Chapter One

She sat on her assigned rock for the evening out in the pacific. Kaylah didn't want to bring down yet another unsuspecting ship. She had her haunting song planned as always. Twirling her wavy, wet locks in between her fingers she tapped her fin on the barnacle covered boulder bored almost too unsalty tears. Sirens cried fresh water tears, unlike humans. "God, when will this ship appear?" The tapping of her fin grew more impatient. The moon rose higher in the sky, clouds covering it every once in awhile. The clouds darkened the moon, leaving the sea pitch black. A loud splashing was heard in the distance. A ship was approaching. "Showtime." The moonlight uncovered and the ship came into plain view right next to her. She reached out her arms and began her magical performance: the last thing these humans would hear would be her melodic voice. The men on the ship came to the side to investigate. Fog rolled in to the hide the rocks up ahead. Kaylah sang her heart out, getting louder by the minute. Now most of the men were gawking at her perched atop her rock; singing her death hymn to them. The song made the men drowsy and drugged: unable to pay attention to their ship losing control. The boat entered the fog and disappeared followed by a loud crash and clang of metal on rock. Kaylah winced at the horrendous noise. She hated her job. She hated killing innocent humans. Well, at least she thought they were innocent. The "Great Sea King" thought all humans were intruders in his territory. Talk about being a selfish pig or should she say blowfish? Kaylah watched as the boat burst into flames. She coughed as the smoke came her way. The mermaid dove into the water. "I really hate this job."

"Then why don't you just tell the Sea King to fuck off?" A squeaky bottlenose voice came from behind her.

"Leave me alone Flipper."

"God how many times do I have to tell you NOT to call me that?! It's annoying and somewhat condescending."

"You know I'm only joking you, Rosco." She swam rapidly back to her sea cove. He followed close behind her. "I always found that reference hilarious. Of course a mermaid would have a dolphin for a sidekick as well." She glanced at him and smiled.

"I am not a sidekick. I'm quite independent thank you very much." He flicked his snout in the water, blowing bubbles from his blowhole. She laughed, almost forgetting what she had done just minutes ago. Kaylah shut her eyes tight, trying not to remember all the death and destruction she caused. Rosco looked at her with a sad gleam in his black eyes. "You okay?" He questioned cautiously.

"I'll be fine. I just won't sleep well is all." Her torment was her own. She was assigned to the Slaughtering Sirens, a delightful name picked by her King. You may wonder why she would stay under his control. She had no choice. Kaylah was an orphan and had nowhere else to turn to. Most of the orphans were recruited into the Slaughtering Sirens because no one else would do it. It was considered one of the dirty jobs in the merworld. She was required to destroy three ships a week if she wanted shells for food and necessities. It wasn't that fun and the noise gave her a headache.

"I know a good seaweed remedy for getting some sleep." Rosco offered. Kaylah shook her head and undid her hair from its netting. Her deep brown hair with aqua highlights flowed freely in the ocean water.

"I just have to suppress my conscience." She smiled sadly at the always smiling dolphin. It wasn't his fault he had a permanent smile plastered on his face. She settled into her nest of padded sea sponges that put together her seabed. The Siren closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly.

Blue eyes gazed at her, searing into her scales. Hands reached out to her to touch her. His face became apparent and boy was it something. He smiled warmly at her, a smile that could melt the glaciers in Antarctica. His chiseled jaw and auburn spiked hair struck a nerve in her. The man touched her face and then disappeared into the dark depths of the sea.

Kaylah awoke abruptly, touching her cheek where he had. "What the hell?" She blinked and stretched out her golden fins. She swatted her seabed head hair out of her face and swam over to the old mirror she found in one of the shipwrecks she had caused.

"Hey, you're up early." Rosco swan towards her. "You look as pale as a ghost shrimp, Kay."

"Oh, I just had a strange dream." She rubbed her tired eyes.

"Care to elaborate?" She glared at him. "Guess not. You're becoming a real sea hag, lady."

"If you had to kill innocent humans every other night you'd turn into one too." Kaylah sighed. She lovingly brushed her hair with a spiked seashell. She sighed and placed her hand on her cheek again; it almost felt warm to the touch. Weird. Her pale greenish shaded skin never felt warm, only when she was up sunbathing would it feel this warm. She pushed the weird sensation of warmth away for the moment while she tied her hair up in a ponytail with a seaweed bow. Kaylah smoothed her webbed hands over her golden scales. She was one of few to have the golden hue in her fin. Most merfolk had green to blue coloring. A knock was heard on the hollowed out coral door of her cove. She swam reluctantly over to it, knowing full well it was probably the King calling her in for a report on last night's crash. Kaylah opened the door.

"Hey, gorgeous." Junic came swimming into her humble cove. "You look marvelous today." He grinned a big shark toothy grin.

"Oh God, why must he send the worst of his messengers?" Kaylah groaned in displeasure. Sure Junic was cute, but in a totally rude, immature way and he wasn't her type at all. That didn't stop him from teasing and testing her patience about it.

"She's not in a pleasant mood Merplayboy. Don't test her, she'll clobber you." Rosco warned. Junic raised his hands in defeat and defense.

