I finally know why I see corpses glow, and I found out in the most unexpected way.
Today started with Desmod waking me up, a protein bar in hand. “Serena, you have to eat and get dressed quick. We have to get to Portugal.”
I sat up in groggy shock. “Huh, what, Portugal?”
“Yes, we’re going to fly over the Ca’ii Flock’s trophy site.”
I flipped the covers off and took the protein bar. “Why are we in such a hurry?”
“Cassiopeia is worried the sirens might get wind of what we’re doing.”
“I’m sure the werewolves already told them you guys are invading trophy sites.”
“Yeah, but no one knew what we were after until yesterday, and although the merfolk are discreet, word might still get out.”
“But Mika said it was okay for me to tell the truth!”
“He did, and you did the right thing, or we’d all be dead. But now we have to hurry. I’ll leave you to dress, I’ll be back in five.”
Prompted by urgency, I stuffed the protein bar in my mouth and quickly checked the comments on my posts before I washed up and got dressed. When Desmod returned, we hustled towards the garage, and I slipped into the back seat between Hawk and Desmod.
“Good morning, Serena,” Mika said, looking back at me.
“Good morning,” I replied, surprised he said my name.
“Are you well?”
“Um, I guess. You?”
“Yes.”
He turned to face the front, and Desmod chuckled before whispering in my ear, “That’s his way of thanking you for saving his life.”
“Oh.”
One handhold and a blink later, I got out of the car to the sight of a giant, gleaming helicopter, its propellers whirring.
“Does Mika have an issue using his car as a sub or plane on Kabic?” I whispered to Desmod.
He shrugged. “I have no idea, maybe.”
We climbed aboard, and Mika handed us headphones with an attached microphone.
“So we can communicate,” he explained.
I put them on, anxious. “There won’t be sirens, will there?”
“They do come to Kabic to harass sailors,” Desmod said, “but I hope they won’t be here now.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye out.”
“Did you bring weapons?”
He nodded at Mika’s goons as they piled in. “Yes, we have poisonous gas.”
I blinked at him. “Poisonous gas? Will we be wearing masks?”
“No, it only affects sirens. It’s the only way to kill them. They’re invincible otherwise.”
“Great.” I muttered, hoping we don’t get another bloodbath.
The helicopter took off, and I gasped and grabbed the seat, my eyes wide with wonder as we rose above Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. The azure water sparkled, the glowmains barely visible beneath the noon sun.
“It’s so bright, I can barely see the glowmains,” I yelled over the noise.
“No need to yell,” Desmod said, wincing as he pointed to the headphones. “We can hear you with these.”
I cringed. “Sorry.”
“Once we reach the trophy site, we’ll drop in altitude, giving you a better opportunity to discern the death glows,” Mika said.
After what felt like five minutes, the helicopter dropped, and my stomach flipped. “Woah!”
“Everest, easy on the controls,” Mika said. “Serena, do you see Perseus’s glow?”
I peeked through the open door, my hair whipping in the wind, and I flinched when someone grabbed my arm.
I turned to see Desmod, and he smiled and said, “Just making sure you don’t fall!”
“Thanks.”
I turned back to the water, squinting at the waves as I made out dozens of glowmains. Some of them merfolk, some of them those gorillas with rabbit ears, some of them tiny dolls with four wings, and some of them without heads. I scanned the headless group, and my heart leapt.
One was missing a leg.
“There!” I said, pointing. “That one doesn’t have a head or a right leg below the knee!”
“You found him!” Desmod said, cheering.
“Liche, take note of the coordinates,” Mika said. “Everest, take us back.”
“Leaving without saying hello?” a sultry female voice said.
I gasped as Desmod pulled me back in and shielded me. Hawk and Callan began spraying generous amounts of poisonous gas, and Mika yelled orders to Everest as the helicopter dipped and swayed, turning my stomach.
“The s-sirens found us?” I asked, gripping the seat.
“Yes,” Desmod replied, trying to keep himself steady.
The helicopter flipped upside down, and I screamed as I grabbed Desmod to keep myself from falling out. He thankfully had his seatbelt on and he held me tight, but two of Mika’s thugs tumbled out the door, along with the poisonous gas.
