SIRENS
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Chapter 7
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Diana found herself being lead into a strange room of Kosar's palace. She'd never seen it before. It was odd. It didn't sit right with the rest of his world, or the man she thought she knew at all. It was like a hoard. Ancient artifacts, strange sculptures, and... and weapons. She could tell from their simplistic style that many of them had to be thousands of years old, but they were all as shining and sharp as the day they were made.
'Kosar?' she asked, quietly, 'What is this place?'
'My little treasury,' Kosar smiled back, calmly, 'my little collection of Found Things.'
'It's an arsenal,' replied Diana. 'Kosar, I don't like this place. Why are we here?'
'I wanted to show you around, my love.' Kosar gave her a soft smile. 'I thought you would be interested in my trinkets.' He paused, and gently pulled a large spear from its mount, holding it sideways on for her to see. 'This is my favourite. The Spear of Rahmeh.'
Diana frowned at it. 'It's old. Old and important. Look at all that gold. It's magic, too. Am I right?'
Kosar nodded. 'Rahmeh was a very wise King of the East, over five thousand years ago. He invented the judicial system. And this...' he stroked a hand down the spear's handle, fondly, 'this defended the innocent from lies, and punished the dishonest. There was never an unfair trail in the reign of Rahmeh.'
'It's a weapon,' answered Diana. 'All weapons can be misused. Even magical ones.'
'Not this one,' Kosar told her, calmly.
'All weapons, Kosar. All of them.' Diana shivered a little. 'Can we go?'
'What's the hurry, my love?'
'I just...' Diana sighed. 'I don't want him to come back, itching for a fight, in a room full of weapons.'
Kosar smiled, evenly. 'You don't think that seeing me armed will frighten him away?'
'He's no coward, Kosar. The Eric you met seven years ago... it's not just that he's changed since then. All you had time to see was the surface of him. Even back then, he'd risk his neck for the people he cared about, and for what he thought was right. And these days he's only the more dogmatic. He'll fight you, Kosar. He'll try to fight you, because... because he thinks me and him should be together.'
Kosar didn't move, didn't smile, didn't frown. He just stood there, holding the spear, watching Diana impassively.
'And what do you think, Diana?'
Diana fell silent. For some reason, she couldn't answer. She couldn't even ask herself what the right answer was. She wanted to say no, no of course Eric was being stupid, he didn't understand that Kosar was her soulmate. But something was stopping her. What was stopping her was the fact that she wasn't absolutely sure that that was actually the case. He'd looked so pretty, sleeping there in her arms...
The awkward silence was broken abruptly by a streak of shimmering blue streaming noisily and furiously towards Kosar. Without losing the momentum of flight, Eric swiftly changed from his bird form, and was able to fall into Kosar with fully human fists, feet and teeth.
'Eric, no!'
Kosar snorted a laugh as Eric furiously pummeled at him, then merely sprang to his feet, leaving Eric disorientated and empty handed on the floor.
'I'm fine,' Kosar told Diana as he picked up the dropped spear and took a step towards her.
'Oh I get it,' Eric spat, 'you gotta have weapons to fight me, huh?'
'He's not gonna fight you,' answered Diana. 'Kosar... you're not gonna fight him, are you?'
Eric rolled to his feet, lurching at a nearby shelf. 'Well, two can play at that game.' He grabbed a large, heavy ceramic sculpture and brandished it at Kosar. 'Whaddaya think of that, numbnuts?'
Kosar's lips curled ever so slightly. 'I think you must be very confident of your sexuality to hold such an accurately carved fertility totem in that particular manner.'
Eric looked down at the oversized jade phallus in his hands.
'Nyah!'
He dropped it as though it was on fire. Kosar smiled again, and handed the spear to Diana.
'Fine,' Eric seethed, 'I'll just have to tear ya a new asshole with my bare hands.'
Kosar just shook his head at Diana, ushering her away. 'Such a gentle soul. Now I see why you were so fond of him...'
'Hey!' Eric ran up to the pair, trying to push them away from one another by the shoulders. 'Hey! Don't you turn away from me when I'm...'
Kosar span around to face Eric so fast that the Cavalier barely saw it happen.
'I already told you, Eric. You keep your filthy hands off the both of us.'
'Or what?' Eric pushed Kosar. 'You'll throw me of the edge of your little sky island again?' He pushed him again. 'Don't you see, Diana? Can't you see what a jerk this guy is?'
'Eric...' started Diana, but Kosar cut her off, glowering darkly at Eric.
'Leave her alone.'
Eric didn't take his eyes off Diana. 'Why can't you see what a fucking idiot you're being?'
Kosar's arm was a blur as he swung the back of his hand across the side of Eric's face. It should have only been a short, sharp slap, but the force of it nearly knocked Eric off his feet.
Diana screamed, but Kosar talked over her.
'Don't you dare talk to her like that. Don't you even bring her into this.'
