SIREN

Every drum beat resonated in Isla’s skull. The fog off the fjord was heavy – and in the early gloom of the morning it shrouded the village in a ghostly veil. Isla had known such fog her entire life. But now it felt ominous – a monster that had oozed from the waves of the bay and swallowed everything she had come to know. Like every step the procession took was a step further into the foreign fright of a mirror world. A raven croaked nearby. Its voice felt close enough to touch. But beyond her mother’s furs, Isla saw nothing. Nothing but the white wall that had come to swallow her. Blue paint fell in heavy lines from her mother’s eyelids. A stream of tears that she was not allowed to cry. The black runes tattooed upon her palms still wept with blood. 

Drums. Seal hides hammering beneath the heavy hands of her brothers. Footfalls fell with them. One. Another. Another. Painted faces emerged from the darkness of doorways. Doorways like open jaws beneath soaked thatch. Fear flooded her – but Isla could not betray it. Show fear, and the gods bring another winter. Another famine. Another death.  

Sticky paint stretched against the cold upon her cheeks. It too was foreign. Black – charcoal slathered into the blood of a Welk Seal and slashed across her in the dead of night. Isla was frightened then too. No moon had shone that night. Not a star peeked from the darkness. The words of the Shaman echoed in her mind. “We give you, daughter, to the deep.” 

The mud turned to oak beneath her feet. The elk-hide soles of Isla’s boots nearly slipped, but her mother’s arm steadied her. She sought her mother’s gaze – but her steely gaze did not grace her. No ships were tied that morning. No waves lapped the shore. The fjord was steely dark. Another mirror. Another unknown. Isla swallowed back the scream that threatened to race free from her lungs. The drums beat. Footsteps fell – and stopped.  

The edge of the pier was upon them. Her brothers rained upon their blows – their hands rising high in the air before plummeting in a thrumming call. We give you, sister, to the deep. “Mother.” Isla whispered, her knuckles white as they gripped deeper into her furs. 

“Hush!” her mother hissed.  

Isla’s heart pounded. Her vision tunneled into the fog. The water. She felt, in an instant, when her mother relinquished her. The emptiness. Aldrin stopped drumming and turned to her. His eyes were like iron – pitted and devoid of life. The elk antlers he wore towered above her. His beads in his beard swung as he grabbed her wrist. His touch was gentle. His hands were freezing. One loop, then another. Isla felt the tug as he bound her to the first pillar. Brion was next – and as his drum beats ceased Aldrin took up the rhythm once again. Brion’s touch was not gentle. Isla felt the skin upon her chest stretch as she was bound – pulled tight between the barnacle crusted pylons. She felt the bitter cold of the air as Brion’s knife cut away the wool of her dress. Her brothers would not look upon her nakedness. Turning from her – she saw only the heavy leather of their coats. The rise and fall of their task.  

Then – like the drums they hammered – her brothers faded behind her. Their footsteps – the drums – all just vanishing into the mist. No one was permitted to witness. It was will of the gods. Silence overtook her. The fog swirled. The water lay still. Isla was alone. The fear that had simmered within her coiled down her arms. Heat poured from her as her adrenaline spiked. She clamped her teeth shut against it. I am willing. She fought with every fiber of her being. I am willing! 

An icy breeze fell upon her – and the fog swirled. Her shivers were uncontrollable. The ropes that bound her shook. Isla struggled to contain herself – but nothing worked. As her head fell she saw the tattoos upon her chest. Odin. Freyja. Baldur. Hel. Please. Please spare me. 

Then – with but the gentlest ripple - she was not alone.  Isla’s gasp slipped uncontrollably from her shivering lips. A tall figure stood before her – framed in stark contrast to the blanketed fog beyond. Water drops slid silently over its muscled frame. His frame – naked as hers. But if her skin was as white as the fog – his was the steel darkness of the Sound. Flesh like the dark deep. 

His step toward her was silent and his silvery gray eyes pierced her own. His reach was graceful – dipping beneath her chin to lift her face to the light. His jaw was strong. His frame slender, and long. Lean muscle bent toward her – perfect, and glassy. And in that first touch, Isla’s shivers stilled. She stared into the depths of the face that leant into her – enchanted. Terrified. She closed her eyes against the tears that leaked from their corners.  

His nose slid gently against her own – and she felt the subtle warmth of his breath upon her lips as he whispered. “Do not be afraid, Isla.”

The sound of his voice was but another passing breeze. He stepped into her – his body just barely touching the warmth of her own. A shudder raced involuntarily through her. His hands traced around her waist – a thumb passed gently over her breast, and down her arm. “Are you willing?” He asked – his lips still a mere sliver from her own.  

“I...” She whispered. All thought had abandoned her. All reason given in to the calling of her birthright. “I am willing.”  

Her first wrist was freed. “Climb onto me.” His voice was firm – but clear. Isla wrapped herself onto him as her second bond fell away. Her legs wrapped around him – her hands clasped around the strong shoulders that bore her with ease. They stood there a moment. Eyes locked upon one another. Isla felt his control of her. The sensation of his touch flooded her with warmth –  and she felt the undeniable desire that raced through her. 

“What is your name?” Isla whispered. 

“Siren.” His eyes sparked. His words were steady. His hands held her tightly. Steady. 

“Will you kill me?” She breathed. 

“No.” He replied. “I will love you.” Her heart hammered. “But it will mean the death of this life.” 

Isla nodded – another tear slipped from her control. “I am willing.” 

Siren, tilting his head, pressed his lips into hers. She felt her tears flow freely now – freely to fall as she did. The water passed over them, but their embrace was not broken. Sinking deeper into him, a darkness passed over her as the light above slipped away. Isla, now taken, disappeared.