Siren Song

14

A four-seat motorboat was sent to fetch us. Ren explained with some embarrassment that she could only teleport herself and one other person. I pointed out that this was exactly two more people than I could manage. It made her laugh. Even Hiwahiwa managed a smile, though she tried to hide it. The sailor driving the dinghy didn’t bother. He was grinning ear-to-ear.

I returned Bubba’s wave as we drove off. He actually seemed happy to be staying behind with Dahlmar and Ivan. Creede wasn’t happy at all.

I didn’t blame him. I was nervous as hell, bordering on frightened. Would I make it back? Maybe, maybe not. I might be able to talk my way out of this, assuming the queen would listen. But I was already at a disadvantage because she thought I’d insulted her deliberately. I doubted I’d get a chance to explain. Even if I did, Adriana and Ren were both princesses. I was betting their word would carry more weight than mine.

Then, if I made it past the hearing, there was the duel. But that didn’t bother me as much. A straight-up fight I could handle. Until I’d been locked away, I’d trained nearly every day. I’m familiar with most weapons and have made a serious study of a couple of different disciplines of unarmed combat. And when it comes to experience in flat-out dirty street fighting, well, I’ve got plenty of that.

So I just had to get past the talking—which I wasn’t good at—and on to the fighting, which I was. Piece of cake. Yeah, right.

The dinghy pulled up to the mother ship. She was huge and gorgeous. I don’t know enough about boats to describe the ship with any degree of accuracy, but suffice it to say that I imagined her featuring prominently in Bubba’s wet dreams. Strong arms helped me up the ladder and onto the deck, releasing me as soon as I was standing safe on my own two feet. As soon as we were all on board, the fleet began to move away from Mona’s Rival.

You seem worried. Are you well?

I didn’t recognize the voice in my head, so it wasn’t Ren. Since the crew all appeared to be male, I looked to Hiwahiwa by process of elimination. She smiled.

“I’m fine, thanks. Just a little nervous about meeting your queen.”

Queens. You’ll be presenting yourself to the high queen, yes, but to the others as well.

Okay, so Ren hadn’t been messing with me and neither had Jeff. Multiple queens with one high queen. And Hiwahiwa was thinking at me, which meant I probably was supposed to communicate telepathically as well. One problem: I hadn’t been able to do that before the bite and I hadn’t actually learned how since. Still, the basics had been covered way back in grade school when they were testing all of us for the talent, and there was no time like the present to learn new party tricks.

I concentrated, forming the words in my mind while I pictured her face. How many queens are there?

Again she smiled, apparently pleased I’d responded in kind. Currently five. The Pacific line is home to High Queen Lopaka; the lesser queens are from the Aegean, the Baltic, the Sea of Japan, and the Indian Ocean.

None from the Atlantic?

Not since the end of the first age.

The end of the first age had been quite a while ago, B.C. According to the legends, which were really all that was left, the first age had ended with the destruction of Atlantis.

One of the sailors came up with a message for Hiwahiwa. She excused herself, leaving me alone looking out to sea with plenty to think about. I wasn’t sure where Ren had gone off to or if she was even on the boat. Hard to keep track of someone who can teleport. I didn’t mind. It was kind of nice, feeling the breeze against my skin. I had a few more minutes before the sunscreen gave out. Judging from how quickly we appeared to be approaching land, I could stay right here until we arrived without risking skin damage.

I did turn to look back, see if I could catch a glimpse of Bubba’s yacht. I could see Mona’s Rival, but she was a goodly ways out on the horizon. Hard to judge the exact distance, particularly with the visible haze caused by the magical barrier that separated us, but too far to swim for sure. I was betting she would be invisible from the island. Nor were they being guarded. Not a single ship had been left behind. Was that a good or bad thing?

I watched the seabirds swirl and swoop in what truly appeared to be organized chaos, a sort of dance that seemed to be for the sole purpose of my personal entertainment. They scattered once we reached the inlet, and then I watched the sailors go about their duties. Hiwahiwa didn’t return until the boat was fully at rest, at which point she approached, smiling broadly.

“I’m sorry we weren’t able to talk more. Having so many royals on the island is making my job a bit more complex than it normally would be.”

“It’s all right. I was enjoying the trip.”

“You like the ocean?”

I didn’t answer right away. I wasn’t sure how to put what I felt into words without sounding like an idiot. Then the words formed in my mind like magic. I love the ocean. It’s where I go to find peace and calm when life’s storms are too much for me, the one place where I can truly relax and clear my head. Its beauty restores me, its majesty awes me. I need it like I need the air I breathe and the food I eat.