Eric tried to retaliate, but Kosar managed to block his every punch and kick.
'You brought her into this! You used her, Kosar!'
Kosar hit him again, and sent him reeling into a wall. Still, Eric kept hurling abuse.
'You used the fact that she's special to get you outta the Realm when you knew it should have been her to go, you bastard! You stranded her!'
He tried to duck away from Kosar, but the other man caught him by the shoulder, turned him around and hit him yet again, oblivious to Diana screaming him to stop.
Eric spat blood from his lips and carried on with his rant.
'And now... not what do you want her for? What do you want to use her for?'
Another wallop.
'Eric... Kosar... please stop this...'
'What, is she gonna be another one of your little trinkets? The prettiest and coldest of all your shiny toys?'
Kosar pulled Eric up high by the hair, so that the Cavalier's feet struggled to reach the ground on tiptoe.
'Are you going to leave us alone, Eric?' growled Kosar, 'or am I going to have to kill you?'
At that Diana began to run towards the pair, to break the fight up physically if she possibly could. But Kosar didn't give her time to get to them, and he certainly didn't give Eric time to answer his question, but with incredible strength threw him into a stack of shelves, and watched Eric land limply on his front as the shelves collapsed, showering him in heavy, sharp ancient weaponry.
'Eric!' Diana tried to dash towards the fallen Eric, but Kosar grabbed her waist.
'What are you doing, Kosar?' Diana struggled in his grasp. 'Why are you hurting him like that?'
'Can't you see, my sweet?' Kosar gave Diana a sad little smile. 'If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be doing this to himself. It is you who is hurting him, not me. Why can't you put him out of his misery?'
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It was horribly difficult, almost impossible, to swim so close together that they could share the same breathing tube. It made their progress slow as they slunk through Ulse and Sylka's dwelling towards the door. Sheila seemed particularly anxious to get out, Hank noticed, but had to keep stopping for the two young men to get next to her and take a suck of oxygen. The Sea Nymphs' house was smallish but absolutely full of clutter - most of it apparently salvaged from wrecked ships. There had obviously been a recent struggle. Hank figured that explained the bruises. He wondered what had become of the Sea Nymphs. And then he saw it. Half lying, half floating behind a smashed cabinet - part his own image and part something very, very different. And dead. Oh yes, it was definitely dead. Stabbed in the chest. The blood was still seeping out. He turned, shocked, and saw that Bobby too was looking at the corpse. Sheila had also turned, but her eyes were fixed firmly on Hank. That girl. That girl he had known and loved all his life - there was so much she could say to him without speaking. It was all there - the admission, the regret, the fear of herself, the weariness with it all, all there in those sad, green eyes. How could he have strayed from those eyes? And when did they become so beautifully unhappy?
Sheila blinked out of it, and indicated with a nod of her head that they had to leave. Together they swam towards the door. Bobby kicked it open and, gratefully they hurried outside. They were met with several terrifying sights. Above them was the unchartable expanse of ocean, black with the night, the surface nowhere in sight. Before them was a large city of brightly lit giant bubbles and hemispheres - thronging with Sea Nymphs. But in front of that, only spitting distance away, was the worst image. An angry mob of young Sea Nymphs, around thirty strong, speeding straight towards them. As one, the three adventurers sprang upwards, as though there were a hope that the mob might not be able to intercept them in their dash for the surface. Of course, they were wrong. They had barely got a few feet when the leading Nymph grabbed Bobby's foot. The Barbarian was able to kick her away but she sprang up again, this time grabbing Sheila. Sheila pulled the Sea Nymph away from her as she struggled to kick towards the surface. There was a brief moment of mutual recognition. It was the slighter of Sea Nymphs that had been keeping Hank and Bobby - the one that had run away.
'You're taking my things,' hissed the Sea Nymph, angrily, 'and where's Ulse? What did you do with my sister?'
For a second, Sheila almost felt sorry for the little Sea Nymph. After all, she knew what it was like to worry about a sibling. She knew very well indeed, she reminded herself, her heart hardening. After all, that was what she was doing down there in the first place. More Sea Nymphs were grabbing at Hank and Bobby. They were fighting them off fairly well, but still Sheila ducked down a short way, ignoring Ulse's sister, to help free the two young men and give each a lungful of oxygen.
'Bobby?'
Sheila turned her head sharply at the sound of Terri's voice. Ulse's sister had got the little black haired teenager down almost perfectly. Sheila bit her lip as she fed her brother more air. So that was how Bobby had ended up in the water.
The imitation of Terri drew level with Bobby. 'Bobby, please help me. Did you see my big sister?'
Sheila caught a glimpse of her brother's confused, worried expression, and pulled him up, speeding his ascent, but "Terri" climbed with him.
'Do you have a big sister, Bobby? Do you love her very much? Would you want to know if she was hurt...?'
