Free Siren Blood by Nas Magkasi Page B

Even the glass she held in her hand. She offered me a drink. She was so gracious, and of course I was seduced, so I drank it. I thought it was wine. Then I heard them laughing, these two sirens, but I couldn’t see them. They could’ve killed me, but they brought me to her.”
    “ So that’s how they turned you? They need to go to Persephone?”
    “Yes. Without her, they don’t have that much power. It takes seven days for the potion to work. It’s the seventh day and I’m going to transform soon.”
    Mistico cried into Domenico’s arms.
    “I’ll have to leave you and F ather. I’m going to become a monster.”
    “No! We’re going to cure you. Your father gave me the cure before he died.”
    “My father? He’s dead?”
    He sighed. He shouldn’t have told her like that.
    “I’ m sorry Mistico. They killed him, the two sirens. But one of them is dead and the other escaped. I’m so sorry.”
    Mistico cried. Such a hollow sound that filled Domenico with more sorrow than ever before. He lifted her up and told her they were going to Zannan’s house.
    “I know exactly where he lives,” she said. “It’s invisible to you, but the re’s a trick. Just find the red mushroom and press on it three times. Then you’ll be able to see it. I’ll show you where it is when we get in the forest.”
    As he ran down the hill, Mistico told him exactly what had happen to Adriana, the real Adriana.
    “The sirens told me to upset me. Adriana had been arguing with her mother one afternoon. Her mother had been drunk again and wanted to beat her. Adriana ran, and before she reached the well, her mother had caught up with her and pushed her. She pushed Adriana down the well by accident, however. She died instantly.
    “The mother was the one who closed down the well, saying there was a water contamination that made her sick. Since there’s two other wells in the village, nobody minded. Nobody really liked climbing to the well on the top of the hill anyway. Otherwise we would’ve investigated it. When the siren inhabited the corpse, she had some fun with the mother. She thought she was going crazy to see her dead daughter coming back to haunt her. The mother was so drunk all the time that she questioned whether Adriana died in the first place.”
    “Her drinking got her killed too,” Domenico said. “One of the monsters stepped on her.”
    “It’s sad,” said Mistico.
    “The whole town is in a sad state,” said Domenico, and quickly regretted it. “I’m sorry. I know I should make you feel better right now.”
    “Don’t be,” said Mistico. “The world is a cruel place. That’s what Father used to say all the time. The world was a cruel place and he wanted no part in it.”
     
     
    It felt nice to be in Domenico’s arms, pressed against his hard chest and smelling his warm musk. In her dreamy state, she almost told him how much she loved him. She knew this wasn’t the time or place, but she couldn’t help it. She was madly in love with him and she hoped she could be cured so she wouldn’t have to leave him when he and the town had to suffer through recovering after another siren battle.
    “The world doesn’t have to be a cruel place,” Domenico whispered to her. “If we still have one person to love.”
    He was staring straight ahead, but she could tell that was his way of saying he cared about her too.
    “I’m sorry about everything that happened,” Mistico said.
    “It’s not your fault,” he said. “You tried to warn me, but I wouldn’t listen. I was so desperate for Adriana to be alive that I was blind to other love that was around me. I was so foolish. Can you ever forgive me?”
    “There’s nothing to forgive. That siren tricked you. She tricked me too. She tricked the whole village. We’re no match for demon tricks. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
    Domenico didn’t answer. He just continued to stare straight ahead.
    They reached the forest and Mistico gave him the directions to the