10. Sirens Say, What?
Chapter 10
Sirens Say, What?
M y head fell forward like it was suddenly a hundred pounds, and I struggled to stay upright. But not before I caught sight of Sloan grasping something in his open palm. With a reverberating crack, electricity surged into the air and broke whatever spell we were under. A blink later, both of us were on our feet, weapons clashing into the beast.
Re-energized, I swung my arm out, blade tightly clutched, and aimed for my grandmother’s throat—something I never imagined in a hundred years I’d do. But this was an imposter, not my sweet Grams who spent every waking hour since my parents died giving me all the love and comfort I needed. You know, when I was young. Then she kicked my ass repeatedly for years.
But hey, with love.
Sort of.
The creature dodged every one of my swings, and Sloan was just as unlucky. His body danced through the air, trying to penetrate its defense. The shiny metal of his blades glinted in streams of daylight. Then his form twisted and moved beautifully through the space, and if I wasn’t so worried about my own head, I would’ve stopped to watch the gorgeous display of what a true, high-level Hunter looked like when they fought. But I didn’t relish being decapitated today .
Don’t lose your head, V. Focus on the fight.
When the other Hunter finally landed a blow on its bare flesh, his long blade sparked and a harsh clang rang out.
Thanks to the many tomes Sloan forced me to read, I figured out in a single moment what we fought. The speed, its morphed appearance, the pheromones, the impenetrable skin…
Siren.
It was one of the first creatures I learned about, because Phillip cautioned it as one of the many nefarious assassins my enemies would send to capture me.
Swiftly, I evaded the gleam of the Siren’s serrated weapon, one that would hurt like a motherfucker before I instantly healed. Like I’d spent a lifetime practicing, I somersaulted out of reach and honed my focus on the unique sheen of its skin.
Talk about an epic defensive and offensive fighter. Sirens were no joke. They were Fae who used magical pheromones to weaken their opponents into compliance. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they also sported skin stronger than any known material in the human plane. Even Hunter blades couldn’t penetrate their armor.
I caught Sloan’s gaze, and we shared a silent moment. I depicted his plan with the quick movement of his hands, then moved into action. His blade clanged over and over, testing different areas, but each place was shielded by the Siren’s invincible flesh.
The only way to deal damage to a Siren was to break down its shielded skin until it was vulnerable. From what I read, that was a task in of itself. Worse, Sirens could only be killed by stronger magic or full, heal-evasive decapitation. Long story short, I’d need to be quick and overly thorough. A simple swing and lop off move wouldn’t suffice for this fucker. Unfortunately, my magic only seemed to come when a person I cared about was in danger, and I wouldn’t risk Sloan’s life just to use it.
The Grams Imposter twirled, throwing several blades our way, many we dodged. But unfortunately, a couple stabbed me straight through the chest, and it was a bitch to remove them so I could heal. It also seemed they were doused in poison, but nothing that did more than throb and burn before dissipating.
It wasn’t clear how long we had before another pheromone spell was in the works, but from what I read, they couldn’t do it limitlessly. It’d take time to regenerate their energy. So I had to be thankful for that little nugget of hope. Since the Siren hadn’t tried to overpower us again with its pheromones, I had to believe it had used all its energy already.
Maybe my luck isn’t total shit after all…
The beautiful Hunter beside me lassoed a barbed rope around the Siren, his ethereal light eyes igniting with homicidal rage. He knew how little time we had to defeat this beast of an opponent because the dude had likely fought one of these damn things.
Thanks to torturous tutoring, I was pretty clear on the stakes, too.
His little lasso trick didn’t work. The tiny Grandma Rose lookalike broke through the Hunter-strong metal wrapped around it and an explosion of pheromones flooded the air.
Just as Sloan swung his sword out and prepared himself for another fight to maintain control over his mind, something that started in the pit of my stomach surged up into my chest and pushed out. A shrill cry fled the Grams lookalike and she scurried back on her hands and feet. It was honestly the creepiest fucking thing I’d seen in a long time. Something right out of a horror movie.
That’s going to give me nightmares.
My grandmother’s face morphed for a second, and then fell away to a color that wasn’t human. White with a rainbow hue. Its skin seemed to melt away and fall onto the forest floor. Its fingernails grew obscenely long and sharp. And when the thing opened its mouth to hiss, its incisors were razor-sharp like vampire fangs but longer. Horns grew out of the middle of its forehead and temples, and everything about the creature was unnaturally long and awkward to look at. In full daylight, what once resembled Grams now took on a form I’d only seen in the huge books Sloan brought for me to read.
