Page 6 of Of Song and Darkness

She eased from her spot and edged closer toward me, stopping when she was inches from my face. “Once you get the locket and use it to stop the Dark Hydra, you are to bring it to me.” She held out her hand, intending to shake mine.

I immediately retreated a few feet. “What do you want with the locket?”

“What difference is it to you?” she gibed.

“It will do me no good to stop one evil only to create another,” I answered, forcing calm into my tone. I knew she was cunning, but I would not allow her to trick me that easily.

“Smart and beautiful. How refreshing.” She paused and considered me again before she continued. “Did you know I was once a beautiful siren?”

Shock rendered me speechless as I absentmindedly shook my head. My eyes wandered over her form and tentacles in disbelief.

“I want that piece of Poseidon’s heart to turn me back into my true form.”

“How is that possible?” I sputtered.

“Let’s just say playing with dark magic has its consequences.” She turned away, indicating she was done with the conversation.

Panic welled up in my chest like a sponge soaking up water. Was it really such a terrible idea to let her return to being a siren? Maybe. I couldn't begin to comprehend how her magic could be so vile that it had transformed her into such a monstrosity or if that was the true reason she wanted the locket.

“You will perish as well if the Dark Water reaches you.” I was desperate at this point, trying to threaten her with the approaching Dark Water.

She threw her head back and laughed. Her evil pitch sent a shiver down to my soul. She straightened up and lashed out at me with her tentacles. I moved to avoid her, but she had much more speed than I would ever credit her for. She grabbed both of my wrists and pulled me close until my nose touched hers.

“I have been exiled in this cave for eons, wasting away to nothing. Do you not think that I long for death?” She hissed in my face. “Besides, Dark Water has no dominion over me. I am too powerful.”

I held perfectly still, refusing to flinch, even though the pressure she applied to my wrists threatened to snap them in two. Her eyes bored into mine, but I refused to relent. This monster would not terrorize me. She slowly pulled her tentacles from my wrist, leaving the embossment of her suckers on my skin. She threw out her hand again.

“Do we have a deal, princess? Or will you allow everyone to suffer because you are afraid to make a deal with a sea witch?”

I stared down at her hand like it was a great white shark. My gut told me to leave this place at once and forget all about this nightmare, but I could not let everyone perish. I wondered for a fleeting second if my siren song would work against her, but something within warned me not to try. I could always lie. Once I had the information I needed and left here in one piece, would she truly seek me out for vengeance? The answer to my question stared me in the face.

“We have a deal.” I reached up, clasped her hand, and gave it an unsure squeeze.

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Around the neck of the gorgon, Medusa, hangs a locket, and in that locket is a piece of Poseidon’s heart, just as your father said. It’s the only piece of Poseidon left in this world. Get the locket, find the Dark Hydra, and kill the thing with it.” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “Then bring it back to me, as per our deal.”

I scoffed. She made the task sound like a leisurely swim on a warm summer day. I was not so naive that I had not heard the name Medusa. When I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I had so many questions that they all jumbled on my tongue.

“How exactly am I supposed to find Medusa? She is more myth than legend. No one knows her whereabouts. No one has ever seen her and lived to tell about it.” With each word I spoke, my voice rose an octave as my panic reached new heights.

“Never say never.” She smiled. “There is a rumor floating around the human world that one man encountered Medusa and lived to tell about it.”

“A man?” I repeated in disbelief. “How do you know this?”

“I’ve been known to walk among the humans,” she answered vaguely.

“Who is this man, and where do I find him?” I eased toward her, refusing to ask what she meant by walking among the humans. Some questions were best left unanswered.

“Blackheart Kai,” she said, and my heart flopped in my chest like a fish on dry land.

“The sea monster hunter?” I sputtered. Bubbles flew from my nose as I tried hard to breathe.

Blackheart Kai was a living nightmare for all creatures beneath the ocean's surface. His kind was the very reason my father prohibited anyone in Aquarius from venturing to the surface. People like him had wreaked havoc, leading to the mass slaughter of hundreds of our beautiful sea brethren. Since we, as sea creatures, lived longer and were slow to reproduce, they were single-handedly pushing all of us toward extinction. The malicious smile on the sea witch's face only grew wider, relishing in my distress.

“There’s no one else who knows Medusa’s whereabouts?”

“No,” she answered, easing back into the shadows.

“Where can I find him?”