Siren Song (Hypernaturals 2)

Tell All

Jessica laid it all out for them. No holds barred. Nothing held back. Nothing sugar coated. Even the sorry state of the male Vampire. She was not interrupted. Several beer rounds went by as it is a long tale. When she finished her tale she asked "So, comments? Questions?"

Lori looked dazed. "It is a lot to absorb."

"Yes, it is." Jessica agreed.

Danny looked at Helen, who had finished my neck and sat next to me. The magic she wrought amazing. Helen has learned more than a few things along the way. When she sat down, she twined her small fingers into mine and pulled my hand into her lap.

"You are more than five hundred years old. And the youngest member of the Council..."

"Yes." Helen answered.

"And Adrian is on probation from the Council because he is male."

"More or less, yes. Male Vampires as a group have a bad history and are required to earn their way into Vampire society. It is the way it needs to be." Helen again answered, lightly running a caressing thumb over mine.

"What then are Sirens?" Lori asked

"I have been waiting all afternoon for this part of the program." I said. If I am up against something called a Siren, my tiny little world view needs some expanding.

Helen said. "Well, as there are Vampires, there are other 'extra-Human' creatures in the world. A Siren is very much like a normal human, but they are some sort of mutation. One that can breed true. They are able to use their voices to hypnotize humans. Same thing as any other hypnotist, but far more effective."

Jessica went on "You mentioned the sing-songy way they speak. We have not met any Sirens in this age of science to verify all the facts, but it is supposed that their voices are able to affect human brain waves, easing them into the patterns that the Siren wants. It is not a far jump. Like Helen said: think of a hypnotist at a show where they have people barking and kissing people they do not know and taking off their clothes. Or one of those people that read for e-books that puts you to sleep. One of those self-hypnotic dream programs you can get where you listen to sounds with sub-beats and rhythms. Instead of a waving pendulum or some other focus object, there is the voice. Since you don't know that they are Sirens, your guard is not up. Not sure it would help even if your guard is up. Not from a good one anyway. They pull you into a hypnotic state without your knowing. Then they talk you into doing things. According to the old stories they are resistant to Vampire hypnotics. They are few in number, less than Vampires, and they are always men. Always big barrel-chested men. Their voices don't work on Vampires because Vampire hearing and brains are different from human. They resist us, we resist them."

"Every single thing about Arnold just dropped into place." I said in wonder

Jessica sipped her beer before saying in a grim, angry at herself kind of way: "Yes: We never thought to consider this possibility. We thought them gone."

"Why gone?" I asked.

"Vampires and Sirens, according to the oral histories, fought a war. Sirens lost and were thought to be exterminated. Wiped from the gene pool. Obviously not." Helen said.

Lori asked "Is that more than a legend? Did that war really happen?"

"No one is alive today from back then as far as I know." Helen replied. "It seems likely that there was a war between our species. From what you said about today, the Sirens believe it. Their hatred of Vampires must be very deeply part of their culture."

Danny shook his head " They HATE Vampires. These people are of a kind. All three. Brutal. They liked pain. They liked hurting Lori. Arnold enjoyed smashing out Adrian's teeth... glad to hear those will grow back by the way."