Page 71 of Song of Her Siren

I gave a start at the dazed look in his eyes, as if he’d had too much to drink. Tari said Helian had given up drink, so why did he appear so disoriented? Then that pungent smell hit me again. Old cheese? I had a sudden flashback of Father Derrick planting a special weed with spiny leaves around our little shack.Confunderis.He’d planted the cheese-smelling herb in an attempt to disorient Malvolia’s assassins, should they ever find us. Mother had made him replant them farther away because they’d given her headaches.

“Does your head hurt?” I blurted, my hand instinctively going to that throbbing spot above my eye.

“Yeah, it feels foggy.” He shook his head, as if he was trying to clear water from his ears.

I took the torch from him, shining it against the walls and then casting the glow upward. That’s when I saw the spiny leaves hanging from the dark ceiling overhead. I pointed toward the plants. “Look!”

He lowered his sword and scratched the back of his head. “What is it?”

“Confunderis.” I gritted my teeth, wondering how we would be able to find the book when we couldn’t even remember walking in circles. “A plant that causes confusion.”

Helian rubbed his chin while scowling up at the plants. “They obviously work.”

“If you see any, rip them out by the roots,” I said while shining my light over them. They coated the length of the tunnel. We’d never be able to get rid of them all, which meant we might never find the book or our way out.

Helian cursed. “What about burning them?”

“No.” I arched back, clutching the torch. “The smoke from burning them will only cause more disorientation.”

My nose wrinkled as I was struck by a foul, pungent odor, the stench reminding me of a cross between a rotting corpse and a sick baby’s crap.

I gave Helian an accusatory look. “Did you do that?”

His eyes widened, then narrowed. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

A low rumble sounded behind us, so dark and ominous, a chill swept through me like a thousand snakes were slithering across my skin.

Helian spun around with a holler, pushing me behind him while he brandished his shield and sword. Standing in front of us was the most frightening creature I’d ever beheld, a bullish beast with a human torso and hooved feet that stood on two legs. It was at least seven feet tall, with two horns jutting from its skull that were each as long as Helian’s sword. His eyes glowed crimson, a stark contrast to his leathery face. As he approached, dragging his back leg behind him, I was filled with a mixture of horror and dread when I saw pieces of his flesh had fallen off his body, revealing rotting sinew and bone beneath. Great Goddess, he was undead, just like the resurrected King Fachnan and Tari’s wyvern. Father Derrick had told us about the undead demon army that had nearly defeated Maiadra four centuries ago, and I feared another legion would soon return.

“He’s demon possessed and undead,” I warned Helian. “Don’t let him bite you.”

“Fuck biting me.” Helian raised his sword higher while stepping back. “How about I don’t let him eat us?”

The creature let out a garbled roar, kicking up the ground beneath him with his one good leg. The other was nothing but hoof and bone.

Helian pushed us back. “Now would be a good time to summon that siren voice of yours.”

I swallowed back bile, mustering the nerve to speak. When the demon let out another roar, steam pouring from his nostrils, my siren took over. “Demon, stand down!” My voice ricocheted across the tunnel walls, echoing behind and in front of us.

The demon gave us a curious look, then charged.

What? My siren voice always disabled demons. Always!

“Stand down, demon!” I hollered, my voice so powerful, it blew Helian’s long hair off his shoulders.

The bull kept advancing.

I screamed when Helian shoved me against the wall and spun around the charging bull, slicing open his gut.

The bull ran into the opposite wall, shaking the ground so hard, debris rained down on our heads, and I nearly fell to the ground.

Helian faced him, his sword and shield dripping with what looked like black tar, but, no, that was demon blood! The unholy stench that radiated off Helian’s sword was enough to make me want to vomit.

Bracing his legs, Helian called over his shoulder. “Run, Shirina!”

I threw up my hands. “Where the hell am I supposed to go?”

The demon’s chest heaved, its ribs visible through cracks in its leathery flesh. It had no organs that I could see, just skin, bones, and tar oozing out of its gut where Helian had sliced him.

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