Flipp
There were Sirens everywhere when we reached the ship. Sirens from our boat had come into the city to defend their Commander, even though he was nowhere to be found. There was blood in the streets, and Xagon held on tightly to my hand. It appeared as if the pirate ship had gained more men, as if they had collected them from somewhere and made their return.
Sirens were breaking the glass storefronts and pulling items out, killing the owners and leaving chaos in their wake. Were these the people that I was supposed to save? Tears welled up in my eyes. I had no idea how to save anyone but myself. I resented Azil for taking me to the Seer and imparting knowledge that I didn’t want.
We were slowly moving from building to building, remaining unseen. Azil finally caught up to us out of breath.
“These bastards,” he whispered. “I wish Poseidon’s wrath on their whole ship.”
I looked back at him, but the crazy look had left his eyes.
“We should send Flipp out there, see what she can do with her new skills.”
I narrowed my gaze at Azil.
“She will fight when necessary, and not a second sooner,” Xagon said to Azil. There was a power play going on between them and I didn’t like it.
“Well, if she’s Lilith, she could probably save us all.”
I turned to him. “Stop this, Azil. I am not her, and I’ve never claimed to be her. You are taking the word of a creature that you have locked in your cargo hold.”
They moved out from behind the building and made a run from it to the center of the city. There was tower on fire as a security guard was trying to retreat. A gang of six Sirens approached us, and we stopped running. They quickly circled us and I knew that we would have to fight. At that moment, I wished I had the power of the Queen to squash the Sirens.
I could see Azil out of the corner of my eye, watching me as if he expected me to turn into something else. His obsession with Lilith was terrifying.
I pulled out my dagger at the same time Xagon unsheathed his spear. He put himself in front of Azil, making sure he protected his Commander.
I formed a fighter’s stance, and when one approached me, he whispered, “I’m not going to hurt you, we just want to take you with us.”
“Why? Why am I so important to you?”
“Come with me.”
He lunged at me and I turned, swinging my fist around my body and smashing it right into the pointed teeth of the Siren. The force of it picked him up off his feet and threw him back, landing hard on the ground. My knuckles were bloody and I wiped them on my pants. I saw two Sirens going after Xagon, and I turned to help him, only to have another Siren grab my maroon mane and pull on it. I growled as I pulled my hair from his clutches. My hair immediately started to twine around my horns, out of the way so that I could fight.
I stretched my fingers out, and fire launched from them, killing the Siren instantly.
Xagon was spearing one of the Sirens and I looked for Azil, who was fighting another with his tail. It looked as if we were winning, until eight more Sirens showed up and surrounded us.
I started to back away, but we were surrounded from all sides. Suddenly there was a roar, one that was all too familiar to me. I looked around for Drayven, but I couldn’t see him. The roar continued to come closer.
Even the Sirens were rattled, as they looked around for where the sound was coming from. A Siren grabbed me from behind and started to drag me away. I fell to the ground and we wrestled. I swung my tail around, trying to knock him off me, but he was much stronger than I am. I rolled over and got up onto my knees. I was pulled back down, rolled over, and a knife was at my throat. It was a little too close because I could feel blood trickling from my throat.
“You’re such a pretty, pretty, monster.”
“Fuck you.”
I hear other screams from Sirens around me, and there was yelling. Xagon was back on his feet coming towards me.
Suddenly, the Siren was ripped off me and decapitated right in front of me. My mouth hung open, as I saw Drayven standing above me.
“How did you get here?” I had no idea how he got free of the cage, but I was thrilled to see him.
“My Queen.” He bent down, and held a hand out. I took it, and he pulled me up onto my feet.
“Thank you.”
“I told you that I would protect you.”