Human

Chapter 20

    Gaia sat down on log in the center of a  small clearing in the trees. Her half-materialized form glittered in the sun, and she stretched her arms to the sky. Thoughts began to race through her head, and her lips formed into a pout.  Grim always meddled in her plans, his ill-intent forcing her to stay on guard.  She couldn't risk letting him corrupt her pawn. Her legs brought her up, and flowers grew from the grass, beginning to bloom from where her feet touched the ground.  Maybe she just had to play his game.

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   Lilith sat up, the pain in her lungs causing her to continue to cough, even though there was no more liquid left in her lungs.  She should have been glad to be alive, but she couldn't feel anything at the moment.

   Her hands came up and grabbed onto Lynn's arms.

   "What happened," she asked, her voice hoarse.

    A new form appeared from the lake, wet black hair clung to their neck, and Lilith's eyes followed down the women's form to a skin-tight leather corset.  The female's form looked relieved, and Lilith rose an eyebrow.

   "The real question is why you're so far from camp, and all alone," the newcomer pointedly stated.

   "We just wanted to go for a swim," Lynn stammered a justification.

   Lilith's face fell, she felt a wave of overwhelming guilt. She should have told Lynn this was a bad idea, or at least convinced her that they should have brought the boys along.

  "Normally people aren't so lucky," the girl rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of the water, revealing an entire lower body covered in scales.

   "There is a whole coven of Sirens living in this area, honestly, you should have been more careful, if I hadn't been coming back from my camp's library you'd both be dead," she emphasized the last word by using her index finger to slice across her neck.

   "Thank you," Lilith said, as she started to wiggle her toes and brush the algae and twigs off of her shirt.

   "Let me formally introduce myself," the woman began as her scales began to disappear into her pale olive skin.

   "My name is Athena, and you guys owe me," she sent a sarcastic glare to the girls.

   Now that she was out of the water, Lilith was able to get a good look at her savior.  Athena's corset was paired with dark green shorts, and a see-through teal skirt that had slits up the front and sides.  She was attractive, especially in mermaid standards.

   "It's nice to meet you, Athena," Lynn chirped, scrambling to her feet and charging toward Athena. She took Athena's hands in hers and excidely said, "My name is Lynn, and this is my friend Lilith."

  Lilith saw her gesture in her direction, and decided to get up, actively fighting another coughing fit, and nodded at the other girls.

  "Thank you, Athena," Lilith said.

  Athena's eyes softened and she shrugged her shoulders.

  "I'm always up for a siren showdown" she retorted.

   The girls laughed, and Lilith looked uneasily at the water.  The sun was further in the sky, and the reflection of the water shined onto the trees around them. Now the sight of water and the trees made her stomach knot up.

  "Let's get back to camp, I've had enough relaxation to last a life time," Lilith said sarcastically and threw her hands in the air.

   Lynn pouted and looked down to the ground.  Lilith didn't mean to take a jab at her friend, but she wasn't having the best week, with the getting munched on and almost dying.

  "Sure, let me show you the quickest way back," Athena offered, and then she shook her short black hair out and tilted her head to get some water out of her ear.

   The ladies began to walk up the stream, and after a few minutes they saw a trail in between two large maple trees.

  "This way," Athena pointed, and lead the group into the woods.

   Lynn and Athena walked in front of Lilith, leaving her trailing behind.  Her skin began to prickle, and the air around her began to cool down. She began to shiver, and she could swear she could hear a man's voice chuckle.  Her eyes darted toward the girls, and she veered off the path toward the sound. 

  The ground was packed down, obviously well traveled and she walked cautiously toward the strange sound.

   The irony of following another voice to the unknown out of the blue was not lost on her, as she gritted her teeth. Curiosity got the best of her.

   Suddenly she fell to the ground, her leg was caught on a strange rock standing out of a circle of lose dirt. Her eyebrows crinkled and she got up to half-heartedly pat the dirt out of her soiled white tank top.  She looked around to find the voice, and jumped when she saw a man leaning against a tree

  His suit was adark grey, and he had the same build as Eli, she became enraged at the suspicion he had followed her here.

  "Why won't you leave me alone Eli," she whimpered, trying, but failing to sound harsh.  The form certainly looked like Eli, but the form turned to face her.

   The man let out a low-pitch chuckle, and she realized it didn't sound like Eli. She began to walk backwards in the opposite direction from his advancements. The baby hair on the back of her neck stood straight up.

   "You don't have to leave just yet, dear," the man stalked toward her with confidence, and she froze.

  "You smell delicious," he purred, his eyelids hooded on top of a pair of black eyes.

  "The perfume of warm blood and near -death suits you Lilith," he backed her up further, and pinned her to a tree.

  "I have an offer for you," he said.