Sirens were supposed to be beautiful creatures that lured humans to their death in the deepest recesses of the ocean. But they were actually just clever magic-users capable of assuming any identity they wanted. Despite seeing pictures of their true, authentic forms drawn in the books I’d read, it still hit like a gross nightmare to look at one crouched like a demon of Hell right in front of me.
“You can’t be!” the Siren hissed.
It was in that moment both Sloan and I seemed to realize the pheromones weren’t affecting us. Even though I sensed them in the air and detected their scent, I retained my thoughts and control. Whatever I’d done, it rendered the attack useless.
Sloan didn’t waste time attacking the cowering beast, and I was right behind him. We worked together to get the creature into a corner.
But something about it seemed weaker than before. Most surprising was it hadn’t used its pheromones again, almost like it couldn’t. Like its power had been snuffed out. It wasn’t fast, barely evading our attacks. Its eyes shot from left to right, looking for an exit. When the creature postured for escape, Sloan swung his sword out, ready to decapitate it before it could.
And then the air around me throbbed and jolted.
Caught off guard, I panned the area before everything came to a screeching halt. Sloan still had his sword arm thrown out, ready to cut a deadly line across the Siren’s throat. But it was the Siren, who was eager to escape, that I was focused on. Somehow, the Siren’s eyes managed to track my movements as I took steps its direction. But it didn’t move.
It couldn’t.
Time had stalled out again, but it didn’t occur while I was worried about someone dying. This time it happened without rhyme or reason.
Still, I’d count it as a blessing and end things here.
I wasn’t sure how I knew it hadn’t been able to harden its skin, but I did. Just got the sense it couldn’t anymore, not after whatever burst from my body happened. I’d somehow weakened or completely incapacitated all of its abilities.
Weird intuition is a nifty new trick, no lie.
But before I could cut through the Siren’s throat, time started again and Sloan decapitated it with his long sword. Neither of us expected it, so Sloan paused, clearly surprised.
Unlike with other creatures we fought, its body caved in on itself and crumbled to the ground like pieces of broken stone. No blood, no ash, merely sat there like we’d poured a pile of gravel onto the forest floor.
“It didn’t harden its skin or use pheromones,” Sloan said to himself, standing after giving our surroundings another sweep with his eyes .
I chose not to mention the time stall and stood beside him. “Whatever magic I used seemed to disable its power,” I commented, a bit unsure of how else to say it.
Sloan offered me a curious look. “Did you intend to use it?”
“Not even a little bit. I don’t really think that’s how it works. It’s like a defensive mechanism. It somehow knows when I need it and what I need it to do.”
I sounded crazy, but that was the only way I knew how to explain it. Ever since Cassius unlocked my magic— summoned it?— it came when I needed it.
Sheathing his sword, Sloan walked over to me. His eyes glided down my body before he eased closer, toying with a large, open flap of fabric near my breast. That would be where I was stabbed by a painful-as-fuck blade. My very less-than-sexy nude bra was exposed beneath, and I covered it after batting the other Hunter’s hand away.
“You’ll need to change if we keep heading to the location.”
“That’s all you have to say in this situation?” I asked, perplexed. “I just disabled a Siren’s abilities, and you’re worried about my bra showing?”
His dashing smile disarmed my rage, and he dug out a unisex tank top from his pack. “I may look cool and unruffled, but inside I’m a screaming mess.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped, snatching the shirt and tossing my jacket and all its weaponry to the floor.
Sloan sucked in a breath when I unceremoniously tore the shirt off my body and quickly put on the new one. His eyes were lustful orbs by the time I slipped my arms through my jacket and fixed my weapons .
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we nearly died at the hands of a rare creature assassin and are right back at it like nothing happened.”
Branches and dead leaves crunched with every step as I carried on like we hadn’t been attacked by a beast of an enemy. The fight felt like hours, but it was likely only minutes in human time, so we hadn’t lost much daylight.
At least taking on a coven of vampires would feel like a vacation after that little dance with the Devil.
Sloan easily matched my pace and stole a glance at me. “You seem upset.”
“Upset ain’t it, Sloan. We just survived an attack with an opponent that even Phil struggles to defeat. I’m counting my blessings right now.”
“Yet, you don’t seem all that chuffed that you did,” Sloan countered, lush lips lifted some. “Even I’m at a loss for what to say. It’s not often I fight Sirens. If anything, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen one come out of nowhere like this. But you made fighting one look effortless, love.”
