Drake sighed. The pool wasn't nearly big enough for the siren, but it was the best he could do on such short notice. Honestly, the pool was basically a glorified kiddie-pool.
Drake sighed again.
Turning toward the tank, he jumped at the eerie milky-green eyes staring right at him. How the siren always seemed to know where he was in the room, he would never know. "Hey, will you let me move you into your new pool? I don't want you to have to drag yourself."
The siren seemed to hesitate before saying, in a surprisingly soft voice, "I want to clean myself off first."
"Of course!" Drake smacked his head, "I can't believe I didn't think of that!" The siren flinched away from him as much as possible, shrinking into the far corner of the tank. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He lowered his voice into just above a whisper. The siren peaked out of their hands to stare at him with sightless eyes.
"Do you truly mean that?"
"Yes," Drake smiled, "My name's Drake by the way."
The siren was silent for a long moment, then, "Nyx."
Drake's smile grew, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Nyx."
"I wish I could say the same."
Drake's smile dropped. He sighed, then turned back toward the pool. "I suppose I can't blame you for that." He forced a smile, then turned back to Nyx, "Well, let's get you all cleaned up!"
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Nyx sighed as they relaxed into the water of the pool, clean for the first time in what felt like years. They ran a hand down their tail, pausing at the spots of clear skin. "I hope these heal, I'll be vulnerable in those spots as long as they remain bare."
A sharp thud interrupted their musings. Nyx jolted into the far side of the pool, trying to make themself as small as possible. It could've just been Drake, but I'm not staking my life on that. Heavy, irregular thumps continued on toward Nyx, making them shrink into themself even more. Definitely not Drake, his steps are always just loud enough to hear and soft so as not to startle me. The thumps continued to the edge of the pool, bringing the sharp scent of alcohol with them.
"I lost my job because of you filthy animal, you know that?" The gruff voice paused to burp, "And know no-one else will hire me? Do you know why?" The voice paused once again, as if expecting an answer. "Because that wimp of a cap'n completely ruined me!" The voice started to yell, "No'bdy seems to care that creatures deserve to be treated like the filth on my shoe! And what's even worse, is the fact that you're still alive."
The human jumped into the pool, but Nyx was ready for him. They pounced on him, pinning him under their long tail and holding his hands down with sharp talons cutting into him. He tried to struggle, but Nyx just simply cut a little deeper into his flesh.
"Get off me, ya' filthy animal!"
"We'll never get free,
Lamb to the slaughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?" Nyx cut even further into the human's arm, drawing more blood into the already blood-stained water.
"The price of your greed,
Is your son and your daughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?" A taloned hand grabbed the enchanted human's face, forcing him to look at them.
"Look me in my eyes,
Tell me everything's not fine.
Oh, the people ain't happy,
And the river has run dry.
You thought you could go free,
But the system is done for.
If you listen real closely,
There's a knock at your front door." Drake seemed to be pounding on the door to the room, but Nyx ignored him in favor of cutting into the human's groin.
"We'll never get free,
Lamb to the slaughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?
The price of your greed,
Is your son and your daughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?
When there's blood in the-
When there's blood in the,-" Nyx released the human from his enchantment just enough to smell his terror.
"Beg me for mercy,
Admit you were toxic.
You poisoned me just for,
Another dollar in your pocket.
Now I am the violence,
I am the sickness,
Won't accept your silence,
Beg me for forgiveness." The human was trembling under them in pain and terror, but Nyx wasn't done yet. A talon dragged along the human's legs in tune with his screaming.
"We'll never get free,
Lamb to the slaughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?
The price of your greed,
Is your son and your daughter.
What you gon' do,
When there's blood in the water?
When there's blood in the water!
When there's blood in the-" A talon danced across the human's chest, drawing lines of blood.
"I am the people,
I am the storm,
I am the riot,
I am the swarm.
When the last tree's fallen,
The animal can't hide.
Money won't solve it,
What's your alibi?
What's your alibi?
What's your alibi?
What you gon' do when there's blood in the blood in the water?
When there's blood in the water!
When there's blood in the-
When there's blood in the water!" The talons plunged into the human's chest, tearing his heart out with the last beat of the song. Drake finally busted through the door just as Nyx unhinged their jaw and swallowed the heart whole.
YOU ARE READING
Siren's Tail
FantasyHumans are the perfect food for sirens; however, sirens are the perfect treasure for humans. Nyx was hunting with their pod when they were captured by a crew of pirates. They had to sit and watch as their family was murdered before their very eyes...
