Chapter 2
Riella awoke to darkness spliced by flickering orange.
Submerged in salty water, she instinctively kicked her tail, only to have it hit a hard, flat surface. She was in a tank. Heavy manacles pulled on her wrists, attached to thick chains bolted to the sides of the tank. She kicked upward, breaking the surface of the water, looking around wildly.
A grid of sturdy metal bars crossed over her head. Her throat burned, like she’d swallowed fire, but she was otherwise unscathed. Hazy and disoriented, memories flooded back to her like a nightmare.
The thrashing man in the water was a lure. He’d cast a spell and now she was a prisoner in a tank in the middle of a cave. The walls were jagged black rock and the roof was wooden slats, leaving the cavern half open to the warm night air. The crash of waves reached her ears.
She squinted into the shadows of the cave. The only light came from torches in brackets on the wall. Her senses were slightly duller out of the water, because she was less attuned to the environment. The cavern was unoccupied, apart from her, and seemed to be a workshop.
A table sat near the tank, piled high with parchments and books and glass bottles of varying fullness. There were also sharp metal objects, lying neatly on a tray, and a mirror with a gilded frame. The rest of the cave had only a desk and chair, and smelled like sulphur. A banner hung on the rocky wall, showing a lightning bolt through a circle.
Upon closer inspection, Riella found the tank was not made of glass at all. It was clear natural crystal, far thicker and stronger than any material a human could make. She would not let that stop her from escaping, though.
A siren’s physical strength waxed and waned with the moon. It was currently a dark moon, to her disadvantage. Nevertheless, if she could remove the manacles, she would try with all her might to strike the crystal until it broke.
Movement from a shadowy corner of the cave made her freeze.
“Who’s there?” she demanded. “Show yourself.”
A pale figure stepped into the shifting orange light, chained at the ankle. Riella suppressed a gasp. It was not the man who’d captured her. The creature was completely colorless, with lank hair, pale lips, gray irises. She had the features of a young woman, except for her ears, which were pointed, like an elf.
But that was impossible. For this creature—dressed in a fraying plain shift—was devoid of the divine vitality that characterized elves. The elven affinity to nature was a trait shared by sirens. The two races couldn’t be more different in disposition, though. Elves were peaceful, and sirens were the warriors of the ocean.
“He’ll be back soon,” said the pale creature, pressing her white palms against the tank. “You have to get out of here. I’ll help you any way I can, but he is powerful.”
“Who are you? Why are you in these caves?”
“I’m Seraphine, an elf from the Emerald Mountains. Polinth kidnapped me, and now he drains my life force to keep his terminal Rotting disease at bay. But the others he captures are not so lucky. You must escape. He’ll continue experimenting on you until your body gives out.”
“Experimenting,” repeated Riella in horror. “What did he do to me?”
“I don’t know, but he was muttering about needing a siren’s Voice.”
“So, how can we escape?”
Seraphine hesitated. “We?”
“I won’t leave you here, of course.”
The elf shook her ankle, the heavy manacle clanging against the floor. “I would dearly like to see my family again before I die. He kidnapped me from the forest, and none of my people will know what happened to me. But I believe I won’t last until then. He’s drained so much of my life force already.”
“You aren’t going to die. Not here in this vile cave, and not any time soon. I promise.”
“There are stairs down the side of the mountain.” She glanced at Riella’s tail. “But I suppose you’ll want to return straight to the water.” Seraphine pointed to the mouth of the cave. “The cliffs are right outside. Can you jump?”
The siren nodded. “Then let’s?—”
“Ah, I’m so glad my two special beauties have met. My sun and moon.”
Riella whirled to the right. A man wearing blood-red robes appeared from the gloom, his thin hands folded in front of him. His wizened features and bald head glowed with vigor, despite his advanced age.
She opened her mouth to Sing. He watched with a serene expression as she buckled in pain from the stabbing sensation in her throat. She couldn’t Sing, at all. The Sirensong was simply gone. A pained rasp was all that came out.
“What have you done to me?” she hissed at him.
The man gave a genial smile. “You’ll find you are in perfect health, my dear. At least, for the time being. I require your Voice for some very important work I’m doing.”
Riella processed his revolting words. Seraphine was right. The mage had taken her Sirensong, by force. By magic. She hadn’t even known such a thing was possible.
With renewed anger, she tugged at the manacles and bashed the tank walls with her tail, to no effect. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of his spell, but she felt weaker than usual. Her strength seemed to be ebbing away more and more, like the tide at dawn.
For the first time since she regained consciousness, she noticed a small red wound in the crook of her left arm.
Riella fixed him with an accusing glare. “You are a ghoul. You experiment on living beings. You keep a prisoner and feed on her life force.”
He clicked his tongue and shook his head, as if they’d had a friendly misunderstanding. “I’m at the forefront of the mystical arts. I am breaking barriers. For that, I need my health. Seraphine is a small price to pay. As are you.” Polinth clapped. “But you can relieve Seraphine of her duties. Tell me, siren, what do you know of the Amulet of Delphine?”
Riella blinked in surprise. The amulet was a myth, a curio sirens told stories about, but it did not actually exist. “Nothing,” she spat. “I know nothing about it. Want to hear what I do know?”
He raised his eyebrows, smiling, as if greatly anticipating the answer. “What do you know, my dear?”
“You are going to die. You will be flayed alive, screaming, and I’ll watch.”
Polinth bounced on his feet in delight. “Ahh, that’s the siren spirit.” Riella bared her teeth at him, but he kept going, unperturbed. “Truly, you’re a magnificent creature. You’ve given me the means to retrieve the amulet, with your Voice, and allowed me to push the laws of Nature, with your body. The charlatans at Starlight Gardens will be forced to accept me as their superior.”
