Black Waters (Book 1 in the Songstress Trilogy)

by Maija Barnett

  * * * * *

  Brian’s limbs had gone cold as he watched Abby change. He’d tried to look away, but found he could not. And so he had seen her melt away, stared as feathers sprouted from her limbs, as her face had elongated, nose hardening into a beak. And then came the color change, from pale to black. She’d looked like a demon. It made him sick.

  “No,” he’d whispered. Was that what he loved? He’d watched as she’d risen into the air, forgetting him as she took off toward the trees.

  Now a woman’s voice sliced through his mind, sharp as a razor splicing bits of his flesh. “To the mountain beloved, that is where she will be. You must go now, before it’s too late.” The voice sounded familiar, yet something was wrong. It was Abby’s voice, or at least it was almost like hers. Except there was a strange undertone he’d only heard once before, and that was the time she’d killed him with his car.

  “No!” cried Brian, his eyes locked on the tree line. It couldn’t be; yet, he knew it was true.

  He could still see the ravens spinning through the air, the onyx one trailing the scarlet now. They were almost to the peak, and he had such a long way to go. But his anger toward Abby transformed into fear as he realized who she was following.

  “It was you,” he whispered at the red dot in the sky. “You’re the one who crashed my car.”

  Suddenly he was careening up the mountain, his body fluid as the wind. You have to save her, he thought, as he slid through the trees. He’d forgotten what he was, and yet he could move so fast, not like a human anymore. But the whole time he sprinted toward the peak, Abby’s father’s face kept dancing through his mind. The way the man’s body had disintegrated— that would be him, and there was nothing he could do.

  Oh Abby, he whispered. Don’t trust that witch. He needed to hurry, but was he already too late?

  18. Murder

  Abby stood, perched on the edge of the cliff, reveling in her sudden change. She closed her eyes and tried to relive it: the feeling of racing through the wind, her midnight wings stretched across the sky. She replayed the sensation of landing so lightly she’d barely realized she’d touched the ground.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” croaked Eleanor, feathers gleaming in the light. Abby nodded and tried to speak, but all that came out was a nasally squawk.

  “This will hurt for a second,” warned Eleanor. Then her beak was at Abby’s throat, digging its way through feathers and flesh.

  Abby cried out as her neck exploded in pain. She tried to take off, but she couldn’t move. “Help me,” she moaned, the words finally there. But it was too late, the change had already begun. Her body was twisting, stretching beneath her. Feathers flattened then melted away until finally she was human again, her dark hair cascading down her back as she trembled, naked in the frigid air.

  “Here,” said Eleanor, in her human form too. She’d changed so fast, Abby hadn’t even seen.

  “You cut me,” said Abby, rubbing at her neck with the palm of her hand. When she pulled it away, it was covered in blood. “Jesus, what the hell’s wrong with you?”

  “It’s just a scratch,” said Eleanor, grinning now. “I had to do it; just like before. Or else you wouldn’t have been able to change. It’s what all sirens do for their sisters in training, until their little sisters can make the change on their own.” Then she pulled a long, red cloak from behind her back and fastened it around Abby’s neck. The cloak was so smooth that it felt like silk, but when it touched Abby’s skin, it melted around her, encasing her like a layer of flesh.

  “Better?” asked Eleanor. Abby scowled. But the pain in her neck had begun to recede. Somehow, the cloak was taking it away. She could actually feel it sliding against her, sucking at her body like an enormous leech.

  “Get it off me,” cried Abby, leaping to her feet. She felt herself wobble, and the ground slanted toward her, but Eleanor grabbed her, stopping her fall.

  “Don’t touch me,” said Abby, but the siren wouldn’t let go. That’s when Abby took in the rock at her feet, at the sheer drop of the cliff just a few inches away, and beyond that the milky swirls of mist. It was closer now, less than a mile away. She could see the bodies diving inside it, their shadowy voices calling to her.

  “It’s coming,” she whispered, forgetting the cloak, which was behaving like regular fabric again.

  “They know that you’re here. You can hide no longer. It’s time, my sister. We must begin.”

  “Eleanor?” said Abby. Eleanor cocked her head like a bird trapped inside a human shell. She wore a cloak that was identical to Abby’s. They looked like members of some sort of cult. Right, thought Abby, because that’s what we are.

