THE OLD MADE NEW

The Siren

SIREN

The diner was completely devoid of anyone or anything interesting—that is, until two men and a woman entered and sat at one of the nearby tables.  Thelxiepeia drew her hood down around her as she observed the three friends and their heated conversation.

So that’s him, huh?  she thought, sipping weak coffee through plump lips.  When the young man went into the restroom she knew it was him; nonhuman creatures have a knack for recognizing their own.

Thelxiepeia waited for the group to leave, then stood up and followed them.  She wore a long, flowing skirt that brushed the ground as she walked, and a black hoodie that bared her midriff.  She took small, unhurried steps, and to those who observed her it seemed she gracefully floated across the filthy floor.  When she reached the parking lot of the diner the trio had gone, but it didn’t concern Thelxiepeia.  She got into her car, a black Jaguar XF and turned on the radio.

“...Cheyenne’s rock station.  Next up we have the hit by Princess Esperance, ‘Wish Come True,’ which has quickly…” the radio announcer was silenced by Thelxiepeia’s angry fingers at the stereo’s controls.  She fumed in her seat.

“What gives that girl the right to sing so well?” Thelxiepeia complained to her steering wheel, but even in anger her voice was audible beauty.  She turned on the engine and squealed out of the parking lot.

“That damned faerie, that’s who! Esperance was always jealous of my voice, but she was a tolerable annoyance when living.  Since her death she’s become a right nuisance!”

Thelxiepeia drove west, drove back to fresher air and wide-open spaces.  The trip to Laramie would take less than an hour.

The siren was old--centuries old--yet to mortals she looked like a cougar.  A little older.  Foxy.  She had a way about her that encouraged this perception.  Thelxiepeia was very vain, and she almost fed on flattery like it was cheese and crackers.  She turned on her iPod and turned up her speakers, singing along with one of her favorite songs.

"In the land of the lost horizon

Where the queen lies dark and cold

When the stars won't shine, then the story's told...

When the world was milk and honey

And the magic was strong and true,

Then the strange ones came, and the people knew

That the chains are on..."

Thelxipeia laughed to herself while Dio pulsed through her sound system.  If people only knew the truth about him, she thought wryly.  If people only listened to the lyrics and the knew the truth about this world...

Thelxipeia rolled down her windows and sang along with the music.  Her voice was strong, clear, and enchanting.  A trucker heading her way heard the song and veered off the road toward her.  The siren's quick reflexes allowed her to out-maneuver the oncoming vehicle, and her song never faltered as she sped down the highway.

Several accidents occured on I-80 that night.  Thelxipeia still had it.

Six miles or so outside of western Laramie, just off of County Road 43, there lived a miserable, nameless lake.  Out in the open, away from the Snowy Range Mountains and the bulk of Laramie, this lake was constantly molested by powerful winds.  A small collection of run-down trailers huddled together for protection, but the missing siding and runaway trash cans were a testament to their futility.

The streets that these trailers were discarded upon had no signs to label them.  The northern half of County Road 43 was not paved after the first fifty feet or so, and recent rains transformed dust to mud.  At the mouth of the road an assortment of sorry-looking mailboxes stood silently vigilant as a black Jaguar XF pulled up in front of them.

Thelxiepeia swore as she looked around.  To her left was some strange, large white building.  To her right were the mailboxes.  Almost exactly half a mile down the road was her turn to her destination.  She sat eyeing the mailboxes with her beautiful eyes for a long moment before she left the car.  She opened up the box for 7 Star Flight Lane and removed a few bills for Mr. River Child.

“Home sweet home,” she muttered under her breath, then got back in her fancy car and sped off toward the trailer.  She winced as mud sprang up all about her vehicle, marring its once-shiny surface.