All three floated back and Merra let out another scream. The shock wave slammed all three into the walls and stairs. By the time Sylk and Ness reached her, she was already swimming to them.

  “The door is locked. We can’t open it.” Sylk said as Merra swam past her.

  “If you cannot break the lock, you must convince it to open.” Merra said as she swam to the door.

  Sylk and Ness watched as Merra began to sing. The blue siren could see the vibrations streaming from her voice to the lock mechanism. Pulses and vibrations splashed against tumblers, each one testing. Tumblers rolled and moved to the right melody. Sylk never knew she could use her voice with such delicate precision. After a few tense seconds, the lock opened with a click.

  Merra pulled the door open and swam in. Sylk and Ness followed. Inside, they stared at a pulsating crystal. Pipes glowed as purple energy pushed their power outward and up the length of them.

  “We have to hurry. The Scylla were taking back their ship and pushing our forces back. They will be down here at any moment. The only way out is to destroy the ship.” Merra took Sylk’s webbed hand into hers. “Sing with me.”

  Sylk nodded.

  The two sirens looked to the crystal heart and let out a barrage of sonic discord. Ness swam back as the wave of vibrations struck the heart, energy flaring in response. The two sirens kept it up for a long moment before they stopped. The crystal glowed but appeared undamaged.

  “Again but do not stop.” Merra shouted.

  The two sirens unleashed their voices once more. The discord slammed into the crystal, purple energy flaring bigger and bigger. The strain on their throats was quickly turning to pain. Sylk pushed everything she had but the crystal seemed to resist their voice. A crack appeared but Sylk and Merra stopped, their throats strained and bodies weakened. Ness shot forward like a dart. With a closed fist, he punched the crystal in the small crack. The purple crystal heart cracked further and split in two.

  Sylk smiled and the ship around them blazed with light. A second later, everything began to unravel. Bone making up the hull separated. The ceiling cracked and came down. Merra screamed a shockwave, pushing falling bone away from them. An opening appeared. All three swam for it and through before, it collapsed.

  The blue siren looked back as the giant bone ship began to crumple and fall to the ocean floor. Scylla retreated the falling wreck in all directions. Sylk pumped her fist in the air. Merra took hold of the blue siren’s wrist and pulled her with her. Together all three swam off to join the rest of their kind, hearts soaring.

  Three

  The night was alive with song and dancing. Sylk sat with the other female sirens, cheering the males to dance and do underwater acrobatics. Meat filled their bellies and a female siren sang a joyful melody. Glowing fish and jellyfish crowded around illuminating the celebration. Female sirens laughed, clapped and pointed at the males. Some of the females hugged each other with smiles on their lips.

  Sylk smiled as females squeezed her shoulders or hugged her. The blue siren could not believe they made it out of there with a few cuts and bruises. No one lost his or her life today and it was cause to celebrate once again.

  The blue siren continued to clap as females around her pointed at males and opened their arms. Male sirens swam to them, eager to please. The blue siren laughed with her sisters as they cheered on couples. Thighs opened and arms entwined around bodies. Playful cooing filled the water around them as the night warmed to seductive embraces.

  Merra sat on an outcropping in front of her cave, staring down at the festivities. Eyes moved from couple to couple until her eyes gazed at the blue siren. Sylk looked up and smiled at her mentor, strange feelings filling her. Thoughts of her master swirled in her mind. Her love for him beat true but Merra caused her lust to rise. The mood was infectious and at that moment, Sylk wanted to feed again.

  Among the dancing males, a red one centered his eyes on the blue siren. Sylk turned her head when one of the females touched her shoulder and pointed. Smiling, she watched as the male performed but kept his eyes on her. Ness’s eyes and mind forced out all other faces and bodies, centering on the nude blue siren. Unable to hide his desires, no siren bat an eyelash to his obvious wanting. Blood boiled and he moved closer to the group of sirens, licking their lips to his advances.

  Standing up, Merra put up a webbed hand. The songs stopped and all eyes turned to the clan leader. Without a word, the green-skinned siren pointed at Ness. Sylk turned to see the red male nod his head and swim up to Merra. A long moment passed before Merra looked to Sylk and pointed at her.

  The blue siren’s heart lifted in her chest. Standing up, she swam up to the outcropping and gently stood on the sand covered stone. Merra turned and floated into her cave. Ness followed with head bowed. Sylk stared before floating in herself. The sirens began singing and the sounds of happy moans filled the water.

  Several glowing fish swam back and forth, lighting up the cave and giving it a gentle glow. Merra stepped in but kept her back to the two sirens. Sylk and Ness stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for her to speak.

  “Today was a success even though one of you disobeyed me and the other did not use their abilities to the fullest.”

  Sylk and Ness bowed their heads.

  “Be that as it may, you both showed great courage against the enemy. For that, I am willing to forgive you for your weak moments. I have decided that I will reward you both.”

  Sylk stared at the siren with uncertainty. Ness smiled with his head bowed.

  Merra continued. “Before we begin, ther
e is one detail we must address. Sylk, as I said before, there is a price for learning our ways. Since you are not part of our clan, you must provide payment for such training.”

  “I said I would.” Sylk said softly.

  “Yes and your master said he would as well but he didn’t know what that would be. When you return, be sure to inform him of my decision.”

  Sylk nodded. “I will. What is payment for teaching me?”

  Merra turned her head and smirked. “Your master must provide me with an heir.”

  The blue siren could not contain the shock in her eyes. “My master? Why?”

  “Scylla are not the only ones who will have daughters from a human man’s seed. In my position, if I birth a male first, I will lose my authority. True clan leaders birth females and only females. I will not risk everything I built on the chance of losing it all to a male siren’s seed. Your master is handsome, strong and good. I want him to warm my belly and give me daughters. That is my payment.”

  Sylk’s eyes lowered. Any other time, the blue siren would have told Merra to go fuck herself but spending some time with her kind showed a different side she didn’t understand until now. A sense of duty and honor washed over her but the thought of Trystan having children with the green-skinned beauty made her a sliver uneasy.

  “I will discuss with him.” Sylk said simply.

  Merra’s eyes narrowed. “No discussion. That is payment, nothing less.”

  Sylk bowed her head again. “I will inform him.”

  Merra turned with a kind smile on her lips. “Now, onto your rewards, Ness you may lay with us tonight.”

  “It is an honor.” Ness bowed again.