I forged ahead. The sound hit me fully, a bewildering vibrant noise that rebounded off the rocky cave walls. My ears strained at the soundscape; it was absolutely otherworldly, trilling and quivering with the thrum of some strange percussion that vibrated through me.
Sirens of all shapes and colorings swayed to the melody together under a cold, glowing light seeping from the plants that clung to the rocks in clusters above, throbbing to the swell of music. The light illuminatedthe colors of the sirens’ skin beautifully as they rolled their bodies and reached for one another in sweeping movements.
Morvyn sauntered ahead, dancing to the beat as he worked his long, lean body through the sea of flesh.
“Stay close,” Raylik ordered.
I did not argue. The sight was the strangest I’d seen yet, besides the sirens themselves. But even though a part of me feared the music and the sirens’ power, another part was mesmerized. They were absolutely divine. Like holy prayers coming to life.
Raylik and I worked through the bodies, following Morvyn, whose brilliant smile said he was absolutely reveling in the scene.
The music was completely overtaking my senses.
I tried to capture it, the sound, the harmonies, the tempo, but it was so wild and incredible. Impossible to comprehend even with my knowledge of music.
Webbed hands glided across my body as if I belonged to the crowd, to the music that begged me to roll my hips and sway as the sirens did. To melt into their barely clothed and glorious bodies that glistened, their scales twinkling, like stars beneath the sea.
We broke free of the pulsating assemblage and passed a large piece of green sea glass jutting out into the space. Sirens clustered around the structure, and behind it a pink siren handed out chalices that sloshed with drink as she placed them into empty hands.
Morvyn led us to a tall table with stools, and we all took a seat.
“They sound marvelous this evening,” he said over the music.
I’d heard of taverns; dark, dingy places where men drank from tankards, but this was nothing like that. This was brilliant.
A siren approached our table, her dark-green skin hardly covered by fabric that tied on each side of her expansive hips with a strip across her ample chest. Her hair was like a green river rippling down her back.
“Whyhello,Bryn,” Morvyn said with a wink.
“Good evening,” she said, placing two chalices before Morvyn and Raylik.
“And for you, love?” she asked me.
“Water and food. Cooked,” Raylik answered.
“I believe she asked me,” I said sharply.
Morvyn raised his pale brows. “I believe she did.”
Raylik kept his lips in a tight line.
“What are you two having?” I asked.
Morvyn puffed a laugh that made me regret the question.
Nixie appeared from the densely packed crowd. “Oh Elowyn, you’re here. What a surprise.” Her elevated voice chimed over the thrumming beat as she skimmed a gentle hand over Raylik’s broad, bare shoulders in passing.
“She insisted on coming,” Raylik answered.
Nixie sat between Raylik and Morvyn and looked at him, a thought seeming to pass between their minds.
“I’ll take a cup of firewater, Bryn, please,” Nixie said to the green siren.
“I’ll have the same,” I said.
“I don’t know if that’s the best id—” Nixie started.
“Let the girl have some fun!” Morvyn interjected.
