Her lower body was a fish tail. The scales were grey, shimmering ethereal green when the water splashed against her skin. Her hair was long and seafoam green; seaweed clinging to smooth strands and accented by a stray starfish and many beautiful, spiralling seashells.

  The thing is…

  I wasn’t sure if she was attractive. Her waist, hips, and breasts curved like an hourglass, and while she wasn’t as endowed as Madeleine was, let alone Melissa or Ophelia, she clearly had something there – unlike me. Seaweed and saltwater clung to her pale-blue skin, and if I wasn’t aware she was basically a living corpse, the shade of her skin was definitely exotic.

  Also, her breasts were exposed, but so was the rest of her skin. I couldn’t estimate the size for her – her entire length, not her breasts – by the distance, and just the weird distortion of her body in the ocean.

  I looked down at my chest for a moment, and just felt inadequate. Again. I slyly looked at Vesper, and while she was certainly Jasmine’s size, she had no issue just showing herself off.

  What the hell are you doing?! You’re already with someone!

  I bit my lip at that correcting thought. No, it was a different issue. I just wasn’t attracted to any of them.

  I mean, I was attracted to Ophelia because she’s nice and dotes on me and listens to what I have to say, but…

  “Ashley… you think you can dominate her?” Vesper whispered.

  “Probably not, she’s a bit too strong spirited, but that’s kind of what I like? Though, I should probably tell her to let me dress myself?”

  Vesper’s head turned towards me, eyes narrowing. “What? You want to be dominated by a Siren?!”

  I blinked rapidly, before realizing where I was. I shook my head to Vesper’s statement, and then peered straight at her.

  My left eye burned.

  “It says I have to beat her first,” I said, dismissing the tooltip.

  “Figures, but that thing is your type? Here I thought you were like the whole.. I dunno, six-foot-three, probably a serial killer, definitely a vampire type of weirdo?”

  “Sounds like Ophelia’s Dad, actually. Though, Addy killed him, so…” I whispered back.

  Vesper continued to stare at me, as the shadow beside her shifted again. Her eyes slumped. “...Elora’s Lace’s woman, how is your love-life more disastrous than mine? Also, I didn’t even realize you could bed a vampire. Wait! Does she only go down on you during your – “

  I elbowed Vesper in the side, both wanting to end this conversation and because of what was going on.

  A living sailor was pushed against the precipice of the cliff. The [Drowned] surrounded him, yet refused to approach. Below was the whirlpool with the siren, but the man didn’t even seem cognizant of the fact.

  “Hush now, little sailor-boy,

  The tide has called your name.

  The wind has stolen all your joy,

  And left you to the main.

  The cliff is high, the pack is near,

  The whirlpool waits below.

  But I can taste your salt-white fear,

  And offer where to go.

  The Choice of Three is yours to keep,

  Before you sink into the sleep:

  One.

  Yield to my song, and the breath in your chest

  Will settle in silence—a long, silver rest.

  No rot shall claim you, no death shall be true,

  For you’ll be the tide, and the tide shall be you.

  Two.

  Turn to the shore, where the salt-rotted stand,

  And die by the bone of a dead brother's hand.

  A feast for the hollow, unmade and alone,

  To be taken in pieces and stripped to the bone.

  Three.

  Or leap for the foam, let the dark claim your skin,

  And return to the blue where the gulls begin.

  A plunge for the mercy, a short, final breath,

  To give back to the Ocean the debt of your death.

  Speak, little sailor, and choose your new shore. The world of the living is yours—nevermore.”

  Lorelai’s voice was beautiful. My heart raced, and all those imperfections and her rather obvious feminine form melted away to the echoes of the sound. My heart beat faster, my skin felt warm…

  …and my brain rejected the influence. She was definitely beautiful, objectively, even if she didn’t compare to Adrian, let alone Ophelia. But the Symphony around it couldn’t affect mine. I still had the will of the Grave.

  I turned to Vesper, who had taken the opportunity to pull out a brown, fuzzy fruit. Her eyes were locked onto the display below, but her smile was curious – and consuming green flesh? And the brown skin, of course.

  Neither of us could hear what the man said from this distance, but the change was clear. He spread his arms wide, and the dark green waters below raced upwards.

  It forced itself into his mouth. HIs skin became bluish, but it didn’t have the tell-tale sign of the [Drowned]. Yet, the aura around him became necrotic, like the [Drowned] behind. That was doubly so when he moved into the swarm of the [Drowned], who parted and made him part of the crew.

  “Vesper!” I urgently prodded.

  “Cool ceremony. She seems a lot better at raising the dead than you are,” she said. “Bit too classless though. I can see why you’d be attract–”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “We need to deal with it before the [Reaper] here becomes part of the [Drowned]!” I cut her off.

  “Oh. Well then, unless you’re planning to jump into the water, we’re going to need to go around. Are you ready?”

  I nodded.

  Vesper nodded as well and patted me on the shoulder. She stood up and then sprinted to the left. Her small, petite frame dashed against the exposed ridge that connected the cavernous room together.

