Siren Suicides (Second Edition)

Chapter 8. Stern Trawler

I can feel her with my skin before I see her. Canosa seems to materialize out of nowhere. She props her head close to our ears to deliver her message, grinning,whispering with her usual condescending drawl, "Ailen Bright, my favorite food kisser, I asked you to kill the siren hunter, didn't I? Then I practically delivered your first meal into your hands. Was it so hard to do?"

We turn our heads, startled, but there is no time to react, and I'm slow, still entangled in Hunter's soul. "You should have snuffed him out at the lake; he would've been less trouble to deal with now," she says,looking down at Hunter with pity. Then she looks at me, suddenly serious. "You know,you won't be able to stop next time. Once you've tasted a soul, you can't let it go." Deep inside,somehow, I know she's right. I look at Hunter, terrified. "So, would you like to finish him off now or later? Because we need to go. Your father seems to be very impatient, which won't end in a good way. I'd bet my life on that." She grabs the back of my hair, curls her fingers around my neck, and adds, "We were going to be sisters. But no, you made me follow you for miles! All because you weren't killing the siren hunter. All because of some boy!"

And then Canosa shrieks. Every single sound dampens. I cover my ears, and when I look up, I see she's dragging Hunter to the water as he flails uselessly. She swims out with him and I dive after her, searching the murk until I find them, Hunter entwined in Canosa's hold, her arms and legs resembling the long white tentacles of an octopus. I almost expect her to expulse ink to make it harder for me to see. No need, the water is dark on its own, dark and thick like syrup. Hunter's face opens into an inaudible scream through the murk. Canosa's hands circle his neck, her fingers closing under his chin to suffocate him. She sports a strange smile, her mad hair flowing around her shiny body in the crazy halo of a sea monster. I kick toward them and, this time, I know exactly what to do to make her let him go.

She doesn't flinch away; she expects my attack. She's confident in her invincibility, as if this is a game for her, to see how I will react, or even, to make me react. I'm now ten steps away from them, now five, now I'm upon them, twisting my body to position myself directly behind her, away from Hunter's eyes lest he distracts me and causes me to do something stupid.

Canosa spins to face me, but I spin behind her. For a second or two, we spiral into a downward whirlpool, until I sense the perfect moment, her hair trailing around her in a silky helix and exposing her neck. It flashes directly in front of my eyes. I pull the sleeves of Hunter's rain jacket over my hands so that the sharp edges of the Velcro closures sit on top of my forefingers, then I raise my arms and stick both fingers into Canosa's gill openings, pressing hard, turning once, feeling the edges of her frayed skin rip.

She utters a high-pitched shriek that pierces me with its agony and travels for miles, scaring ocean life into crevices to hide. I yank my fingers out just in time. She lets go of Hunter, lifting her arms and covering her gills as she bends forward and doubles down. I swim up and push her away by kicking my feet into her temple, ending up inches in front of Hunter's deathly pale face; his eyes bulge out of their sockets, and bursts of air bubbles are coming out of his nose and mouth.

I press my hand over his mouth and pinch his nostrils. He gets the message and stops exhaling, nodding to me.

"Hold on!" I yell. He does, immediately reaching and digging his trembling hands into my shoulders. I seize him under his armpits and throw my legs into a speedy scissor kick, creating a powerful stream of water that propels us upward. We're not very deep; a few seconds and we surface, gasping for air.

Well, I don't exactly gasp for air. But out of habit, I act the same way Hunter does and mimic his panic, gulping in short inhales and shivering all over.

"She nearly killed me! She..." His teeth chatter. "Man, she's strong." His lips are quivering, two purple lines across his ashen face. His dancing fingers stop shaking and clamp onto me like iron grips. "How the hell did she find us?"