Keeper of Arancti

chapter 7 - Sink To His Death

We were on our way back from visiting Tarun when I heard a woman's voice singing. It was so beautiful, so endearing. I strayed from Sheia and neared a little lagoon. It was as if the singing had led me. The singing grew louder and more voices began singing.

I pushed away the remaining branches that hindered my view of the lagoon.

They were breathtaking. Women that looked like what could only be described as angels. Their long luscious hair covered their chests and their lower abdomens were dotted with shiny scales which slowly built up to magnificent tails that gleamed in the sunlight.

They noticed me and kept on singing their alien alluring song. The most beautiful of the women swam toward me. I felt obliged to move closer. Her hair was golden and her features soft.

She swam up to edge of the lagoon and put her elbows on the ledge. She gestured for me to come nearer. I took small steps, awed by her incredible beauty and encaptured by her seafoam green eyes. I sat by the ledge.

She looked at me and began a new song:

We are the women of the sea
We yearn for those like you
Its often rare to see you men
O such alien creatures
O such beautiful beings
Come and join us down below
Where you can cry no tears
Come and join us
Do not fear
Many have gone before you...

As she sang her song the others joined in, swimming toward the ledge. She slowly and gently took hold of my hand and began to sink into the clear waters. I let her pull me in, not quite thinking about what was happening. I just stepped into the lagoon when I heard Sheia yell.

"Jonathon!" She pulled me out.

The golden-haired one then rose out of the water and as she did, her beautiful features morphed into terrifying ones.

Her teeth grew sharp and her hair went limp. Her eyes became slits and her skin paled. Her companions did the same.

She screamed as she rose and began yelling in a language foreign to me. Sheia stood between me and the creature, her spear pointed at the thing. She barked out something back to the women. She looked meneacing, her eyes began to change color. They were fire red.

The woman noticed Sheia's eyes and quickly bowed her head, the others following. The creature muttered what seemed like an apology and led her companions back to the rocks they had been sitting on when i first saw them.

As they swam back, they regained their beauty.

" What were they?" I asked Sheia as we walked away. The images of the the women morphing into monsters still replayed in my mind.

"Those were the merwomen. They kill men. They are very upset they couldn't have you. And now they wait again for another male to chance upon their lagoon to sink to his death." Sheia said.

"Now that you have been called by the island, there will be those who will want your death, lest you hinder the rule of the Forsaken. The merwomen merely wanted you dead because they hate all men. That's why they obliged to letting you go. However others who know your worth might not be so generous." She said.