“Humans, then.”
“You have been here for almost ten months. Are you saying you haven’t learned anything here? At all?” Hartley’s chest inflates, his eyebrows snap down, and his eyes almost flame.
“It’s not as if we can go out and ask anyone every time we go out in public. Human females with point-tipped ear caps come running out and start squealing and touching us,” I say with obvious irritation. I cross my arms and turn away from the human.
There’s a snort from a tree. For a moment, the song of all the Sirens in the clearing gets loud and strong, pounding as one symphony of notes.
I lose myself in the music, swept up by the anger and fury. I can see where it will go, how it will flare out. The familiar gives me a moment to brace myself, to calm myself. I long to open my mouth and sing, letting everything in the vicinity feel the rage we feel. I want them to tear themselves to shreds, to upset their tiny little lives as they exist as puppets for my power.
There was a time when my song would be sung to cheer people, to bring them joy, but that was before they turned me into this and shoved me into the dark, cold depths of the Black Death Oceans. Now, there’s an anger in me that throbs incessantly and never quite goes away.
Diablos goes to the tree and peers up, searching for the witch. I snort in disgust and turn away, refusing to volunteer any information about her location.
“Oh, I heard about your fans,” Hartley mutters. “I guess you have a point. Becky has had issues with people, too.”
“Fans, stans, stalkers,” I mutter angrily. “Everywhere we go, they are there.”
Hartley chuckles. “Humans get very excited about newness.”
“Do they have any idea how easily they could be killed? One note, and I could blow their brains and watch the mushy liquid seep out of their nostrils.”
“That was an excellent description, Brio,” Hartley says with a distinct lack of fear. In fact, he crouches down and picks up a stick and starts snapping it. “But don’t do that to anyone.”
Leaf snarls, and suddenly, there are coiled masses of pissed-off dragon trying to climb into a tree a fraction of his size.
Mei lets out a shriek and jumps, only to be caught by the dragon. He uncoils from the tree and transforms back into his massive human shape, pulling her down into his lap like she’s another one of those freaky cats he likes to coddle.
Speaking of which, where is that evil thing? I hate how it comes and goes.
Kit has been an absolute menace over the years. While Leviathan and us Sirens have slammed up against each other over and over, Kit is sneaky. His attacks are lethal, and then he’s gone. With no discernible pattern.
To be honest, right up until we collared Leaf, we thought he and Kit were both animals. The first time he transformed into the huge humanoid version of himself, I almost forgot we were supposed to be fighting him.
The melody in the clearing is dominated by the personalities here but not the Strega. She is still not even uttering a single note. I creep closer and crouch down in front of her, staring at her and trying to figure out what she is.
“What do the humans want?” Lirin purrs from the ground where he is sprawled out, taking up the maximum amount ofspace. The witch turns her head in his direction; something crosses her face, causing her lips to soften before the rebellious smirk reappears.
“The ones that like you?” Hartley asks and puts his chin in his hand.
“Yes.”
“Well,” Hartley shifts uncomfortably. “Some just want you to sign your autograph; some want to talk to you just to say they have. Some of them want your attention and the status that comes with being favoured by you, and, uh, some of them will probably be thinking about love.”
I recoil. “What?”
Her head snaps in my direction, and her hand lashes out. I just manage to avoid the black-tipped nails, but it’s interesting that I can get that close without her noticing.
Hartley squirms. “Some humans think about forming a relationship, and they uh, fantasize and-”
“You mean mating?” the witch asks and elbows the dragon in his gut, managing to get out of his arms.
He bounces up and follows her. “Mating,” Leaf purrs with seduction in his eyes.
I gag.
The Strega snarls, a truly menacing sound that is quite impressive. “No mating!”
Leaf slumps, but only for a second. The dragon follows her, but she is quick, and her reflexes are like a cats.
