VII · The Song of the Sirens

🎧 Beautiful Things by Benson Boone

✵ ✵ ✵

To my pride's joy, I didn't pass out this time around. Yay, progress!

However, I did fell out of the portal like shit, rolling on the ground. And to make it worse, in front of a group of people who were chit-chatting and gossiping about a hot 'surfee' guy who's staying in the temple. I guess it don't matter the race or the dimension, gossip stays the same.

I groaned with the pain that spread on my spine, "Fuck, I don't think I'll ever get used to this," I cried, sitting down. "Sorry to interrupt y'all."

They were all staring at me for a second, then they were all up on their feet and helping me up on the next one, which is way too cordial for my suspicious ass. All with light blue-ish and green-ish glowing skin, scales here and there that glow like glitter, ears with five pointy ends like a feral carnivore plant would, but aside from that, they looked… rather normal. I mean, normal-ish.

That's about as normal as sirens could look, I guess, if they are the sirens I read in the first text that popped up in Sera for me, back when she was still a Gameboy, which is feeling like ages ago, and not a day back. All with big glowing light colorful eyes in different shades of purple, pink, and blue, with very thin noses, not so thin but not so thick lips, and round chins. And when the first… female, opened her mouth to talk to me, a yelp nearly left my lips when I saw all the sharp teeth, all of them, like a shark's.

Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out.

"Are you okay, surfee?" One of the four females of the small group asked me, it's a group of six, two males in it, and she has ice blue skin, very long straight hot pink hair, and hot pink eyes, with hot pink scales. I guess that's a pattern, given how the others also have their hair, eyes, and scales of the same color. "Are you hurt?"

She offered me her… ice blue hands, and I took it, standing up. And I made a mental note that their dialect was different from the one Tabitha and the people in the Inn spoke, but also different from Juan the copycat's, that's 3/5, "I am fine, thank you. I'm just not used to… teleporting."

The guy with green-ish baby blue skin and dark purple hair smiled, "That's why we get training for that around here, surfee, because we all tend to struggle with the whole crossing-portals things. I'm Zoraj."

"And I'm Hefna," the girl helping me beamed, then she pointed to their friends. "These are Lareda," the pale green-skinned girl with lavender short black-power hair, "Ulna," the girl who looks like a female-version of Zoraj, "Fynya," the girl with royal blue skin and baby blue curly shoulder-length hair, "and that is Zash," the second boy with midnight blue skin and purple hair so dark it's nearly black, a really hot… male.

And Zash winked at me, "At your service, surfee."

I smiled charmingly, "Is surfee a slang for surface dweller?"

"Slang?" The six of them tilted their heads in confusion.

You are not dealing with humans, Ria, come on. "Slang means a word that is short for another, and is commonly used around a folk."

"Ah," they all beamed in understanding.

"Yes, surfee is a… slang for that," Zash purred.

Well, I guess he's flirty, that is a plus on being hot. "I'm Ria."

"Ria," they all chanted my name.

"Are you in a choir together or something?" It was supposed to be a joke, but they nodded in agreement, all together again. "Really?"

"We are the choir of the temple," Zash grinned at me, teeth shining.

Well, as long as he doesn't try touching those on my throat, then we could try something, he is giving me a green light, a very, very obvious one, and I doubt I'll find a siren hotter than him in here. "Y'all are sirens?"

They all nodded, "Gracefully, so, yes!" Together again.

Nobody can't say they ain't synchronized. "You are all so pretty, it's my first time meeting your kind. In fact, it's my first time meeting any kind other than my dad, he was very strict, so, I'm not travelling the world, as much as possible, since he passed."

"So, you're all alone?" Ulna asked, sympathetic.

I nodded, "Only child, no mom, so I guess yes."

Fynya smiled warmly, "Maybe you could stay for a while."

"Our God is kind to outsiders," Lareda said softly.

"Anyone who's open to knowing more about our temple, is very welcomed to stay," Zash said, coming closer and passing his arm over my shoulders, making me inhale his refreshing mint and patchouli scent. "We can get you one of the dorms in the surfee residence wing."

"How much is it?" I asked, walking with him and they began to get out of the hidden tea-party spot we were in, my eyes looking all around me, taking in the graciousness of the temple. "So beautiful," I mumbled.

"It's free," Zash said, "and thanks, I get that a lot."

I chuckled softly, realizing he thought I was complementing him, I didn't take it back though, since he is beautiful. "How can it be free?"

"What kind of worshipers we would be if we asked for money for surfees who need a place to stay?" Zoraj reasoned. "We do take donations to the temple, if you feel like giving, that's always welcomed."

Hah, now it's more believable. "I'm open to a donation."

"I knew you were a good surfee, pretty babe," Zash purred.

Well, that is not the most pleasing pet name, but he got points for trying, it's adorable. I confess I do like this newfound attention, because I was never one to be looked at back on the human realm, I was what some called a wallflower. But damn, if this spotlight ain't sweet.

"So, Ria, babe, what God do you worship?" He asked charmingly.

