My Immortal Playlist (The Siren Collection #1) (21 page)

We had to be separated in school, but part of me didn’
t mind. It might have been the last time I could see Margaret and the others. I was sure Pamela wouldn’t attack us all on school grounds with so many witnesses, but to make sure, I brought Elliot along as my zombie backpack, which got just many gags as it did praise.

The classes flew by and I barely paid attention
, though Elliot made it a habit to stab me in the elbow with a pencil, whispering about how I was supposed to act normal. Hours passed. Time moved forward at a crawl and lunchtime arrived before I realized it. It was the only time of the day that I felt I belonged to something greater than myself, even if all it consisted of was prom planning and decoration selections.

I couldn’t help
, but smile once my friends’ familiar table came into view. A smile that turned into a wide grin once I saw their noses begin to wrinkle.

“Ew,” Margaret said to me as I sat down, staring at the decaying corpse on my back. “I thought you took that thing behind the house and shot it.”

“I did,” I stuck my tongue out at her. “It just wouldn’t die.”

“Ha. Ha,” she said, her body shuddering. Crystal and Theresa were pinching their noses
, but Justin shot up to attention and immediately extended a hand out to my backpack.

Hey, man, nice to meet
you,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“My backpack is not alive,” I laughed at him.

“Well, yeah I get that,” he said, grabbing Elliot’s hand and forcing him to shake it. I was sure Elliot was doing everything in his power not to bite it. I never did ask if their bites could turn others into zombies or not…

“Anyways,” I said, taking off my backpack and violently throwing it to the ground. “
How’s everyone doing today?”

“More importantly,” Theresa sighed, releasing her nose. “Where’s that man of yours?”

“I couldn’t have said it any better,” I scowled at her. “That man of
mine.
”

“Oh calm down, it’s not like we’re having a competition.”

“That’s right,” I said. “We’re not. But if you must know, he’s not at school today. He’s out sick.” The truth was that since he had been freed, he wanted a little time to himself, and I didn’t blame him. Finally he could make his own decisions and think about where he wanted to take his life next.

“Got sick of you already?”

“Theresa,” I said calmly. “I really want to enjoy some time with my friends today, and that includes you. But if you’re don’t stop acting jelly, I’m going to rip the extensions out of your hair and then punch you straight in the face.”

“Wow,” she said with a chuckle. “Guess the gang life is starting to rub off on you.” She sat back
and took out a mirror from her purse. From the way she checked it and didn’t continue the conversation, I knew I had won the battle.

“Excited about our girls’ night this weekend?” Margaret asked me and I quickly looked to the others. Crystal leaned forward and smiled.

“I know I am,” she said. “I’m already asked my mom and dad for spending money.”

“And they gave it to you?” Margaret asked in shock.

“Yep.”

“Then this really is something to celebrate!” she giggled, clapping her hands together.

“What are we celebrating?” I asked and I heard Theresa smack her lips together as she applied a liberal amount of red lipstick.

“All of us going out, outside of school that is.”

“I don’t want to go,” Justin muttered from my side, staring down at Elliot.

“You have to come. It’s not complete without you!” Margaret nearly shrieked, stomping her foot under the table. “I’m coming to pick you up whether you like it or not.”

“I might not be around.”

“Oh, you’ll be around.”

“No, I might physically, but…” he paused and leaned behind me to flash Margaret a smile. “Not mentally…you know? You know what I mean?”

“You’re impossible,” she huffed and turned back to us.

“Anyways,” I said, smiling at them all. “I am excited. We’re not going to be at this school much longer. Next year is the last, and then we’ll all be thinking of where to apply to college and traveling. All that stuff. I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately, and…I guess it’s not until you realize what you’re going to lose that you appreciate it more. I don’t want to take you guys for granted.”

“We’re just glad to have you here,”
Margaret said, giving me a hug.

“You don’t speak for all of us,” Th
eresa sighed, rolling her eyes.

I took a deep breath,
then I jumped up from the seat and grabbed the biggest clump of hair I could manage. Without a moment’s hesitation, I pulled her close, ignored her screaming and clawing, and punched her as hard as I could square in the nose.