Another smile, one that lit up her whole face. I understand. It’s like that for us all. And your affinity with the birds shows that you are truly one of our own. You belong here.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I’ve never belonged anywhere.

The captain approached. “Ladies. If you are ready.” He gestured toward the gangplank.

Hiwahiwa led me down onto docks that were absolutely ordinary, perfectly modern, and, I guessed, well designed. Stepping out of the harbor area, however, was like taking a step out of time. A perfectly tended path wound through lush greenery, past tiny waterfalls and other natural wonders. Overhead rang the raucous calls of birds and small mammals. A heady perfume of tropical flowers and rich, damp volcanic earth filled my nostrils. Higher in the sky, the gulls soared ahead of us as though announcing our arrival.

The trail wound slowly upward. My companion and I rounded one last bend and stepped into a secluded glade ringed with brightly colored hibiscus.

As we passed into the clearing, musicians began pounding a compelling rhythm on skin drums. We moved forward, along ground that rose in ripples that looked as if they had been formed by the downward movement of an ancient lava flow. The rising ground made for a natural dais at the far end of the clearing, perhaps a hundred yards to the right of a steep waterfall that splashed noisily into a wide pool of water so clear and pure I could clearly see every stone and swimming fish.

I didn’t waste much time looking at it or any of the other natural wonders surrounding me. Because we had come into the presence of royalty, judging by the arrangement of six thrones carved from the native stone, in graduating sizes and complexity leading to the massive center chair.

The thrones were occupied, each chair seating a siren of imperious beauty. While I couldn’t be sure, I could almost guess which woman represented which ocean based on their appearance. Each was completely unique in her appeal, coloring, and dress. One throne was empty. I presumed it was for the Atlantic queen who no longer existed.

They were dark skinned and light, Asian and Caucasian. One woman bore a particularly striking resemblance to Ren—presumably her mother, queen of the Mediterranean branch. A tiny woman with Japanese features was, I assumed, the ruler of the Sea of Japan.

On the center and largest throne sat a tall blond woman who looked remarkably like me, only better. A lot better. Her blond hair was loose, flowing unhindered to the waist of a crimson lavalava hemmed in glittering gold. Her skin was too fair to actually tan, but it had the hint of a warm glow. All of her features were beautiful, but her eyes . . . her eyes were unforgettable. Because while she had the body of a youth, one look in those storm gray depths and you knew she was ancient. There was both wisdom and cold, implacable pragmatism in her gaze. I knew I should look at each of the queens, take their measure. But I couldn’t seem to look away from Queen Lopaka.

Even without the benefit of my vampire talents I would’ve felt the power in that clearing. It was thick, thrumming, almost a separate, living presence that grew with each passing moment.

Ren appeared beside Hiwahiwa and the two of them led me forward until I stood directly in front of the row of thrones. The drumming continued, growing in intensity as more women, sirens all, filed into the clearing, sitting on the ground in groups of four or five on either side of the main path.

At a tiny gesture from Lopaka, the noise of the drums and the murmurs of the crowd stopped in an instant. The rushing splash of water was deafening in the sudden silence.

Hiwahiwa bent almost double before her queen, her long hair brushing the ground at her feet. “Your Majesties. I present to you the abomination, Celia Kalino Graves.”

Abomination. Great. Just great. Although I suppose it was better to find out right at the beginning where I stood.

She means no insult. It is simply a label for what you are: not human, not siren, not even vampire.

The voice in my head was calm and melodic, as if it was set to music I couldn’t quite hear, a song so heartbreakingly pure that I’d never forget it if I did.

I shook my head, trying to break the spell. It didn’t help much. But that was all right. The warmth of the unheard music clashed in harsh counterpoint against the harsh words of the tiny Japanese queen. She rose from her throne next to Lopaka. Glaring at me with cold, dark eyes, her beautiful features twisted into an expression of disgust.

Again the words formed inside my skull. This creature, this . . . thing . . . has no place among us. Siren blood may be in her veins, but it is blood corrupted. She was summoned to appear before us weeks ago. Where has she been? She hasn’t even the decency to show respect by bringing a gift for the queen of her line.

There was no sound, but I could feel the stirring of their minds against mine. Psychics. They were all psychics. Well, I’d guessed as much and Hiwahiwa’s actions on the way here had warned me. Had she done it deliberately? I was grateful either way.

