Daughters of Moonlight

Chapter 9

The air was thick and the sun was shining through the small window. I woke up covered in sweat, but I don’t know whether it was from the heat or the stress. I went to the drawer and got my cotton bandages to bind myself. After five years of doing this routine, I finally got the hang of it. I thanked whoever was out there to hear me for my more masculine proportions and headed downstairs.
The tavern hadn’t opened yet so it was quiet and almost peaceful for a split second. That is until Tobias decided to open his mouth.
''Morning Nai, sleep well?'' he said with a hint of mischief, I did not want to know where this was going.
''No.''I said, looking around to see if there was something to eat.
''Well, I thought you would’ve slept well after Mel graced you with her time.'' If it weren’t for the fact I was tired, sweaty, and hungry I might’ve killed him on the spot.
''What do you mean by that?'' Tyre spoke up, suddenly interested in this petty conversation. And that’s when I saw it. The most beautiful and fantastical thing in the world. A gleaming green apple in Tyre's hand. My stomach rumbled just at the sight of it.
'' She just cleaned my wound. Now shut up Tobias.'' that seemed to settle Tyre's pointless suspicions, and I made my way to that juicy apple. Before he could bite down on it I swiftly took it from his hands and ate it. It tasted better than I could’ve imagined. I rolled my eyes towards the back of my head in glee. I really liked green apples. Before Tyre could say anything Mel. came in the room and greeted us all. She made her way towards Tyre and he put an arm on her waist. I didn’t miss the disappointed look Tobias gave.
    Then we heard yelling and cheering outside. We all decided to go towards the noise leaving the safety of the tavern. The air outside was humid but it wasn’t anything compared to the moldy air of the tavern. Most of Graviores was cold and dry but the air of Pecunia always seemed to be as hot as an oven. I looked around to try to see what all the commotion was about. I saw a caravan but on top of it was a cage. It wasn’t just any cage, it was a syren cage. Syrens that had power could channel their power from a single drop of water, that’s why the Graviorians made a special glass cage to keep water away from them. The glass was thick and the siren had her back to me. She was down on her knees and seemed to be scratching the wood floor of the cage. She was probably hoping it would rain and she'd have an opportunity to escape. Unfortunately for her it never rained in Pecunia.
    Then the syren turned around and I got a good look at her. Her skin was deeper than mine and her hair was white as snow. But what took me aback were her green eyes. They were a striking color like Keres' but his eyes were cold and cruel, hers were the opposite. It was warm like summer and almost inviting. What wasn’t inviting was the glare she was giving everyone. Even though she was caged with tattered clothes and bruises all around her body she had strength that I couldn’t dream of having. Her glare was deadly but poised, she was clearly meant to be a leader. She locked her eyes with mine and my stomach sank. She turned her head and her eyes widened and made an O shape with her mouth. Panic consumed me.
Did she know?
How would she have known?
What was worse was the look of disgust she was giving me. She probably thought I was a traitor. Maybe I was but I was also a survivor and she couldn’t say the same in her current situation.
That was harsh, Naiya.
I didn’t have the liberty to think about whether I was nice or not.
I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and I looked down to see Mel.
'' What.'' I mumbled.
'' That’s a syren right?'' her accent felt like it got thicker but that’s probably because it was early in the morning.
''Yes.''I answered shortly.
"Can she breathe in that cage?" She asked.
"Barely, that's why she's here they are probably transferring her. But if she does happen to suffocate, it doesn't matter too much. They prefer fresh blood but stale siren blood is better than no blood." She looked horrified at my answer and I felt a pang of guilt. However, I reminded myself I can't feel guilty if I needed to survive.
''Why do they have to hunt them, why not just breed them?''She asked again. Before I could’ve answered Tobias opened his loud mouth.
''They tried doing that, but it didn't work. Sirens aren’t born with powers, they can only breathe underwater which isn’t that useful to us.''
''How do they get it?” It was clear Mel’s curiosity was taking control at this point.
''We don’t know.'' Tobias said excitedly, he was clearly liking the fact he just had a conversation with Mel. I thought back to the book underneath my bed. A book no one could find, and a book I found on heist at a Witches house. A heist which luckily I was alone in.
''Hey enough chit chat, I need your help Nai if we help the Siren to the jail I get some of the profit so chop chop.''
''What? No! Ask Tobias.'' I might be a traitor but I wasn’t willing to go that far.
''Tobias is too skinny, I order you to come.'' He said as he lowered his voice. He might be the boss but he knows this was a line I wouldn't cross. I stood a little taller and squared my shoulders.
''I said I don’t mess with this shit.'' my voice was harsh and sharp and I mustered my cruelest glare. He might be the boss but I was THE nymph mercenary and if I wanted to I could kill him on the spot. I saw a flash of fear across Tyre's face which made me grin.
''Fine, let’s go Tobias.''
''ladies and gentlemen'' the sheriff said as he went toward the cage.''Please make sure there’s no water near you and close the doors of your establishments. This is a crucial moment and if it goes wrong she can kill us all.'' There were oohs and ahhs all around. This seemed to be just entertainment to them, not the life of a person.
    After about twenty minutes of people scrambling all over the place making sure there was no water around, the show began. They lifted the glass cage and pulled the green-eyed siren by her chains. She looked at me, her eyes filled with hope. However, that hope faded as soon as I looked away trying to avoid her eyes. The crowd was silent and none dared to open their mouth, terrified that their spit would aid her escape. That of course is impossible. The only type of siren that can use water from the body is the Tamer. They could fill your lungs with water within seconds. Luckily they were very rare and impossible to capture, there was no way this siren was a tamer.
    All at once, the silence was broken when the heavy wooden doors of the tavern opened allowing a short shun girl to appear holding a cup of water.
        Oh shit.
''Hey, honey I brought a cup for you because it’s so ho-'' before she could finish her sentence, blood filled my vision. No, everyone’s vision. People around me were screaming, scared this was it. The blood was drowning me, it was hot and sticky and all I could hear now was blood and water. The blood was replaced with the ocean. I choked back on the salty water that burned my eyes. Then it all dissolved and I was left breathless on the ground. I heard Tyre’s deep voice yelling at Tobias for some unrelated reason. I stood back up looking around. The siren was gone, and I felt relief. She escaped her terrible fate.
''I'm so sorry, I didn’t know.'' Mel said as she cried. Everyone around her seemed sorry for her and totally enthralled by her sadness. No one even dared to yell at her. Tyre blamed Tobias for not explaining the procedures to Mel and even the sheriff seemed to agree. I went to Mel and stared at her. I wanted to laugh at her stupidity but i held back.
''What was that.'' She said, her cheeks stained with tears.
'' A starlighter, they can make illusions.'' I said , trying not to laugh.
''Did she escape?'' she asked.
''Yes.'' as i said that i saw the smallest grin grace her lips but she quickly went back to her innocent persona.
    In that instant, something clicked in my brain and I stared at her awestruck. She got up and went back to the tavern and i stayed there completely shocked. She isn’t stupid shes a genius. She pretends to be this clumsy innocent Shun who doesn’t understand anything about our world. She isn't that though, she’s the opposite of that. I laughed out loud thinking about how I should thank her one day.