Chapter 17 - Sirenus
Kelly moved uncomfortably, her head turning against his back. He could tell she was having a bad dream, so he made her wake up.
She opened her eyes and saw they were riding slowly; not in the woods but in a sandy area, which almost looked like a desert but with white sand.
Kelly's pov
I opened my eyes after another weird dream and I noticed we were riding slowly.
"Are we there yet?" I asked.
"Almost"
The white sand and stones almost looked transparent, unlike anything I had ever seen before. There was no visible plant or even a weed nearby, and no birds were flying in the sky either. I found it a bit odd but that's not the only weird thing I've seen or I'm going to see in this place.
The horses pulled to a stop and we all climbed off the horse. We came across a man sitting on a boat. He looked old and his plaited long white beard dangled across his chest. His clothes looked a bit ragged, and he was barefooted.
"How may I help you, young folks?" He asked, his eyes focused on me.
"We wish to go across the river to Sirenus" Damien said standing in front of me, making the man look at him instead.
"Ah…I must request for a price on that one"
Damien dipped his hand into one of the sacks and brought out a shiny golden goblet.
"For all of us," He said, handing it over to the man, whose eyes were literally bulging at the sight before him.
"Sure thing lad, hop on"
Damien dragged my hand behind him and we entered the boat. The boat looked ancient and vulnerable and worse still there were no life vests.
I looked around and the old man was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?" I asked.
Just then, the boat began to move, making us all wobble around unsteadily.
"He's under the boat"
It was a pretty smooth ride on the boat, though I had been expecting us to tumble over or the boat to just break in half.
I could see an Island ahead, it didn't look inhabited from the outside as it was a little foggy but I'm sure that should be the Sirenus Damien spoke about. I looked over at Ivy and she seemed curious and ecstatic but Oliver just remained still, like Damien. I'm sure working for Damien for so long had most definitely rubbed off on him. We went even closer and I could hear splashes of water and faint feminine giggles… Sirenus. Looks like a place for ladies.
I looked over at Oliver and he seemed to be covering his ears as if trying to block off someone talking to him.
"Oliver?" I called but he couldn't hear me.
"What's going on?" I asked, looking at Damien and Ivy. Damien just looked straight into space like he wasn't even with us.
"It's the Sirensong," Ivy said and that's when I spotted them, they had the most mesmerizing eyes and their hair floated beautifully with the wave of the water.
"The Sirens use their bewitching voices and songs to lure men to themselves" Ivy explained as the Sirens floated all around us. I noticed their spiky fins and tails and worse of all, they had pointed sharp claws.
"After they finish with them, they rip them into shreds and dump their skeletons at the bottom of the ocean" I inhaled forgetting to breathe. So Cordelia is a killer.
"I'm kidding, I don't know much about Sirens," Ivy said laughing out loud.
"But one thing's for sure, their beauty is incomparable and their song controls the minds of men"
We reached shore and the man under the boat brought his head out of the water.
"Well lads, this is it" He said looking younger and less beardy. This made me wonder if he was a different man. He smiled and left, half of his body the kind of a kraken or is it an octopus?
As though Damien and Oliver weren't lost before, they got off the boat looking like nothing had happened to them.
As they had approached Sirenus, Damien shielded his and Oliver's mind from the Sirensong. The Siren song can get anyone, even the strongest of all men, except their hearts fully belong to another. It takes quite a lot of energy to protect one's mind from their powerful mind-controlling songs, so he was barely in the present.
They arrived and he could see Kelly staring at him. She knew he had zoned out but she decided not to ask. She resolved to protect him from Cordelia's charms, which he found very cute.
"They live just beyond these trees, not far from the sea," Damien said, urging them forward.
And there it stood, the castle of King Iravan.
"My most favourite person in the world," a kingly man with a crown said, hugging Damien. Cordelia with a crown on her head as well, stood by his side. I noticed the smiles she flashed at Damien but it didn't look like she was getting any smiles herself.
"Good to see you my lord" Damien greeted.
"Oh please, stop such insolence, call me Iravan as always," the advanced-looking man said, letting go of him.
He looked over at me, observing me closely. I looked down hoping I wasn't been secretly judged.
"A lady friend?" He said his voice, a bit uncheerful.
"Pardon me, Kelly, meet King Iravan, King Iravan, Kelly," Damien introduced and I smiled politely.
"Such a pretty little thing.." he said, planting a kiss on my knuckles. I guess he's not so bad.
"Every man must have one of her… I do myself, three in fact" he said, nudging Damien, chuckling to himself. One of her? What is that supposed to mean?
I looked at Damien displeased but he wasn't even looking at me.
"She is not my mistress King Iravan… that's what I'm here to talk to you about" Damien said indifferently, making me smile. Take that…King Iravan.
The king looked around as though hoping no one else heard what he said.
"We shall discuss this in private, son", his countenance showing discontent and rising anger.
"Cordy dear, please show the guests to their rooms," King Iravan said, with a smile.
"Son, we have a lot to discuss" He said taking Damien, and leaving the rest of us with 'Cordelia'.
"Well…Follow me" Cordelia said, looking at me with a smirk on her face before turning around.
We followed her into the castle, walking ahead of us.
"the supposed wife?" Ivy whispered in my ears.
"Yeah," I replied, looking at her.
The siren statues in the corridors looked quite nice and like they were telling a story. They did look seductive and alluring and it looked as though they targeted human men as well.
She led Oliver and Ivy to their rooms in the guest quarters and when it got to the time to show me mine, she opened her Siren mouth.
"The guts…" she said, stopping just when she wanted to open a door which I guessed was my room. She turned, looking at me with a look of disgust.
I stood my ground looking straight into her eyes unintimidated by her.
"So you had the guts to come here with him" She turned to me.
"I'm marrying him and we'll be mated to each other whether you like it or not," She said, bringing her face closer to mine. I moved backwards, still not uttering a single word.
She began laughing seeing she did not affect me.
"You're not intimidated huh? Well, you should be" she said looking into my eyes.
I suddenly felt a sharp scream in my head. It was a shout, a loud excruciatingly painful one like I had felt when we first met one on one. I covered my ears but it was like she was shouting to my soul.
"I can hurt you, so you better stay out of my way," she said, pushing me.
I got into the room still holding my head. I'm going to avoid her on this little trip. I hope Damien sorts this out quickly so we can be on our way. By the way, when they get married, are they not going to bear kids? Hybrids?