Each voice in my head had its own melody. Some beautiful, some harsh. It wasn’t music, precisely, unless they chose to focus it that way. It was a psychic call. Until now I hadn’t understood what my gran meant when she’d tried to explain it to me. Hell, maybe she hadn’t understood it, either.

I took a single, small step, putting myself a fraction ahead of Ren and Hiwahiwa. Bowing at the waist, I tried to focus my thoughts and project them, the same way I’d done with Hiwahiwa on the boat. I knew I was bad at it, clumsy. Several of the faces surrounding me were openly sneering. But I kept trying. Because if I couldn’t use telepathy, they’d hold it against me and claim that I wasn’t siren enough to live.

I am here. And I have a gift. My thought wasn’t musical. It was harsh as the caw of a gull. But I heard it. And so did they. For just an instant, I saw a hint of a smile twitch at the corner of Lopaka’s perfect lips.

By all means, bring it forward. Her voice was calm, but I would swear I felt a hint of amused approval.

I reached into my jacket while I was still obviously outside striking distance and drew one of the pair of knives Bruno had made for me. Designed to slay monsters, it was a powerful tool. As I laid the weapon across my palm, hilt toward her, my vision misted. The knife was the perfect gift. It was the undamaged one of a formerly matched pair. The other still worked, still held its magic, but slaying a thousand-year-old übervamp had changed it. Instead of silver, it was black, and no amount of polishing would restore it. On the other hand, this knife was perfect. Magically powerful, it was beautiful and practically priceless. Bruno’s feelings for me and mine for him were bound up in that blade as surely as the magic was. It killed a part of me to offer it. But it was the part of me already injured by his leaving and this was the only thing I had that was worthy of her. I would keep the other knife, use it, and remember him. But this one . . . this one would be my gift to the queen of all the sirens.

I extended the weapon to her, keeping my eyes down, not so much from respect but to keep my tears from showing. I was crying. I couldn’t help it. Never mind that this was the worst possible time and place for it, the pain was suddenly there, as fresh and intense as that moment in the courthouse when he told me he was leaving.

Lopaka stood. Her hands deliberately clasped mine for a long moment before she took the knife. The gesture was warm and curiously gentle. I glanced up. Our eyes met and I realized she knew, could feel exactly what giving this knife away cost me—what Bruno meant to me.

When she held the knife aloft, rainbows shot from its surface, just like in the safe when the magic of the Wadjeti had touched it. A single note sounded, pure and clear, echoing through the clearing like a crystal chime.

Wow. Even after she brought it down to look at the blade more closely, I could feel that tone in my chest lingering softly as a dream.

A most worthy gift. Crafted in love and pain, as is most that is powerful and lasting. I accept it from you with great thanks, daughter of my line.

There was an actual, audible gasp at that and the other queen—

Chiyoko, her name is Chiyoko.

Chiyoko staggered as if struck. She half-collapsed onto her throne, her face angry and confused. You cannot mean to—

Lopaka twisted her head fast as a snake and looked at Chiyoko. If thoughts passed between them, I wasn’t allowed to hear them. But while the small Japanese queen paled, she did not back down, in fact she rose to her feet, her expression defiant.

Celia Kalino Graves is a child of my blood, if not of my body. I accept her as I accepted her ancestor, my brother Kalino. Lopaka’s voice was utterly calm.

No! A raven-haired beauty rose from the throne two seats down from Chiyoko, her blue-green eyes flashing. She is not a royal. Where is her prophet? Her warrior guard?

She has them. Adriana’s voice was unmistakable in my mind. Clear as a bell and just as clearly unhappy. When her previous prophet was murdered, within a day another appeared. And the warrior wolf followed her to the alley where she was attacked and killed the monsters that harmed her. She even has two attendant spirits . . . one the spirit of her former prophet. Even after death, her guards are faithful to her.

“I cannot believe you would support your mother in elevating a rival to the line of succession!” Chiyoko was so shocked she spoke the words aloud as well as inside my head.

Truth is truth. Adriana was calm.

It was hard to get a mental word in edgewise when I had to struggle so much to even get a word to appear in my own mind. I’m not a rival for anyone’s throne.

Well, that certainly got everyone’s attention. Everyone but Lopaka was staring at me, most literally openmouthed with shock. Lopaka’s gray eyes were sparkling merrily and those perfect lips twitched just a little, as if she was having a difficult time keeping a serious expression.

You would refuse the throne? Chiyoko’s voice was barely a whisper in my head.

