𝔸𝕧𝕒

Jen pulls her car into the garage and turns off the engine.

"Okay, you can't just drop a bombshell like that and then let it go," she says. "Somebody start talking."

"We'll talk once we're inside," Kami says, looking around before opening the car door. "I'm not having this conversation until we're behind a locked door."

We all step out of the car and head for the elevator. Zane has an arm around my waist and Kami and Jen are just steps ahead of us. Zane and Kami have been doing their best to act as if there's nothing to worry about, but their body language is telling a different story. They walk softly but with purpose, scanning the space as if Jen and I are celebrities and they're our bodyguards.

We enter the elevator and make it to the penthouse without incident. Kami ushers us inside as Zane locks the door behind us.

"Fuck," Zane curses, slumping against the closed door.

"Okay, what the actual hell is going on?" Jen asks. "You guys are Sirens? And something is wrong with your powers and that made those randos come onto you? And you!"

She walks over to me and begins smacking my arm repeatedly.

"Hey!" I yelp, jumping away. "You're gonna hit the sick girl?"

"You bet I am!" she says with a grumpy voice. "How the heck do you not tell me you're dating a mythical creature?! I deserve to know if my best friend is banging a superhuman. Wait a minute... now that I say it out loud... I have questions."

"Jen!" I scold.

"What? I just want to know how the logistics work. Like if he's a Siren, does that mean he has-"

"No," Zane interrupts with a groan, standing up and leaning on the kitchen bar. "I don't have a fish tail, I don't have scales, and I do not have a crustacean friend."

"Duh, Zane," she says with an eye roll. "You don't think I know the difference between Sirens and Mermaids? What kind of half-assed geek do you think I am? I was going to ask if you have a bird penis."

Zane coughs in surprise as he nearly chokes on air.

"Well, that's a new one," Kami says, plopping into an armchair with a small chuckle.

"You don't just ask someone about their penis, Jen," I say with an eye roll. Zane seems to be struggling to hold back a laugh.

"I didn't ask him. Technically, I asked you."

"Alright, alright," Zane says, waving his hands in surrender. "I have a normal, human penis."

"Just normal, huh?" she says, scrunching her lips to the side as she joins Kami in the living room. "That's disappointing."

"For a lesbian, you're awfully penis-obsessed," Kami says.

Zane and I walk over to the couch and sit down. He puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close to him.

"How about we talk about the more pressing issue—like those men going batshit crazy over you two?" I say.

"Yeah, what was that?" Jen asks.

"Good question," Kami says. "I've texted some friends trying to figure it out, but I haven't heard back yet."

"What's your theory?" I ask.

"Hmm..." she hums, scratching her head and chewing on her lip. "I mean, it's gotta be the pheromones, right?"

"Pheromones?"

"Yeah, Sirens have a bit of an evolutionary advantage—humans are naturally attracted to us via pheromones and our uh... physical qualities."

"You mean because you guys are hot?" Jen asks.

"Yeah, that," he says with a smirk. Zane has never been much for humility.

"So your pheromones have gone crazy and are making people sex-crazed?" she asks.

"Could be," Kami says. "That's all I can thi-"

She's interrupted by the buzzing of her phone and quickly answers the call.

"Omar hey I-" she pauses for a moment looking concerned. I feel Zane stiffen and sit upright in response. "Yeah, we're having the same thing over here. Is she with you now?"

She pinches her lips shut and narrows her eyes.

"Good," she says, pulling her phone away to look at the screen. "Oh hold on, can I call you back in an hour? I need to take this. Okay, bye."

Zane leans forward with a worried expression, but Kami holds up a finger telling him to wait.

"Hey, I-" she says into the phone, sitting up slightly. "What do you mean? Quando..."

Kami starts speaking rapidly in a language that is either Spanish or Italian. Jen looks to me then back to her trying to figure out what's going on.

"What are they saying?" I ask Zane.

"I'm not sure, my Italian is not great," he says softly, chewing on his cheek slightly. "They're talking about Sirens... someone was killed... about half an hour ago?"

"Half an hour?" Jen asks, her eyes widening. "Shit."

"Shit what?" I ask.

"Come on, comic books 101, something insane happens on the other side of the world, all of a sudden your powers are going crazy here—zero percent chance they're not connected."

Zane combs his hand back through his hair and curses under his breath.

"Okay, thank you," Kami says through the phone. "We will. Bye."

"What did they say?" I ask.

"So, Omar just had the same thing happen to him that happened to us. Nearly got accosted on his way to work," she says, looking at Zane before turning to Jen. "Omar is also a Siren."

"Yeah, that's a bad sign for sure," Jen says.

"And I just talked to my Council contact in Italy and apparently a group of Sirens were attacked and killed just outside of Naples. They think it was demons."

"Demons?" Jen shrieks.

"Shit," Zane curses, rubbing his face with his hands. "What are the odds Jen is right?"

"Right about what?" Kami asks.

"There's a massacre involving Sirens and at the same time, all our powers go pear-shaped. No chance that's a coincidence."

"What's wrong with being pear-shaped?" Jen asks.

I'm assuming by pear-shaped, he doesn't mean they're going to have a hard time finding jeans that fit.

"It's an expression, love," Zane says. "It's another way of saying our powers are all fucked."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right," Kami says with a sigh. "Something is definitely up. But I don't think that's the most disconcerting bit of non-coincidence here."

What could be more disconcerting than their powers being out of whack and a bunch of Sirens being murdered?

"Fuck," Zane says, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Somebody gonna let me in on the secret, here?" I ask, looking back and forth between Kami and Zane.

"This isn't the kind of thing that happens all the time," he says with a sigh, reaching out to hold my hand. "Immortals don't just kill each other."

"Wait, you guys are immortal?" Jen asks, her mouth agape. Kami gives her a nod as Jen sits in stunned silence.

"But what does that mean?" I ask. "If this isn't normal, I mean... Like, obviously we know that things are going weird with your powers, but what am I missing?"

"Demons don't just ambush Immortals at random," Kami says. "And this now, in addition to having Sirens going missing, there's no way it's a coincidence."

"Which means..."

"This is about me," Zane says, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in. "This is a message."