The helicopter spun around in dizzying circles, and I groaned as I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head in Desmod’s chest, getting nauseous. Mika yelled out in his language as the helicopter growled, and soon we were all airborne as we plummeted.
The cold water interrupted my scream, and I coughed and sputtered after I splashed my way back to the surface. With my pulse racing, I looked around, desperately searching for any survivors. Before I could make anyone out, a huge bird swooped down and grabbed me by my upper arms, and I screamed as it pulled me up.
“Let go of me!” I yelled, bucking and thrashing.
“What’s a human doing hanging around with vampires?” a syrupy voice asked.
I looked up, and I froze in shock. The bird had a woman’s face. A beautiful woman, if it wasn’t for her red eyes and small, pointy teeth.
I heard Desmod and I looked down in relief, seeing him, Mika, and Mika’s team bobbing in the water alongside two dead sirens.
“Mika, when did the Uster Clan start giving recruits helicopter tours?” the siren asked.
Mika didn’t reply, his expression stony as he treaded water, but Desmod yelled, “She’s not a recruit! Let her go!”
“Is she a snack?”
“No!”
“A pet?”
Desmod turned to the others and said something in his language, and the siren laughed as one of the men replied.
“Oh, is your little gas machine ruined?” she asked condescendingly.
“Let her go!” Desmod growled.
“No, I think I’d like a little human pet of my own.”
The siren laughed again, and I gasped as she began flying away.
“No, wait! Stop!” I cried out before I turned to the vampires in despair. “Help me!”
“Don’t worry, Serena, we’ll find you!” Desmod yelled.
“Aw, how sweet,” the siren said. “Are you two a couple?”
“No, we’re not!” I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut as the wind slapped my face.
“I can barely hear your weak, little voice. Let’s save the conversation for later.”
I covered my face with my hands as we zipped through the air, partly to protect my eyes from the cold wind, but mostly to avoid seeing just how high we were. My heart stumbled in my chest as my thoughts rioted. I didn’t know what she wanted with me. Was she going to take me to the werewolves? Was she going to eat me? Was she going to interrogate me?
My stomach twisted at another fear. What if the vampires didn’t come for me? I’d already located Cassiopeia’s brother for them. Desmod was the only one fighting for me after we fell in the ocean, the rest didn’t even seem to care. They didn’t need me anymore.
I hoped I was wrong as I shivered in the siren’s grip, gale after gale of icy wind assaulting my senses. When she slowed down, I peeked through my fingers, and I gawked at the lilac sky and silver trees. Did we cross over to Zevea?
She descended, hovering over the top of one of the trees, and I gasped when she let me go, my heart leaping to my throat. I reached out in a panic, trying to grab on to the branches as they broke one after the other. I grunted as I landed on one strong enough to hold my weight, and I wrapped my legs around it and hugged the trunk, my pulse racing as I looked down. We were still a long way up.
The siren gripped the trunk above me, her claws encircling it completely as she stood sideways and leaned in. Her face was three times as big as mine, and I shied away, disconcerted as well as terrified to have it that close. Around us, five more sirens dropped by, each a carbon copy of the other, all observing me with their fire-red eyes.
“Are … are you guys sextuplets or s-something?” I asked, trying to minimize my unease.
My abductor tittered. “We prefer clones.”
“Clones?”
“You humans and your ignorance. Sirens don’t mate, we lay clones of ourselves. Didn’t the vampires explain anything to you before recruiting you?”
“I’m not a recruit.”
“So, what do they want from you then?”
Telling the truth to the merfolk worked in our favor, but I wasn’t sure if it would be beneficial here. Especially since we found Perseus in their trophy site. I had no idea how much I could safely tell her, and I frowned in fretful thought.
“Thinking up a lie?” she asked with a sly smile.
I shook my head. “No, I … I was helping them.”
“With what?”
“They … they wanted me to help them … uh … m-make a tally. Of the bodies in all the trophy sites. Of everyone.”
“Why you?”
“B-Because I can see the dead’s hovering, glowing shadows.”
She studied me, her red eyes glinting. “Interesting.”
“Yeah. Um, can you let me go now, p-please?”