  “Abby,” said a voice. Abby whipped around. Her eyes veered away from Eleanor and over toward the neck of the mountain where the rock face melted into a thin strand of pine. There was Brian, standing in the clearing, his silvery skin glowing in the light. He paused when she turned, his eyes going wide. And that’s when she noticed they were starting to change. Their chocolaty brown was pinpricked with green.

  “Your eyes,” she whispered.

  “You have to come now.” He held out his hand, beckoning her. “Abby, you don’t know what she is. You can’t trust her, not anymore.”

  Eleanor cracked a bitter laugh. “Leave? But we haven’t even begun. Go away shade,” she said, glaring at Brian. “My sister and I have work to do. Your time will come when the job is done, but now I must ready your beloved. I must teach her all she needs to know, so she can end the battle between serpent and siren. For it is she alone who can help us now.”

  “No!” growled Brian, leaping toward them. “Abby, you have to listen to me. It was her; she was the one in the car. She made me crash. She wanted me dead.”

  Suddenly, it was hard to breath. Abby felt the cloak squirming around her— a living creature, keeping her warm. And then she remembered the scarlet feather on the floor of Brian’s car, the one Eleanor had used to communicate with her. Abby thought it had dropped from her pocket when she’d gone in to save Brian, but maybe it had fallen out long before that. Maybe Eleanor had managed to use it somehow, to trick Brian into crashing his car.

  “Is it true?” said Abby, facing Eleanor now. Doubt flooded through her, and she couldn’t turn it off. After all, wasn’t it Eleanor who’d told her to let Brian die, who’d made her find her way to the Shadowlands on her own? And this last act, when she’d cut Abby’s neck. Could she be trusted? Abby didn’t know.

  “Yes,” said Eleanor, looking away, her voice lilting into song.

  “But why?” asked Abby, stepping closer to Brian. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him cringe. “Why would you hurt him? You knew I would come. What more do you want from me?”

  “I knew you would come.” Eleanor sighed, resting a hand on Abby’s arm. Abby stiffened at the siren’s touch, yet she couldn’t bring herself pull away.

  “Little sister,” said Eleanor, touching Abby’s head, patting her like a dog. “I know it seems harsh, but I needed insurance. I had to be sure you would use all your power, that you would stop at nothing to destroy the snakes. You cannot be weak. You cannot hold back. And with him here, I know that you won’t. For you are no different than the rest of our kind. You will do anything to protect your beloved. It’s in your blood. And now, little sister, you have much to learn. You haven’t a clue, and you haven’t been trained.”

  “You tricked me!” shot Abby, anger searing her chest.

  “I had no choice,” said Eleanor. “I needed him here. Like I said before, you are untrained, and I had to ensure you wouldn’t let yourself fail.”

  “What do you mean by trained?” said Abby.

  “Raised like a siren, like your sisters who helped you in the passage.”

  “My sisters?” said Abby, suddenly forgetting her anger. “The others are alive? I’m not alone?”

  “You’re alone,” said Eleanor, refusing to meet Abby’s eyes. “For the sisters you met in th
e passageway are spirits like me, and that is all.”

  “But they’re not like you,” said Abby. Eleanor waved her hand and a bolt of fire shot from her palm, burning into the ground near where they stood.

  “It is cold,” said Eleanor, her eyes dancing around the flames. “Too cold for your fading beloved. For first comes the chill, then he’ll start to disappear. This fire will help him regain his strength, so he will be with you when your job here is done.”

  Abby glanced over at Brian and saw he was shivering, his body translucent in the milky light. Chinks of green pulsed through his irises, giving them a strange, mottled look.

  “What’s wrong with him?” asked Abby.

  “The final transition,” said Eleanor. “His soul is dying. When the green is complete, he will be gone.”

  “But you’re a spirit, and you’re still here.” Panic dug at the edges of Abby’s voice.

  “Yes,” said Eleanor, “that is true. But it is my magic that keeps me here, even though my eyes glow emerald green. And that is not possible for a human like your beloved. Once his color changes, he will disappear.”

  “But what about the serpents?” said Abby. “Their eyes are like yours, and I don’t see them going anywhere.”

  “Because their not,” said Eleanor. “They’re different than the spirits, and the reason for that is a sad, sad tale. For when our siren love changed them from men to monsters, a part of their humanity died as well. That’s why their eyes glow even though they’re still alive. But once your beloved’s eyes look like mine, he cannot return. He must travel on.”

  “On to where?” whispered Brian, barely able to speak. He was still shaking, but at least the luminosity was gone. Now he just looked like a cold, tired boy. A boy with something very wrong with his eyes.