Sighing, I picked up the pace. “Was it me, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“This power…it’s not something I was trained to use. It’s not me. It’s luck, honestly. Today, I only survived because whatever thing lives inside my blood decided to help.” I stole a look at Sloan, and his eyes met mine with intensity. “But it feels dangerous to rely on it. I can’t explain it, but I don’t trust whatever this magic is. Whatever the Organization fiddled with, it’s definitely something they shouldn’t have.”
Nodding his understanding, Sloan turned his gaze ahead. Beams of renegade light hit his body as we walked, and he seemed to take a moment to carefully choose his next words. Wind whispered in my ears and the nearby wildlife went back to their day as if nothing happened.
As if we hadn’t just fought for our lives .
“You’re not wrong to question it, and we’ll train your other skills so you won’t have to rely on it.” The Brit’s glistening gem-like eyes slid back over to me. “But I fear I must argue with you.”
Mouth thinning, I looked at the path ahead. “Oh? Going to lecture me about how I should just be grateful for the outcome?”
His laughter rang out and caught my attention right away. “Not at all. You fought better than most seasoned Hunters today. Every movement was completely in sync with mine. Other than Kris and Phillip, no one has been that in tune with me, and Kris took nearly a decade to do what you did today.” The side of his lip tilted into an impish smirk. “So, again, I hate to disagree with a beauty like you, but what you did today was not luck or chance. It was talent and training. It was the mark of every top-level Hunter.”
I might miss Phillip to the point of physical pain, but I was seriously glad I had Sloan. He made each passing day bearable. His words calmed a storm in my head. He knew just what to say to ease my insecurities.
“Thanks, you gorgeous British bastard.”
The happiness that ignited his face was as if I’d given him the best compliment of his life, and it destroyed me. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t insanely attracted to him when he smiled like that.
“Anytime, love.”
Silence fell over us, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was necessary. As a Hunter, no matter what we faced, it was business as usual and onto the next when we fought. It may be unique circumstances, but that didn’t change the fact that innocent people were at risk the longer this vampire coven was left unchecked. Our first priority would always be to the innocent lives threatened by the creatures hunting them.
Getting my head back in the game, I refocused on the task at hand. We could debrief later when we finished the job. Until then, I’d thank my luck I didn’t die at the hands of a Siren and move the fuck on.
We weren’t far from the location, and there was no telling what other beasties waited in the wings for me. So, I kept my eyes peeled for anything nearby. I relied on all my senses to detect anything amiss, and when I picked up the sound of footsteps, I stopped in my tracks. Something felt familiar about the sound, but I prepared myself for another attack. Sloan didn’t seem worried though, as he came to a stop beside me. His hands were free of weapons, and he simply stared ahead.
A second later, two figures loomed about two hundred feet from us in the path ahead. They’d come over a hill and stopped just as it crested. My heart ceased its beat before I realized who they were.
“Did you guys take the scenic route, or just get outright lost?” Kris asked, laughing. But one look at Sloan and my expressions when she finally closed in on us and her smile disappeared. “What happened?”
I opened my mouth, but Sloan cut in ahead of me. “Just a little trouble. It’s all settled now, though. Not to worry.”
As if picking up on something left unsaid, Kris nodded and offered the two of us another one of her sly smiles. “Danger magnets, these two.”
Sungho, whose eyes didn’t leave mine the entire back and forth between the other two, finally looked over at Sloan. “The other location turned up nothing.”
Kris rolled her eyes and giggled. “Right to business. Next time I’m pairing up with V. You boys are no fun. ”
Collecting myself and brushing off how uncomfortable Sungho’s stare made me, I smiled at the sassy vixen. “I’m game. I think Sloan attracts more danger than I do.”
“He really does!” Kris yelped with enthusiasm, making the man beside me snicker. And surprisingly, Sungho’s lips tilted up, just shy of a smile.
“So you can smile? I mean, really smile. None of that courteous greet-and-grin bullshit?” I teased the silent man.
His smile departed the second I pointed it out. “You’re seeing things.”
“No…it was definitely there. You smiled. A real, god-honest grin of delight.”
Kris dropped an arm around my shoulders and laughed loudly. “He’s a tough nut to crack, but he’ll eventually give into our charms, V.”
Sungho silently stalked ahead, ignoring us. But it’d thankfully broken the tension, and I was super grateful for Kris swooping in to save the day.