“No.”
My heart dropped.”Why?”
“What fun would that be?”
A chill trickled down my back. “P-Please don’t sing to hypnotize me to jump off,” I said, my voice shaking as I gripped the tree tight.
They all laughed. “Do you have a fear of heights?” the main one asked.
“Y-Yes.”
“Then you probably won’t enjoy this.”
She grabbed my arms again and took off, and I screamed as we raced through the trees.
“Where are you taking me! Please! I just want to go home!”
She only laughed as she continued to fly, and I covered my face with my hands again, tears welling in my eyes.
This flight was even longer than the last one, and I must have passed out because the next thing I remembered was feeling pressure on my chest. My eyelids fluttered open, and I sat up in shock as the siren stepped back.
“I forget how weak humans are,” she said, chuckling. “Glad you didn’t die. I’d like you to meet someone.”
I stumbled to my feet and stepped away as I looked around in dread. We were in a deep hole, the sandy walls claustrophobic, the lilac sky a small circle above our heads.
“Wh-who do you want me to meet?” I asked, hoping with all my might it wasn’t a werewolf.
With a mischievous smile, she walked up to a small rock and kicked it, and to my shock, it emitted a soft yelp. The rock unfurled into a lanky creature no bigger than a squirrel, its skin almost like bark, its four black eyes blinking at me.
“Meet your father,” the siren said.
I did a double take. “Excuse me, what?”
She chuckled, enjoying my uneasy confusion. “This pathetic creature is the last of what you humans might call a fairy. Fairies were one of the six main folk on Zevea. Do you know what Zevea is?”
I nodded.
“Good. When war was declared, these pathetic creatures overestimated their abilities and the werewolves demolished them. Then, sixteen years ago, the werewolves discovered that not only did this pathetic creature survive, but that he’d also been sneaking into Kabic to inject human testes with his sperm.”
Flabbergasted, my gaze darted between her and the creature. “Wh-what?”
“Crazy, isn’t it?” She looked down at him with a smirk. “He was hoping to create a powerful legion of half-breeds to overpower us and avenge his kin. Too bad for him, even if his plan hadn’t been discovered, it wouldn’t have worked. You half-breeds don’t live past the age of eighteen.”
I stared at her in shock. “Wh-What? Eighteen?”
“Ummhmm. We interrogated him thoroughly. He spent twenty years on Kabic, trying his best to raise an army. You’re probably one of the last of his half-breeds. I doubt there are many more of you left.”
I could barely say the words. “I … I’m part fairy and I’m going to die in t-two years?”
“Yes. But look on the bright side! You got a nifty little ability that brought you all the way to Zevea! Not many Kabicers can claim that!” She chuckled and stretched her wings. “And now you two have company! I’ll leave you to get acquainted. You have all the time in the world!”
The powerful gust from her wings blew me back against the wall, and all I could do was watch as she laughed and flew away. Too stunned to protest or cry out, I turned to the fairy crouching on the ground, and he frowned, his four eyes blinking in harmony.
“What brought you to Zevea?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I blinked, startled. “You speak English?”
“Yes. I learned many languages in Kabic.”
“Is … is what she said true?” I asked, half-hoping it was, half-hoping it wasn’t.
“She was correct about my actions in Kabic, but not about my intentions. During the interrogations, I did not divulge the true reason for my undertakings. As for whether or not you are a half-breed, what abilities do you have that differ from regular humans?”
“Um, I can see the hovering glow of the dead.”
“Anything else?”
“There’s more?” I asked, surprised.
“You may not have developed them yet, but your ability to see death glows is enough to confirm you are indeed a half-breed.”
His certainty only left me more conflicted. After all these years, I finally knew the reason for my gift … and it wasn’t like anything I expected.
Overwhelmed, I sat down across from him, staring at my hands. “So … so you’re really my father?”
“One of them.”
“One of them?” I asked, frowning as I looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“In simple terms, my sperm splices its DNA into the donor DNA. You are the product of three: me, your father, and your mother.”
My mouth hung open as I tried to take all this in. “What … what was the real reason you were doing this?”
“That is not something I’m comfortable discussing with you yet.” He studied me. “What brought you to Zevea?”