*              *              *

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, but I could still feel Elliot’s burning eyes. I sighed and looked over at him directly. We were both sitting at a small table in the library and we were both painfully alone. I didn’t count the detention chaperone who was constantly walking in and out of the place. It was obvious he didn’t want to be there, and the only time he actually did his job was when he would stick his head into the library for a few seconds. Afterwards, he would disappear for another ten minutes.

“You’re lucky you
just got detention,” Elliot snarled at me.

“If Theresa hadn’t said she was the one who started it all, I would have
,” I sighed, resting my face onto my hands.

“Why isn’t she
here then?”

“Because she has to go to the hospital,” I winced. “I might have broken her nose.”

“You’re more trouble than you’re worth.”

“I know,” I groaned. “But the worst part of it is, we’re going to be late if we don’t ditch this place.
Lucas and Noah are going to start wondering where we are.”

“If we leave,” Elliot sighed. “The school is going to come after you. They know you don’t have a guardian. They’ll come to your house and investigate, proba
bly with the police behind them.”

“Not that it will matter if we all die today.”

“Let’s act as if that’s not going to happen,” he said, craning his neck back to look at the door. “It’s your call.”

“What? No sage advice?”

“I’m at a loss of words,” Elliot admitted. “Both outcomes are bad and must be dealt with. Should you stay until the required time, there will be no investigation, but there is no telling what Noah and Lucas will do, especially since your phone has been taken. They might think we were hit with a preemptive strike and go to investigate Pamela’s house alone. In which case, we are to the utmost…screwed.”

“We’ll deal with the school later,” I said, grabbing his arm and throwing him on my back. A
s I began snapping the straps of his harness in place, I kept my eyes on the door, knowing that my chaperone could suddenly have change a heart and suddenly decide to perform his job. But no one came. Still, I wasn’t out of danger yet.

I kept my head low as I ducked out the library, sprinting towards the closest exit with tip toes. Teachers had the uncanny ability to know when a student was dodging punishment so even with my extra caution, I was sure their ears were already perking up. I had to be quick.

Opening the ridiculously loud push-doors, I ran out at full speed, heading to my car like my hair was on fire. I knew the cameras around the building would surely pick up on me, but I had to get home fast.

I nearly dropped my keys as I fidgeted to unlock i
t. Only after a few seconds did I remember it didn’t lock anyways. I grunted and slammed open the door, turned on the car and began speeding away, my door slamming shut from the wind.

“If I wasn’t a zombie, this would hurt,” Elliot muttered from behind me and I gasped.

“Elliot! I’m so sorry!”

“I’ve been in worse,” he muttered into my shoulder. “I’m thankful you’ve started cutting down on the carbs though.”

I laughed and arched my back forward so I wouldn’t squish him. Driving like I was in the Grand Prix, I made it home in record time, even performing a final drift onto the dead lawn. I practically leapt from the still running car and burst through the door. Lucas and Noah were waiting anxiously in the foyer, and once they saw me, relief flooded their faces.

“We were beginning to think Pamela had you,” Noah said, but I put a finger to both of their lips.

“Shush! We have to go now! The school and possibly the police might be after me!”

“What did you do now?” Noah groaned, shoving my finger away.

“It’s not like this is an everyday thing!” I shouted at him.

“What happened?” Lucas asked with my finger still on his lips. I took it away and started looking behind them.

“Are we ready to go?” I asked, ignoring his question. “Do we have weapons?”

“Kitchen knives,” Noah said. “But it’s better than nothing.”

“What happened?” Lucas asked again. I walked behind them and then began pushing them out the door.

“I punched Theresa in the face. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Why would you do something like that?” he half-chuckled as we all exited the house.

“She was being annoying.”

“Yeah, she’s like that sometimes,” he said, getting into the passenger seat of my car. I unbuckled Elliot from the harness and placed him in the backseat lying face down.

“I’ll meet you guys there,” Noah said. I nodded, and he disappeared. I jumped in the car and
immediately sped off towards Pamela’s house, wiping the sweat from my brow and throwing the hair from my eyes.

“Listen, Elliot,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road. “Are you sure you don’t want me to bind you? Just until this is over? Pamela could easily take you from us.”

