Para Bellum

She thought about the waves, the way they caressed her skin and willed them to push her, higher and higher. Soon, she was eye level with the human, and she was a vision to behold. The scales on her face rippled with excitement, their golden and emerald hues glittering under the moonlight. Adria took in a deep breath and closed her eyes allowing the scent of the man to wash over her; she could feel his aura pulsating in the air around her, as if his very essence were calling to her.

The loud hissing behind her stopped, and the air became still prompting her to open her eyes.

“It is time,” her mother, the Peacekeeper, hissed, “fight it until your sisters start singing again.”

Her tribe had been living alongside humans for centuries, and the Peacekeeper, the most powerful of the sirens, had the toughest job. When each of them turned a specific age, they had to go through the trial of first blood, where they were faced with Man and had to fight the instinct in them to take the soul of Man. The more powerful you were, the stronger the pull was. Once this trial was over, the bloodlust was gone. For centuries, descendants of the first Peacekeepers since the war ended had never failed, ruling over the sirens, and keeping peace with the humans. Now, it was her turn.

Adria cocked her head to the side analysing the specimen before her. His skin was tan, same as the colour of the bottles she found at the bottom of the seas and its texture seemed rough, full of miniscule bumps. Scanning his face, Adria found that she found him both despicable and alluring. She felt the pull of him, of his humanity towards her, and unlike her mother had said to her, though she felt it, the lure, she could resist. But at the same time, looking at him, she felt nothing but revulsion and pity. They were so weak as a species.

The man shook as she stared at him with her translucent eyes; it reminded him of the corpses they’d seen at sea. Sweat emanated from his pores causing Adria to wrinkle her nose in disgust, repulsed by the pungent smell.

Swaying there above the sea, concentrating on fighting her core instinct, Adria knew she should feel proud; she’d been there for a while and was holding strong yet, a whisper of a thought slid into her taking root. Humans. For all they’ve done, they did not deserve this mercy the sirens bestowed upon them. The tribe saw the damage humans had done to their homes, the way their filthy materials  killed and injured those at sea, and she’d heard from the Northern tribes about the damage they’d done to the ice. They deserved nothing. But what did they do?

The tribe suppressed their instincts and helped man, they allowed them to trespass into their seas and said nothing when all man did was leave destruction in its path. And for what? For peace? This wasn’t peace; this was submission.

A whisper of song took her out of her thoughts, as a crescendo of voices came together to finish the song they’d started. The task was over. She had fought the bloodlust, and now, she would never need to fight it again. The man let out a heavy sigh and sank onto his legs shaking, as though not quite believing he was still alive.

“It’s over. You passed,” said her mother, “let us go now. You are ready to begin training to take over after me.”

Adria turned to face her and bowed her head gently.

“Yes mother.”

Adria turned to the man, and slithered her forked tongue at him before smirking, making sure she showed her fangs. The smell of piss evidence that her farewell had done the job. Billowing out her arms, the golden tattoos swirling her body glimmered as if reaffirming her powers as she beckoned the waves slowly to take her back down into the ocean.

The sirens came together, bowing their heads together until the Peacekeeper flickered her tail, signalling their departure. They all turned on their front and began their journey into the ocean back to their homes deep under. Adria followed last in suite; betraying thoughts heavy on her mind.

A change in the motion of the wave caught their attention, only to see a flash of emerald and gold descending up back towards the boat. Adria had halted and was making her way towards the human, her movement leaving powerful ripples in their wake making it difficult for the other sirens to fight against. A newly turned siren was the most powerful of all.

Adria made it to air and propelled herself onto the boat in one swift motion catching the human by surprise. He fell back and brought his arms up in the air in a defensive motion, fear written on his face.

“Th-this isn’t supposed to happen,” his voice shook as he spoke, “you’re not supposed to return.”

His voice sounded rough and clumsy, as though his mouth was struggling to form the words and the low tone of it making it hard to understand. Adria cocked her head, trying to make sense of how sirens had let such a feeble species have such control over them.

She slithered closer, her body shining with apprehension of what she would do. As she made her way, the man reached into his pockets and pulled out a small rectangular box with a red button, which he began to press repeatedly. Stupid man. Did he not realise it was too late? His technology would not save him now.

Hearing the wails of her tribe coming closer, Adria reached out a hand and smiled before making a quick incision with a claw, cutting right across his jugular. He tried grabbing his throat with both hands but was stopped by a single touch from Adria, gargling as he tried to make sense of the events which just happened. As he crumbled to the floor, she knelt down and held out her palm towards the injury, watching gold essence seep out from him and slither into her veins until they were one, the gold veins beneath her skin darkening with every passing moment.

Her scales rippled effervescently, as she gasped feeling the last of his humanity trickle into her, leaving her with a sense of complete euphoria. She looked at her arms and saw that the veins underneath had darkened to midnight black, a stark contrast to her translucent skin.

A thud behind her caught her attention, only to see her mother standing tall and her sisters in formation.

“You stupid girl. What have you done?” Her mother hissed, her presence giving waves of dominance directed towards Adria pushing her to succumb and bow. She stalked towards her until they stood face to face, on eye level to one another.

“You didn’t have to do that. The bloodlust was gone. You passed the test.” She spat at her.

“I know,” Adria replied, “but I wanted to. I’m tired of being weak, and fighting who I am. I am tired of us fighting against our core instincts. We’re sirens. It’s about time we act like it.” The power emanating from her caused her sisters to shrink back in submission, the waves coming from their Peacekeeper and her daughter was too much to handle.

“You’ve broken the peace, that’s what you’ve done. For centuries, our ancestors have always passed the test and taken the role of the Peacekeeper. That is what you were destined for.”

“No mother. I’ve simply given us back our freedom. Humans are destroying everything, and now, it’s time to begin fighting back. Protecting what is ours.” The Peacekeeper shook her head, a glimmer of sadness skimming across her face before resuming the stoic expression Adria was so accustomed to.

She took a step back and she waved her hands, looked up the sky and spoke a summoning Adria had never heard before.

“Para bellum, quia finis huius pacis.” The crashing of waves surrounded them as sirens began to rise from below, all clad in golden armour that Adria had never seen before. The Peacekeepers eyes shone gold as she lifted herself of the ground, sending billows of wind in all directions and faced them.

“Para bellum, quia finis huius pacis.” Her voice echoed in a way Adria had never heard before, as she watched the sirens reach their hand to their chest, their head bowed in silence. Her mother faced towards her again, but her eyes searched beyond. Facing in the same direction, Adria saw ships in the distance; more than she could hope to count coming closer and closer. This is what she wanted, a chance to fight back yet an unfamiliar sense of fear and doubt gripped her heart, any euphoria she’d previously felt long gone.

Her mother slithered close to her until her mouth was directly next to her ears, her cold breath sending a shiver through her.

“Prepare for war, for this is the end of peace.”