I was getting sick of that question. “I was helping Cassiopeia find her brother.”
He sat up. “Help find him? Why? How? Where is he?”
His reaction surprised me. “Um, I saw his glowmains … sorry, death glow … today in a siren flock’s trophy site. The same flock as the siren who brought me here.”
He stared at me, his eyes wide with shocked despair. “Perseus is dead?”
“Yes, Cassiopeia said he died fifteen years ago. Did you know him?”
“Was his death glow missing a right leg below the knee?”
“Yes.”
He bowed his head, almost seeming to deflate as he hunched over and covered his face with his hands.
“Are you okay?” I asked in concern as I crawled closer.
He sighed and straightened up. “I am fine.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, backing up at his curt tone.
“So, you are working with Cassiopeia.”
“I wouldn’t call it working with,” I replied, sitting back down. “She made me make promises with her persuasion powers, so I had no choice.”
“Did she tell you why she was looking for Perseus’s body?”
“She said she wants to give him a proper burial.”
He scoffed. “Nonsense.”
“Oh, then I don’t know,” I said, not surprised Cassiopeia lied to me. “That’s what she said, and Mika and Desmod seem to believe her.”
“Who is Desmod?”
“He’s Mika’s son. He’s two years old in vampire years. He’s with me every time they take me to search for death glows. He’s nice. He explains everything to me so I don’t feel lost and he always has food for me even though they don’t eat. He also saved my life once. So did Mika.”
“That was only because they need you. Now that you have found Perseus, they will not give you a second thought.”
“That’s not true. Desmod was yelling at the siren to let me go when she took me.”
“Then they still need you.”
Optimism and disappointment merged in my soul. I was hoping they’d look for me, but out of the goodness of their hearts, or whatever vampires had instead of hearts. I didn’t want to help them anymore. I wanted to go home. It seemed I was going to have to find a way out myself. And once I was back home, I’d get my parents to move somewhere the vampires would never find us.
“Do you know where we are?” I asked as I got to my feet and looked up at the sky.
“A small rock island void of life in the middle of the Rechuen Sea.”
“Is there a way to go to Kabic from here?”
“Not unless you want to end up forty-two meters below Krasnodar, Russia.”
“Oh.”
I touched the wall, and he said, “Don’t try to climb, the entire hole will collapse on us.”
I jerked away and hugged myself. “Oh, good to know.”
“There is no way out of here.”
“There has to be, we can’t just sit here.” I looked around. “There isn’t even anything to eat or drink, how have you been surviving?”
“I drink the rainwater and eat the sealife when the waves send some my way.”
“How often does that happen?”
“Whenever there is a storm.”
I looked up at the clear sky, my stomach growling. “That obviously won’t be today.” I paused at the sound of the crashing waves, an idea materializing. “Hey, would there be merfolk in the sea near here?”
“There could be. Some pods do venture out.”
“Have you tried calling out for help?”
“My voice does not get louder than it is now,” he replied.
“Then let me try!”
“Do you know mertongue?”
“Um … I only know how to say hello and goodbye. Desmod taught me.” I tried to remember Desmod’s explanation as I did my best impression of a snake clearing its throat and yelled out “Hsssegh!”
He chuckled for the very first time. “You need a better teacher.”
My face heated up. “Was it that bad?”
“I will teach you how to yell for help. If, by some miracle, it works and draws the attention of the merfolk, leave the conversation to me.”
He spent the next half-hour teaching me how to make sounds I never imagined making. Although it hurt my throat, I pressed on, refusing to die here, my parents never knowing what happened to me.
Once he felt I was ready, I tilted my head to the hole and yelled for help. When nothing replied but the crashing waves, I yelled again, over and over until I went hoarse. It didn’t take long for me to lose my voice, and I sat down and leaned back against the wall as tears traced my cheeks.
“I need a break,” I rasped, panting.
“I don’t think you should try anymore. I doubt it will lead to a positive outcome.”
“We can’t give up.” I wiped away my tears. “I have a family, and if I have only two years left to live, I want it to be with them. And you have a life. You don’t deserve this and neither do I.”
“This is war.”
