Page 15 of A Song of Death and Desire

I don't remember telling her my name but honestly that's the last thing I need to worry about right now. Fortunately, the storm appears to have passed, the rain ceasing and the wind has lost most of its ferocity. However, it seems like quite a bit of time has passed and we are getting close to dusk. The sky, already dark from the storm clouds, takes on hues of pinks and oranges as the sun peeks out from the clouds and begins its descent. I begin to shiver from the cold and the adrenaline leaving my body, my legs struggle to hold me up. I don’t know how I’m going to move at all, let alone climb a cliff but I sure as hell am going to give it my best shot. The fact that this witch may even exist should shock me more than it does, probably because it’s far from the most life changing discovery I’ve made in the past week. Right now, in my likely delirious state, I’m just rolling with it.

“I guess we better get going then.”

Chapter 14

What is it about Eagan that makes me so crazy? Since the moment I found him, I have been making one stupid decision after another, with obviously disastrous consequences. And now here I am trying to undo my mistakes by potentially making another one. I don't know if finding the witch is a good idea.

What I told Eagan was correct. We all have been told stories about the witch, but I left out the specifics about the warnings we also received. Although the witch will occasionally make bargains with those who seek her out, they are often edged with darkness. She appears to offer whatever your heart desires. But there's a catch. Often those who make the bargain, wish they never had. Often the price that is asked of you is more than you are willing to pay.

I didn't know what else to tell him. He looked desperate. Distraught. I hate knowing that I am the one responsible for his pain. I know that my experiences with humans are not always in the humans’ best interest. Okay, well I do kill many of them. So yeah, I guess I'm not that great for humans. But I don't cause them pain. Soul consumption isn't felt by them at all, and our song allows them peace and happiness while we feed. And then the men I seduce on land enjoy themselves just fine. Even though I don't usually allow them to remember much of the encounter. My point is that this is the first time I've seen first-hand the destruction I have caused simply from being what I am. And it’s a fucking awful feeling. Now I feel like it is my responsibility to fix it and the only option I can think of that has any potential of working, while also keeping Eagan alive, is the witch. I only hope that this will not be added to my list of regrets.

I explain to Eagan where I believe the witch’s cave to be located. I think even getting to the cave may be a little dangerous and I'm nervous as I am already so tired from dragging Eagan out of the ocean. But we need to do this now before Eagan tries to throw himself back into the bloody ocean. Oh fuck. I hope he doesn't try to jump off the cliff.

“How are you feeling?” I ask tentatively, attempting to gauge his current mental state.

“I'm exhausted and sore but being around you makes me feel less crazy,” he laughs dryly. “I mean this whole situation is crazy as fuck but at least the song has quietened and now I know you're real, I don't feel quite as much like I'm losing my mind.”

Okay so hopefully his insane actions earlier are not about to repeat themselves now. After walking up, away from the beach and towards the edge of the cliff, I point to where I believe the cave to be. Eagan pales at the height and the imminent death that awaits us if we are to fall, the sharp rocks that will break our fall by breaking us. There is a small section of the cliff facethat somewhat resembles a pathway further down, but we have to get there first. And the rocks are bound to be slippery due to the earlier storm. From our vantage point, we can't see the cave, so we are acting on a hunch that it is truly there and that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask one last time. He gives me a firm nod in response and moves towards the edge. I try to take some deep breaths to steady my nerves. Up until this very moment I did not know that I was afraid of heights. Although falling to the ocean below would have no impact on me whatsoever, it's the collection of sharp, jagged and deadly rocks that promises a gruesome death if I were to fall. I may be a siren but my bones break and my skin tears in just the same way as a humans would.

I try to not let Eagan see just how scared I am. I don’t know if we will even survive the witch if we are able to find her. Or what she may ask us to give up in return for Eagan’s life back. Raidne would kill me if she knew I was doing this. Especially as I’m doing it for a human. I can confidently say that none of my sisters would feel the same way I do. Why am I so different?

Eagan wastes no time in lowering himself over the edge. A gasp escapes me as he disappears from view but as I rush towards him, I realize he has lowered himself onto a small rocky ledge about six feet below. I close my eyes and say a quick prayer to whatever gods or goddesses that exist in this world that this is not one of the dumbest mistakes of my life and then follow him down.

I am grateful that the storm has passed but the rocks remain slick. The exertion of my descent down the cliff is also causing sweat to run down my face, mixing with the collection of sand and salt water already caking my skin. I focus on the movements of my body and try to forget that I'm scaling a rock wall above raging waters, with muscles already tired and sore. I move oneof my feet to a small ledge, my hands finding purchase on the protruding rocks. My other foot then finds a small hole just big enough to allow me to move down a little more. We don't speak. The only sounds are my quick breaths, the pounding of my heart and the occasional screech of a bird. One foot after the other I follow Eagan. I don't dare take my eyes off of the cliff for fear of losing my footing. I can only trust that he will be okay.

