23. The Siren’s Realm
1820 Words
23
The Siren’s Realm
Emilia lay face down on something cold and hard. Panic swept through her. Her heart pounded like a drum in her ears, and her hands trembled against the ground. They had hit the rocks below the cliff. This wasn’t the way to the Siren’s Realm. She had been wrong.
If this was dying, though, it wasn’t so bad. Nothing hurt.
But Jacob…
He would die, too. Because of her. Emilia moved her arm, trying to find Jacob’s hand so he would know he wasn’t alone. To her surprise, her arm slid easily over a smooth, flat surface. Wherever she was, she was not on jagged sea rocks. Emilia opened her eyes, but it was just as dark with her eyes open as it had been with them closed.
“Jacob,” Emilia whispered into the darkness. “Jacob, where are you?”
She pushed herself to her knees. “Inluesco,” she murmured, but nothing happened. “Perfect.”
She started crawling through the darkness, searching for Jacob. She crawled in circles, small at first, then getting gradually larger. If she missed Jacob in the dark, she might never find him. How big was this place?
Was this death? Being in the darkness. Trapped. Alone. Forever?
But if she were dead, would her knees be getting sore?
Emilia smacked the ground with her hand and shouted, “I just want some light!”
As though she had shouted a command, light instantly shone all around her. Emilia shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness that seemed to emanate from everywhere.
She would have thought the light came from the sky, but there was no sky. There weren’t walls either, and the ground she was kneeling on wasn’t any sort of floor she had seen before. The only thing she could think to compare it to was platinum. A floor of pure, smooth platinum. But there was nothing else there. Just Emilia, the floor, the light, and no Jacob.
“Jacob!” Emilia shouted, her voice echoing in the endless, empty glow. “Jacob!” He was here. She could feel him. That constant pull in her chest told her he was somewhere close by. “Jacob,” Emilia whispered, closing her eyes and trying to feel where he was. “Please let me find him.”
“Emilia.”
She opened her eyes as Jacob wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face on his warm chest, listening to his heart beating. They were alive. “I looked, and I couldn’t find you. How did you get here?”
“I don’t know. I was someplace dark. I kept searching and calling for you, and then I was here.” Jacob held Emilia tightly to him. “Are we dead? I thought the land of the Siren was meant to be some lush place of pleasure. This doesn’t look like it to me.”
“No.” Emilia eased herself away from Jacob. “I think we’re in the right place. I was in the dark, too, and I asked for light. I couldn’t find you until I asked, and then you were standing right here.”
Jacob’s eyebrows scrunched together. “So we get whatever we ask for?”
“Let’s try it.” Emilia shrugged and turned away from Jacob to speak into the vast, glowing expanse. “I―”
“We,” Jacob interrupted. “I don’t want to end up in the dark again. Let’s stick to we, okay?”
“Right.” Emilia nodded. “We want to speak to someone who can explain this place to us.”
Before a second had passed, the empty space around them filled with life. Jacob yanked Emilia out of the way as a camel raced by them, knocking both of them into a troll. The troll towered above them. Its skin was greyish-green, with a tuft of bristly black hair sticking straight out of the top of its head.
“Watch ’er feet, eh?” The troll growled and steadied a large stein of frothing blue liquid.
“Sorry, sir,” Jacob stammered.
“Ma’am,” Emilia corrected quickly. “He meant ma’am. Raised by humans,” she added in a whisper with a timid smile to the troll.
The troll growled and wandered away.
“That was a woman?” Jacob asked.
“Men are bigger and have no hair,” Emilia said as she looked around.
They were in a square of some kind. Wizards and creatures of every sort shoved through the crowd. All around them were silken tents in every color, with people selling food and drink.
A woman draped in a long red dress stood in the entrance to a scarlet tent, selling jewelry set with sparkling gems. A beautiful female centaur dappled in the colors of a pinto horse called to the crowd, selling spices and perfumes. Trolls, dwarves, centaurs, and wizards milled through the vendors, stopping to peruse the beautiful wares.
“Come on.” Emilia took Jacob’s hand and led him to the largest tent in the center of the square. It was a vivid green, trimmed with purple and embroidered with gold. A line of creatures stood outside the tent, all waiting eagerly. The dwarves peered around the legs of the centaurs, trying to get a better view of the front of the tent.
The entrance was guarded by what Emilia could only describe as a minotaur. The beast stood eight feet tall. A white cloth wrapped around his hips was the only covering on his otherwise n***d body. His muscles glistened in the bright sunlight, and the head of a bull sat on his shoulders. She had heard of minotaurs but never thought she would actually see one. Let alone need to ask one for help.