I couldn’t help but laugh. It startled a parrot in the tree overhead. I spoke out loud simply because my brain was starting to hurt from all the thinking. “I’m no ruler. I’d only be kidding myself to think I was. I’ve always been human. I don’t know your people or your customs. So, yes, if someone was actually foolish enough to offer, I’d refuse the throne. But it shouldn’t come up. You have other options.” I gestured toward Adriana and Ren. They were the only ones I knew. There might be others. But I figured either of them would be a better choice for queen than me. They’d almost have to be. Hell, Bruno or Creede would be a better queen than me. They had the magic and the telepathy. I had fangs and gulls.

“You have heard it from her own lips,” Lopaka said smugly, also out loud, which caused more than a few shocked glances between the others. “She has shown wisdom and prudence and has honored our customs to the best of our ability.” She held up the knife. “She came here as soon as she was made aware I was trying to reach her.” The looks she gave her daughter and Ren said that people would be paying dearly for that particular oversight. Lopaka finished by speaking into my mind. She stepped down from the dais, put a hand on my shoulder, and turned back toward the other queens. Her hand was warm and gentle and felt remarkably like Gran’s. I say that she has earned the right to live. Do any dare gainsay it?

There were some grim looks from the women seated on the other thrones. Chiyoko looked positively murderous. Still, she gathered her skirts around her and sat fussily back onto her seat. The dark-haired beauty moved more slowly. But eventually she, too, sat down.

Very well. Lopaka gestured to Hiwahiwa. Have the servants prepared the feast?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Excuse me, Mother. With all respect. Adriana bowed very, very low. I guessed she knew that Lopaka wasn’t going to be happy to hear about the duel. Especially not right after she’d given me the siren equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

What is it . . . dear? Just the slightest emphasis on the last word, the tiniest hint of annoyance.

Princess Celia and I have a matter of honor to attend to.

Nothing serious, I hope. Lopaka’s tone said that it had better not be.

Adriana straightened, her eyes flashing a little in defiance. We had a . . . contretemps . . . the night we met. We have agreed to a duel. Since she is apparently a siren, it cannot be to the death. Adriana didn’t bother to hide her disappointment about that. I’d thought her quarrel with me might be resolved by the whole refusing-the-throne thing. Apparently I’d been wrong. Maybe she just flat disliked me. Someone who dislikes me? Surely not.

You are a princess, Adriana. Queen Lopaka’s voice was stern. Princesses do not duel to the death, regardless of whether both combatants are sirens.

I have no prophet. I have no guard. I will never rule. My title is an empty one. The bitterness in Adriana’s voice cut like shards of glass.

Shit. Well, didn’t that just suck. For her. But for me, too. Through no fault of my own, I had what she didn’t. To someone as proud as she was, that was just unforgivable.

Empty or not, you are not allowed a duel to the death. To clear victory or first blood only. Lopaka gave me a look that let me know as clearly as any words that I’d better watch myself. If I hurt her baby, all those warm fuzzies from a few minutes ago would evaporate into thin air.

Great. Didn’t this just suck moss-covered pond rocks.

To clear victory then. Adriana turned to me. Agreed?

Like I had a lot of choice. And like I knew what that even meant in this culture. Fine with me. Do we get to use weapons, or is this hand-to-hand?

Hand-to-hand would be better. Less chance of accidentally going too far. Although even that would be tricky. I have vampire speed and increased strength. I hadn’t worked out hard or tried to spar since the bite, so I wasn’t exactly sure how careful I’d need to be. Sirens are immortal beings, but you can hurt them. Amputated limbs don’t grow back and brain damage and severed spines don’t heal any better than they would for a human. Then again, I’d never actually seen a siren fight. It might be that I was outclassed. I could be in for a serious butt whipping.

Adriana’s one big advantage was jealousy. Dr. Marloe had said that jealousy works like a magical poison. I wasn’t jealous of Adriana. Yeah, she was prettier and a princess, but she was so screwed up. I mean, Lord knows I have issues with my mother, but Adriana didn’t seem to be doing all that much better with the queen. Adriana envied me for some bizarre reason. Envy is a form of jealousy. Knowing my luck, her weapons would be poisoned for me.

Hand-to-hand. Adriana paused. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of the weapon that matches the one you gave my mother. Now how had she’d known about that? Telepathy, I suppose. One scratch might kill me. Or not. I can’t be sure.

I was a little surprised. A moment ago she’d been more than ready to risk dying. Now she wasn’t? Not that I was sorry, but what the hell?