"None," I said frankly. "I'm a bit of a non-believer."

"Oh, we could change that, babe," he shortened the pet name even more, and it made it feel more and more intimate, which I don't mind. I don't even know if male sirens have cocks, but I would gladly ride him even so. He is very, very attractive, damn it. Copycat who?!

"Try all you want then, maybe you will," I flirted back.

"Maybe I will," he chanted in my ear, and I feel like only I heard it.

Damn, he knows what he's doing, "So, you're single?" I breathed.

"Not for too long, if it depends on me, babe," he whispered. "I hope you are as single as I am, so we could try something else."

Thank fuck he didn't say the ready-to-mingle corny shit. "I am. I am very, very, very single, always been, still am," alright, maybe I'm being too obvious, but hell if he ain't charming as fuck, what the hell?! I barely know him and my body is already burning for him, and it hasn't even been two hours since I murdered my first date… accidentally for all that matters.

And he seemed profoundly amused, but then he made a comment that had nothing to do with our flirting, "Interesting bracelet, a bit weird."

I had to control myself not to flinch, "It's all I have left from dad."

"Ah, emotional attachment, right?"

When he say it like that it feels weird. "Something like that."

"Come on, let's take her to the High Priest," Ulna beamed.

Is that where they are taking me to? Damn this really feels like all that I've heard about churches. I just hope it won't turn out to be a cult that is trying to gather souls to brainwash through their siren song, and make so they will lose focus of everything else and stay here forever, so they would have power to go against other cults.

That sounds like the case of a sacrificing demonic cult I read about it once on the human realm, minus the siren song, of course, as humans with siren song would be an absurd concept. Hell be damned, knowing how they are greedy, chaotic, and power hunger, if they got their hands on siren song, which of the tales are right, can brainwash and manipulate the mind of many people, it would be a catastrophic disaster. The idea creeps me out.

And chills ran down my spine when I side-eyed Sera, and read:

[Do not trust them, Hesperia, this is a cult. They are inducing you to trust them. You must focus and not be swayed away!]

Because of fucking course, I would fall out of the clutches of a mass serial murder, into the clutches of an underwater fucking cult. Fucking hell, me and my damned mouth. Why did I had to recall that torment of a story that happened on the human realm? Damn me.

✵ ✵ ✵

Keeping my shit together and playing along, I kept that agreeably silly smile that my dad made me perfect, one that make me look the most dumb, innocent, inoffensive, and as much of an easy-prey as possible. He used to tell me that if I perfected that, I would be able to manipulate people on believing they could and were manipulating me, when in fact, I was the one with all the cards laid down. I wonder how much shit dad had to go through to learn that method.

It took around ten minutes, in which we passed by countless sirens with gentle smiles, and more than thirty surfees, some who seemed to be integrated in the temple, as in working here, and others that seemed as out of place as I must be. I certainly feel out of place, especially after Sera's warning. But I doubt I would be, had I stayed in the trance Zash put me on.

I'm starting to think hot and beautiful males are the real danger.

Now I just want to get to the dorm they said they would reserve for me, take a better look at what I stole from Juan Sanchez the Copycat, and more than anything, talk to Sera and see if she got something on this bunch of creepy cult-motherfucking freaks. I still think Zash is hot as hell though, I mean, for a male siren, for sure, he has a… iridescent kind of beauty, he also smells great, and his voice is deep but melodic.

Maybe they don't feed of people. Maybe I'll be able to kiss him.

"High Priest," all of the chanted, bowing respectfully to the older male that looks an awful lot like an older version of Zash.

I mean, plus a mustache that makes him looks absurdly ridiculous.

The male came closer, looking gentle, dangerously gentle, like all the sirens in this damned place. "What is your name, surface dweller?"

"Ria," I said for short, opting not to give them my actual name.

"We may not have last names around here, but they common up in the surface, are they not?" He purred with a sweet smile.

This is starting to creep me out, "Scott," I mean, it is my dad's fake surname in the human realm, so it's technically mine if I'm his daughter. "I'm Ria Scott," but I didn't take his hand when he offered, too cautious.

"Ria Scott," he tasted my name, teeth sharper than the others which is worrisome by itself. "I am Vash, the High Priest of the Atlantis Temple, it's great to have you here in our worshipping recesses, the greatest underwater siren temple of the Entity of the High & Low Tide, God Hadel," he blabbed, but I couldn't really give a shit. "I see that you're already acquainted with one of our best Priests, the youngest of our history."

I blinked, confused, "Am I?"

Zash dropped his naughty hand to my waist, "Me."

Hah, I'm a magnet of psychos. To think I would get entangled with a Priest of this crazy cult, of course, I would. I gotta be the unluckiest living bitch in all dimensions. "Oh? You're a Priest, Zash?"

"One of the ten Priests we have here," he said proudly.

"My son is a generational prodigy in our kind," Vash beamed.

Of course, he would also be the High Priest's son, shit. I really was born with my ass to the sun, because what the hell?