Siren Song

Siren Song

When Bob had first asked her to demonstrate her ability, she demurred, uneasily.

"I can't make myself do it," she said. "It just…happens, when I sing. And if you hear it…"

"I assure you," said Bob, "all precautions have been taken so that I will be undamaged to your effects. I will be listening from behind that window there--" he pointed to the panes that faced into the hallway, behind dull Venetian blinds "--and if anything goes wrong, we are prepared to dose you with a mild tranquilizer."

"No one will hear me, though, right? Without protection, I mean."

Bob nodded confidently, and she gave him a small smile. Bob left the small room, closed the door behind him and stood in front of the window. Uncomfortable, Lorelei turned away, so that she was no longer facing him but the wall. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"The sun has fallen," she sang, "and it lies in blood. The moon is weaving bandages of gold. Oh black swan, where oh where is my lover gone?"

Lorelei felt hot and ashamed. What if it never happened--if they sent her away and laughed at her for thinking she was different? She would never get help, she would never be free--

Behind the window, Bob stood motionless. She had a lovely little voice, but that certainly didn't make her special. Beside him, just off the window's view, a man with ears securely plugged and a tranquilizer gun in hand shifted, restless.

The song changed, becoming even more discordant and weird. "Don't you hear your lover moan? Eyes of glass and feet of stone; shells for teeth, and weeds--"

Her eyes widened and went glassy, overcast with blue. Her lips turned red, her cheeks white, but the song from her mouth never ceased. Its words changed, no longer in English but in a language Bob had never heard, or maybe they were not words at all. She sang at once in a whisper and a scream, as though two voices came from her instead of one, and her arms rose from her sides as she sang, pointed out before her as though she were casting a spell.

The dissonant, unearthly notes flew into Bob's skull, penetrating through skin and bone and brain, even through the muffling glass. He was growing so faint, so weak, so cold, so weary, and at the same time he wanted nothing more, nothing in the world more than to be closer to her, to hear the song again and again for the rest of his life. He grabbed at the windowsill with the remainder of his strength, and the action gave him enough resolve to mouth the word, "Go" to the gunman before sagging against the wall.

The door burst open and slammed against the wall, and two tranquilizer darts flew into her neck. She whirled to face her assailant, eyes flaring, her voice echoing of its own accord as she screamed in anger. The melody had stopped, but the words and the voice kept coming. The gunman staggered backward--even through the earplugs, he was not thoroughly protected. But the tranquilizer saved him. Without warning Lorelei's eyes, flashing red, rolled into her head, and she collapsed ungracefully on the floor.

When she came to, she was lying on the bed in that same room, and Bob was bending over her, shining a painfully bright light in her eyes. She groaned, and he started back for a moment before recovering himself.

"That certainly is an usual ability, Miss Cameron. Very…interesting. One might go so far as to call it a siren song."

"You can fix it, though, can't you?" she rasped. Her voice was hoarse, and it pained her to speak.

"Mind if I ask you a few more questions?" He put the light in his pocket. "When did your ability first manifest itself?"

When he moved back and gave her room to breathe, Lorelei felt more comfortable. She sat up, massaging her throat. "About fourteen months ago, I guess."

"Mm-hm." He was checking her pulse now. "Have you ever tested its limits?"

"What do you mean?"

Now Bob was looking straight at her. "We know that you can temporarily disable people. I was weakened for a short while after the experience; the man who tranquilized you experienced severe headaches for an hour afterward. But have you ever gone further? Could you, theoretically, kill someone with this power?"

Lorelei's eyes widened. She looked fearful of the prospect. "No! I mean--I don't think… I would never try to do something like that."

"Of course you wouldn't," Bob soothed her. "But we have to know as much about this as possible before we can help you."