By Michael Erasmus
The siren swam upward, gaze fixed on the ship’s hull ploughing through the ocean surface. No sunlight pierced the waves. No fish followed the stern. All had escaped the storm. All save the ship.
Alessia smiled as she imagined the frantic sailors struggling to fight nature’s fury. Struggling and failing. “Drag them down. Let them drown,” she sang to the ocean, her gentle voice joining fugacious bubbles and swirling currents in a sweet song. “For breath they weep, ‘til in death they sleep.”
A flash above the surface scattered a myriad of brilliant blues through the water, followed by a muffled boom. Shivers ran down her spine. Her sisters loathed how lightning stung their eyes, how thunder overpowered their voices. But the untamed rage beckoned Alessia.
“Lost forever to the deep.”
She broke the surface behind the ship. Rain pummelled her face. Lightning cracked the blackened sky. Thunder roared, and the ocean roared back. Waves bobbed her up and down. Like riding a dolphin, she thought with glee.
Ahead, the waters battered the ship, rocking it from side to side. Like Poseidon’s mighty arm, wind snatched the sails and jerked the vessel forward. Alessia cackled and gave chase. When she neared, she heard the men’s desperate shouts.
Good. They deserve to know fear before they die.
She passed the stern, flanking windward at a safe distance. She watched the figures rushing around the deck, tugging at ropes, casting cargo overboard. Then in the distance, a yellow light flashed, piercing the gloom. A lighthouse.
“No, no!” She watched the ship surge toward the light. “Don’t let them live. They pillage and slaughter the sea.” She slapped the water and shrieked, “Drown them!”
As if agreeing with her demands, the ocean heaved. The ship lurched to the side, and with a thunderous crack, its portside crashed into something large beneath the water. Planks splintered and shot up from the hull.
Relieved and delighted, Alessia circled around the ship, past its bow, to inspect. She dipped beneath the surface to see the sandbar that had torn the hull, then returned to watch the vessel list precariously on its side. The sailors stumbled and slid pathetically across the soaked deck. Some lay prone, weeping and clawing at the wood.
Alessia swam to the ship, humming as the rain calmed to a drizzle and the wind faded to a whisper. The storm had done its part. My turn.
When she reached the shallow sandbar, she began to sing a wordless melody. Her vibrato ebbed and flowed with the beauty and sorrow of a sunken angel.
The shouts and cries ceased as the men looked to her. One pressed his palms to his ears and shouted, “Siren!” But his companions ignored his warning, already transfixed by the woman in the water.
Oh, how they embrace distraction from their terror!
Alessia stopped before the hull, pulling herself onto a floating plank, her finned tail swishing in the shallows behind her. She paused her song to flash a smile at the sailors and beckon them with her webbed fingers.
A lad with a beard short and scraggly as sea moss leaned over the rails, mouth agape. “Who are you?” he asked, voice shaking.
The enchantment always takes the young ones first.
She held her smile—no need to conceal her fangs now. “I am Alessia,” she replied in a singsong voice. I am the ocean’s wrath. “Care to join me? I’ll keep you safe.”
The lad nodded. He placed a boot on the rail, but before he could jump, the sailor that had shut his ears jumped forward, pointing ahead. “Look!”
All eyes lifted from the siren to the nearby beach. Alessia spun her head in the direction.
A creature she’d seldom seen—a horse—charged into the sea from the beach, splashing a storm of its own. A man leaned over its neck, edging the beast forward.
What are they doing?
Rider and mount pressed on, deeper and deeper until the horse swam. Its muscled neck bore the crash of waves like a stone cliff.
When they reached the sandbar, hooves dug into submerged sand, and the horse pushed forward. “Yes, Vonk!” the man cheered his horse. “Yes!”
Bewildered, Alessia watched as they approached the wreck. She took in the man’s gray hair and seasoned face. When his gaze met hers, then swept over her tail, he frowned. “Begone, spawn of evil!”
“Evil?” Anger hit her gut, and she bared her fangs. “I defend the seas from you murderers!”
“Which of these men murdered your kin?”
She looked to the deck. Every one of them, she wished to say. But was it true? How many had she drowned in the past?
They’re all the same. Wicked and selfish.
The man on the horse passed her and called to the sailors. “We can take two at a time. Quick!”
None moved, but then another surge hit the ship. Timber creaked and snapped. The man waved his arms. “Jump!”
Two sailors obeyed, plunging into the sea. They splashed forward and, with the man’s help, took hold of the steed. The young lad on the ship shouted after them, making ready to follow.
“Only two!” warned the rider. “We’ll come back!”
The horse pushed ahead, slowed by the extra passengers. Alessia followed. Drown them, screamed her mind, but her heart fought back. If humans were all the same, where was this brave creature’s selfishness? “Why are you doing this?” she shouted. “They don’t deserve it!”
“Does my goodness depend on them?” he called back. He paused at the end of the sandbar. “Does yours?”
He spurred the horse, and it lunged forward, off the sandbar. It thrashed in the water for a second before succumbing to the weight of the men and the pull of the waves. Humans and horse disappeared below the surface.
Alessia’s gasped. Did he deserve death?
Yes. Let them all drown. Let them…
She let out a furious growl and slipped into the water.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wow, this story gave me goosebumps! Haunting and intriguing, thank you!
I was really drawn into the storm; avid description!
Hope this ends well for all concerned.
A vivid, touching story!
Such vivid descriptions! I could feel the storm and Allesia’s wrath.
“Does my goodness depend on them?” he called back. He paused at the end of the sandbar. “Does yours?”
This has some beautiful spiritual applications. Love this story!
Great ending!
I like the morals in the story as well as the story itself!
Love the moral quandary.
As much as I like seeing redemption in stories, it’s true that not everyone takes that chance. Well done.
Your writing is gorgeous as always. A moving tale.