  The room was mostly hollow, with stalactites growing downwards from the ceiling and dripping water to the lake Lorelai swam in. The narrow limestone path connected the cliff precipice to the cave entrance… and it was crawling with the [Drowned].

  I stared upwards, and hundreds of bodies ‘stared’ back down – if they were still able too. Barnacles, starfish, and other… carrion?... clung to their aged skin, draining their immortal bodies for sustenance. Their eyes swam, but their bodies had become calcified.

  Was that a fate better than just dying?

  Vesper’s arm raised upwards and the inky tattoos she wore jerked off her skin. Two of the [Drowned], who were paying whatever attention they could give to Lorelai, immediately snapped in two.

  The whickerlash of her tendril cut everything else away. There was no smell of rotting, necrotic blood – just the smell of water that had become still for too long. The black liquid poured out of the two drowned, spilling into Lorelai’s lake – and then being purified.

  Vesper’s panting and the chaotic, uneven dripping of water from the stalactites meeting the lake below filled the cavernous room. Lorelai’s eyes turned from the procession of sailors and towards Vesper, and then to me.

  Vesper also stared down. Lorelai raised her hand, slowly, so slowly. Her dainty, pointed finger was adorned with pearls and shells. Her nail was manicured and pale… and aiming directly at me. I traced it upwards, to her face.

  Lorelai shrieked!

  The rocks above began to crumble and the stalactites dropped. Most of them fell into the water with a resounding splash, but two smashed into the dirt near me – limestone exploding into debris and dirt.

  My ears bled. Fluid poured out of my orifices; nose, eardrums, and even a small bit mixing with my drool. I collapsed to the ground, trying to find some relief by smothering my head with my hands.

  I wasn’t the only one affected; some of the [Drowned] just exploded. Their bodies were too old and too mineralized from my impression, that the sudden shriek burst them like ripe balloons. Squiggling worms, parasites, and strange oceanic creatures wiggled out of their devoured bodies.

  Carrion.

  I raised myself over the edge, and forced my concentration straight.

  So… many… decomposers. The Drowned were infested with it, each doing the Goddess’ Will to return the matter borrowed back to the cycle. Yet, the unearthly violation that Lorelai was committing was an aversion to that judgement, to the end of the cycle.

  All of these creatures would exist till everything died, till Amaril faded and plunged her kingdom into the unending cold.

  The squirming maggots, the growing barnacles and corpse-eaters heeded my call. Their will joined mine in the Symphony, and the call of the Cycle commenced. The [Drowned] that had lasted too long, that had become more mineral than man shattered as their hosts and benefactors were reminded of their true calling. Creatures devoured inside…

  …and the starfish resting on her head awoke.

  Carrion is the academic term for ‘decaying animal flesh’, and Rhyvesta – no – I had dominion over it, and those that feasted on it. The starfish scuttled along the ocean for the dying, expelling their stomach to consume.

  It slid over Lorelai’s face, and the Siren’s eyes darted apprehensively. The five legged creature slapped atop of her face, and the suction-cup feelers clung for its life. Its mouth angled with hers…

  …and expelled its stomach into her lips, silencing her screech with foul, fish-laden acid.

  Vesper continued to rush forward, dodging the falling stalactites and slicing the [Drowned] apart. The ones that tried to peel themselves off the wall were devoured by the parasites they had once called friends.

  I picked myself up and ran behind Vesper, the Abyssal Dagger gripped tightly against my fingers. I launched it forward, and let my will guide the blade. It flew down from the cliff-face Vesper and I were at, and flew towards Lorelai. Her fingers grasped against the starfish, trying to force it out of her mouth, out of her face.

  Her eyes spotted the black blade, and she stopped her panicked flailing and dove into the water. I couldn’t see her, so, of course, the Dagger returned to my hand. That would have been too easy.

  Vesper and I ran past the path until we finally got to the other side. The other side where the sailors were.

  Where the procession of the [Drowned] were. Where the cliff to the Siren was. The path there was barely a challenge, even if Vesper was panting for breath. Seriously, she needed to go out for a run more.

  However, surrounded by hundreds of [Drowned], it was getting more and more clear that all we really managed to do was get past the lightly guarded entryway, and now we were surrounded by them.

  Their lumbering, static bodies. The smell of rot and fetid water. Their hungering eyes staring forward and their teeth – rotted and yellow.

  And the funny thing was… I was more disappointed in the craftsmanship. There was no eye for preservation, no concept of unity. Hell, the two creatures I had with me, that finally lumbered behind – were haphazardly created out of them, and still just made better.

  Of course they had no stitching lines – the [Drowned] I mean. But that was because of that profane ritual that did… what, exactly?

  I peered at one. Their eyes still had light in them.

  “This is why Rhyvesta does not like free undead,” I muttered. “There’s still an [Anima] in these things…”

  “A what?!” Vesper shouted. “Can you kill the animals?!”

