Page 9 of The Lost Siren

The Drakens cheered and roared, their energy and joy infectious. I allowed myself an odd grimace thatmayhave been mistaken for a smile, and Benedict’s hand landed heavily on my shoulder. He held his hand out straight above him and gestured to the Draken people surrounding him. He began tosing, and I had to grip hard to the stone balcony to stay on my feet. There weren’t words I recognized, but you’d have to be dead not to appreciate the pain and sorrow that dripped from his vocal cords. All around him the other Drakens joined in, some on the same pitch, others in harmony. The sound grew until it filled my head, and I closed my eyes from sheer overwhelm. They split into further harmonies, then notes that didn’t sound right at all, building and tripping over one another until all I could hear was the building pressure ofsoundthat slithered through my body like an inner skin. It grew, and grew, and I put my hands against my head.

Benedict threw his arms down, and then the sound resolved into glorious harmony. The voices moved with his hands, progressing together through a song of brotherhood and loss. I tried to catch my breath as sweat gathered on my lower back. Benedict chose that moment to turn his dark gaze on me, and I could have sworn he’d smirked.

“Let the Games begin.”

FIVE

Benedict sat in the larger throne and gestured for me to sit in the other one. As the torches in the room brightened, helookedat me, and for a moment he stared. I stared back, taking in the bone necklace he wore around his neck. I wondered how he sat in his Draken form with the hard spikes on his back.

“See something you like, siren?”

I ignored his penchant for ridiculous nicknames and sat. I shot a glance to him, noticing the blades on his back had melded back under his skin, allowing him to sit comfortably against the stone wall.

“The first trial is underway. Who amongst you wishes to compete?”

D’Arcy’s voice was a deep rumble, yet it stretched to reach every inch of the arena. For a moment, no one moved, then slowly different figures stood throughout the bleachers, thirty in all. D’Arcy bared his fangs in a macabre grin, and with the slightest gesture of his finger, indicated they should join him. Thirty Drakens made their way from the bleachers, evenly spacing themselves out on the outside edges.

“The rules are simple: no killing blows and yield if you can’t continue. Any death will be investigated personally byme.”

The tension in the air was tangible as the thirty Drakens assumed threatening postures, various claws and blades appearing as they shifted into their deadliest forms, scales and feathers glistening.

“Go.”

It was pandemonium. The men attacked each other relentlessly, clawing, slashing, and some of the larger ones using just their bare hands to inflict as much damage as possible. The largest Draken of them was massive; he likely dwarfed Benedict by two or three feet. His scales and coloring were a mottled grey, and his wings looked oddly disproportionate to his body. I doubted they could support his heavy frame. The large Draken didn’t hesitate as he grabbed the Draken nearest to him and slammed the unfortunate soul against the stone wall. The smaller Draken hit with a sickening crack, then fell to the ground and didn’t move. I flinched and nearly stood, but Benedict’s hand was heavy on mine, holding me in place. I swallowed and sat back down. The larger Draken snarled in victory, but I felt sick.

Some Drakens used swords or axes to reach where their claws or fangs couldn’t, knives being used to devastating effect across the crowded, chaotic atmosphere. Drakens fell in a wide radius as screams and blood filled the air. I felt Benedict go rigid beside me, his large hands curling into fists. If he didn’t like the Games, why did he allow them to happen? D’Arcy stood on the tap of the north wall, a sadistic grin on his face. Uncomfortable, I focused my attention on two Drakens who had partnered up, working together leaving a path of opponents in their wake. Their blows wounded only, and I found myself entranced by how they danced back and forth, their movements smooth and quick as they dispatched opponents and sent them falling to the ground. They lunged and stabbed, slashed and parried, mowing down anyone who came near, but not killing them.

One had hair the color of fire, with orange scales that faded to a deep red on his lower body. His wings were the color of blood, as were the scales poking out from his ears, wrists, and shoulders. The other Draken was shorter, covered in golden scales that were dotted here and there with deep reds, fading into a dark brown on his bottom half. I nearly cried out as a third Draken snared the legs of the red-headed one, yanking hard and sending him crashing to the ground. The smaller Draken turned on the new challenger, easily stabbing him in the shoulder as the red head quickly bounced to his feet. They resumed their dance with each other as though nothing had happened.

A loud shriek drew my attention, and I turned just in time to see four Drakens band together to take down the largest one. They must have been related; their scales and wings all a matching myriad of forest greens and dark blues. Two leapt straight for the large Draken, but he swatted them away as easily as a bug, wrapping his hands around their legs and slamming them three times into the ground. Something cracked and neither figure moved. Benedict shot a look to D’Arcy, who was looking across the field at another fighting pair. The two remaining Drakens screamed in anger, charging with sword and spear. The Draken with the sword managed to land a blow across the large Draken’s chest before being punched so hard heflewacross the pit. The last remaining member of the family hurled his spear with a yell, following with his own claws and teeth. He managed to get on the back of the large Draken, biting down hard across the back of his adversary’s neck.

The large Draken roared with pain, shaking himself like a dog as the blue green Draken dug in, raking his claws as deep as he could into the back of the large Draken’s neck. Finally, the large Draken got his hands around the smaller Draken’s wings andripped. Gasps and yells from the crowd added to the chaos as the defeated Draken was dropped to the ground, bleeding with one ring nearly ripped completely off from the bone. My hand went to Benedict’s to squeeze in pleading, but he was already half-way out of his seat.

D’Arcy shot a look our way and Benedict scowled, relaxing back down in his seat. A few of the remaining Drakens fled the pit, not wanting to meet the same feat as the nearly wingless Draken. With a start, I realized it was likely I would be trapped with this brutish creature, expected to give him my body. A despondent sob escaped my throat, and Benedict turned, teeth flashing with irritation and anger.

“Enjoying the Games?”

I cringed as the large Draken audibly broke the arms of one of the few remaining opponents, the cracking sound of his bones echoing throughout the arena.

“W-who is that?”

Benedict gripped the armrests of his throne, his claws leaving gouge marks.

“Brogen is one of our strongest warriors, which is why the field of competition for this first test is so small; we all knew he was the likely winner. He is getting his chance with you early before he is eliminated by any other tests.”

I refused to hyperventilate. I wouldnotlet Benedict see my fear.

“What if hekillsme?” I tried to make my tone unconcerned, nonchalant even. Benedict waved away my concerns.

“You are free to defend yourself, obviously.” His brief glare was proof he hadn’t forgiven me for stabbing him in the shoulder.

“Do you expect me to have...babies? Can humans have Draken young?”

Benedict raised an incredulous eyebrow.

“What did Crullfedtellyou about us?”

I ignored the small shiver up my spine that usually came when I heard Crullfed’s name.

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