Siren's Call: Book One

SIREN'S CALL

CHAPTER ONE

My name is Serena and it is time to hunt.  Getting dressed is part of my hunting ritual.  First the leather pants, the t-shirt and my favorite pair of boots.  As far as I'm concerned, boots should be comfortable and functional, being attractive is just a bonus.  The last, and most important, part of my wardrobe is my long leather coat.  I can hide an amazing amount of weapons in it and besides, no one ever said that I have to look unattractive to do my job.

Tonight I was heading to a warehouse downtown.  I had been tracking this particular group for weeks now and everything seemed to point to the fact that they would be meeting for a discussion.  I decided to walk.  This wasn't reconnaissance, I simply enjoyed the view.  Spokane was a beautiful city and I found myself wishing I were a tourist with nothing more to worry about than which restaurant to choose.

I recieved only a few odd looks, despite the fact that my outfit was way to hot for the season.  The main reason being that it was 1:00 a.m.  Since the few citizens on the street at this hour had more to fear from me than I from them, I chose to ignore them.  That is to say that I marked their locations, their clothing and their size,  just in case, and then dismissed them.  After all, a girl can't be too careful.  The creatures I hunted often used humans as watchers, protectors, or bait.  While they were of little threat to me, they could injure me enough to bring out the hunger.  That was something I definitely wished to avoid.

It was not an easy task to enter a warehouse full of creatures with enhanced senses, bu then t I'd had lots of practice.  The fact that I wasn't human made it easier as well.  No human could have enter this place undetected no matter how skilled they were.

I found a place near the back of the building to hide before the majority of the guests showed up.  While I planned to kill as many of these monsters as possible, knowledge is power.  It couldn't hurt to find out why they were here before taking action.  As the building began to get crowded, I grew nervous.  I'd never been in a room with this many creatures at one time.  The fact that I was technically one of them didn't help in the least.

At first the talk was incredibly loud.  Groups had formed and I was expecting a fight to break out at any moment.  After all, many different faction were represented here and they were not known for their diplomacy.  Suddenly a hush began to fall upon the crowd and I risked peeking from my hiding spot to see what had caused it.  I found myself looking at one of the most attractive males I'd ever seen.  Tall, and dark of hair as well as skin, he had the most beautiful brown eyes I could ever have imagined.  This man seemed to exude sesuallity like a cologne.  His looks promised nights so full of passion that nothing he could do during the day would matter in the least.

Shaking myself from what I hoped was a spell, I glanced at the crowd.  Many of them seemed to share my reaction.  The women were very nearly drooling, and the men appeared ready to salute.  A murmur started and I realized that they were whispering the name Karius over and over.  The name was new to me, so I filed it away as I retreated behind the crates again.  When the crowd became silent, I guessed that the great Karius was about to speak.  I had no ideal that what he was about to say would change my life forever.

"My dear people.  It has been to long since we have gathered to celebrate our roots and to welcome the many new species among us."  Here he paused for dramatic effect.  "I only wish that this were such an occasion."  The crowd began to whisper again, and he gestured for silence before continuing, "I am here tonight to inform you of a new development.  I'm afraid that Aphrodite has awoken."

The crowd broke out in cries of fear and pleas for protection.  I myself felt a fear such as I'd never known, but it was tempered with great excitement.  The goddess who had condemmed so many innocent women to eternal torment, and was responsible for the creation of untold new races as a result, was awake.  I swore to myself, in that very second, to see her dead.