Page 57 of Siren's Treasure

Thessa fell away, clutching to the dagger instead. Miraculously, Raggon had released it during the confusion! He stumbled back as the witch’s massive form forced him back, Scylla’s upper body bloated with stolen magic from the ages that pulsed beneath her skin like trapped lightning. Her bejeweled body dripped with exotic pearls, golden rings, and coral fragments that clinked together with each movement.

Thessa had never been more grateful for this witch’s meddling, horrified, and confused all at once.

“Ah! My treacherous goddaughter!” The Sea Witch’s voice cracked across the shore like thunder. “Your schemes will never rob me of my rightful power!” Unlike her sister’s blood-red eyes, Scylla’s were the pale green of shallow lagoons—beautiful, but devoid of warmth, a predator’s calculating gaze that assessed Thessa’s every movement. “You made a promise to me… as did your mother before you!”

Why did she insist on making this claim? “My mother would never deal with the likes of you!”

“Oh, but she did, sweetling! Amphitrite wanted her last child to live, so badly that she’d stoop to deal with so hideous a creature as I! A prissy snob was your mother! And still shedemeaned herself to make her bargain when you grew so ill—and all I asked for in return was to gift you powers far beyond your birthright—healing abilities that only your siren voice could channel, a strength that would make you silly and arrogant in your attempts to save your people!” The speech ended with a snarl that revealed her true disdain. “I gave her that shell necklace, knowing someday I’d trap your siren voice within it—as well as all the magic you’d bring to me.”

Raggon had guessed it! Scylla and her sister had been plotting her father’s downfall for years! Had they been the ones to make her ill as an infant too, driving her mother to desperation?

Scylla giggled, a self-satisfied sound that set her teeth on edge. “Ah yes, Amphitrite doomed you long before you came asking for legs, my dear!”

Thessa’s hands tightened over Undine’s Blade, its weight suddenly alien in her grip. Her instinct to hurl the dagger into the depths where Raggon could never reach it warred with the knowledge that Scylla would get everything she wanted the instant it disappeared.

Before she could make any decision, the witch’s tentacles, monstrous and adorned with golden rings, shot forward with terrifying speed. “None shall possess the powers of the Sylph, but I!” Scylla shrieked. Her tentacles wrapped around Raggon’s torso and yanked him backward into the deeper water. His surprised shout cut off as he was dragged beneath the surface.

Thessa screamed and rushed after him, the tattered banyan billowing around her like blood in the water. Raggon’s head broke the surface, his black hair plastered to his face as he gasped for air. Scylla’s tentacles wrapped tighter, dragging him down again.

Thessa dove forward, fighting to get to him, but Scylla’s thick body served as an impenetrable wall between them. Raggon thrashed against the witch’s grip, but the waters bound him aseffectively as Typhon’s Kiss had earlier. He couldn’t shift while inside them.

Scylla was the true enemy of her people! Circe too! Who cared about arcane technicalities or magical loopholes—surely whatever fates governed the blade knew where the real threat lay? After all, had it not judged him and found him worthy to touch the mermaid’s hair? Thessa would end this curse by taking out these dangerous enemies. She no longer cared that she wasn’t born for it! Revenge drove her now. Diving into the waves, she slashed at Scylla’s tentacles with Undine’s Blade.

The witch’s screech split the air, a sound so piercing that the very sea seemed to recoil. And still, the touch of the blade did not kill her! The severed appendage writhed in the surf before dissolving into sea foam, but three more wrapped around Thessa’s ankles, lifting her just above the water’s surface.

“Stupid child!” Scylla hissed, her sneering lips cracking to reveal rows of needle-like teeth. “You made a bargain with me—don’t think to force my hand before our pact is fulfilled!”

The blade sliced cleanly but did not destroy her. Thessa’s heart hammered against her ribs as realization dawned—a mere cut wouldn’t end this nightmare. She twisted in the creature’s grip, the enchanted hilt warm against her palm. Only Poseidon’s blood allowed her to grasp it without perishing, yet Undine’s Blade required more. It lusted for her enemy’s heart.

