Free Siren Blood by Nas Magkasi

roared for the last time, then began to crash down onto the sand.
    “Everybody back away!” Domenico yelled.
    Unfortunately one of the men didn’t run fast enough and the monster crushed him. He joined the other dead bloodied and mangled men on the shore. It was the same old story.
    The monster fell forward and Domenico had to run to its back to avoid falling himself. When the thing was down, sa nd blasted from all sides. He jumped down the monster’s corpse with his mouth covered.
    With no time to lose, Domenico ran toward the other monster to finish the job.
     
     
    How Maj detested the humans. Wizards too. Maybe even demons. Everyone except sirens, really. Sirens were the only species she could trust.
    Mer was gone, and who else was there now? That dull wizard’s daughter who didn’t even want to be one of them?
    She’d seen the human, Domenico, the man she was supposed to wed just moments ago. She’d watched with horror as he slayed her sister dead and now he was coming for her too. At least the wizard was dead. One less thing to worry about.
    She had already killed many men and she wanted to stick around and taste them. She was long overdue for some Tetro human flesh, and deserved it too. If only she could kill Domenico, but it was difficult when she transformed into a monster. Even after nearly a week’s practice of being on two legs, being a monster proved to be tougher still. The legs were much too skinny to navigate and the body was bloated. She had eyes that stared from each side of the head and her hands were useless.
    Humans, as puny as they were, had control of their limbs and they had the capability of running fast and striking with strength. She was already bleeding from several places. She had at least grabbed a hold of that Gio and bit off his other leg, before tossing him into her beak and swallowing him for good.
    Yes, he had been quite the feast, but then she remembered that the demon had wanted his soul too, and now he was dead. Rats. That meant Gio would go to heaven.
    The demon was going to kill her! What was she going to do? How would she face him, and worst of all, Persephone?
    And there was no way that Domenico was going to marry her now.
    She wobbled to the waters, Domenico hot on her trail, then transformed back into the lovely siren that she was most comfortable being.
    She swam away . When she was at a good distance, she turned to look back at him.
    At first it seemed as if he wanted to jump in and swim after her, but realization crossed his face: no matter how fast he swam, he would never catch up with her. They both knew that.
    She cackled, making backstrokes, flipping her tail happily.
    “Goodbye, my love!” She blew him a kiss. “Too bad our marriage couldn’t work out. I was so looking forward to having you as my husband. We would’ve made the most lovely couple”
    “You ugly, e vil beast!” His entire body shook with rage and his knife dripped with siren blood. “I killed your sister and I’ll kill you if that’s the last thing I do!”
    “How are you ever going to find me?” she taunted. “If you want to kill a siren, how about that other girlfriend of yours. What’s her name?”
    She cackled again.
    Domenico kicked the sand, and she ducked in the water.
    As fun as that was, she had to face the demon soon. She’d have t o explain them her failure and everything that happened. Who knew what kind of price she would have to pay for not getting some measly human souls?
     
     

Chapter Nine
    Domenico watched the raven-haired siren swim away. He didn’t know whom he hated more – her or himself. He had let her get away. He had almost married her - the siren who had killed his father. He was to blame, for being too stupid.
    Tetro was in tatters. Half the men were dead. Wives husbandless and children fatherless once more. Domenico didn’t know whether the town would ever recover. So many women were crying over the bodies of their beloved. Some of the men were