“Excuse me, sir,” Emilia said as calmly as she could manage. Though she had been raised as a witch, some creatures in the magical world still frightened her. “I was hoping you might be able to help us.”
The minotaur looked Emilia up and down as though deciding whether to answer her question or eat her for lunch. “We can help anyone here whatever your desires are, and if you want to go in together, that’s your own business. But you’ll wait in line like everyone else. I don’t care how fresh you are,” he growled in a deep, gravelly voice.
“Actually,” Jacob said, stepping between Emilia and the creature, “we’re looking for someone.”
“She can provide someone to fit every taste in there.” The minotaur twitched his horns toward the tent. “But you’ll have to wait like the rest. Services and payment will be decided inside. I’m the guard, not the salesman.”
“Right, thank you.” Jacob pulled Emilia a few feet away from the opening of the tent. “Do you want to wait? We can talk to whoever’s inside.”
Bells jingled behind them.
The minotaur drew aside the green silk flap to reveal a beautiful woman. Her silvery-blonde hair hung down to her waist. She had lips the color of raspberries, and her eyes were the same green as the tent. Her entire body shimmered as though covered in diamond dust. And the only clothing she wore was a sheath of sheer fabric that in no way veiled her nakedness.
The people waiting to get into the tent all started talking excitedly. Some even catcalled the woman, but all she did was smile an entrancing smile.
“Next please.” She took the hand of the faun who was first in line. She pulled him into the tent, leaving those outside groaning in anticipation.
“Let’s get out of here.” Emilia grabbed Jacob’s elbow, dragging him away from the tent.
“B-but,” Jacob stammered as Emilia led him down the nearest alley, “we’re supposed to wait in line.”
Emilia turned back to him with fierceness blazing in her eyes. “There is not a chance in Hell I’m letting you near that tent. Do you know what that woman was selling?”
“Oh.” Jacob blushed bright pink and examined his shoes.
“Let’s find someone else to ask what’s happening in this crazy place.” Emilia led him farther into the maze of vendors.
She stalked through the rows of tents, trying to find someone who looked like they might be in charge. If she had been in New York City, she would have been able to find a police officer to ask for help. But here, everyone seemed intent only on enjoying themselves.
After a few minutes’ walking, they came to a fountain. It was made of the same luscious metal as the floor where Emilia had woken up. In the center of the fountain was a statue of a woman, her body draped in a thin cloth. In one hand she held a goblet that poured a rich, honey-colored liquid into the fountain. Her other hand, encrusted in jewels of every color, reached to the sky and sparkled in the bright sunlight.
Around the outside of the fountain, jets of the same golden liquid arced into the air toward the woman’s feet, bathing them before collecting in a swimming-pool-sized basin. Creatures of every kind danced and swam in the fountain. All of them seemed intent on drinking the liquid at the woman’s feet.
A man brushed past Emilia on his way to the fountain. His dark, sleek hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. He turned to Emilia. Something in the angles of his face seemed painfully familiar.
He wore a finely cut coat and vest over a billowing white shirt. Instead of pants, the man wore dark blue britches. On his silk stocking-clad feet he wore leather shoes with large, silver buckles. Emilia had seen clothes like this in movies, but never on an actual person.
“My apologies, madam.” The man gave a formal bow.
Jacob took Emilia’s arm.
“Actually, could you help us?” Emilia asked. “We’ve just arrived, and we’re a little confused.”
“Assisting you would be a great honor,” he said.
“Well, we’ve actually come here to look for someone. Do you know who I could talk to about finding her?” Emilia asked.
“My dearest lady, if you want something in this land, you need only commence on the path to finding it, and your desires will most definitely find you.”
“So, if we look for her we’ll find her?” Jacob asked.
“Unless finding her would break the rule of the paradox. The blessed Siren created this land for our pleasure. Here you will find eternal revelry. The Siren asks only our devotion in return. The only wish she cannot grant is one that would displease another. And if your desires cannot be met, only wait a while, and she will find something to satisfy you.” The man took Emilia’s hand and kissed it. “The Siren always provides.”
“I still don’t think I understand.” Jacob stepped forward, planting himself between Emilia and the stranger, his fists tensing.
“Of course, young sir. Please follow me.” The man led them to the side of the fountain. “The decree of the Siren,” he said, grandly gesturing to an inscription that ran around the base of the fountain.
In the Siren’s Realm a wish need only be made.
Her desire to please shall never be swayed.
But should those around you wish you ill,
the Siren’s love shall protect you still.
No two blessings shall contradict,
so be sure your requests are carefully picked.
Wish for joyful pleasure to be shared by all
of the good and the brave who have risked the fall.
But a warning to you once the wish is made,
the Siren’s price must always be paid.
- Writer
