Running Hot

FORTY-NINE

La Sirène looked down at the cauldron of crashing surf far below. A swath of cold moonlight stroked the scene; the perfect spotlight for her final performance. The cliffs were not the ramparts of the Castel Sant’Angelo that Tosca used after discovering that her lover had been shot by the firing squad, but they would do.

It was over. The Renquist woman had proved too much for the Voice. Her power was almost gone now, and she knew it would never recover. La Sirène was doomed. Better by far to depart the stage tonight. Tomorrow the critics would make her famous once again as they rhapsodized about her Queen of the Night and simultaneously mourned the loss of her incredible talent. Her death would make headlines.

She spread her arms wide and sang her own death song as she flung herself over the castle wall.

Really, she had always been so much better than Callas. She was La Sirène.