"I'm going to ask why you're here and you have to tell me, okay?" I let them know. "Why are you here?"
I had become a lot more calm in dealing with mythological monsters. My heart rate was only going at the speed of sound and not twice as it usually did.
"We need to talk to you," Adagio replied simply. Her eyes were fixed on the television in front of her. I could hear what was undoubtedly Canterlot Idol.
"How did you get in?" I wondered out loud and looked around for Mother.
Adagio smiled knowingly but didn't look away from the TV. "We sang a song for your mother," she said. "She liked it so much, she let us in."
My mom walked in immediately, bringing two cups of tea. I looked into her eyes but found them deadened and glazed over. She placed the cups down in front of Adagio and Sonata. She looked at me and her eyes sprang back to life.
"Oh Lost, you're here!" she said as if she hadn't just walked right past me. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so don't get too comfortable."
She went back to the kitchen.
I wasn't sure whether to glare or be afraid.
Sonata opened her mouth and I flinched. All she said, however, was that my movie collection sucked.
"Why so scared?" Adagio asked.
"You have your powers back," I stated. "How did that happen?"
"It's the funniest thing," Sonata sounded way too happy. "So, Sunset came over yesterday and was telling us not to be too hard on Aria. Of course, Adagio told her to go... do things to herself and that we can do what we want to our sister. Then Sunset started to threaten that she was gonna banish us to Tartarus if we so much as made Aria cry. We were so mad that our crystals grew back."
"We were still going to kill her," Adagio chimed in. "But we were too happy. We let her go. Sonata, shut up, I'm watching TV."
I took a chance and stood in front of the television set.
"That's great but it doesn't explain why you're here," I said.
Sonata was trying to look around me but Adagio kept staring ahead as if she could see right through me. Could sirens do that?
"We heard about you and Aria," Adagio said refusing to look me in the face. "We wanted to lay down some ground rules."
Rules?
"Rules?"
Adagio's brilliant raspberry eyes raised to meet mine.
"Rule number one," she said. "The sisters' will is absolute. Whatever we say you two do or don't do is what happens."
"That's outrageous!" I shouted at her.
She waved her hand at me which could have been her either waving off my admonition or telling me to move.
"We don't really care what you two want to do, just so long as you realize that when we do decide on something, you do obey," she clarified, which really didn't make things better.
"Rule number two," Sonata said. "Anything involving magic comes through us first."
Adagio nodded her agreement. "We can't have you two running around using siren magic on some Paper Towns kind of date," she explained.
"Okay that sounds reasonable but-"
"Rule number three," Sonata cut me off. "On movie night, Aria chooses the movie."
I sighed. "Really?" I looked to Adagio to silence Sonata again but she nodded gravely.
"It's true," she said. "Your taste in films is detestable."
"Is there a rule number four?" I asked, desperate to get the speech over with and get them out of my house.
"As a matter of fact," Adagio stood while she spoke. "There is."
Sonata stood as well and the two stalked over to me menacingly. I became aware that their eyes had begun glowing red.
"Understand this," Adagio spoke in a voice of the legion. "You are mortal. Very mortal."
Sonata's hand flicked with the speed of a snake attacking a mouse and gripped me by the throat. She lifted me off the ground with next to no effort.
"If Aria ever comes home sad," Adagio continued, glaring deep into my eyes. "Discord forbid that she has even a single tear in her eye. We'll come back and rip you limb from pathetic human limb. Got it?"
It was hard to nod with Sonata's hand encapsulating my neck but I managed.
"Good," Adagio's eyes went back to normal and Sonata dropped me.
I coughed and rubbed my neck.
"Will you be leaving soon?" I gasped.
"About that," the two girls collapsed on my couch again. "Our little... talk with Sunset kinda broke our TV."
Adagio waved her hand at me and this time I was sure she wanted me to stop blocking her. I complied.
"We'll be hanging out here from time to time," Sonata finished with an innocent smile.
I wanted to argue but Common Sense told me it was best not to.
Just then, Mom walked in. Her eyes were normal as she looked at me smiling.
"Since you've been good these last few weeks," she said. "And you've been saving your allowance. Look what I got you."
From her pocket, she produced a brand new cellphone. I took it silently. My emotions were swirling between joy and fear and so I had no proper reaction at the ready.
"Try not to destroy this one," she said. "And dinner's ready."
I was on my way to the kitchen when I had a thought.
"Mom," I said. "Can Adagio and Sonata join us?"
She turned to look at me. "Who?" she asked.
I stepped to the side, allowing her to see the two girls that were paying us no attention. Mom's eyes glazed over again.
"Mistresses, would you like to join us for a meal?" she asked courteously.
Adagio looked up with an annoyed expression.
"What?" she wondered at first. "No, no. Feed the boy; we're fine."
I folded my arms and glared at them, making sure to keep a good distance.
"Fix her," I demanded.
Adagio ignored me but Sonata looked sheepish.
"About that," she said. "It's been a while since we've had our powers and we're still kinda getting used to them again so..."
"So... what?"
"We... kinda, maybe, a little have no idea how," she confessed.
She noted the look of loss on my face and quickly added, "It's temporary though. I just don't know when it'll wear off. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week... there's a good chance it'll keep up until the next leap year. It's definitely temporary though."
I wanted to argue but I couldn't. Sonata and Adagio scared me; I had to accept their promise that my mother would be okay. The best I could do for now was to keep my mouth closed and go with her to dinner.