Militum shifted in front of Melodia and threw his trident into the sand in front of him. He shouted out a staccato beat of commands and the water filled with his guardian magic. Of all the combat magics, this was the only one he truly excelled in. 

Immediately, a diamond of protection glowed into life in the sand and Militum bent his entire will into holding it steady. Nothing would get past him to Melodia. 

A few tails away a brunette with a mean streak opened her mouth and let loose an ascending arpeggio. The notes solidified into icicles and flew in a fanning pattern towards anyone who didn't have the awareness to dodge.

Champions cried out as blood filled the water and Militum grimaced as an icicle slammed into his shield, stopping only a hand from his face. 

Behind him, Melodia's alto voice rang as she beat out her own melody. She sang of the stars and the moon, the peaceful breeze over the ocean surface at night. All around them, warriors loosened their grips on their weapons. Candidates began to slump, succumbing to the peace of Melodia's song. 

Even Militum began to imagine how good it would feel to lay down and take a nap in the warm sand. He was brought back to reality by a crack in his shield as an enemy champion drove her short sword into the diamond. 

Her eyes were focused and her body taut, as her entire being seemed bent on breaking through. Behind her, a mermaid with a glittering sapphire tail wove a song of watery depths. She sang of riptides and whirlpools, of many legged beasts and alien caves filled with floating eyes. 

Around the diamond, sand began to stir into life, taking on shapes of deep sea creatures and joining the barrage against Militum's aegis. His shield fractured even further and his skin flushed with exhaustion. 

Melodia didn't switch tactics, continuing to lull all of those who could hear her into a state of serenity that left them vulnerable. Yet the champion in front of him seemed unaffected by the song and Militum knew she was in a class above him. 

As the shield finally shattered in front of him, he launched himself at the champion and shouted out a command behind him. The diamond shimmered back into full force, his magic ripping through the cracks and sealing it whole again, without him inside of it.

He rolled with the champion and they traded blows without weapons. They did not heed their surroundings and were hit with various magics as they moved. Poisonous clouds and treacherous waters assailed them, but they remain locked in a battle of wills. 

Militum's strength began to fade. Keeping the shield up grew harder the farther he got away from it and he began to reach the edges of his power. Still, his enemy was ruthless and continued to pound her fists into his abdomen. 

He searched the water around them as the edges of his vision grew black. No way in Hades was he going to black out and leave Melodia by herself in this chaos. Finally, he spotted what he needed to and bided his time with his arms held up to protect his head. 

As she sensed victory, the enemy grew excited and her blows came in faster flurries. She wanted this to be done so she could return to her charge victorious. Arrogance made her sloppy and she did not notice the candidate gearing up for a wide area attack. 

Militum grunted as another blow hit his side and curled further into himself. His tail hit the ground and he carefully positioned it to lie flat on the sand. 

When the candidate released her song of concussive force into the water, Militum launched himself at his enemy and threw her directly into the path of one of the waves of power. She sank to the ground like a stone, her second eyelids showing that she was down for the count. 

Quickly, Militum reoriented himself after a wave of dizziness swept over him. He spotted Melodia, still inside of a crumbling diamond, and took stock of the arena. 

On the sidelines, the crowd was roaring and chanting for their favorites. Over the field, blood poured from cuts, gashes and weapon wounds. Only five candidates were left in play, and one of them had no champion in sight. 

Telyn, the concussive force songstress. Anasazi, the ice songstress. Ashiko, the despair songstress. Xylan, the shadow songstress. Melodia, the enchantress. 

(Okay, I gave Melodia that nickname. But it still fits!)

Xylan's champion was down, but she was still the most dangerous one on the field. Any shadow around you could be used by her to entangle or maim. A maimed mermaid was not fit to lead. The other champions circled warily, in various states of health. None of them seemed anxious to make the next move and all of them were a little out of breath. 

I was in no state to reprimand them about their levels of fitness either. My lungs were on fire from overuse and my gills were working over time to catch up to my oxygen use. Along with that, my left shoulder was covered in bruises that were already blooming shades of blue. 

I caught my breath and swam up, gaining the high ground as I tried to work out a way to get back to Melodia without drawing attention to her. Telyn and Anasazi were locked in combat, those two had never gotten along, and so I didn't consider them a current threat. 

Ashiko seemed to be backing away, pulling her champion with her to get out of range of Melodia's ongoing song. I saw Xylan sneer at the sign of caution. She probably assumed it was cowardice on their part. 

Xylan lifted her hands and light began to glow over her fingers as she sang so softly that I could not hear the words. Ashiko and her champion never had a chance. While their eyes were on Melodia, their shadows grew longer behind them until they lifted from the ground and formed a pair of bodies identical to their sources of origin. 

Shadow Ashiko reached out and gripped Ashiko in a sleeper hold, cutting off her vocals and any chance of defense. Ashiko's champion fell as his shadow speared him in the tail and pinned him to the ground. Ashiko lost consciousness and her shadow released her, disappearing back into the sand as Xylan stopped singing. 

Then Xylan turned her attention to Melodia, who was now undefended as the diamond of protection faded. Melodia moved to Xylan, and I knew she thought her song was powerful enough to overwhelm the shadow songstress. Her eyes were narrowed in determination, but her chest was heaving with the strain of singing for an extended period of time.

Xylan lifted her hands once more and smiled a serene smile. The mermaid began to sing and Melodia's shadow grew longer, becoming pointed and solid at the end. Her own shadow tail rose up behind her in an arc, prepared to strike down and impale her.

I dove down without thinking about it. 

Maybe I should have thought about it, but all I could do was picture Melodia bleeding on the arena floor and my body moved on its own. The shadow was quick, but I watched it propel itself downward and the entire world slowed.

Each pump of my arms was a trillionth of a second as I strained against time itself. The shadow tail pierced flesh and I cried out. 

My own blood filled the water as Melodia slipped out of its path. I saw her eyes widen as she half turned, realizing what had happened. My vision narrowed so that all I could see was her. Safe.

Melodia screamed, and the sound ripped the water itself apart. Her howl of pain slammed into the other candidates and their champions and carried each of them to the wall of the arena. Her song slammed them into the coral so hard that pieces of it broke off and floated around the now limp bodies of Melodia's opponents.

I blacked out then.

When I awoke, I was laying in a recovery bed. A healer was beside me, smiling down at me while she fiddled with some scented stones on a table by my bed. "You're awake. Good. How are you feeling?"

I groaned. 

"Ah, not so good then?" She chuckled and lifted a bandage around my abdomen. "Well, I'm not surprised. Excessive bruising, internal bleeding, and a hole in your hip have all attributed to quite a well earned rest."

I tried to lift an arm, to see if I could do it, and immediately put it back down when pain raced down my spine. "Mel...Melodia?"

"Oh, don't you worry, young man. Melodia didn't have a scratch on her." She patted my uninjured shoulder gently. "She made it. Melodia will be crowned a Siren on the morrow."

A smile bloomed over my cheeks, and even though it hurt, I couldn't stop it.

The healer looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "There is something important I want to talk to you about though." 

I glanced over at her, relaxed now that I knew Melodia had done it. She hesitated and I felt my smile slowly fade.

"Militum, the damage to your hip was extensive, and several of your internal organs were compromised. Including...including..." The mermaid sighed and squared her shoulders. 

"Militum, I'm sorry. You won't ever be able to have children."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

So. Yeah. This happened. YAY ACTION! *sobs* 

What did you all think? Yay? Nay? Please don't kill me!