“No, thank you,” he replied from the back. “I’m going to hold onto my clarity. Besides, even if I’m taken from you, I’ll hardly be a threat.”

“And you Lucas?” I asked, glancing at him. “You’re going to be taking a big risk without the enchantment.”

“I feel the same as Elliot,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “This is all going to work out in our favor. Don’t worry.” I sighed as my hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. I didn’t know if I could go through with it. I thought about swerving off the road and turning around to go in the other direction. Elliot was in the back so he was practically immobile while the car was still moving. Lucas wouldn’t put me in danger by grabbing the wheel. Noah would realize something was wrong and easily run away before Pamela attacked. Besides, he was still enchanted so she couldn’t bind him to her.

I could run away and take them all with me, and I would get away with it too.

But then I thought of Henry. And how he had sacrificed everything for me.

I couldn’t do it to him. The old Alexandra…yeah, she would have left him. It might have been sad and heartbreaking, and she would have cried for him at night, but she would have still left.

But not me. I was a new kind of Siren and a different kind of girl.

“If anyone has any doubts about this,
better say them now,” I said, when we were only a block away from the turnoff onto Pamela’s street.

“None,” Lucas said, facing forward. “Let’s end this.”

“Agreed,” Elliot called out from the back seat.

We pulled up to Pamela’s house and
immediately I knew it wasn’t going to be an average visit. There was a white picket fence as high as a tree around the perimeter of the backyard, but even more disturbing – Pamela was standing outside waiting for us, and there was a gigantic man by her side.

He was over six feet tall easy
, and his muscles were so large that I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shirt that could properly cover him. A curtain maybe. Either way, he was shirtless. Six pack abs, biceps the size of my head and legs that were like tree stumps - he was a giant. And the way he was glaring at us, I was sure he wasn’t just an ordinary servant of Pamela.

“Welcome,” she said as we stepped out the car. I left Elliot inside.

“Who’s that?” I laughed nervously, pointing at the bodybuilder.

“This is Leroy,” P
amela chuckled, patting one of his massive shoulders. “He’s here for extra security.”

“Are you sure he’s not a lumberjack? Here
to knock down that fence back there?”

“The fence is a necessary inclusion,” she replied. “So we can do as we like without being interrupted. “Please, come inside.”

Lucas and I followed them in as she craned her neck back. “Where’s Elliot?”

“Gone,” I said quickly. “After I freed him, he left.” Even if s
he got a ton of information out of Henry, there was no way he could have known if that was true or not.

“As expected,” she said, “and
speaking of beaus that left.” She waved her hand towards the living room, and my eyes followed in anticipation. He was sitting at the edge of the couch like he had been waiting for us to arrive all day. The moment he saw me, he rose to his feet slowly, and I lost myself.

I cast caution aside and ran to him, leaping into his arms and nuzzling my face into his neck to tight that I swore I took his breath away. I knew it was impossible, but I never realized how much I would miss Henry until that moment. He laughed as my tears stained his shirt and he
nudged me back just enough to take a look at me.

“Hey, Alexandra,” he said, and I lost it all over again. It wasn’t until I heard Pamela snicker behind me that I let go. Leroy was leaning up against the
wall with his arms crossed, taking in the scene.

“How cute,” Pamela said as she took a seat on the couch. Leroy stayed where he was. Lucas rushed to my side and stepped between me and Henry and I gave him a wary glance.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, but he kept his gaze on Henry.

“He’s under Pamela’s control,” he said. “He could attack you at any
time, whether he wants to or not.”

“I would never hurt her,” Henry spat at him. “No matter how strong an enchantment is.”

“Yeah, right,” Lucas said. “You have no control over yourself, idiot.”

“Says you. Maybe your will was just too weak.”

“Boys, boys,” Pamela laughed. “That’s enough. We still have so much to discuss.” Lucas grabbed my arm.

“We’ll stand by the door,” Lucas sa
id, but the bodybuilder cut us off, launching himself from off the wall and taking a post by the entrance. With no other option, Lucas grabbed my arm and had me step with him by the door in the living room. The one that led out to the backyard.

“Why are you so afraid?” Pamela said, grabbing a cigarette and lighter from the table. “There’s no need to fe
ar if you’re planning on aligning with me, right? Henry, come sit down next to me.”