A harsher voice cried out from below. 'Sylka!'
The Terri/Sylka Thing stopped in her tracks and looked down.
'Merid?'
An older Sea Nymph was standing at the sea bed, just outside the dwelling.
'Sylka,' she cried upwards, 'Sylka, your sister is dead.'
Sheila, still furiously kicking upwards, made the mistake of meeting eyes with the Sea Nymph again. Sylka's expression was one of complete and utter rage. It seemed to have consumed her - her eyes sparkled with a murderous possession.
'No!' screamed Sylka as she took off in the fleeing trio's direction. 'What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?'
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'Wait.' Presto held out his hand to Varla, but she still took another step back. 'You're an illusionist, Varla. You can create the impression that you're... gone, without...'
'I've thought about that,' Varla replied.
'If you just let me in, Varla. If you just let me help you...'
Varla shook her head. 'You mustn't know me any more. I have to be forgotten. I'm sorry, Presto. I'm bad luck. I'm poison. This world is better without me.'
'Varla?'
'Don't try to find me. I'm already gone. Goodbye.'
With that, she took another step backwards, so that her feet met only the night air, and disappeared completely.
Presto screamed out wordlessly, so painfully and hard that he thought the sky might split.
-x-
A small rumble ran through Kosar's palace, causing more debris to fall on Eric as he angrily rose to his feet.
'Eric,' gasped Diana from Kosar's grasp, 'please stop this. Please leave.'
Eric set his face, gritting his teeth. 'Not without you.'
'There's no point in carrying on with this Eric,' added Kosar. 'Why do you keep coming back to fight when you know I've already won?'
'You haven't won.'
Kosar pulled Diana closer. 'She came to me. She is staying with me. She loves me. Not you. You've lost, Eric.'
Eric stepped up to the other side of Diana, squaring up to Kosar. 'Says you.'
'Eric...' started Diana.
'How do you know she doesn't love me, Kosar? Have you asked her? Have you seen her when we're together, have you seen the way she cares for me?'
'Of course she cares for you, you're her friend and I can accept that, but she doesn't...'
'Sure she does.' There was that cocky look of ill-placed bravado on his expression again, that one from way back when. The one he always pulled when he was bullshitting. 'You know why? Because you're fantasy and I'm reality. Her and me... we laugh and we cry, we fight and we fuck - we're for real. We cook each other breakfast. We make each other presents. We've got a song, for God's sake... "Over time, I have built up my castle of love..." you don't have any of that.'
Kosar blinked in recognition of the song.
'Eric...' tried Diana again.
'So go ahead and ask her,' continued Eric. 'Ask her, if you're so sure.'
'Fine,' replied Kosar, his level voice wavering a little. 'If it will bring you peace.' He turned to Diana. 'Do you love him?'
Diana faltered, her breath caught in the back of her throat.
'Diana...?'
'It's...' she looked helplessly from one to the other. 'It's not that simple...'
Kosar's expression began to darken. 'I will not share you, Diana. I love you too much for that.'
'I...' Diana could feel tears welling up in her eyes. 'I...'
'Tell me!' Kosar grabbed the spear in Diana's hands so hard he nearly wrenched it from her hands. She clutched it desperately still, terrified of what he might do with it if she stalled any longer.
'Tell me the truth, Diana! Swear! Do you love him? Are you in love with him? Diana!'
The tears behind Diana's eyes began to roll fat and full down her cheeks. She took another gasping breath, and then the word came out in a sob.
'No.'
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Presto opened his eyes and looked towards the heavens through his tears.
'Oh no... Oh, please, no... what have I done?'
-x-
Eric closed his eyes as his stomach fell away from him. The word was echoing through his mind, finally a word to put all those hopes and fears to an end. 'No'. No, he couldn't make her love him. No, she would never love him. There was a searing pain. He had never expected the rejection to feel so physical, but it did. A hot bar of agony shooting right through his guts, through his back, filling him, paralysing him. He opened his eyes again to see Kosar, nose to nose with him, still furious. Why was Kosar angry? He'd won, after all! He'd beaten him. And then Kosar spoke, his voice full of venom, only the bitterness was not directed at him, but at Diana.
'Liar.'
Diana screamed as Kosar turned back to her and began to drag her away, out of the smashed arsenal. She looked upset. Eric tried to reach out, to go to her, but he couldn't somehow. He couldn't move. He was pinned to the wall. How in the Hell had that happ...
He looked down.
He saw the spear, or at least half of it, jutting out of his belly. It had gone through his armour as if it were butter. There were rivers of fresh blood running down his legs and pooling at his feet. He felt dizzy. Dizzy and cold. He never had been good with blood. The world was spinning, and somehow... somehow the pain wasn't all that painful any more. There were lights all around him, and for the briefest moment, far far away, he could swear that somebody was calling his name.
But he couldn't answer.
His eyes dimmed, his head drooped.
And he was gone.
