The Siren of New Orleans Ch. 02

Yeah, right.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Diana scooped up her phone from the floor. The screen lit up immediately. Six texts from Rain. Last one forty-five minutes ago.

"Shit, I need to go for real."

"Whatever you say, handsome." Sabrina blew out a cloud of smoke. "You know where to find me."

**********************

Diana sat down in the corner of the coffee shop, a single cup of black coffee on the table in front of her. She didn't have to wait long for Rain to show up wearing a light white floral pattern summer dress that matched her high topped bright blue rain boots. She spotted Diana, waved, and went to the counter to buy a coffee before coming over.

"Hey!" She dropped her bag by a chair and sat down. "Sorry I'm a little late."

"It's 5:03, you're good." Diana smirked. There was something precious about Rain that she liked. New Orleans was a pretty chill place most of the time, and most people were fairly friendly, but Rain had always felt especially approachable, which was exactly why Diana had studiously avoided her until recently.

Diana leaned over her coffee, the heavy soles of her boots tapping underneath the table. "So, details. What the hell was that party?"

"Oh, yeah." Rain blushed hesitantly and rubbed her hands over the warm coffee cup. "So, like, before we really dive into this I have to ask if you really want to know this stuff. Most people go through their lives never really knowing about fae, and knowing about them can be really dangerous. There's still time to just back out and pretend this never happened"

Not an option.

"I'm sure, kid. Give me your best shot."

"Well, so, remember how I said that there are all sorts of story book creatures? Well, there's lots of names for them, but most people just call them fae. Last night was the big party here in the city, only the biggest names and most important people get in invite."

"So, you're pretty important, huh?" Diana smiled at Rain.

"No!" Rain answered a little too loudly before lowering her voice. "No, I'm just human. Well, a witch. Witches and Warlocks are just humans who know how to do magic, so only a few of them get invites. I was there with a friend, she's the one who really knows people."

"Your friend, huh?" Diana leaned back against the seat, putting her arm up over the rest. "You two looked like more than friends."

"Heh." Rain bit her lip and looked down at the coffee before taking a really long drink. "She's just a friend, and if we could skip over the insanely embarrassing parts involving me in this story, I would be super appreciative."

"Sure." Diana shrugged, although teasing the girl was making her smile. Somehow, it also relieved Diana to know that Rain wasn't seeing anyone. "So, why did everyone just suddenly disappear? I was there one second, an entire room of people dancing, drinking, and fucking, and the next the whole place was completely empty."

"Oh, really? Everyone just, disappeared on you?" Rain looked puzzled.

"Yeah."

"You must..." Her eyes widened, "Maybe that's what all the commotion was about. See, humans generally can't see magical creatures without using magic or unless fae want to be seen. A long time ago people could see fae, but something happened a few hundred years ago that changed everything. You really shouldn't have been able to see anyone at all. How did you get there in the first place?"

"Someone sent in a noise complaint to dispatch, so I headed out there. It was quiet when I got there, but the second I opened the door, the whole place lit up."

"Hmm." Rain tapped her fingers against the coffee cup, her eyebrows knitted together in thought. Diana couldn't stop looking at the girl's nails. Just how pretty they were, how well kept, how smooth and clean and colorful. Diana looked up to see Rain's eyes light up with another sparkle, although it soon faded to concern.

"Diana, I think you're lucky to be alive right now."

"Lucky to be alive? How do you figure that?"

"Look, they aren't supposed to be doing this anymore, but the fae who host the party, well, they aren't ordinary fae. They're old, like, really old, and they're incredibly powerful and influential in the underworld."

"Okay? And?"

Rain dug out the laptop from her back and booted it up. A few seconds later she was typing and searching for something. Diana was too distracted by the way the girl bit the corner of her lip when she was focused. She had never looked at Rain this way before, not really. Getting involved with neighbors was a big no-no for Diana, a mistake that she made once a few years ago and which she didn't intend on repeating. Granted, she was in the middle of making one of those mistakes with Sabrina right now, and she knew it was going to bite her in the ass eventually.

"So, have you ever heard of the Sirens?"

"What, like the singers?"

"No. Well, kind of, but not really." Rain turned the screen around to show a picture of a collection of old Greek pots, each one bearing a black and orange depiction of beautiful women with wings and talons for legs.

"Bird people?"

"Ugh. Just listen? Sirens are these ancient creatures that have been around since ancient Greece. You know, Homer's Odyssey? Troy? Alexander the Great?"

"Okay." Diana nodded without understanding. "To be straight with you, I didn't exactly do a deep dive in ancient history while I was studying Criminal Justice."

