Chapter 82

Chapter 82
Persephone’s POV

I stared at the oyster in shock with my mouth hanging open but the oyster could only sense Rudd’s presence, As I could understand that the oyster was able to understand only the aura of the sea-horses and there was no such vision in its gaze because it didn’t have eyes as such. It was an enormous oyster with strange etchings on the shell.
It almost felt like this wasn’t something normal at all and this thing had been created with magic and sacrifice to make it like this. But why would anybody even want to change something in such a grotesque manner?
“I have come to just pay you a visit, Marla,” said Rudd in a gentle voice as it looked at me with meaning. I had already been ready with the ruby the size of my fist in my hand. Rudd had told me that I needed to be extremely careful while replacing the blood pearl because it was extremely difficult to stun oysters and that is the reason that I needed to sing.
“I am not a siren,” I had complained as Rudd had explained to me what I needed to do but he had said that I needed to do what was necessary or else I would not be able to coax out the pearl. Worst part was, there were so many things that people did not know about these ancient magics, and the only reason sirens knew about the blood pearl was because it was only for their song that the oyster would open and reach the mid depths of the sea where the sea horses lived and thrived.
But if that was the case then Nyra would have told me about the blood pearl but she didn’t. Again, she didn’t think that this might be the solution to the problem that I had since she had always been there to put out the fire that I had burnt.
There were so many anomalies that had been happening in my life from the very beginning and yet I had not taken a look at any of them ever thinking about them of consequence.
“Pay me a visit?” asked Marla…the oyster, the blood pearl oyster was named Marla. Yes, I know what you are thinking! And yes, it might sound insane but that is what is happening right now and I am in the middle of this insanity in the depths of the ocean.
“Yes, pay you a visit. After all, it is my duty to consider the health and well-being of all the creatures of our depths until I have my own brood to care for,” said Rudd and I almost sniggered but then fell silent. I was here to observe and to sing and not be an idiot.
“The only purpose you would serve is bring me a fresh sacrifice, you dolt!” snarled Marla as my eyes widened. It was a female creature talking, I mean the voice was definitely feminine now I didn’t know if oysters could have gender of stuff.
“Fresh sacrifice will be only required when you will have given up your treasure, don’t you think? Calling me names is not going change your situation,” said Rudd without even getting angry for the slightest bit.
“Why will I give up my pearl? That is my baby you are talking about…I am going to protect it,” said Marla, now closing her lid even more and sounding defensive.
“Every pearl you create has a purpose of existence, Marla. You knew this when you made the deal. You knew that you had to make more than a thousand sacrifices created by you to reverse what you have done. This is your penance, Marla, you chose it in the first place because you wanted to make the world a better and safer place than what you had done. So don’t make this any harder for yourself than it already is,” said Rudd. This time, his tone sounded like he was scolding a spoiled child.
Marla was silent for a spell and then she said in a low whisper,” I don’t even remember how many of them are gone...”
Dear lord! This was another fucking horror story!
There was definitely another huge story in this context but I did not have the time to listen to that. So I looked at Rudd and asked if I should start singing. He nodded.
So I knelt down in the cave over the barnacles and the moss and all the other stuff that I did not need to know about and closed my eyes and started keening.
There was a reason that the songs of sirens were called keening but I would not tell that now.
I sang of the song that I had first sang with Nyra and her family by the edge of the water when her great grandmother had passed away and her body was returned back to the ocean. It was a beautiful ceremony and experience.
I sang of the lone woman who had lost her way far away from her home. I sang of that same woman who found that the seas are much kinder than the lands. I sang of the first siren who had chose the sea and given up her life just to be one with the ocean and in return the ocean had gifted her with a voice so beautiful that ships and men forgot their way in their want of her kiss. I sang of the first siren who chose to be a monster just to be alive in the ocean where no rules bound her.
And when I finished the song, the oyster was huffing.
The lids of the oyster were wide open and the blood pearl was nestled in the middle and it was not small at all. It was the size of my fist and there was a red aura that was almost beckoning me. I looked at Rudd but I found that he was in a daze and so was Marla and I knew that before they could understand what was happening I needed to take the chance.
But I knew that I could touch Marla or else I would be trapped. Because this was definitely a trap and she was a fucking venus fly trap of the ocean.
So I took up a barnacle and scraped the pearl up and dropped the barnacle inside as soon as I could and before Marla could pull Rudd in I snatched him out of the way with lightning speed.
I would not sacrifice someone who had helped me so much….never..