Chapter Three: Songs and Games

I tossed the clamshell.  It landed lightly next to Siren's.  Siren is a distant cousin form the river school and is very pretty.  She smiled at me, flashing her perfect teeth.
"Good job, Lena."  Lena was her pet name for me.  I am the youngest out of all the tribes so sometimes I get made fun of.  I smirked and slapped my tail against the water.
"Sisters and fellow school members," Sally was speaking.  We stopped our activities and looked at her.   "We must find humans, if they will not come to us, we will go to them!'
Many of my sisters cheered.  I felt a sudden anger.  "How can you say that after what happened a few days ago?  Do you not remember?  Are you so heartless?"  I felt tears streaming down my face.  I was just adding more salt to the seas.
"We remember but we must move on Lena," Dorothy said softly, trying to comfort me.  I slapped her hand away from me and spun towards everyone else.
"We lost a sister because of humans!  How many more must we lose for you fish to realize that we are mortal and that will never change?"  Many shifted uncomfortably under my steady gaze.
"Let us stop this fighting and sing.  We will sing for the loss of our sister and for immortality!"  I was not sure who said it but I slumped in defeat.  I knew nothing I said would turn them now.  I climbed onto the rock and started to sing.
My voice was depressed and barely rose above the others.  I looked at the sun setting and imagined Apollo riding across the skies.  The last fading rays drifted away with our song.  Everyone stopped and looked at each other.
"The dolphins are coming." Spray said softly.  Spray was Siren's older sister.  We watched as they swam up.
<Four ships.>  I heard everyone gasp.
"Four?" I asked, I wanted to be sure.
<Yes.  I believe there may be a war going on.>  My sisters were immediately at attention.
"That means there is enough men for us all!  Lena!  Where are you going?"  Hilde yelled.  I turned in the water.
"Back to Mother!  I want to find out if there really is a war going on!"  I dove beneath the water.  I was rewarded with the sounds of my sisters sliding into the water after me.
"Lena?  Why did you call us fish?"  Spray stared at me.  I was silent.
"We pride ourselves in needing to come to the surface to breathe like whales.  We think that that makes us better than other sea creatures because we can think for ourselves and we can fell sorrow and love and other human like emotions."  We spun around each other.  I felt truly at ease swimming back to Mother's with them.
The dolphins shot along next us, skimming the surface.  I entered Mother's grove.  The sudden silence hurt my ears.
"Mother?"  She came swimming out.
"Why did you all come back?"
"We saw four ships when we got back to Siren rock."  Dorothy said softly.  Mother nodded and made a gesture.  At least forty nymphs suddenly appeared.
"Hello mermaids.  You are correct.  There is a war going on.  Our sister, Randilyn, married a god.  You were there.  She caught him with an another woman.  Zeus sentenced him to be imprisoned in the center of the world for all eternity.  Many humans are angered because this god has taken away the gift of fire.  They are going to war with Zeus."
I was silent.  Zeus was the most powerful god and humans dare go against him?
This was going to be very bad.