Siren Sight

Chapter 9

She planted her hands firmly on his skeleton-like chest and shoved him away as hard as she could.

“What the frick are you?!" she screamed.

“That is an Incubus," came an amused voice from behind her.

Neivayka whipped around, balling up her fist in preparation for another monster. Instead, a tall, lanky girl dressed all in leather stood with her arms folded over her chest. Her pants were stained brown leather with a matching lace-up crop top. She must have had a fascination with the tough fabric because it also graced her neck and the girl's wrist like a rich woman showing off expensive pearls. The girl's golden hair was pulled tightly back into a tight high ponytail that made her look far younger and far more helpless than the weapons she had strung all over her would have suggested.

As the girl shifted her stance and the sunlight bounced off her hair, Neivayka noticed that it seemed to shift color slightly and turned to a bright red then back again. The girl's eyes shifted color as well. It was like her most prominent features couldn't quite figure out what they wanted to be, so they were everything. The one thing that didn't change was the rough edge that surrounded the girl, the kind that only someone who had lived through a hard battle would emulate.

Slung over her back was a leather satchel that held an assortment of arrows that went to the longbow that sat on one shoulder. Strapped to her waist was a giant scabbard that held an even bigger sword that matched the daggers tied to various locations on her body.

Everything about this girl screamed, “DANGER, STAY AWAY". Despite that, Neivayka trusted her more than she trusted the man behind her. If that thing could have been called a man.

She hurried over to the girl's side, not wanting to be near this thing… this incubus… fearful he would have reached out and snatched her away. Neivayka turned back, only when she was safely behind the tall girl. The incubus was nowhere in sight any longer.

“An incubus? Are you serious?" Neivayka asked anxiously.

She didn't know much about incubuses… or was it incubi…but she knew they tend to kill people with some sort of seductive, hypnotic powers.

The girl gave her an odd look. “Who are you?"

“Neivayka," she answered.

“Uh-huh, and tell me, Neivayka, how is it you've never seen an incubus but can resist their power?" the girl asked.

She dropped a hand on her waist uncomfortably close to the hilt of her huge sword and giving Neivayka a suspicious look.

“Where'd he go?" Neivayka countered curiously.

“Incubi don't stick around long once their spell is broken. Now answer my question!" the girl demanded again this time openly gripping her sword threateningly.

Neivayka gave the leather-bound girl a good once over, wondering if she was casting a spell on her as well.

The shimmering that had plagued Neivayka for the last hour, or was it the last few hours? She wasn't sure anymore. But the light touched the girl, and for a split second, a beautiful golden wolf stood in the girl's place. The spirit of the creature swamped Neivayka. It was strong and brave, fiercely protective of those it loved and those that were deserving. There was a shadow that hung over its body, but it was not a blatantly evil one, more like a storm cloud that hung over a town.

Neivayka knew rationally that she should be afraid, it wasn't every day a girl turned into a wolf right in front of her, yet she was starting to understand that these visions meant something. Instead of fearing them, she found herself wanting to know more. Something deep inside was telling her that this girl could help Neivayka answer her questions.

“What are you doing?" the wolf girl demanded, breaking the spell.

“You're a werewolf!" Neivayka challenged her to deny it.

Everyone within a few feet stopped and stared at them. The girl gave them a wide nervous grin. Then faster than lightning, she grabbed Neivayka by the back of the neck and jerked her away from the crowded dock.

“Let me go!" Neivayka demanded uselessly.

“Shut UP!" she hissed.

“Don't tell me to shut up! Let me go! Are you insane?! This is k********g!" Neivayka spat back.

The girl finally released Neivayka once they were well hidden behind a large wooden building with a sign out front proclaiming it to be THE CATCH: Pub & Grill.

Neivayka shouted. “What the frick is wrong with you!?"

Grabbing a dagger from her many… many sheaths, the wolf girl pointed the sharp glinting blade straight at Neivayka's throat.

“Who the hell are you?" she spat out threateningly.

“Who the hell are you?" Neivayka countered all be it childishly.

“I asked you first," she growled, sounding no less childish.

Neivayka knew logically that she should be afraid, yet her patience with this insanity was at an end. She had gone from shock and disbelief to angry enough to face down a werewolf with a blade at her throat just to get some answers.

“Enough!" Neivayka screamed.

She grabbed the girl's arm and shoved her away as hard as she could. Startled, the girl stumbled back a bit and let Neivayka go.

"I have had an insane week, and I want some freaking answers," Neivayka growled back. “I have been hypnotized by Siren's, had my mind read, and almost taken by an evil creature demanding me to be his bride for whatever reason!"

Neivayka began to pace as the weight of the last 24 hours began to sit heavily on her. Like a dam that had burst open, she couldn't stop the verbal replay that spilled from her lips.

"Then! As if that wasn't bad enough, I watched a little boy be sucked into a painting right before Iola tried to shove me into another one! Of course, we got caught by Lorimer, so I had to make it look like I was trying to run away…"

Neivayka stopped as a thought began to form in her head.

“Why didn't he follow me?" Neivayka began again mostly to herself. “Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he sent someone else…" Neivayka turned on the girl. “Who are you?"