"I'm only here to escort you to the King this lovely morning." He smiled. That smile was one of the weaknesses she had for Junic. She turned away to look back into the mirror, pretending to fuss with her hair. "I think it looks fine, Kay." She looked back at him and only nodded. Words couldn't do her much good this morning, so, she remained silent. "What's the silent treatment for, darling?"

"I don't feel like talking. Is that okay with you?" She spat venomously. He only nodded as they headed out the door.

"I'll catch dinner, Kaylah!" Rosco called after them. She looked back and nodded. Kaylah hated living in this aquatic world. It was getting so dull and life on land kept looking better each day. She planned on sunning herself this afternoon before she had to demolish another ship tonight. The siren had been sick for a few days, so, she had to make up for the nights she missed. Meaning she had to destroy three ships in a row. Tonight was the last of the three for this week. At least she had weekends off. The job wasn't hard, in fact it was quite easy, but the feelings of guilt weighed heavily on her heart for all the lives she destroyed and all by a single song. She loved to sing, but those death songs were awful, so dreadfully awful. They gave her a sick feeling whenever she sang them.

"Are you gonna be silent until we get there?" She glanced over at the merman, forgetting he was there.

"Sorry."

"Okay, what's wrong? You seem really down. I'm here; you tell me all about it." He smiled that smile that made her tail weak.

"I don't want to be in the Slaughtering Sirens anymore."

"But you're the best. You have the best record, why quit?" He looked at her confused.

"Would you believe me if I told you?" She gazed into those lilac eyes that made his face softer than imaginable. He nodded. "Don't tell the King, promise?"

"Cross my fins and hope to croak." Kaylah shook her head and grinned.

"You and your quips. It's simple really. I don't like killing even if they are humans. They're still like us…only they have legs and feet." Kaylah looked down to the sandy floor, playing with the webbing between her fingers, a nervous habit.

"I hate them." Junic stated simply. She looked over at his stern cold face. She had never seen him so angry. His eyes flicked with a deadly white light, something Kaylah hadn't seen in the merman before. He was always happy-go-lucky. Junic returned to his normal appearance: happy. "Sorry, bad memories."

"What sort of memories?" She knew she was prying, but who cared? She needed to know why these so called humans were so bad; something to give her reason to kill them. He sighed, air bubbles coming from his nose.

"They destroyed my home cove. They threw weird stuff into the water, made everything die…including many of my pod." His eyes turned cold again. So, the King had reason to send his mermaids out to destroy ships. That was why. Finally, a reason came into play.

"Wow," was all she could say at his statement. Junic nodded and smiled warmly at him. "Now I understand why I do what I do." She smiled back at him and grasped his hand. They finally ended up at the palace. It loomed in the middle of the mercity known as Pacificania. The city wasn't composed of tall seascrapers, but was scattered with low lying houses and coves. The shops were all in a row leading up to the gorgeous castle made of coral and gold. Fish of every color flew in the water like birds would the sky, tracing lines of bubbles behind them. Kaylah let go of Junic's hand as they made their way through the city. Everyone knew who she was. They all knew of the Slaughtering Sirens. They were to keep this place safe and free of human interference with their lives. The merfolk stared at her. She tried to ignore the gazing of them, but it was making her nervous. Finally, they reached the pearl and gold gates. The guardsmen opened it up with ease and let them pass through without a word between them. Junic swam in front of her as they swam through the King's seagarden. The colors displayed were so bright it made her squint. Who knew the sun could shine so brightly down her at the bottom. They swam into the throne room where the King of the Seven Seas sat. He held his golden trident and nodded his approval of us entering. His grey beard flowed freely with the current. He stared at her with bright golden eyes. I bowed as well as Junic. "And what might the King have of me today?"

"Kaylah. You have served me well. How was last night's excursion?" He smiled. He was a gentle King amazingly enough, but there was a reason why he controlled the seven seas.

"Last night I brought down a fairly large ship, sir. I led them into the Rock Trappings." She remained bowed.

"Very good, very good, my dear." He smirked. "I hope tonight will go well too. Then you will be back to your regular schedule, yes?"

"Yes sir, but I was wondering something." She was going to do it; she was going to ask to quit. Kaylah didn't care what had happened in the past for merfolk. She wanted to live her life guilt free.

"Yes?" He cocked his head to the side.

"I want to resign from my position in the Slaughtering Sirens, sire." Junic looked at her in astonishment.

"Kaylah, Kaylah. You can't voluntarily resign from your job." He glared at her with fierce golden eyes. Uh oh. "You are very fortunate that I have granted you the honor of being one of my elite Slaughtering Sirens. You have a very important job." She gulped, trying to gather her thoughts and words to say without angering the King too much.

"I am very grateful you have assigned me, but sire-"

"But nothing. You are ordered to stay in the Slaughtering Sirens. If you are not inclined to stay, then I will have you thrown out of this kingdom." His glare didn't change. He was completely serious. What a tyrant! Why couldn't she do what she wanted to? Was she a slave? "That is an ultimatum my dear." Kaylah sighed.