“That’s everyone’s excuse for doing terrible things,” I snapped. “It doesn’t make them right.”
He didn’t respond, and after a few minutes of silent disgruntlement, I sighed and dried my tears. “Why do fairies see death glows anyways?”
“We are not fairies. At least, not in the way humans define them.”
“What should I call you?”
“My name is Wi’dei, but you will not be able to pronounce what I am. There isn’t a translation in any human language either.”
“So, can’t I just say fairy? Or do you prefer fae?”
“Neither are accurate, but for lack of a better alternative, you may say fairy.”
“Okay. So, Wi’dei … I’m Serena, by the way … why do fairies see death glows?”
“To help us find and differentiate between bodies.”
“Yeah, but why? Do you eat them?”
He chuckled again. “We—”
A hiss startled us and we looked up, and my heart leapt at the sight of a merperson looking down at us, its blue eyes bright. The fairy stood up and replied, and my gaze darted between them as hope and anxiety clashed within me. The merperson was hissing with rapid harshness, and the fairy replied in his soft voice, neither of them emoting or gesticulating.
The fairy turned to me. “This is Hlee, of the Ruc Pod. She heard your distress call. Hlee, this is a human.”
I didn’t know why he didn’t introduce me as his half-breed, but I assumed he had a reason. “Um, hsssegh. I’m Serena,” I said as I gave Hlee an awkward wave.
She made popping sounds in her throat. Well, at least she was laughing and not angry.
“The Buslle Pod mentioned a strange one helping the Uster Clan find Perseus,” Hlee said. “And now you’re with Wi’dei, whom we all thought was dead!”
“Do … do you two know each other?” I asked, surprised.
“Perseus was the one who found Wi’dei after his kind were wiped out, and they teamed up with Cassiopeia to try and stop the war. They wanted us merfolk to join their side. Our pod and a few others were ready to do it, but then Wi’dei disappeared and Perseus died, and Cassiopeia never followed up.”
“That is because she arranged for our deaths,” Wi’dei said bitterly. “I am certain of it, but Perseus and I have the last laugh. I know why she wants his body, and even though she will find what she is desperately looking for, it will not be of any use.”
“What does she want?” Hlee asked as I waited with eager curiosity.
“I would rather not discuss it now.”
Hlee let out a few pops of laughter. “Secrets, the language of war.”
“War against war is the most dangerous battle.” He glanced at me. “I cannot speak before those who are bound by Cassiopeia.”
“I already fulfilled my promise to her,” I said, frowning. “She doesn’t have a hold on me anymore. And even though Desmod wanted to help me, the others didn’t care. They’re done with me. I just want to go home.”
“I still cannot risk speaking before anyone who has connections with the vampires.”
“I know someone you can trust,” Hlee said. “But I’ll wait until we’re alone. As for you, strange one, I can help you get back to Kabic.”
My heart leapt. “Really? Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Watch your heads!”
I jumped as a net tumbled down to us.
“You will have to carry me,” Wi’dei said. “The damage after they amputated my wings has affected the proper use of my legs.”
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry!” I said, never once wondering why a fairy didn’t have wings. “Of course I can carry you. Would you like to sit on my shoulder? Or in my pocket?”
After inspecting my clothes, Wi’dei deemed my hoodie pocket acceptable, and I began climbing up the net. The walls began to crumble, and my pulse raced as Hlee yelled at me to hurry before we got buried. When I was only a few feet from the edge, rocks and sand tumbled around me, and I gasped as I almost lost my grip on the net.
Buried, my heart rattled as I held my breath and reached up through the avalanche, and I flinched when a scaly hand grabbed me. I drew in a hungry breath when Hlee pulled us out to safety, but I couldn’t enjoy my freedom as I saw a siren heading our way with frightening speed.
“Look out!” I yelled, tackling Hlee just as the siren swooped over us.
“You liar!” the siren screeched, turning to attack again.
“Can you swim?” Hlee asked, crouching in a pouncing pose.
“Y-Yes,” I replied, looking behind me in fear.
“Good, sirens won’t pick up your scent in water,” she said as she picked me up and threw me in the sea.
