The Siren Song Quotes

“The halls were empty. Charlotte had missed the first bell and would be late, again. Her homeroom teacher would ask her for an excuse and she would say, 'Overwhelming feeling of dread.' That was going to go over nicely.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“This morning, as Charlotte approached the brick facade of Hartnett, she found herself overcome with a great sense of dread. It hit her with a strange and sudden force, and she had an overwhelming urge to turn back, get into bed and not go out for about three weeks. She stopped in her tracks. The feeling itself was alarming to Charlotte - was she sensing something? Something dangerous? And was it something supernatural or just middle school? Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“Just then, Zee heard his name floating down the hallway in a decidedly feminine way. He stiffened. Ashleys! As they floated past him, the two girls waved and smiled at him flirtatiously, and Zee felt his face turn red.

What did they want from him, anyway? They didn't know him. They thought he was cool because he was new and an athlete and had a British accent, but they didn't have any idea what he was like. They barely even knew Outside Zee, let alone Real Zee.

And what was he supposed to do? Just walk up to them and say hi? He was never going to do that. Because then they would say hi back and expect him to say something else. And Zee had absolutely no idea what that would be. What in the world do you say after hi? And without some kind of plan, some kind of meticulously plotted, carefully researched, thoroughly considered plan, he would just stand there, frozen in time, while the girls slowly realized that he was not at all what they thought, that in fact he was clearly socially--and quite possibly mentally--disabled. Then they would shake their heads slowly, sigh with some combination of disappointment and pity, and walk off, while Zee stood there, still trying to come up with something to say, for a good two or three more weeks.the n he would have no choice but to move to a lonely mountaintop, where he would spend the rest of his days with no one to keep him company but an eagle and a cranky mountain goat named Mr. Thimbles.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“The thing is, if one of Poseidon's sons wants to eat you, you let him eat you. You're grateful. As you're being slowly digested in his stomach, you look up to the heavens--well, no, you can't really do that inside his stomach, but you can look up mentally--and say, Thank you, Poseidon, Great God of the Seas, for bestowing upon me the honor of being eaten by one of your descendants, and I can only hope that I am succulent enough to please the sanctified taste buds of your offspring.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“Triton was Poseidon's son, and if you wanted to do something to him, that would be okay with Poseidon. (Not really.) Because there's a pattern to life--you have kids, it's a beautiful thing, they grow up, they move out of the house and have kids of their own. Or not, but at least they move out of the house. Not Triton, though. No, he wanted to stay home with Mom and Dad and run around blowing on his stupid conch shell, which was cute when he was three, but not so cute at three millennia.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“Well, anyway, things are different now. The gods have gone Deep Undercover. Nothing to See Here, Folks. Move Along. Stay Behind the Yellow Line. You're Right, It's All Myth, Now Shut Up and Have a Cookie.”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song

“It’s not enough for you to be able to worship us, you *want* things.” He set his face in a sneer, and his voice grew high and mocking. “Poseidon, protect my boat from the storm! Poseidon, save my village from the tidal wave! Poseidon, I’m drowning! Save us, Poseidon, save us!” He scoffed. “Why should *I* help them?”

Charlotte couldn’t take it anymore. As Poseidon ranted, she picked herself up off the ground. One foot on the floor, then the other, then she pushed herself up–oh! Not with that hand–so she was standing almost at her full height despite the loud protests of her muscles and bones. It was nothing, she was barely above Poseidon’s kneecaps, but at least she was up. She stared up at him, eyes full of fire, and hissed, “*Because you can.*”
― Anne Ursu, The Siren Song