Henry obeyed, his eyes fixed upon me
the entire time.

“I know full well,” Pamela said, pausing to light her
cigarette and taking a puff, “that the odds of you joining me are slim. But I was hoping to persuade you one last time before you made a final decision. You’re still young, so I know how brash and reckless your age group can be, but I want you to really try listening to reason.”

“You could never be equals with us,” Lucas snapped at her. “I know how you are.”

“My dear, dear Lucas,” she sighed. “I’m talking to the Siren, not a
man
. Be a good subordinate and shut up.”

“I’m not your slave any longer.”

“That’s right, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes lighting up. She took a sniff in his direction. “Apparently you’re no one’s slave as of this moment. How interesting…tell me, Alexandra, how does that work? You enjoying being a servant to this man?”

“It’s not like that,” I said.

“That’s how it always ends. Though he has earned nothing. Though there is no reason to warrant such gratitude and subservient behavior, he demands excellence and service as if he is a king. A king of one. A king of no one but you.”

“He’s not like that at all,” I said to her again, but she just laughed.

“Give it time,” she said. “Wait until you’re bound to him through marriage. Then it will come.”

“It won’t end like that,” I said, and she raised her eyebrows in false surprise.

“Well, that’s true,” she said. “After all, Lucas will be mine again if this doesn’t go as you planned. And this…won’t go planned. I will explain.” She pointed a thumb at Henry. “Your friend here…he may have had an excellent plan in place before he came here, and I half-believed him when he talked about how bad he wanted to hurt you for ripping his heart out, but you can’t really fake true love.” She paused to take another puff. “And he either forgot, or wasn’t aware of one important piece of information – being freed from your grip, he was now ‘available’ to any other Siren that he crossed paths with. I took him instantly, and ordered him to tell me everything about what you were planning, what he was planning, and what it would take for you to join me.”

“And what did he say?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“Like my slaves, you too, must be broken. And that is what waits for you if you refuse my offer. I will first butcher every one of your friends, even those that supposedly ran away. We’ll find them. I will then have Leroy take you, and you will be placed in seclusion for an undetermined amount of time. You will lose your mind, and once I am certain that you will follow my commands, then, I will train you and raise you into the Siren you were meant to be.”

“That could be a very long time,” I said to her, but she shrugged one shoulder.

“Perhaps you will see the light eventually. I’ll tell you right now though, even if Lucas knows a Siren song or two, it won’t work. And even if I did lose my mind and you were attempting a surprise attack, it wouldn’t work. Look at Leroy.”

I did.

“Do you know what he is?”

“No.”

“He’s a hybrid. One of my finest pieces of work. A splice of two songs. He is half-vampire, and half-zombie.”

“What?!” I shot my head at her in disbelief. “That’s ridiculous.”

“But so deliciously deadly. I mean look at him. Really look at him. He wants to eat you so bad.” I looked at him, and I could see it in his eyes. He was a big man so I thought it was his muscles rippling, but once I looked closer, I realized that he was shaking involuntarily. And his eyes were so intense that I was sure that if it wasn’t for Pamela’s orders, he would have ripped me apart. I had seen those eyes before…

“You gave him the zombie appetite, and a vampire’s strength,” I said to her, and she nodded slyly.

“Once I let him go, there is no reasoning with him. There is no begging. He will not pause. He will not stop. Even when he is full, he will gorge himself. And that is just one of the types of monsters you will face in my collection. Even if you kill me, there will be nothing left to hold him, or any of my other creations back. One way or another, the apocalypse will come.”

“I could bind him,” I said nervously.

“But he’s still just one man,” she explained. “And there’s so many others.” I looked back at Leroy, and then her.

“I’m not going to join you,” I said with a heavy heart. “I can’t.”

“Choosing the hard way?” she laughed. “Even after all I’ve just told you? Fine. Let’s go to the backyard. I don’t want to mess up the living room.”

Before I could take a step towards Pamela, unsure what I was about to do, my face ran into Leroy’s wall of a chest. My face bounced off it
, and while I was still in a daze, he reached out, grabbed me and Lucas by the shirt and lifted us off the ground.