My scream faded into bubbles as I sank into the milky, opaque water. It was deeper than I expected, and I splashed my way to the surface, coughing. A siren swooped down, and I gasped and ducked again, her talons barely missing me. Terrified, I swam with manic strokes under the surface, hoping Wi’dei could breathe underwater long enough for me to figure out what to do.
“Swim towards the island, I am going to plug your ears,” Wi’dei whispered, his soft voice nearly making me swallow water as it seemed to come from inside my ear.
I kept swimming as he stuffed something soft in my left ear and something rigid in my right one. Once I hit a rock, I stopped swimming and peeked above the surface, and my mouth fell open at the sight of dozens of sirens scanning the air. A few dove into the water, coming up wet, angry, and empty-handed, while others seemed to be singing.
“You will have to use your camouflage ability,” Wi’dei whispered in my right ear.
I gasped, jerking my head to the side, but I couldn’t see him. How was he even talking to me with my ears plugged?
“Don’t make sudden movements and don’t speak,” he said. “You can hear me because I am plugging your right ear with my jaw and I am camouflaged as your hair. I have to give you a camouflage crash course, I hope the urgency will allow you to pick it up quickly. Now, focus on how the water feels on every inch of your skin. Become one with it, as though you are absorbing it. Take in its color, its texture, let it dictate your cells. Give yourself to it.”
Despite the severe discomfort at the thought of him jaw-first in my ear, I closed my eyes and tried to do as he said. Taking in a deep breath, I explored the scent of the sea, its briny smell not as sharp as that on Kabic. I wiggled my hands, feeling the water flow between my fingers. Feeling its cold silkiness across my skin. Feeling its buoyancy and gentle waves …
“Excellent,” Wi’dei said. “Now hold on to that feeling, embrace it.”
My eyelids popped open, and I gasped in awe as I brought my hand up. It was the same milky white as the water around me.
“Don’t get too excited, focus. Don’t create ripples with unnecessary movements. Keep as little of your face above the surface as possible.”
I remained still, trying to concentrate on embracing the water’s essence while keeping just my nose above the surface. Yet fretful curiosity got the best of me, and I peeked, watching the tireless sirens soar, dive, and presumably sing. My hyper pulse echoed in my head as I wondered if they’d ever give up.
The water around me began to vibrate, and I gasped as a barrage of green balls erupted from the sea. They exploded in a puff of smoke, and the sirens scattered and fled, two of them dropping dead.
“Wh-what’s happening?” I asked, tensing up.
“Hlee must have gathered a few merfolk to help us,” Wi’dei replied. “Don’t drop your camouflage yet, the sirens are already heading back.”
My growing smile faded. The sirens were back, and they were wearing clear masks that sealed their entire faces. Of course they’d have precautions against their kryptonite. Strange vehicles broke the surface, still shooting green balls, and the sirens attacked. Yet although the poisonous gas was useless, the balls did knock a few sirens out of the sky, and I gasped and jerked away as one nearly fell on us.
A siren turned to me, and Wi’dei yelled, “Dive!”
Panic resurfacing, I ducked under the water, but it was too late as a claw wrapped around my leg and yanked me up in the air. I screamed as I dangled upside down, and I screamed again as she tossed me onto the island, the pebbles not enough to break my fall. My breath knocked out, I tried to crawl away, and my panic increased when I could suddenly hear the cacophony of battle around me.
Wi’dei was no longer in my ear.
My mind short-circuited as I tried to search for him and to run to safety at the same time, and I wheezed out a raspy scream when the siren pinned me facedown on the rocks, squeezing my lungs.
“You liar,” she snarled. “You weren’t helping the vampires ‘make a tally’. You—”
I gulped in a deep breath when her weight was removed off me, and I whipped around to see her scuffling with a merperson, feathers and tentacles entwining. All around us, sirens and merfolk clashed, screeches and hisses filling the smoky air, and I scrambled away, searching in vain for a place to hide.
A rumble made everyone pause, and we all looked up as a black streak raced across the sky, a trail of heavy, green smoke in its wake. My eyes went wide as I recognized it. That was Mika’s car! My hope took over, only for a siren to quash it as she grabbed my arms and took off.
“No! Help, help!” I cried out as I struggled, trying to kick up into the siren’s guts. “Let me go!”