I search for another foothold, finding it difficult to locate one this time. I curse and lower myself further, straining my arm muscles as I do so. I finally find the tiniest gap in the rocks and wedge my toes inside. As I loosen my hand to move down once more, the section my foot is placed on begins to crumble and I start to slip. I scream and claw at the rocks trying to hold onto anything I can find to stop me from falling to the rocks below me. I scramble but manage to regain my footing as a large hand is pressed to the small of my back, steadying me.

“Easy,” Eagan says softly. “Are you alright?”

It takes me a moment to compose myself and avoid the hysteria fighting its way to the surface. Through short, shallow breaths, eventually I'm able to nod and respond. “I’m okay. Let's just keep moving.” My limbs are shaking now and I’m unsure if it is due to my near-death experience or my overall weakness but I'm eager to get us both to safety as quickly as possible and never do anything like this again.

Shortly we make it to the small ledge that acts as somewhat of a pathway. While far from safe, this offers a little more comfort than the small crevices we were using for support before. Eagan stops in front of me with a sharp intake of breath. I steady myself and turn to look. We've reached a small opening in the rock. It would be mostly invisible from above if you didn't know to look for it. And even now it doesn’t really look like much. But I'm quite sure this is what we are looking for. I muster up a smile, faking confidence I absolutely do not feel and step in front ofEagan to enter the cave. I feel him at my back as he follows me, and I take comfort in his presence despite our messed-up circumstances.

Chapter 15

Inside the cave is dark. A musty smell permeates the air, and a sense of dread floods me. Goosebumps pebble my skin, and I can't help the shiver that runs through me, partly from the cool air and partly from apprehension and fear. Eagan’s footsteps sound softly behind me, and I resist the urge to reach back and touch him for comfort. He may not have tried to hurt me again, but I am not going to take any chances. He is clearly quite unstable at present.

The setting sun, bathing everything in its golden light, disappears from view the deeper we move into the cave. The only sounds, our footsteps and breaths and an occasional rock that one of us catches with a foot that tumbles along the ground. The cave continues on and on and it occurs to me that there must be magic at play here because there is no way that a cave this deep could exist in this location.

I startle when the squawk of a bird and the sound of flapping wings breaks the eerie silence. I stumble backwards into Eagan and for the second time he has to steady me. The warmth of his touch on my skin creates a whole new sensation inside me, causing me to shudder and my skin to heat. The sound of wings intensifies and although I am unable to see further than a couple of feet in front of me, I sense the presence of a large bird as it flies close by.

The cave veers slightly to the left and I am unnerved to realize that the bird has remained with us. Almost like it's accompanying us on our journey. Or leading us to our demise.

Eagan clears his throat behind me. “This witch. What are we expecting here? Is she going to just cast some mumbo jumbo spells and I'll be sane again? Do we, like, pay her or something?”

“Or something,” I mutter in response. It doesn't seem worth explaining the warnings I have been given growing up. I'm not entirely sure what to expect, but I highly doubt it's going to be as straightforward as paying her with money. I don’t want to voice my suspicions in case it scares him off. It’s taking a lot of willpower to mask my own fear and act like this isn't the scariest fucking thing I've ever done. I wouldn’t be surprised if my terror were leaking out of my pores. Fortunately, Eagan doesn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of our situation. Now that we have arrived, we have to follow this through to the end. Whatever that may be.

A light ahead indicates that we are coming closer to our destination. Candles line the walls, and a quick glance tells me that these are not normal candles. No wax melts atop and the light never flickers. If I had to guess, I would think that these candles are fueled with magic and will not be snuffed by something as inconvenient as a slight breeze. The newfound light allows us to see the travel companion we have acquired. A gasp leaves my lips when I observe a larger than typical ravenperched on a rock ahead, rather than the sea bird I had assumed it to be.

“What the hell is a raven doing in here?” Eagan asks. “They aren't really common in Witches Cove and certainly don't usually hang around in ocean caves.”

“I think we have met the witch’s familiar. She knows we are here and is watching us. The raven is an extension of her. A spy.” Eagan’s throat bobs as he gulps in discomfort. As we continue, I start to notice more and more objects that fill the narrow passageway. Strange objects like old statues, jewelry, clothing, books are thrown haphazardly along the walls with no apparent order or purpose. Whoever this witch is, she appears to be a collector. Or hoarder.

“Well, well, well. Now what do we have here? A pretty little siren with a pretty little voice. And what has that pretty little voice done now hmm?” A voice purrs from behind us, causing us to whirl around in shock causing an embarrassing squeak to escape me.

“Oh, he is handsome. I can understand why you didn't want to kill him, pretty siren. But you didn't know what your little voice would do to him, did you? No, I bet you didn’t. Handsome boy's mind has fractured, pretty siren. And it's all your fault. Your song did this to him. You should have put the handsome boy out of his misery and let him die when he wanted to.”

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