Riella had no idea what he was talking about, but she’d never had to listen to a male human speak this long in her life, and the experience was causing her immense irritation and rage.
With renewed determination, she crashed her tail against the tank and wrenched at the chains, ignoring the pain in her wrists. She screamed and wailed, but the sound was only a strained echo of her Sirensong. What did he plan on doing with this alleged amulet? What did he plan to do with her?
Polinth held his hands up to placate her, which only made her fight harder. The water lapped over the edge of the tank, splashing the front of his robe. He stepped back, dragging Seraphine with him.
“I shall let you calm down,” he said to Riella. “I have some cataloging to do in my storeroom, anyway. We can talk again when you feel better, and I’ll explain your situation fully. I’m afraid I did have to make certain compromises to achieve your transformation. But you will surely live longer than the last one.”
“What?” she shouted in disbelief, her fury multiplying with every sentence from his mouth. “What are you talking about? What have you done?”
He did not reply, clamping his hand on the elf’s arm and hauling her from the room, the long chain dragging behind her.
Riella gritted her teeth and kicked the crystal wall with her tail. If she’d not been weakened by whatever foul sorcery he disabled her with, she would’ve quickly demolished the tank.
Going by his ominous words, she would grow weaker still. This would likely be her only chance to escape, as no one knew her location. The waves pummeled the rocks below, calling to her. If she could just return to the healing power of the ocean, away from this monster, she would regain her strength.
The crystal remained intact. Riella switched her focus to the manacles, pulling them with as much strength as she could muster. But the chain links were thick and she howled in frustration when they refused to budge.
To bolster her strength, she pictured Polinth’s smug face beaming at her.
With a grunt of hatred, she finally managed to rip both manacles from the tank walls, the heavy chains falling into the water with a splash. She cackled in delight and anticipation. Wrapping her fists in the chains, she punched the crystal wall, over and over again.
A fracture formed in the middle of the tank, splintering the smooth surface like a branch of lightning. Her freedom was so close she could taste it. With her next blow, the crystal broke apart with a deafening crack. Chunks of the wall crumbled to the cave floor and the salty water poured out, like a dam breaking. Riella squeezed herself through the gap, dragging the chains with her.
Polinth lurched into the room, the water washing over the hem of his robes. His smile had vanished. Behind him, Seraphine limped into the room, her gray eyes wide.
“No,” he cried. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Leaning on her hands, Riella angled her body toward him. “Yes, I do. I’m killing you.”
He backed up. “Please, listen to me. If you return to the ocean, you will die. Allow me to take care of you.”
The siren answered by flinging one of the heavy chains at him. The links hit him square in the chest, making him crash to the floor, winded.
Suddenly dizzy, Riella’s arms buckled. Her body ached all over and when she breathed, her insides felt too big and airy. Panic seized her. What was going on? If she didn’t return to the ocean soon, she wouldn’t survive.
Seraphine tugged at the long chain around her ankle, bolted to the rock wall. The siren grasped the chain and yanked, pulling the bolts from the stone and freeing the elf. If they could leave before Polinth recovered, they might have a chance of escaping.
“Let’s go!” said Seraphine, looking over her shoulder at Polinth, who clutched his chest and gasped. “Once he casts magic, we’re done for.”
The elf ran from the cave, her gait lopsided from the chain dragging at her ankle, while Riella pulled herself along the floor to the black rocks outside. The briny wind whipped her face. After the claustrophobic constriction of the tank, the air was refreshing.
Light from the torches cast a faint glow on the rocks. To the side of the cave, a set of rough-hewn stairs disappeared down the mountain. Beyond the edge of the cliff, where Riella would go, was only a long, long drop to the ocean.
“Will you be alright?” asked Seraphine from the top of the stairs.
“I will—” Her words were interrupted by an unprecedented jolt of pain in her chest, making her cry out. “Once I’m in the water, I’ll feel better.”
Inside the cave, Polinth rose to his feet, fixing his manic gaze on Riella. Seraphine was around the corner, out of sight. The siren steeled herself in preparation for the jump she’d have to make. Anything was better than staying here with him.
Seraphine melted into the shadows, hurrying down the stairs. Riella turned and pulled herself along the craggy rocks. Just before she reached the rocky overhang of the cliff, one of the chains around her wrist caught and jerked her backward.
Crying out in fear, she tried to free herself, but the end of the chain was wedged between two rocks. The harder she pulled, the more the chain became stuck. Polinth’s silhouette loomed in the mouth of the cave.
He lifted his arms and began to chant.
“No!”
The voice belonged to Seraphine, who’d come back for her. The elf darted from the stairwell and lunged for the stuck chain, wrenching it. The chain went blessedly slack on Riella’s wrist, liberating her.
“Jump!” shouted Seraphine, crouching on the rocks. “Jump now!”
Pain spasmed through Riella’s tail and her chest tightened. There was no time for hesitation. She pulled herself over the cliff’s edge, praying Seraphine could flee to the nearby stairs before Polinth cast magic.
But, a moment too late, Riella registered a flash of red light, followed by Seraphine’s piercing scream. The sound haunted Riella the whole way down, the force of the wind stinging her face and body.
The siren crashed through the surface of the seething water. Having expected relief, she was alarmed to find herself sinking rapidly. Another shock of pain wracked her body. She sank farther, the heavy chains making her drop like a stone.
Water slipped through her hands too easily. The webbing between her fingers was gone, making it impossible to paddle to the surface. She kicked her tail, which felt agonizingly splintered.
Nothing happened. She kicked again, and now she felt no tail at all.
In the starlit water, she looked down, confusion and terror engulfing her. What she saw made no sense. Where her tail had been just moments ago, there were two slender, flailing appendages.
Riella had human legs. And judging by the rate she swallowed water, human lungs, too.