“When the time comes,” Scylla promised, her voice like corroded metal scraping against bone, “I shall savor every moment as I drain you, princess—you’ll watch your prized powers seep away like blood in water while you remain conscious enough to witness your undoing!”

Raggon surfaced again, coughing violently as he twisted in Scylla’s grasp. The sun touched the edge of the waters, glimmering in the distance behind them. Sunset had begun its fiery descent! The rays glinted off his wet skin, turning thedroplets into fire. His eyes met Thessa’s, wild with a storm that she’d seen in him before. With a desperate twist of his body, he jabbed his elbow into Scylla’s heavy jaw, causing the tentacle over his neck to spasm just enough for him to gulp another breath of precious air.

The blade in Thessa’s hand hummed with power, but the tentacles kept her just beyond striking distance of Scylla’s heart. The blade must reach that target or do nothing—its magic bound by ancient laws that could not be broken. Thessa slashed at the appendages holding her, but for each one she cut, two more seemed to replace it.

How could she stop the witches from using her powers against her people? She must prevent Scylla from absorbing whatever sylph-like abilities she’d gain after the sun left their skies… without driving the blade through herownheart!

“Loose the muzzle, ye bilge rats!” The parrot’s shrill cry cut through the chaos as Sterling cannonballed through the air. “Fire in the hatch! Fire in the hatch!”

Gasping, Thessa twisted toward the sound. Tobias! He hovered just above the waves, his massive wings creating vortices in the water. He was the key to all this! A snout that could breathe fire was effectively locked shut with a bone muzzle. If she could just get to the dragon, rip that muzzle off and have the power of a thousand armies!

Without hesitation, the dragon dipped low. Her heart raced. He was coming for her instead! She felt Tobias’s talons snatch her around the waist, pulling the breath from her as he wrenched her from Scylla’s grasp and rose skyward.

The world tilted crazily as his ridged tail slithered around her and tossed her upward with a deft flick. She screamed at the blur of clouds, seconds before landing atop the treacherously thick scales of the dragon’s back. She clamped her knees against hissides, desperately trying to balance on the slick obsidian surface, all while grappling with the blade.

The rope flying from the muzzle slapped against her back, then slid up Tobias’s neck, just out of reach. The banyan clung to her, heavy with seawater. Gasping, she tucked the blade into the knotted sash, before she strained to touch the rope. It was impossibly far away.

Below them, the beach swarmed with Circe’s monstrous army scattered across the sands. Their scaled bodies glistened in the glorious rays of the setting sun. Thessa forced her eyes ahead on the rope, feeling the blade jolt in the knotted sash. It wasn’t staying put with all this jostling around, and so she did the unthinkable and put the hilt between her teeth, breathing carefully around the strands of mermaid hair whipping around her mouth. Scarcely believing herself, she lunged forward, catching the frayed end of the rope and using it to crawl up Tobias’s thick neck.

She had to reach his muzzle. The beach shrunk beneath them, the white sands becoming a distant ribbon against waves crested with fire, the world tilting and swaying with each powerful beat of Tobias’s wings. She’d do this for Raggon! Crying out with shrill determination, she slid her fingers over the clasp, grappling with it, her wet fingers slipping against the mechanism.

Her frustrated sounds vibrated against the hilt while she felt around the muzzle until her fingers found a snap. The clasp had finally given away! But only partially. Another jolt in the air sent her sliding back down the dragon’s back. She growled at the defeat. She’d loosened the muzzle enough that Tobias could work his jaw, but that was it!

Below them, Circe stood at the water’s edge, tentacles writhing from her exposed back like living shadow and flame. Had these sisters actually vowed to share her sylph powers? Doubtful thatthese scheming harpies would be happy with only a portion—there would be inevitable betrayal… and they both knew it! She and Raggon were merely puppets dancing on strings in their ruthless bid to take control after Poseidon was out of their way.

Her attention snapped back to the sea, searching for Raggon. Where was he?

Without warning, Tobias folded his wings and dove, disappearing mid-air with a sound like tearing silk, only to reappear directly above Scylla. His massive talons extended, snatching at the witch’s tentacles like a heron spearing an eel. Scylla’s shriek of rage was cut short as Tobias’s weight drove them both beneath the waves.

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