  “I don’t know,” said Eleanor, kindness in her voice. “I’ve been in these lands for more years than I can count. I haven’t even changed like the rest of my kind.”

  “Changed,” said Abby. “You mean the spirits in the water. The ones that saved me. Why don’t they look like you?”

  “Because,” said Eleanor, glancing down at the ground. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “They haven’t the power to hold their true forms. Though they are strong enough to remain here in the Shadowlands, to uphold their pledge and keep guard over the snakes, they are spirits in the truest form. You see, after death, the soul is housed in a sheath, and that sheath looks just like the living body. Once the soul’s sheath disappears, the soul can stay here no longer, and it disappears as well. For regular humans, that change happens instantaneously. But for those touched by the magic of siren blood, whether due to proximity during death or because it runs through their veins, the soul sheath can exist for some time. My sisters’ magic isn’t as powerful as mine; it couldn’t keep their soul sheaths intact forever. But though they lack bodies and voices of their own, they didn’t completely disappear. Instead, they banded together as a force, if you will. And they will not move on to the land of death until the threat of the serpent has disappeared.”

  “But my father,” said Abby. “He was a spirit, and he kept his form, just like you.”

  “Your father was not quite human after all, for it is his blood that made you what you are. Your magic was built from his genes, so the power of the siren was in him as well. His job was to help you when you arrived. Just like our sisters who saved you in the water, he had to protect the world from the serpents too. In life he never knew this, but in death he learned. He learned what he was, and we taught him what to do.”

  “Only he couldn’t stay long, he didn’t have the strength. But he held on and waited; he knew you would come. And once he cured you, his power was gone, and then his soul sheath disappeared.”

  “But he stayed for a while. It’s been over six months since he died. If he can do it, then maybe Brian can too!” Abby wanted to believe it, needed it to be true. But even as the words slipped from her mouth, she knew without doubt that they were wrong.

  “No,” said Eleanor, shaking her head, “I’m afraid that’s not how it works. Brian was touched by our magic during his death, but he has no siren blood in his veins. Once his eyes have turned green, he will be gone. There is nothing to hold him, no magic to help him stay.”

  “But how long will he be here?” Abby clenched her hands into fists. Please, she prayed, afraid of the answer. Please don’t tell me he has to go soon.

  He is stronger than most; that’s all I can say. He’s certainly stronger than the girls the Hunter destroyed. They were here for a flash, and then they were gone.”

  “Gretchen was here?” Abby’s stomach knotted in fear. Her best friend had been here all alone?

  “And the other two girls, they came in their time. I remember their cries when they saw where they were. Alone to wait on this rocky shore, sobbing as they faded into the light.”

  “But they weren’t touched by a siren when they died,” said Abby.

  “They were killed by a snake. And that, my dear, is the very same thing.”

  “Then why didn’t you help them?” Abby cried. “Why didn’t you do anything? You gave me this cloak. You could have saved them too.”

  “No,” said Eleanor, sadness in her eyes. “There was nothing I could do. The cloak is a ruse. All it does is numb pain. It gives the sensation of warmth when your body is cold. But it only works on our kind, and only after flight. It is for the bird part of us, that is all. There was nothing I could do to help those girls. Just like there’s nothing I can do for your beloved.”

  “But our magic...” said Abby, repressing a sob. She couldn’t stop picturing Gretchen’s face, or Lauren Liney, the girl who’d died in the water. Even her mother’s favorite student, the one Abby’d only seen on TV, all of them had been lost in this horrible place. Their screams reverberated through her mind as she pictured their bodies fading away.

  “My power,” said Eleanor, staring at the sea, as if trying to decide what to say. “It’s a funny thing, this power of mine. It keeps my soul sheath intact, but it can help no others. Not your beloved. Not even you.” A bitterness swept through Eleanor’s features, twisting her skin against the bone. But the siren’s eyes were brittle as glass, and when she spoke her voice rose like a song. “It is only you who can save him now. And yourself, if you plan to leave this place. And so I must teach you the Killing Song. The song that will destroy the serpents in the mist. For they are not shades like your beloved, or magical spirits like our sisters in the cave. No, they are living beings, actual creatures we sirens have imprisoned here. We locked them away to keep the world safe, to save mankind from the monsters that we made. It is all we could do to fix what we’d done.”