  “Er… no, they still have their souls?”

  “ASHLEY! What does that mean for us?!”

  “...Nothing, just whoever made these–”

  Vesper turned around and slapped my face, gripping my cheeks. “FOCUS, UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE EATEN.”

  Fair point, but there were just too many of them, and something told me that diving in to face Lorelai was a great way to get my body torn in two.

  That was becoming an inkling of a plan.

  I peered over the crowd and towards the procession of sailors. They were still human… and I was here for a [Reaper]. The easiest way for this was for the [Reaper] to deal with Lorelai, and maybe get her to submit to me?

  But who the hell was the [Reaper]?

  I turned to Vesper. “Hey, we’re friends right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, we are.”

  My eyes raised in both relief, and shock. The first person who didn’t need to qualify it or ask me what I was talking about!

  “Can you distract them, I’m going to find the [Reaper]. He’ll likely be able to deal with Lorelai.”

  Vesper stared at the upcoming crowd, and then the two zombies behind me. She twitched, before groaning. “Fine! But don’t you have something bigger for some backup? Don’t know if you know this, but I’m not wearing armor and as much as I wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of men–”

  I still had the bones of the [Bone Golem] Levan gave me. I didn’t know what on Torrent to do with it, and it couldn’t be on my farm.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out the shards; I would need to ask Levan how he did this. Though, Ophelia probably wouldn’t like being an inanimate object to travel with me…

  Wait, she could easily just come with me in the carriage now.

  I smiled to myself at that thought, and then threw the shards out.

  The green shimmer of my symphony enshrouded the floating bone, extending, enlarging… and stealing remains from the corpses of others. The [Abomination] core.

  That’s what I was holding.

  The bones of the [Drowned] – both dead and unable to stop themselves from paying the Bone Golem’s tithe – burst from the grounds, from their chest – from any part of their body that could yield to their new master. It was an unpleasant sound; cracking, disfiguration, before finally coming into a central form.

  The [Bone Golem] stood between my two makeshift creations. Levan’s craftwork was far more impressive than mine, but I also had to imagine he had time to prepare this to guard his tomb. The core was four polished bones that hovered around a green circle. The mists inside parted to reveal ghastly, screaming faces before returning to unfocused chaos.

  Plural.

  If I had ever bothered to summon this thing, I’d have learned a lot. Like… pushing more than one soul into a body to pilot it.

  Dirt and clay became the mortar; bleeding blackish-red Anima atop the bones that created the armor and shell. Skulls created the joints, and rather cleverly, the head was nothing more than splintered apart rib-cages remade into a pit of cavernous teeth.

  The Bone Golem swiped forward, grabbing more than a handful of the [Drowned]. The precipice trembled from its weight, and the stench of rot and decay overpowered the salty air of the ocean and fish.

  It lifted the [Drowned] off the sky, over its jagged ‘core’. The [Drowned] didn’t flinch, scream, or groan. Their souls were finally being released from this unfortunate prison – it was a joyous occasion, really. Even as their flesh was torn asunder, and the bones were ground to bits… they were at peace.

  Vesper slapped me in the face. “WILL YOU MOVE YOU AMARIL DAMNED BIMBO!” Her spit flew at my face and brought me back to reality again, her hand raising, and the lashing of that Inky Tendril decapitating a drowned behind me.

  “RIGHT!” I shouted back, shoving off Vesper and moving past the army of [Drowned]. Though, frankly, I wasn’t pretty enough to be a bimbo. I don’t think Vesper wanted to get into that right now, but I would remind her. Mark my words.

  There were many of them, but their attention was drawn to the biggest threat in the field. Levan’s Bone Gol–

  Nope, not doing this again. Focus, Ashley!

  I looked straight towards the parade of sailors, and they had been mostly stripped. Men, and some women, from all over the world – not in chains, but still guided along. Well, except for the guards that had been distracted.

  It was surprisingly smooth – I had expected to duck, dodge, and weave; three actions I was surprisingly bad at. Yet the [Drowned] walked past me, stumbling forward and launching their assault at Vesper and my trio.

  I stumbled past the other side, looking over the crowd. Their grim eyes stared at me, but their eyebrows were furrowed. Their lips were not pleased, and their eyes just radiated… anger? Disinterest?

  “What do you want, [Necromancer]?” One of the sailors asked, and a jagged edge left with their voice.

  I blinked; I thought I had set up my [Veil] correctly… but shook how they knew I was one of. Instead, I tried to phrase the next question.

  It didn’t come to me.

  So, I did the only thing I could think off – I raised the necklace Ananke had given to me. It was barely in the air for a second.

  My nasal bone cracked immediately, and my vision both began to black out and tilt sideways – I was falling! My scent was replaced with my own blood again, but this time, I also felt excessive pressure against my chest.

  His jagged knee pushed right into my gut, as my blood dripped down the man’s bruised knuckle.

  “How did you get that, you monstrous bitch?!” his voice shouted down at me, as my eyes began to readjust.