“Henry, help him with the door,” Pamela said, rising from the couch. Henry ducked under our kicking legs and opened the
door, leading out into the yard. Before Leroy threw us onto the grass, I gave him one last kick to the ribs, but he barely registered my presence.

He chucked u
s out the house and we went rolling into the grass. Lucas rose to his feet first and studied our surroundings, but there was nowhere to go. The fence was so high, and the backyard was so bare that it really was just us and our enemies.

Pamela stepped forward, between Henry and Leroy and sighed. She threw her cigarette to the grass and crushed it out.

“The breaking ceremony will commence,” she shouted to us as I rose to my feet. Lucas pulled out his steak knife from his back and I did the same, but I knew it wouldn’t do much.

“Alex?” Lucas said to me with knife poised.

“Yes?” I sighed as a smile came over Leroy’s face.

“I love you,” he said, and then he ran forward. I didn’t know what to do. I knew he was immortal, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be hurt. And without choosing a final form, I was in even worse shape. Unlike most of the people out there, I could be killed…

Lucas was still sprinting forward when Pamela whispered inaudibly. The bodybuilder disappeared, and in the next instance, he shimmered into view right behind Lucas. He reached out and practically crushed his shoulder, squeezing so tight that Lucas cried out and dropped the knife in his hand. He quickly grabbed the hilt with his other hand and tried reaching back to stab his assailant, but Leroy snatched it from him and crushed the blade in his bare hand.

Lucas tried punching the monster but if there was any effect, there sure wasn’t any evidence. The bodybuilder punched Lucas in the stomach once and left him there, watching him in disgust as he slowly crumpled to the grass, coughing and clutching his abdomen tight.

“That was quick,” Pamela shouted and I glared at her. Henry was still by her side, but Leroy was a good distance away. Now was a good a time as any.

“Noah!” I shouted, and I saw Pamela smile. I didn’t expect that.

Noah burst through the side of the fence like the Kool-Aid man and nearly thrust a blade through Pamela’s heart when Leroy once again, managed to grab the blade in the nick of time. He gave Noah a smile and crushed the knife in his palm, and then he back handed Noah away from Pamela.

Noah somersaulted and landed on feet,
but I could tell he was shaken from the interruption. How was Leroy faster than him? And so strong?

Lero
y left Pamela’s side and met Noah in battle. I could barely watch as they engaged in a flurry of fists, punching one another back and forth, knowing one would fall eventually. It was a horrible game, and I knew Noah would lose in the end. He wasn’t a fighter, so throwing his fists around was all he could do, and Leroy was glad to engage in that kind of battle. He was definitely the strongest between them, and it was only a matter of time until his opponent was whittled down.

Lucas was still recovering from his wound so I decided to attack. I came
at Pamela straight on, and I expected Henry to get in the way, but to my surprise, it was Pamela herself who met me. She dodged my thrust, grabbed my wrist and bent it back. I cried out from the sharp pain and let go of the knife. She then punched me once in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me, and put me into a headlock before I could blink.

“Silly girl,” she whispered into my ear as I tried taking her arms away from my throat. “You really think I’m defenseless? That a high schooler is just going to run over and fight a woman like me? What did you think was going to happen?”

“Stop,” I found myself pleading, but she tightened her grip on my throat.

“
I’m not going to kill you,” she said through grit teeth. “But I am going to make you suffer. I’ll bind your little boyfriend and have him hurt himself, and then we’ll see how much fire you have left when he’s done.”

She pointed at Lucas with her free hand and began reciting a chant, reaching out to bind the man I had only freed last night. As I fought against her g
rip, it felt like she was getting stronger, and the chant was gaining speed as it neared its end. Just as she was about to utter the final word, she suddenly cried out sharply in pain, letting me go and immediately punching at the source.

Elliot had his mouth clamped firmly around her right ankle.

“Noooo,” she screamed as she tried to rip him off but he held on tight. He wrapped his arms around her legs as I reached down in the grass, grabbed the knife I dropped earlier and put it to her throat.

“You’re going to do what I say now!” I shouted.

“You kill me, Leroy goes on a rampage,” she said, but I pressed the blade against her even tighter, the edge causing a sliver of blood to seep out.