  “The creatures you see twisting in the mist, the serpents who even now are calling to you, you must stop them before there are none of us left. The sisters are weakening, and so am I. None of us can remain her forever; the pull of death is much too strong. But the serpents are different from you and me. Somehow, our love extended their lives. We don’t know why; we don’t know for how long. All we know is that once we disappear, they will escape and wreak havoc on the world of the living, destroying everything that is precious to mankind.”

  “Kill the serpents, you must kill them now. Your duty calls you, as does something else, too. For it is only then that you can swim back through the tunnel. If you try now, they will take you for sure. And you know you are no match for them in the water. They are the reason it looks like cream. They mixed it with their venom. I don’t know how. The sisters will not help you, not if you flee. And so you must fight; it is the only way. Fight for your beloved before he is lost. Fight before he fades away.”

  “But how can I save him if he’s already dead?” Abby’s voice was a whisper, yet she knew Brian heard.

  “I will teach you the right song, but only after your task is done.”

  “You mean you’re bargaining with her?” Brian glared at Eleanor, his mouth twisting into a scow
l. “You’re not really going to help her, are you? You’re making her do your dirty work. How pathetic is that?” He spit on the ground.

  “Not pathetic,” said Eleanor, “but practical. For it is what I must do. You see, only a living siren can defeat the shadows. I cannot do it. I cannot even help.”

  “I’m the last,” said Abby.

  “The very last one. We began to stop our line when we saw what our love made. We thought we’d find a way to kill the serpents before we all died out. A few of us, like your grandmother, continued to pass on the gene. Only each time we did, a new snake was created. How foolish we were to underestimate their strength. You see, we didn’t realize how unlike us they are. They never grow old; they can’t die that way. No, the serpents have outlasted us now; their magic is stronger than the sisterhood knew. And now little sister, it is up to you. Let me teach you the song. Let us end this tonight.”

  Eleanor waved her hand at the fire, and the luxurious warmth shrank into the rock. “Eleanor?” yelped Abby, her hands still outstretched. But the air had turned to a frigid mass.

  “Brian?” said Abby, he was standing beside her, sharp green light seeping from his eyes. His skin was starting to glow again. She could tell he was freezing, but there was nothing she could do.

  “Eleanor,” said Abby, forgetting the fire and the hissing sound inside the mist. “Please, teach me before he disappears.”

  “Yes,” said the siren, grabbing Abby’s wrists, her bright eyes gleaming in the milky light. “Shade,” she said, turning to Brian, “now is the time to cover your ears. You cannot hear this if you want to return.”

  “Abby...” said Brian.

  “Just do what she says. Cover your ears. I have to start now.”

  Brian nodded and jogged over to the line of trees, his mouth set in a bitter line. Abby knew why he listened; he was afraid of the song. She remembered how he looked when she sang in his car. He’d almost died then. He knew what she could do.

  Brian was beneath the pine trees now, his fingers scratching into the earth, raking up dirt and broken leaves. His eyes stayed on Abby while he stuffed everything into his ears. It was as if he were afraid to look away.

  “Brian?” yelled Abby. He didn’t respond.

  “Good, said Eleanor. “Now we can begin.”

  Abby peered over the side of the cliff; already the shadows were gaining ground. She could see them coursing through the white, their hisses making her want to run. But she thought of Brian, watching her now, and poor old Gretchen, her childhood friend. Stay, she thought, and she stood frozen in place, waiting for Eleanor to show her what to do.

  Then Eleanor’s voice was in her mind, so loud it reverberated through Abby’s blood. “They think they can take you,” Eleanor warned. “That your inexperience makes you an easy prey. It’s their only plan, since the Hunter has failed and you have made it to the Shadowlands after all. But even alone you are stronger than they. What they have in longevity, you have in magic and strength. Your voice will lure them in and destroy them all. They cannot resist. It is not in their blood.”

  Eleanor’s mouth opened wide, and a strange, scattered song rose from her lips. “Ma ka vaní mali lá!” Her voice shot into Abby, carving its way through to her heart. Abby felt a sharp tug, and then she had to sing. It was as important as breathing. There was nothing else she could do.

  “Ma ka vaní mali lá!” Abby’s throat started burning as the song burst out. It felt like she’d swallowed a mouthful of thorns, but she continued on. It was the only way. She pictured Brian’s face and made herself sing. “Ma ka vaní mali lá!” Please, she prayed. Let this work.

