Flipp
Iditched the island horse as soon as I had the opportunity, and watched it run away. It looked like it was enjoying its brief moment of freedom. They would be looking for it. And by “they”, I meant basically everyone on the island. Word would travel quickly that I killed my boss, and everyone would be looking for me. Everyone that mattered on the island anyway. They would assume that I would be with the horse, that I would be easier to find that way. I suddenly had a lot of enemies, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Run. That’s all I could do, and even then, I would probably be dead by dawn. I was sweaty and exhausted, and I had very little hope. The only people I could depend on at the moment were those most likely to leave me for dead. How could I possibly convince the Sirens to help me? They didn’t even like me.
I was headed for the bay, to see the Sirens before they departed. They were the only hope I had of getting off the island. It was the stupidest idea that I ever had, but I didn’t have a choice.
I’ve always been told that Sirens despised my kind, but I would be dead if I didn’t at least try.
I ran as fast as my feet would carry me and arrived just in time to see them starting to raise the anchor on their ship. The Siren named Xagon was shouting orders to the other Sirens, and I watched from a distance as his rippling back muscles threatened to distract me. I moved towards the ship quickly and shouted his name. He slowly turned, and there was that smirk again crossing his face. I waved him over and he approached slowly, irritatingly slow. Didn’t he know that I was being hunted at that very moment? Talk about inconsiderate.
“I need your help,” I whispered. Truth be told, I was scared shitless.
“I’m not interested.”
My jaw hit the ground. “I’m serious. I need to get off the island. I’m being hunted.”
“How is that my problem?” he said with a smile.
I shrugged. “Maybe it’s not, but I’ll be dead if you don’t help me.”
Xagon looked me up and down, and I fought the urge to glare at him. “Well, what would you do for me?”
I swallowed hard. “I have money.”
“I wasn’t talking about money.”
“Xagon, who are you talking to? It’s time to vamoose.”
I peered around Xagon and saw another Siren approaching. He was not shirtless like Xagon, but he moved with an air of confidence. He sauntered over and smiled when he took a look at me.
“Did you find yourself a slave lady, Xagon?”
I sputtered, “Excuse me?” Calm down, Flipp, calm down. You need their help.
I looked at the ground for a moment before speaking again. “Look, I know you hate my kind, but I need to get off the island, immediately. I will pay you anything.”
Xagon looked at the Siren and said, “What do you think, Azil? Do you want this monstrous little girl desecrating our ship?”
I was becoming dangerously close to ripping Xagon’s head off, but I held my fiery tongue. I just needed to get on the ship, and then I could allow my naturally sassy self to take control. But first, just get on the ship.
Azil was dressed in loose fitting clothing that seemed to drape against his muscular frame. His hair was long and layered, a blue/blonde shade. His eyes matched his hair color, taking on an icy blue shade.
He had two crossed swords tied to his back. He looked like a warrior, except he carried himself like a Prince in a castle. I had never seen a pirate quite like him before. The Sirens were rumored to be involved in the slave trade, taking monsters to Wayde for either work or trafficking. They were also known to trade supplies to the Witches across the bay. It was all very controversial, but it wasn’t far from what I wanted him to do for me.
Azil hopped down from the ship and came closer to me. He put my chin in his hands and a chill went through my body. He looked right through me and came so close to my face that I thought he might kiss me. I tried to avoid his gaze in case he was trying to put a spell on me. Sirens were shady, and I didn’t trust them. I held my breath. I wasn’t sure what I would do if he did kiss me. I started to feel a little tingle in my belly.
“What did you do?”
His question didn’t register with me at all because I was still thinking about him kissing me.
“What?” I whispered.
He smirked. “Who are you running from?”
“The mob. It was an accident; I didn’t mean to kill anyone.”
“You killed someone?” He stepped back and looked me up and down with interest. “Well, now, isn’t that fascinating!”
“Not really.”