Free Siren Blood by Nas Magkasi Page A

unrecognizable from being crushed or partly eaten. Blood and guts were everywhere and Domenico had a déjà vu from ten years ago. How long would the sand be stained with blood again?
    If only he’d killed both of the sirens . At least then, he would have peace.
    Nobody could help him now. Zannan was dead. It was true what the siren had said. How would he ever find her?
    Some women had died as well. Adriana’s mother was too drunk to get away fast enough, and she was flattened, along with a few elderly woman who came to the wedding.
    Gio was dead too, his only living relative. But Domenico didn’t have time to shed tears for them. He had to save Mistico.
    He searched the bodies and found a water bottle that he immediately emptied. Running back to the slain siren he filled the bottle with the dark thick blood leaking from one of its wounds. He closed the bottle and shoved it in his pant pocket.
    He sprang to the top of the hill to Adriana’s house, running past the villagers who were going the opposite way – down the hill wit h supplies to help the injured, to separate the living from the dead.
    Domenico was tired from the fighting, and running up the steep hill to the very top left him breathless. Perhaps he was afraid too of what he would find. Would Mistico have a tail and a new evil personality? Then he would have no choice but to kill her.
    Tears welled up in his eyes again. What was meant to be the happiest day of his life turned into the worst, and he never thought that was possible after the first siren battle.
    He pulled the front door open without knocking. Broken dishes were everywhere and cobwebs were on every corner of the ceiling. The house had taken on a dark, lonely energy. It used to have such a loving atmosphere. He and Adriana would play in the gardens, or play checkers by the fireplace when it was raining. His mother used to be kind, the complete opposite of the raging alcoholic she had become in the years to come. She often brought out cookies or other desserts for the children. Sometimes, she even played checkers with them. Adriana had loved her so much.
    When he thought of Adriana now, his memory of her was now tainted by the new ones from the imposter. How wretched they were.
    He had to cure Mistico.
                  “Hello?” he called out. “Mistico? Are you here?”
    No one answered. He checked all the rooms and came to the one at the end of the hall. Adriana’s bedroom. Mistico was in a rocking chair, muttering to herself.
                  “Mistico!” Domenico kneeled at her feet. “What did they do to you?”
    She looked up at him, her eyes blank of any recognition.
    “It’s me,” he said. “ Domenico.”
    “Domenico,” she repeated. Her lips curled into a dreamy smile, and a shine came back into her eyes after a few seconds. “Oh, yes, Domenico. I know you. I often dream of you”
    Encouraged, he asked again . “Are you okay? What happened?”
    “I’m sitting in a chair,” she said slowly. “But I’m so thirsty. I need water. I need the sea. Take me to the sea.”
    He looked down at her legs. He had to lift up her dress to see. There was no tail, but her skin was starting to have a green tint.
    She was definitely turning. He began to lift her so he could take her to Zannan’s house
                  “They took me to her,” she said.
    “Who?”
    “The most beautiful woman. Eyes like diamonds. Her whole being shining.”
    “Was she a siren?” he asked.
    “No. A goddess. A fallen goddess. More beautiful than anything…Persephone. She sat me down and asked me a few questions. She asked me whether I was happy. I said no. She asked me if I’d like to be someone else. Stupidly, I said yes. I didn’t know why or how I got there, but the castle was so lovely. Everything made out of diamonds. The table and chairs, the chandelier. Diamonds dripped from her hair, her eyes, her neck, her wrists. Everything shimmered with a dazzling light.