  “The Killing Song.” Eleanor’s voice was in Abby’s mind, and the strange tugging sensation disappeared. When Abby turned, she saw that the siren had stopped.

  “And that will end it?” squeaked Abby, stopping too. Her throat was so raw that it hurt to speak. She spat a mouthful of blood into the sand, then scrubbed her lips with the back of her fist while pretending that she didn’t see.

  “Yes that will draw them out of the mist, and then they’re bodies will begin to break down. For the song will suck the magic from their systems, just like you’d suck poison from a bite.”

  “A snake bite?” said Brian, he was near them now. He’d taken the soil out of his ears, and it was smudged all over his face and neck. Abby gripped his hand in her own.

  “Yes,” said Eleanor, smiling again, her eyes taking in the silvery shade, luminescent at the cliff’s edge. “A snake bite meant to kill the snakes.”

  “But they’re not really snakes.” Brian’s voice was soft. “They’re men,” he whispered, “just like me. That’s what’s gonna happen if I survive. I’ll turn into a monster. Is that right?”

  Eleanor’s face crumpled when he said those words. Her mouth turned in at the edges, and her eyes sank into her skull. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes it is. And there’s nothing we can do. Our power, Abby’s power, is too strong to control. She’s pulled you in, just like her sisters before her. In love, we took men, innocent like you, from the decks of ships, from their homes by the water. We stole them so we could have children of our own. And we meant to return them. Really, we did. But our love was too strong. It changed them somehow, turned them into the monsters you see swirling through the mist. We couldn’t find a way to bring them back.”

  Abby stood on her side of the cliff. The sky was dark and overcast, yet she knew if she turned all she would see was white. She could actually taste the mist in her lungs: thick and salty and harsh as the sea. And she could hear the hissing, calling her now, creeping forward as if following her scent. And yet her eyes stayed on Brian, watching as he worked through what was to be. As he understood his destiny.

  It’s all your fault. The words rushed through her mind, as well as the realization that there was nothing she could do.

  “Listen,” said Eleanor, turning back to Brian, her eyes like a tractor beam pulling him in. “There may be another way.”

  “May be?” said Brian. “I thought you said there was nothing you could do!”

  “Well there is,” said Eleanor, staring out at the mist. “There is one way, though it will be hard.”

  “Well, what is it?” growled Brian, glaring at Eleanor now. “I need to know. You tricked me before, and I won’t let you do it again.”

  “You want to disappear into mist? You want to lose your beloved, make her do this alone?”

  “No,” said Brian. “All I want is the truth. Because you couldn’t save the others. You couldn’t save your beloved. So how in the hell can you save me?”

  “Jesus Abby!” He turned to her, and there was such loathing on his face that Abby had to look away. “I wish I never met you.” Brian’s voice was cold. “I wish I’d never seen your face. Because you’ve poisoned me Abby, and I can’t let go. All my dad’s talk about the Poseidon Stone— mythical creatures, oh why didn’t I listen? He said not to trust you, and he was right. Well, I can tell you one thing, and you better get this straight: I refuse to become one of those monsters in the mist. I will not be like Luther. I’d rather disappear!”

  “He knows he can’t leave you,” crooned Eleanor, inside Abby’s head. “You are his beloved. A bond like that cannot change. Even if he tried, he couldn’t forget your face. It would haunt him forever, and the change would still come. Your love has poisoned him like a snake poisons with venom. There is no turning back now.”

  “Just kill me,” said Brian. “I won’t turn into that.”

  Abby shook her head. “Brian, no.”

  Then Abby felt something at her back, and the air around them began to grow thick.

  “It is time,” said Eleanor. “You must begin.” Remember the song. Remember what I said.”

  “But where are you going?” asked Abby.

  The siren looked sad. “I cannot be here for the fight. The power of your song would finish me too. For I am only a shade, very much like your beloved. I cannot withstand you
r magic when you sing from your heart. Just like your beloved must block his ears, I must fly now. I must escape. But I will find you when you’re done, and I will help you set him free. Just sing little sister, sing for your beloved. Sing for the world that you must save.”

  “But how will you save me?” Brian asked, his green eyes slashing at Eleanor’s face.

  “There’s no time to explain,” squawked Eleanor, her body already starting to change. “Just know that I will. Know that I can. Wait for your beloved, but do not listen to her song. Wait for her here, and I will return.”

  Eleanor leaped into the air, her body twisting as feathers sprouted from her skin. Within seconds she was in bird form again, spinning into the silver sky.