I could hear Mika’s car returning, and I gasped as the siren’s wings collapsed around me and we began falling. She was still conscious, screeching and thrashing, and we both grunted as we bounced and began swinging. Finding myself laying on her stomach with her wings around me, I rifled through the mess of feathers, trying to see what was going on, and a metal net met my eyes.
Green smoke billowed around us as we hung from Mika’s hovering car, and my hope returned when I saw Desmod in his armor sliding down the chain holding up the net.
“Desmod!” I cried out, relieved.
The siren tensed up and yelled in her language … and I screamed in shocked pain when she dug her talons into my body.
Desmod froze halfway down the rope and put a hand up. “Don’t hurt her!”
“Then release me!” the siren yelled. “Or I’ll tear her to pieces!”
Her talons dug deeper, and a shriek scoured my throat as the pain wrung my frenzied heart. Blood began to seep through my hoodie, and tears blurred my vision as I tried to pry her away, my breaths hitching with every agonizing pang.
“Stop!” Desmod yelled, his voice shaking with helpless anger. “If you kill her I swear you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”
While Desmod spoke, I noticed an odd fragment of my hoodie traveling upwards, and my tortured heart skipped a beat when I realized it was Wi’dei in camouflage. He was making his way to the siren’s face. I didn’t know what his plan was, but hoping to distract her, I jerked and kicked, screaming out every ounce of my torment as I tried to yank her claws out of my body.
The siren yelled again, but her voice began to slur, and I glanced up through my tears to see Wi’dei slipping his body beneath her mask, just enough to let the gas seep through. Her claws relaxed, and I shoved them away, trembling as I placed my hands over my gushing wounds.
“Serena!” Desmod yelled, sliding down the rest of the chain.
“The Uster Clan came back for you, so they need you,” Wi’dei whispered quickly in my ear, still camouflaged. “I don’t trust them. I will join Hlee and her pod. Try your best not to mention me.”
“O-Okay,” I rasped, overwhelmed by pain and emotion.
“Thank you for helping me escape,” he said before wiggling through the net and jumping down towards the ongoing chaos of battle.
“Serena!” Desmod landed on top of the net and stuck his hand through, helping me put pressure on my wounds. “You’ll be okay, we got you.”
The net swung back as Mika’s car took off, leaving the battle behind, and my eyelids fluttered shut as fatigue and blood loss drew me towards unconsciousness.
“We’re lifting you up,” Desmod said. “Jin is a doctor, he’ll take care of you until we get back to base. Don’t worry, we won’t let you die.”
…
The smell of fried chicken woke me up, and I sat up in alarm. I was back in the bedroom, a bucket of chicken on the desk beside me. Lifting the covers and my pyjama shirt, I ran my hand over the layers of bandages covering my abdomen. The siren did a number on me, but somehow the pain was barely perceptible. Maybe vampires had a special way to manage it.
I rested my head back on the pillow and stared at the gray ceiling, my pulse racing my thoughts. I was part fairy. Part. Fairy. It sounded impossible no matter how many times I said it. A fairy. And I could camouflage myself. What else could I do? I wished I had more time to talk to Wi’dei, but he was wary of me, thanks to the vampires.
The vampires who came back for me. But my relief was still tinged with suspicion. Was Wi’dei right? Did they still need me? How did they even find me?
I also couldn’t believe how fast Hlee and her pod came to my defense. Well, I doubt it was for my defense. It was for Wi’dei. They knew and trusted him, and he vouched for me. And then he saved my life. I just hoped he made it safely to Hlee’s pod, and that all the merfolk survived their battle against the sirens.
It was only now that I remembered I only had two more years to live, and I grabbed my phone and made a tearful call to my parents. Unable to explain my sorrow, I sank into the comfort of their voices, swallowing back a sob as I begged them to talk to me for as long as they could. They obliged, and we talked for three hours before they had to take my grandfather to his final post-surgery appointment. He was better, and they were returning home after tomorrow. I couldn’t tell them I may not be there, so I just hoped with all my might that I’d make it.
After we hung up, I posted everything, desperate for some sense amidst this uncertainty.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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