The Enchanted Pulse #1

The Reluctant Trio

The next morning, Mina and I sat in the campus café, sipping on our coffees like zombies. Neither of us had slept. How could we? Zinnia’s pale, twisted body floating in that lake kept replaying in my head.

I know what you’re thinking—How can a siren be scared? I mean, we’re supposed to be these terrifying creatures, luring sailors to their doom with just a song. But trust me, what we saw last night? That was not something from the usual playbook. Any creature that sees a body floating in the middle of the lake in thin air would be terrified.

Even sirens have their limits.

“So…” Mina muttered, her fingers tracing the rim of her coffee cup nervously. “We’re going back, right?”

I choked on my drink, half-laughing and half-panicking. “What? Back to the haunted lake where dead bodies float and evil spirits probably hang out? Yeah, sounds like a perfect afternoon plan!”

Mina smirked, but there was tension in her eyes. “You know we have to, Nalani. Something’s not right, and if we don’t figure it out, who will?”

I sighed, knowing she was right. As much as I hated it, there was no ignoring what we saw. And with my siren senses still buzzing, I knew Zinnia’s death was just the tip of the iceberg.

We grabbed our things and headed toward the library, hoping to dig up anything—anything—on the history of the lake. Maybe there was some cursed folklore, or maybe some forgotten ghost story that could explain what the hell was going on.

But as soon as we reached the library steps, Mina casually dropped a bombshell.

“Oh, by the way, I called Evan.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, spinning around to face her. “You what?”

Mina blinked, feigning innocence. “I called Evan. We need all the help we can get, and he’s, you know, not terrible at this sort of thing.”

“Not terrible? The guy practically lives to annoy me,” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “Great. Just what we need—a tagalong. But hey, at least he’s a handsome one,” I added sarcastically, as a small smirk tugged at my lips.

Mina grinned. “There it is. I knew you couldn’t resist. And admit it—he’s a lot more useful than you think.”

“Useful? Sure. But he’s also a walking distraction,” I muttered, trying to ignore the fact that part of me didn’t mind the idea of Evan tagging along. Not that I’d ever admit it.

Right on cue, Evan strolled up, looking way too relaxed for someone who nearly got eaten by a haunted lake the night before. He flashed his trademark smirk at us, and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes again. What is it about good-looking guys and smug grins?

“Morning, ladies,” he said, with that infuriatingly charming tone. “Ready to play Scooby-Doo and figure out what’s going on at Creepy Lake?”

“I’m not Velma, and this isn’t a cartoon,” I shot back. “But thanks for volunteering to be the distraction.”

He grinned wider. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Mina couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright, let’s focus. We’re here to find anything we can on the lake.”

We made our way inside, and it didn’t take long for the librarian to raise her eyebrows at our request. "Haunted lake?" she echoed, giving us a strange look. "You mean Dead Man's Lake?"

"Dead Man's Lake?" I repeated, feeling a chill down my spine. “That's... a little on the nose, don't you think?”

The librarian nodded gravely. "There have been stories about that place for generations. People say it’s cursed. Folks have gone missing there for years. No bodies ever recovered, though. Until now."

Great. Just what we needed—a cursed lake. Because regular haunted lakes are too mainstream, apparently.

Evan leaned against the bookshelf, arms crossed, looking far too intrigued for his own good. “So, what? You think Zinnia stumbled into some ghost’s territory?”

"More like the lake's territory," I muttered, flipping through the old records the librarian brought out for us. "If the lake is cursed, something or someone must’ve triggered it."

Mina peered over my shoulder at the dusty old papers. “Look, here’s something about a shipwreck from decades ago. Apparently, a crew disappeared after their ship capsized… right on the spot where the lake is now.”

Evan raised an eyebrow. “And they say sirens are bad luck?”

I shot him a look. “Don’t start.”

As we pored over the records, something clicked in my mind. There was a pattern—every few decades, someone went missing, always around the lake. But it wasn’t just random. It was like the lake was claiming people.

"Do you think this has something to do with… I don’t know, the spirit of someone from that shipwreck?" Mina asked, her voice hushed.

“Maybe,” I said, tapping my fingers on the table. “Or maybe the lake itself is alive. Sirens aren’t the only creatures who lure people to their doom, you know.”

Evan, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke up. “So what’s the plan? If the lake is cursed, how do we break it?”

I exhaled slowly, not really knowing the answer. “I guess we start by figuring out what the lake wants. And who it wants next.”

Mina nodded, though her expression was still clouded with worry. “But that means going back. And what if Zinnia’s not the last one?”

A chill ran through me at the thought. What if the lake wasn’t done? What if it was waiting for the next victim?

“Don’t worry,” Evan said, breaking the silence with an annoyingly confident grin. “If something creepy happens again, I’ll be there to save you both.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great. Because that worked out so well last night.”

Evan shrugged, undeterred. “Hey, I can’t help it if the lake likes to ruin my charm.”

Mina laughed, but I could still feel the tension bubbling under the surface. This wasn’t just some school mystery we could solve and move on from. The lake had tasted blood, and it wasn’t going to stop.

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t claim any of us next,” I muttered under my breath, already feeling the familiar pull of the water deep inside me.

For a siren, fear is a rare thing.

But right now? I was scared.

And that terrified me even more.