"I will stay, my Lord." She said through gritted teeth. Asshole. She bowed half-heartedly and stormed out the throne room, Junic following her rapidly. "Go away Junic!" She yelled at him. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm spinning her to face him. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're doing this." His face was filled with worry.

"I don't know. I'm tired of the killing. I know now that it's for prevention, but….I don't care." Junic's face only showed a slight disappointment. His fins flexed a bit, in a nervous reaction. "Call me selfish, say what you will, but I don't want to do this anymore." Tears started to well up, but she held them back. "I need some air. Excuse me." Kaylah hurriedly headed to the surface, where the sun's light played along her skin. She swam to the nearest beach and flopped onto the sand. "Ugh! What an arrogant selfish blowfish!" She couldn't even come up with a worse name for the King. For a second, she wondered if she should just flee her city. That way she would never have to worry about crashing ships ever again. She swatted her fins on the sand and wondered what it would feel like to have legs. She could walk away from here and never hear from the stupid King ever again. What an intriguing thought, but a silly unrealistic thought at that. The familiar splashing of a boat was approaching the shoreline. "Oh crawfish!" She scurried back into the water, but watched as the humans docked. A familiar face jumped from the small craft. His auburn spiked hair and chiseled jaw line made her jaw drop. He was the man from her dream! Just as she was pondering and staring, someone pulled her back into the depths of the sea. The two guardsmen from the palace had grabbed her back to the castle. "What are you doing? Let me go!" She kicked and yelled, making a ruckus back into the palace. Merfolk in the marketplace gawked and stared at her as she threw her temper-tantrum. She was tossed in front of the King once again. "What is the meaning of this, Sire?" She said from the shelled floor.

"You are not leaving."

"You gave me an ultimatum. Didn't I have a choice?" She asked bewildered, her head still spinning at the sight of the man in her dreams becoming a reality.

"You are the best we have. Don't you see the importance of your voice for our community?" He tried to convince her. She wasn't going to give in so easily.

"I am not your puppet. I am not your tool to just be used for your own gain." She rose her voice at him.

"You leave me no choice." The guards took her by the arms and put her wrists in shell cuffs. "You will sing every night and be locked in you cove everyday. Food will be brought to you." He explained. "You have disappointed me, Kaylah."

"You are a tyrant."

"How else do you think I got to be King of the Sea?" He smirked like a shark that had just devoured its prey. She was then taken back to her cove in shell cuffs. They locked her door with an outside lock and barred her window.

"I can't believe this!" She flailed her arms around and flung herself onto her seabed.

"What's going on?" Rosco exclaimed as he poked his nose through the newly installed bars on the window.

"I tried to quit my job." She sighed and rubbed her fingertips on her temple, a headache now forming. "I'm a slave for the King now because I opposed him." Rosco sighed.

"I knew something bad would happen." He swam back and forth. "A dolphin can't be locked in such a small space."

"I'm sorry, Rosco." Kaylah apologized. She placed her chin in her hands and huffed. "This is ridiculous. He has a zillion other Sirens. Why does he want me so bad? I'm not that special am I? I'm hungry."

"There's some hermit crab in the cupboard. I caught it before they locked me in here with you, Miss Sour Shrimp."

"Well excuse me while I do slave labor. Argh!" Kaylah screamed at the top of her lungs, letting out most of the frustration she felt at that moment; although, she'd be feeling the same again very soon.

"No need to scream, starfish. I've bout had it with this insanity. We should try to escape." Kaylah shook her head in disapproval.

"There is no way we won't get caught. He'll have his Aqua Forces on our tails as soon as he finds out that we're gone. He is the freakin' King of the Sea for squid's sake!" She flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes tight. The picture of the spiky haired man flashed before her. She snapped her eyes open. "Gah! And now this too!" The Siren sat up again.

"What?" Rosco questioned.

"Oh, nothing. Just, nevermind." She sighed. Rosco was right; they needed to escape. She wasn't about to be forced to destroy ships every night, speaking of which it was getting to be night time. Kaylah went over to the cupboard and pulled out a couple of hermit crabs. She picked at them and stared out the barred window. A knock sounded at the door, a loud rapping and then the door swung open.

"Siren Kaylah you are to go to work now." One of the husky guards said emotionlessly as he put on the shell cuffs. They rubbed against her wrists in an annoying fashion. He took her by the arm and led her out the door. Rosco followed, but a second guard held him back. Kaylah looked back in grief as her partner was held back. He led her silently to the surface to a rock. The guard ordered her to climb the boulder. He shackled her to a bar that was placed there already so she couldn't escape. How convenient. "I will be back in the morning."

"What if some human sees me?" Kaylah asked with concern in her eyes.

"Kill them, then." He stated and dove back into the water below.

"Kill them? Kill them he says. He says it so simply." She began to weep. She couldn't wipe the tears away because her hands were chained behind her back. "Hopeless, my whole life is hopeless." The ever familiar splashing came into earshot and she looked towards the sound. A small yacht came into view. "Well, better get this over with." She outstretched herself as far as she could and began to sing. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the song. The sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it. It got worse and she opened her eyes. Three men were at the side of the boat watching her. And there he was staring at her. The man in her dreams, it was him.