The Sirens Four

Prologue

PROLOGUE

CRASH. BOOM. BANG.

Six-year-old Sandra Shan hated heavy storms, especially when the sounds of thunder and lightning felt like an explosion. Her mother always told her that it was angels bowling, but she didn't believe her. Clasping her ears together, she dug into the folds of the covers hoping to drown out the noise outside.

It wasn't helping.

"Oh honey, it's okay," reassured a sweet voice. "It's only thunder. It can't hurt you."

Sandra's mother Linda always knew what to say. She sat down on the bed, parted the dark hair from Sandra's face, massaged her back, and began to sing.

"Remember the words?"

Of course she did. How could she not? Her mother had been singing it to her since she was in diapers.

"Okay, Sandra, sing with me," Linda smiled. "Join me when you're ready."

Honor thy Lord Lemur
True ruler of the Sea
Unite the four princesses
And bring back Lemuria to harmony.

As usual, Sandra preferred to hum the tune, which made her mother laugh. Tiny hands pressed the cheeks of Linda's face, soaking in the warmth of safety and comfort that her mother offered. The soft smile. The dark eyes that glowed with love for her. Sandra took it all in; the world outside rumbled violently in the pouring rain. Now, she didn't feel like singing. The thunder and lightning echoed even louder.

"Read me a story mommy," begged Sandra covering her ears again. "Please."

"Oh all right," grinned Linda. "If this will get you to sleep, then so be it. What story would like to me to read?"

"Lemur and the Sea Kingdom!" squealed Sandra.

"Why doesn't that surprise me? You seem to love that book," said Linda. She turned toward the bookshelf to find it. Slipping a finger through each spine of every picture book she carried, she finally stopped to one, bound together by old leather and emitting a scent of sea water. Lying next to her daughter, Linda opened up the worn out pages, filled with ancient text and drawings, as she began to read to Sandra the story.

"Long ago when the ancient Gods ruled over the world of Man," she began. "There existed the magical city known as Lemuria. Surrounded entirely by water and ruled by the wise Lord Lemur, Lemuria paid tribute to the sea god Neptune, who honored the Lermurians with a vast array of magical gifts, powers, and even protection."

"However, a web of chaos and disorder bubbled underneath the kingdom. Lord Lemur's jealous brother Prince Gadeirus sought to covet the throne for himself. Declaring war against the nearby land kingdoms, Gadeirus killed a young princess, who happened to be the human daughter of Neptune and blamed Lemur for the crime."

"That was bad," muttered Sandra pulling her covers even closer over her head.

"Yes, it certainly was," sighed Linda, as she read on.

"Upon learning that his favorite daughter had been murdered and believing Lemur to be the culprit, Neptune flooded Lemuria, drowning the great city into the ocean. Many Atlanteans did not survive but those that did, including Lord Lemur and Gadeirus, were cursed by Poseidon to live as immortal sea creatures with the bodies of both a human and fish."

"Mermaids!" laughed the little girl with glee.

"Yes honey. Mermaids." Linda nodded.

"As the legend goes, Lord Lemur and the surviving Lemurians lived for centuries underwater flourishing and adapting to life as a magical undersea kingdom. Eventually, Prince Gadeirus's betrayal was discovered by Lemur and the sea god. To punish the traitor, Neptune banished him to the deepest, darkest depths of ocean floor where they say he still plots to one day overthrow his brother and take over the city."

"As for Lord Lemur and the sea folk, the long years have been difficult for them as they longed to return to the world of land people. With the blessing of Neptune, many Lemurians began to surface on land. Some even remained, settled down with the humans, and even had children. However, the call of the sea proved to be much stronger as the sea folk returned to Lemuria with their children forever turning their back on the land people."

"Mommy, did Lord Lemur visit the land too?" asked Sandra, playing with the folds of her comforter.

Her mother grinned. "Eventually he did. Sadly, Lord Lemur had no children to call his own. That is why he came on land and met many women and had daughters with them. However, the kingdom of Lemuria needed him badly, so he returned to the sea. Though he had one request before he went away. And that was that all his daughters' names start with the letter C.

"Like Cassandra!" noted the little girl.

"Yes, just like your birth name Cassandra," said Linda. "Anyway, Lord vowed that once each of his daughters reached their full age, then his magical gifts would be bestowed upon them. When that happens, it is expected that his daughters must leave the world of land to return to Lemuria to claim their rightful positions as monarchs of the undersea kingdom."

"Mommy what is a monarch?" asked Sandra.

"A monarch is someone who leads a kingdom like a king, queen, prince or princess..."

Linda's explanation was interrupted as a loud pounding came at the front door. It looked like Sandra's bedtime story would have to wait.

"Stay here," she ordered her daughter. "Don't leave your bedroom until I tell you to." Linda slowly shut the door as she went downstairs to answer the door.

A few minutes of inaudible murmurs could be heard as Sandra got out of bed to listen through bedroom door. From what she could interpret, her mother was shouting as some other voices answered back in response. Curiosity kept eating away at her, as she slowly turned the knob open just a smidge, before sneaking near the railing of the stairs to overhear the conversation downstairs; the loudest voice being her mother's, while a male and female returned the discussion.

"I TOLD HIM THAT I DON'T NEED HIS PROTECTION! I CAN TAKE CARE OF HER BY MYSELF!"

"Linda, it is not safe here! We can find another sanctuary to take you both to. His enemies are increasing and will stop at nothing to get to her!"

"WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS? SURELY, YOU MUST BE WORRIED ABOUT THEM?"

"I assure you we have everyone safely hidden away. There is no way they can be traced. Our sources have informed us that you have been compromised and there are spies ready to come after you at any moment. We must leave here now!"

"WE ARE NOT LEAVING! I'M TIRED OF RUNNING! EVER SINCE I MET THAT MAN, OUR LIVES HAVE BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF ALWAYS HAVING TO LOOK OVER MY SHOULDER..."

"Linda, think about the danger you're putting yourselves in..."

CRASH! BOOM! SMASH! BANG!

The storm kept getting louder. Sandra could not hold her ears any longer as she called out.

"Mommy!" she wailed from the top of stairs.

Her mother turned toward her with shock as she mouthed the words.

"Sandra, go back to your room..."

Those words stopped the moment the spraying of broken glass, splintered wood, concrete, dirt and debris exploded through the windows and doors. A blinding light flashed across Sandra's eyes as she felt herself lifted by a hulking presence.

She attempted to scream for her mother but to no avail as she saw a mixture of bright lights and shadows overlapping each other before the strong stench of smoke filled her nose. Immediately the room turned black as the crackle of red and orange flame engulfed the house into an instant inferno.

The little girl tried to keep her eyes opened as the smoked stung her vision; at the same time, she kept coughing through the haze. Tears filled her eyes as she felt herself being carried away from some unknown force before she made one final glance of the image going further and further away.

Lying face down on the floor was her mother surrounded by a pool of blood. Sandra tried to call out to her mother one more time as the strange presence carried her off.

Exhausted and dizzy, she submitted to the blackness.