“Where the hell have you been” Mason hissed at me as I walked through the door, “Sy said he texted you over half hour ago and you know that then one of them turn up you have to get home pronto”
“Hell I’m sorry I decided not to check my phone while I was driving but you know safety first and all that” I frown back at him, if only he knew that I’d been helping a Dragomar to safety and putting all our lives at risk.
“Is that Nemesio I can hear” a voice floated from the front door and I swallowed my fear, it was only Owen he was probably the nicest one out of all of them.
“Yes” I replied as I walked into the room, “sorry I wasn’t here to greet you but I was driving and didn’t receive the message until a few minutes ago”
“That’s quite alright Nemesio safety first these days” he smiled but there was no trace of it in his eyes, “now that your all here I have something I must tell you, we have received disturbing news. There is only one remaining Dragomar still alive and we believe that she will be making her way here” he paused as if to let the news sink in while I glanced around and tried to copy the looks of shock on my brothers faces.
“Here? But why?” Mason asked,
“Because she has nowhere else to go”, Sirena’s own words seemed to hang in the air between me and Owen, “but I am here to tell you not to pursue her in anyway, she is the one we have been searching for”
“Ca...can I ask why?” I managed to mutter intrigued as to what he may tell me,
“Nemesio! Don’t question their actions!! I am sorry for my brothers harsh words” Mason interjects.
“Calm yourself Mason, the boy is young and does not understand. We want her simply to save the world; her death will free us Nemo. Do you not wish to be free?”
“Of course sir, but I don’t understand how the death of a girl will make that happen”
“Because she is like my kind, she may look like a normal seventeen year old but in truth she is 248 years old and is the most skilled assassin” I thought about the gentleness of Sirena’s eyes and how scared and fragile she had seemed when I told her Owen was here. How could someone so pure and kind be a murderous assassin? And 248years old? I knew she was cursed but was she really that cursed? A thousand questions sparked in my mind as I listened to Owen explain their case, over all it just sounded like they wanted to rule the world to me.
“Ok sir” was all I replied though, it was best that they thought I was still on their side rather than harbouring the one they’ve been searching for in my own room. I had managed to smuggle her in through my attic window without anyone seeing either of us and then had climbed back down to come through the front door. She was so close I was sure he would find her but something had told me that the closer she was to Owen the safer she was. We had gone back to her place and emptied all her stuff (which amounted to around 1backpack and a large handbag) then returned everything back to its original place. It had been a strange experience for me as I had only ever been inside the mansion once and when I had returned today it seemed like the rooms had rearranged themselves. “I knew you’d understand Nemesio” he ginned again, “anyway I’d best be off, I have to check out Dragomar Mansion before it gets dark. Needless to say I shall be staying here for the night but don’t worry I’ll be on my way tomorrow” and with that he waltzed out of our home and into the night.
Later that night when I’d finally gotten away from my brothers I ran up to my room making sure I brought food and water with me to give to Sirena.
“Sirena?” I whispered as I closed the door behind me, my room was sound proofed so I knew once the door was shut we’d have some privacy. “Sirena it’s me” I said again and saw her appear from my wardrobe holding a coat hanger as a weapon. I couldn’t help but laugh and notice just how adorably cute she was.
“It’s ok your safe” I smiled as I walked across to her and unarmed her, “He’s gone to check the mansion and to be honest, for someone whose meant to end the world you sure do pick some random yet oh so scary weapons” I laugh as she frowns at my joke making like creases in her forehead. “Come on I brought you some food” I say as I drag her over to the bed where I had place all the food I was able to steal. She looked at the food and I saw something change in her eyes,
“Why are you doing this Nemesio?” she said to me, I was taken aback by how surprised she actually felt herself.
“Because it’s not your fault you were cursed Sirena. I may not understand most of what’s going on here but somehow I know you’re not the ruthless, cold-hearted assassin that Owen says you are ... your choice of weapon proves it” I tried to smile and lighten the mood but somehow I knew we both knew what was coming next,
“Tell me about it” I said in a low voice, unable to take my eyes off of her, “Tell me about your life”
“My curse started out as one person’s game and revenge but became my torment and torture. It made me immortal, I’m not seventeen Nemo”
“I know your really 248years old that cool” I interject with a grin, encouraging her to continue.
“It was my parents fault; they angered a great witch who saw to it that they would never know happiness again. My mother actually killed herself in order to never tell me who I really am and my father never really paid it much attention, when I found out he said he was all a load of rubbish and to ignore it. But when I reached my real seventeenth birthday everything changed. The witch reappeared and told me that from then on because of my father’s ignorance and my mother’s selfishness I would never age a day more and that the only way to save the world was an end of my own making. Then some of your people rushed in and killed my father in front of me, I barely managed to escape. I’ve watched those I’ve loved be used and killed to get to me. I’ve been constantly moving to avoid people realising I don’t age or recognising me from a photo or video on the damn internet. And I’ve been a lone the whole time Nemo.” I saw the tears glistening in her bright green eyes as she spoke, I didn’t even think about how she would react to it but I couldn’t help pulling her into my arms and holding her against my chest while she continued, “it’s all one big game to them really, they hunt me and find me and kill me. Simple. Ever since I turned 17 I’ve been running from them, trying to save the world and getting people killed alone the way. There have been so many times when I’ve thought about ending it myself but the idea of a reunion with my parents is enough to keep me alive. Even on the way here I stood above River Creek cliffs and just watched the water crashing against the rocky bottom all I had to do was take one small step and it all would have been over, that’s the true reason why I returned here. River Creek is where my nightmare began and it seemed only fitting that it ended here as well.” She took a deep breath and turned her face to look at me, she saw the shock and hurt in my eyes that had come while listening to her talk about her own end, about how close I’d been to never meeting her in the real world. “Then I saw you” she whispered “I saw you in the air in front of me, you were smiling and laughing but then you were alone and you looked sad” she stroked my face with one gentle hand as she spoke and suddenly I knew what day she was talking of,
“I’d had that dream about you” I answered her, “you were so close yet you still couldn’t hear me”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to control sleep visits yet but once I saw that I knew I had to meet you at least, just look upon you in real life before I left real life for good. That’s when I managed to get that message through to you”
“About being ready for everything to change” I remembered,
“Yes” she smiled, “because now you know the truth I don’t know what they’ll do to you Nemo but I know one thing, I don’t think I’d be able to live through it”
“I will always be here Sirena, no matter what they try to do to me, I will always protect you” I said with such fierceness and devotion I surprised even myself, but that surprise was should outmatched as Sirena closed the distance between us and pressed her lips against mine. All rational thinking was forgotten as I returned her kiss and held her tighter against me as if the sheer force of my hold on her would save her from all the evilness in the world around her.
That night I slept with Sirena in my arms rather than my dreams.
