The current glossed over my face like heavy satin. I belonged to the water. I would have preferred an ocean to a river, but the crisp freshwater was unparalleled on a summer day. I’d long taken territory in one of the northern waters. A body of water was never big enough for two of us, unless they were mates or a pod, and the local lakes had already been claimed. I enjoyed playing with the river otters too. It wasn’t all that bad. Peaceful, quiet, remote. I had endless privacy in this part of the world, far away from the humans’ cameras and phones. We paid heftily to scrub our images from the internet and used that resource sparingly. Better not to get photographed at all. My kind had always worked to dodge the notice of men. Although it used to be just drunk sailors rambling, now people could have ‘proof’.
I didn’t hunt like my ancestors did anymore, not since we’d taken human forms and joined society. I rather liked humans. My grandmother despised them and longed for the old ways of shredding through pirates who “fell” overboard. She cursed their pollution and cursed them to live in a time where the earth would rebel. “Only good for mates and young,” she’d grouch. I reminded her that our security and anonymity came from human money. She would respond “why not take a cut if we’re forced to play their game?”.
Something disrupted the sunlight on the river’s surface. Something looking suspiciously like a shoe. Why was there a shoe in my river? Probably a hiker cleaning his clothes upstream. I swam to the surface, careful not to break the water and call attention to myself. There was a body on the bank. An unmoving body. I peered around to make sure he didn’t have any friends, or enemies, nearby before approaching the bank. I made a practice of hiding some clothes nearby and would dress after I ensured he was dead. A dead body was meat for the fish. Kneeling close to the body, I saw no rise to his chest, but he did have a pulse. I debated the values of saving his life. A body this size would feed the river’s carnivores for weeks, but I didn’t want to be as callous about life as humans were. Leaning down, I sealed my lips to his and gave a deep, long breath. His breathing returned, and his eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again. Confident that he didn’t see my siren form, since my hair covered my gills and my larger fins, I went off to find the clothes I’d hidden in one of my many cachets in the tree line.
When I returned, clothed, the man was sitting upright, looking confused.
“Are you alright?” I knew that staring at him without speaking would be alarming to him, although using my voice and human language was still unpracticed. The words came out stilted. He was too confused to notice.
“I don’t know. Last I remember, I was canoeing the river with my friend. Then I was tossed overboard.”
The water was calm. Hardly enough to toss someone from a boat, no matter how small. He must be a poor oarsman.
He stared at me. I had heard about this before, but never done it myself. He was entranced, like the sailors of old. I attempted to reel in my magic but was unsuccessful. He continued to stare at me until I backed a few steps away and tossed water in his face. The glaze from his eyes slipped and he began inspecting me.
“Did you have to rescue me?”
I looked down at the damp cotton and wet strands sticking to my form, fitting me like a poor coat of armor.
“No, you were on the bank”. My human words came out more easily now. He glanced at the mud and sand around him.
“You’re injured.” I could smell the blood. He started tapping around his limbs, looking for injuries. I tapped to the back of my head, “No, here”. He felt his own and hissed.
“I must have hit my head on a rock or the side of the boat.” He looked again at the bank and the water. There were no large rocks in my river, and he was too tall to hit his head on the side of such a small boat when he fell overboard. He frowned, as if he were learning this for himself. Amusing.
“I promise, I’m not usually so clumsy.” He tried to brush the mud off his shirt.
I stood, trying to wipe the smile off my face. He was probably embarrassed. “Will you sit down? I’m not feeling up to leaving just yet.” I risked sitting down. The magic would likely flare again, unused to being controlled or regulated in its territory.
“You have the most incredible eyes.”
“Thank you.”
“Beautiful voice as well.”
I smiled. Of course I did, it was my nature. I was not able to hide my teeth. Still sharp, even when my gills and fins disappeared. It was a warning of my predatory nature, if one bothered to look.
A rustling in the tree line drew our attention, although the man took longer to notice the figure approaching us. Another human man emerged. He was angrier than the one I found by my river.
“Jesus, you’re alive.”
“Thank God. I have no idea what happened. I shouldn’t have fallen out of my canoe.” My human answered the newcomer.
The second man was not relieved. He was angry. He gripped his oar tight and rushed my human. This man was fast. I was faster.
My teeth locked into his shoulder, pinning him in place while my claws descended. I let my magic slip, revealing my fins and scaled skin. The man screamed, and I could taste the fear and agony in his blood. I smiled around the gushing from his vein. Shredding his abdomen with one claw and skewering his brain stem with the other, I relished the conquering of my prey. Sirens did not have mercy. We were predators, and we protected our territory. The man convulsed while his final lifeblood pooled at my feet. I dropped the remnants, having no use for the creature after protecting my human. I portioned the meat and tossed it in the river to feed my fish. Waste not, want not, as the humans say. The pikes and wolffish, were fed well tonight.
My human on the bank hadn’t made any sound. It would be a pity if he had passed out and missed my display. I was proud of the dominance I displayed to protect him. He should be glad to have such a protector. I turned back to face him. Sheets and splatters of dark blood covered my mouth, gills, webs, claws, fins, everything. He took in the carnage, his gaze bouncing between me, the blood seeping into the water, and the splashing of the fish. I waited. I had defeated his enemy. I proved my claim on him. I picked up one of the creature’s teeth, infusing it with my magic, and strung it on one of my braids. I extended the talisman towards him in both my hands, a gift, and a choice. I waited.
He stood, eyes locked on mine, and carefully met me at the edge of the water. He hovered his hand above mine for a moment, hesitating before picking up the necklace with two hands. He looped it over his head. He claimed me in return. My smile extended. Triumphant. The token glowed a soft pearl before encasing him in brilliant light. When it finally dimmed, his teeth extended, mimicking mine. Fins and gills grew exactly as they should. He extended his arm and put his hand to the sun, testing the webs’ transparency. Satisfied with his new form, he looked back at me. With a playful grin, he leapt into the river. I sighed, content with my new mate, and leapt after him. My river was big enough for two after all.