Descendant of the Deep (Siren Song: Book One)

Chapter Eight: Siren Secrets

The door opened to reveal shelves upon shelves of books that stretched all the way to the ceiling. Paintings of mermen dressed in long robes decorated the ceilings, scrolls clutched in their hands. The entire room breathed inspiration into me as I began my search.
I checked the bindings of several books to see how they were grouped, by topic or alphabetically. I soon noticed that all of the A's were in one place, so I began searching for the S's. I ran my fingers over the leather spines of the books, climbing higher and higher until I finally reached the section I was looking for. I pulled out several books, piling them in my arms. I allowed myself to sink towards the floor again, where I intended to find a table to read at.
"Do you need help?"
I whipped around at the sound of the voice, my books going flying. They sank to the floor, their covers flown open.
In front of me floated a boy around my age with dark hair and olive skin. His green tail gently waved in the water, and his cheeks blushed when he saw me.
"Oh my Gods, I am so sorry!" He said, reaching down to help me pick up the books.
"It's fine. It's just a few books."
That was an understatement of their ever was one.
His dark eyes met my hazel ones for a split second, and it was like the world stood still. But it was over just as soon as it started.
The boy helped me take the books to a desk. He flipped the cover of one and frowned.
"Sirens, huh?" Then his face flooded with realization. "You're the new girl, aren't you? The one who was raised by a human."
"Yes" I answered in almost a whisper.
"Oh, now the titles make more sense. They probably didn't tell you a lot about Naviana's siren situation."
I burrowed my brows. "Naviana?"
The boys eyes were wide with surprise. "You know, the country your in right now? Wow, they really didn't tell you anything."
I sighed. "Nope. They basically just gave me a room and said, "Congratulations! You live in the ocean now!", and didn't tell me anything else." There was a twinge of bitterness in those words that only brought up images of Ruby sitting alone at home. My stomach tied into a knot.
"That must have been an adjustment."
I laughed an empty laugh. "Yeah."
The boy extended his hand. "I'm Aiden, by the way."
I took his hand in mine. "Britta."
     I conversed with Aiden for a short time before he had to take up studies of his own. He left with a flick of his tail, and I stood there for a moment, frozen. I supposed that after my episode with Rancover, kindness was something that I appreciated more.
I took a deep breath and delved into the first book. I flipped through several pages of introductions until I reached the information I needed to know.
Sirens are fearsome creatures of the deep that are a sister species to Merpeople. The creation of the first sirens came about thousands of years ago, when a mermaid called Artemesia used her enchanting voice to lure Greek sailors to their doom. Many Merpeople in the region became sirens as well, drunk on the power that their voices held.
When the monarch of the Mediterranean country of Ronoa received news of her subjects' ill behavior, sirening became officially outlawed.
     Sirening only reached the waters of  Naviana in the past few decades. Even then, there were only a few spread across the country. However, the popularity of sirening became terrifyingly popular when the youngest princess of Naviana announced that she was a siren. Iara of Naviana became one of the most feared sirens in all of history, with an equally horrifying group of followers.
     I shut the book with a slam, disturbing several of the people that were reading. But I didn't care. Rancover had compared me to this monster. Anger boiled up inside of me as I yanked the next book out of the pile. This one was titled, The Anatomy and Phycology of the Siren. I opened the dusty cover and ran my fingers over the silk pages. Here I went.
     The siren is a very intriguing creature that has been swimming the sea for thousands of years. In the early years of human civilization, they were often mistaken to be the more benign mermaid, but this could not be more wrong. A siren is a seemingly beautiful mermaid-like monster that leads human sailors to their doom on the rocks. Above water, they look like beautiful men and woman, but once they submerge themselves in the sea, they're bodies transform into a more monstrous form. Sirens have been described by witnesses as having dorsal fins running down their spines, sharp fangs, and glowing green eyes. But perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the siren is their ability to cast glamour charms to make themselves appear more like their mermaid sister-species. And as most sirens were normal Merpeople before they became addicted to sirening, they have no trouble blending in.
     My heart beat in my chest as I slowly closed the book. How was it possible that a person could become so consumed by power that they lose sight of their identity? The sheer horror of the situation was even more intense now that I knew that sirens were Merpeople driven insane by the temptation of power.
     I slowly got up to put the rest of the books back. I didn't want to read anymore.
     Swimming out the door, I thought long and hard about what I'd just read. Sirens could disguise themselves as mermaids. The siren attack from yesterday was only a few miles away. The likelihood of the siren residing in Cocelia was extremely high. As were the chances of the siren returning.
     This had to end, and it had to end now.