I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. I only put them in dangerous situations in order to please you lot.
She looked out over the ship's railing. Her anxiety had not diminished at all, especially now that the rocks were so near and she could see them clearly. There was a space between them, big enough only for a fairly small ship to pass through, and granted her vessel fit that qualification, but she could see clearly that with any misjudgment they could be thrown up against the sides. Shifting from foot to foot, Lucy listened to the waves pushing against the hull and the cries of the gulls in the air. No one spoke. There was no point; every sailor had plugged his ears with beeswax and could not hear a thing, so Lucy and her sister were left standing together and keeping out of the way.
When they were about fifty meters off, the first siren appeared. Susan saw it first and pointed; it shot up from somewhere within the rocks and spread its enormous wings to glide over the ocean breeze towards them. Lucy watched it get closer and closer until it began to circle above the ship, occasionally beating its wings. It – for although the creature looked like a woman, it did not seem feminine at all – leered down at the sailors through brilliantly blue eyes as if appraising them, then swooped down over the ocean, disappearing again behind the rocks.
They approached the outcropping a minute later, and suddenly there was a great deal of motion although still no sound. Captain Parry stood at the front of the ship, hands flying in rapid, silent instructions as sailors up in the rigging tightened and loosened the sails on either side of the mast, steering the vessel through the rocks. Then they were through the first pass and the sirens' nest was beside them, not more than eight meters from the starboard side of the ship. Lucy stared as the ship hurried forward, watching the harshly beautiful creatures in awe and curiosity.
There were eight of them, preening as they perched with bird-legs on the edge of a huge nest of sharp sticks. Their skin-tones varied from the deepest cocoa to porcelain white, their hair and wings from jet black to flaming red to palest blonde, but all bore the same wicked, predatory expression as they eyed the sailors. Then one pale-skinned, fair-haired siren opened its mouth and there came forth a sound like nothing Lucy had ever heard, a silvery, entrancing ribbon of melody that seemed almost physical. Lucy felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She glanced over at Susan. Her sister's eyes were slightly unfocused, as if she was daydreaming, but the expression was more thoughtful than enchanted and she made no move towards the edge of the ship. Lucy reached for her hand and took hold of it, glancing up at the sailors in the rigging. A few kept stealing looks at the beautiful creatures; however, they continued with their work and did not attempt to follow them. All the sirens were singing now, weaving a tune of unspeakable, cruel beauty as they took flight and practically danced through the air together.
Just when the ship was almost beyond the nest, Lucy noticed that Thomas was not behaving normally. The edgy feeling in her throat intensified. He was standing on the first crossbeam of the mast, work forgotten as he watched the sirens swoop back and forth, and he was bringing his hand up to the side of his head uncertainly.
"Thomas!" Lucy shouted. Susan jumped in surprise at the sudden noise and her head snapped up to look at the young sailor in alarm. He did not seem to hear them. She joined with Lucy in calling his name. Tentatively, he stepped further out towards the edge of the ship as he balanced on the crossbeam, still eyeing the dancing sirens as if half-enchanted.
"Help, somebody help!" Lucy screamed desperately, but there was no one to hear them. She and Susan took off towards the mast, standing underneath the beam and shouting Thomas's name frantically. He noticed this time, looking down at them with a confused expression, but the song of the sea witches increased in intensity and he turned his watch back to the beautiful creatures.
"Stop!" cried Susan. She looked around for something to throw, but she had nothing and Lucy had only her cordial and dagger. Thomas's hand lingered halfway between his shoulder and head as if torn. Lucy, frightened tears pricking the edge of her eyes, screamed again for help but knew no one would hear her…
…but someone did, and as Edmund came barreling up the staircase, head turning rapidly to look for his younger sister, Lucy's fear erupted into panic.
"No! Ed! Go back!" Susan commanded, her voice rising in desperation. As he came into the open he froze, the song enveloping him in its magical touch. Lucy ran towards him as if to push him back down but she stopped as she approached, for the expression on his face was more similar to Susan's earlier look than to Thomas's obsessive one. Edmund shook his head vigorously and looked up to meet Lucy's tear-filled gaze. Without a word he sprinted to the mast and shot up the notched side, leaping out onto the crossbeam and wobbling precariously. When he regained his balance he hurried over to Thomas.
His hand had almost made contact with the sailor's sleeve when an olive-skinned siren dove at him, viciously tearing at Edmund's outstretched arm with sharp, clawed hands. He yelled in pain and stumbled backwards, faltering for a heart-stopping moment before stabilizing himself again. Thomas looked back in annoyance, then reached up and withdrew the beeswax from his ears.
"No!" Lucy shouted, but Edmund had already acted, throwing himself at the young man and knocking them both from the rigging.
It was more than a two-meter drop and the crash of the two landing was awful to hear. The sirens let out a horrible, shivering laugh as two of them soared in to prey on the fallen boys, but Lucy had ran forward and drew her dagger threateningly. With an angry resolution she slashed forward. A flame-haired siren screeched in fury as the dagger swept through her fair skin and thick red blood spurted forth. The creature flapped its wings in an ungainly fashion for a brief second, hovering in front of the girl, then its talons shot forth and hooked into her belt.
Lucy screamed as she was lifted from the ground. Susan lunged for her, but she was already heading too rapidly towards the edge of the deck. Without thinking, Lucy brought her bloodied dagger to her waist and sliced her belt through with one clean stroke, and she came free of the siren's clutches to slam painfully into the railing. The monster screamed in frustration and dropped the broken leather strap into the ocean. Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the siren's song stopped and they flew away in formation, never glancing back.
Lucy lay in a heap, unwilling to move for the screaming pain in her knees where they'd hit the railing. Susan had given her a brief glance before hurrying over to Thomas and Edmund, who had remained motionless since their fall from the mast. She rolled her brother off the sailor and quickly checked both for obvious broken limbs. Finding none, she straightened out and turned to Lucy.
"Are you all right, Lu?" she asked. Lucy nodded miserably. She felt her legs gingerly and seemed to find no real problems, so she staggered half-upright and crawled to the other three. Susan knelt beside her.
"Are they okay?" Lucy asked in a small voice. She couldn't help but feel guilty that it had been her shout that had made Edmund come out.
"I think so," said Susan. "Nothing your cordial can't fix, in any case."
Lucy's hand automatically went to her waist before the sickening truth hit her. Her cordial had been on her belt.