"Alright, fair." She spun the laptop back around, "Well, Sirens, nymphs, are these fae who feed off the souls and energies of humans. In the Odyssey Homer described them as beautiful monsters who would lead sailors to their death by singing these beautiful songs and distracting the sailors for long enough that they crashed against rocks hidden in the water. Then, the Sirens would scoop down and kill them."

"Youch. Sounds rough."

"Yeah, they didn't exactly give fae a good name."

"Well, I didn't see any bird-women last night, so what's your point?"

"Sirens have the ability to shapeshift, they can change how they look to fit their needs. Back then, all the easy pickings were sailors, so having wings and claws was an advantage to getting what they wanted. But as time went on, they changed so that they could keep doing their thing."

"So you're saying that I was lured by these things to the mansion so that they could suck out my soul or whatever?"

"Technically your life force, but yeah, probably."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah. Honestly, I'm not sure how you're alive but it must have something to do with whatever it was that broke up the party."

"What happened?"

"Well." Rain cleared her throat. "Apparently, the hosts got into a really bad fight at some point. I don't know over what, but people were saying that it was bad."

Diana thought of the blonde in the emerald dress, and her smile. Lexa.

"Were the hosts Ruby and Lexa?"

"Yeah. Wait, how did you know that?" Rain looked surprised.

"Let's just say we bumped into each other. Were there more?" Diana leaned forward and covered her coffee with both hands.

"There's three, the third is Parthenia. There used to be a lot more Sirens, but I think most of them were killed over the years. Sirens don't reproduce, so since whatever it was that made them stopped making them and their numbers have dwindled. The Sirens here are some of the last known alive, and their leader is mega-important in the underworld."

"Ruby." Diana's foot began bouncing faster under the table.

"Umm, how do you know her name again?"

"Like I said, we bumped into one another." Not exactly a lie.

"God you're so lucky and you don't even know it." Rain buried her face in her hands. "They were going to kill you! Draining a human's energy isn't like donating blood for Sirens. Once they start they don't stop until you're dead or they stop themselves, and trust me, Sirens don't stop."

"You know, this is starting to sound an awful lot like vampires. Are you sure there are no vampires?"

"I'm sure. All that vampire stuff is just a fairy tale. Literally."

"Just saying. Sounds like vampires. Can they turn into bats?"

"There are some pretty big differences between Sirens and Vampires." Rain shook her head. "Alright, well, anyway, point is that Ruby, Lexa, and Parthenia, got into a massive argument. Looks like I know what they were arguing about now."

"What's that."

"You!" Rain rolled her eyes. "Look, they called you there because they were going to kill you and drain your energy. The fact that you got away wasn't a mistake, Sirens..." She paused, realization dawning on her face before she leaned forward to whisper.

"Did you have sex with one of them?"

Diana shrugged.

"Holy shi-!" Rain covered her mouth, "Is there anyone in this city you haven't had sex with?"

"I don't really see how that's your business, Witch." Diana replied smugly.

"Fine." Rain waved it away, "You should be dead. Like, dead-dead."

"Dead-dead?"

"Yeah, dead-dead."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that whichever one you were doing it with was obviously draining you of energy, but before the others could swoop in to join in on the feast and drain you dry, you were kicked out of the entire thing! Something, or someone, saved your life."

Was it Ruby? Was it someone else?

"Huh." Diana nodded thoughtfully as she processed everything. "Well, how about we find out?

"What?" Rain blinked in disbelief. "Did you not hear anything of what I just said. You should be dead, you barely escaped with your life, a siren tried to drain you of your life force, and you want to find out why you barely managed to escape with your life?"

"Yeah. You're a great listener." Diana grinned. "Look, I'm a cop. If these Sirens tried to kill me then this is personal, and if they're luring people to their deaths then someone has to put a stop to it. If they didn't drain me then I'm guessing that means they're hungry or whatever and are going to try and do this again soon. Difference is, the next poor girl they lure in probably won't be so lucky."

Rain closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. After a minute she let out a loud exhale. "You're right."

"So, this magical underworld have some version of a police force to keep things straight?"

"Yeah, something like that, but look, I have class in half an hour and if I don't get going now, I'm going to be late. I'll do some research on how to find the Sirens, and I'll talk to my friend about this."

"Your friend from the party?" Diana drained her coffee with a smile.

Rain blushed. "Yeah, her name is Nikki."

"Whatever." Diana held out her phone to Rain, "Mind putting your number in? We're not done talking about this."

Rain smiled and took the phone. "Sure."

When she was done typing in her number Rain handed the phone back to Diana. "Talk to you soon." She lingered for a moment before picking up her bag and walking out of the coffee shop with a wave.

Diana waited for Rain to round the corner before leaving the shop and heading to her motorcycle, a warm peace settling over her.