Starving for Love by Nicole Zoltack Read Free Book Online Page A

heartbeat. Someone was nearby.
    His stomach rumbled.
    He was hungry.
    Always hungry.
    After forcing his legs to cooperate, he lumbered to his feet and walked toward the sound of the living. Screams filled his ears. The chorus almost sounded like singing to him now.
    His arms outstretched so he could grab her, he ran toward her. His legs didn't cooperate the best, but she ran with such reckless haste she fell down.
    He was on top of her and began to enjoy his meal. It wasn't long before the screaming stopped.

Chapter Eleven
    Sirena stared at her two legs — alabaster white with five toes on each. Before she could admire them, the pain she felt shifted to cover not only her legs but her entire body, which glowed a neon green color.
    Merlinasea stepped back and released her. She waved her hand in a circle, and a funnel formed in the water. The vortex sucked Sirena into it and spun her around so many times she got sick. When the water stopped, she was spat out onto the beach.
    Sirena couldn't move at first, but when the water came back onto the beach and touched her legs, the searing pain came back. An inch at a time, she used her arms to pull herself out of the water's path. Tears ran down her face, not from the agony but from her inner turmoil. No good could come of dwelling about her lost family. If only she'd had time to say good-bye! But then she would have never had the nerve to leave them. And they never would have allowed her to.
    She dragged herself over to a rock. Using her arms so much was tiresome, and she leaned against the cool stone with her eyes closed. A shadow crossed over her. Sirena opened her eyes, but no one was there. Closing her eyes again, she almost fell asleep when a voice said:
    "Here, take this. It was Momma's."
    Sirena opened her eyes. A young boy stood with his back to her, a plain dress on the sand in front of her. She struggled to put it on, as the dress was a rather tight fit.
    Glancing down at her body, she realized she had put on some serious weight. Dark spots covered her once pearl-like hands. She touched her face and felt warts and a long, beak-like nose.
    "Are you hungry?" the boy asked.
    Sirena cocked her head. He was the same boy she'd made her promise to. Why didn't he recognize her? Then she remembered. Of course — because her looks had been stripped away.
    She shook her head. The boy was so thin himself. He should eat all the food he had access to. Unfortunately, her stomach didn't cooperate with her mind and growled.
    The boy scampered off and returned a few minutes later with a large bowl. Sirena lifted the small metal object to her mouth. Most of the liquid dripped back into the bowl, but she managed to eat the contents quickly. It filled her stomach, although it did not taste appealing.
    "Thank you," she said after she swallowed her last bite.
    "You're welcome."
    Sirena held up the metal object and could see her new reflection: a hideous hag.
    She gasped. Although she had never thought herself a vain creature, she would be lying if she said she didn't comb her hair with fish bones every day until it shone or practice her singing until every note was perfect. Now her looks had been stripped and even her new voice sounded rougher and raspier than normal.
    What did that matter? She wasn't here to find love but to hunt a zombie.
    Tears prickled her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall. Her reaction to her changed reflection bothered her. As much as she tried to brush it off and say it didn't bother her, it did.
    She shakily climbed to her feet only to fall back down.
    The boy scampered off, and Sirena sighed. She had wanted to ask him about the zombie.
    Taking her time, she climbed to her feet again and leaned heavily against the rock. Her toes curled into the sand, a curious sensation. Gritty, but almost comfortable. Sirena couldn't decide if she liked being on the beach or if it was too much of a reminder of all she had given up.
    Time to take another step. The