You are not who and what I thought you were. Adriana’s voice held clear puzzlement. Honor must be served, but I am no longer certain your death would be a good thing for me or my family.

Ah, so she’d been that sure of winning. She must be very good to be that cocky. Cool. Since this was the equivalent of a sparring match, it could be fun. I do love a challenge.

In front of the dais, people rearranged themselves into a loose circle about twenty feet in diameter. The queens remained on their thrones. Since the thrones were on a higher level than that of the fighting area, they’d be able to see well enough.

I stripped off my jacket, wondering what I should do with it. I didn’t want to leave it lying around where anybody could get at it. Most people are honest. But it only takes one who isn’t. I already suspected that Ren had sticky fingers. I didn’t want to lose either my weapons or the jacket itself.

I was saved by Queen Lopaka yet again. At her gesture, Hiwahiwa stepped forward, taking my jacket and then standing before me, waiting expectantly.

For what? I looked around and saw Adriana standing nude in the center of the fighting ring.

Oh no. I’m not good at casual nudity. I looked at Queen Lopaka. “Is there some big ceremonial reason we have to fight nude? I mean—” I pointed at the rock-strewn sand. “There are places I really don’t want to get sand embedded.”

She fought not to laugh. The machinations a person’s face goes through when trying to stifle an involuntary reflex are actually pretty interesting to watch. Finally she spoke and her words held all the laughter her well-schooled features didn’t. “Nudity guarantees there are no weapons or charms secreted that could injure the other or protect one from the other. We have fought nude for millennia. However, I can accept this is a different age and that you are not familiar with our customs. I will permit enough clothing for modesty, but no more.”

So, while everybody watched, I stripped down to my undies. I’d sort of cheated when I put on the lavalava to begin with; I’d just tucked down the straps of my bra. Fine. I’m a prude. But even though I was wearing my panties and bra, I was seriously uncomfortable. Adriana being nude was going to change my fighting style. There was something about throwing a punch at a breast that wasn’t the same as punching a shirt. Weird but true.

Pretending a poise I didn’t actually feel, I made myself walk casually through the path the crowd made for me until I reached the center of the ring.

I don’t know what I expected: maybe one of those formal bows that start a martial-arts match, maybe somebody shouting, “Go!” I wasn’t expecting Adriana to launch a high kick at my face with no warning whatsoever.

She was good and she was fast. Whoever had trained her knew what they were doing. I hadn’t realized that sirens were on par in speed with vampires. If I’d still been a vanilla human, that kick would have laid me out flat, maybe even broken my neck.

But I’m not fully human, not anymore. I saw the blow coming and was able to duck, twist, and grab her ankle. Using her foot as a handle, I continued my turn, pulling her off her anchoring foot and flinging her to the rocky ground with a heavy thud. It had to hurt. Hell, it was painful to hear. But she rolled and stood, blood oozing from scrapes where her skin had been torn off by the coarse rock. Ouch.

But it didn’t even slow her down. Before I could even step backward, she was flying at me. She grabbed my arm and tossed me probably a dozen feet. The circle of people parted to let me fly past. On landing, I shook my head and tried to clear the fuzz from my brain. As I stood up, the calf that had been injured the night before informed me there was still glass somewhere in my muscles. The pain was sharp and immediate as I frantically moved left to avoid a kick square in the face. I leapt to my feet from my knees like I was an extra in a Jackie Chan movie and we were off again.

We circled, eyeing each other, looking for telltale movements. Blows flew and were blocked. Feints succeeded or failed.

Soon, the scent of blood filled the air, adding copper to the salt filling my nose. I figured out pretty quickly that “first blood” wasn’t actual first blood. I paused briefly when that happened, but nobody stopped the fight, so oh, well. I’d keep going until someone yelled, “Stop!”

My vision was flowing in and out of hyperfocus, making it hard to think. Fortunately, there wasn’t really time to think, so it didn’t much matter.

The two of us were well matched. She had me in reach. I had better strength, though not by as much as I would’ve expected. We both were well trained. We would’ve been equal if I’d neglected my weight work. This could wind up being a long, painful ordeal with the winner determined by willpower and stamina. Fortunately, I have quite a lot of both.

She moved to sweep my legs, putting all her weight on her left leg. Timing my jump with exquisite care, I went for a flying kick. She turned, taking the blow on her shoulder rather than giving me her back and risking a spinal injury.

The impact staggered her, threw her off balance. It was the break I’d hoped for. I dived at her in a flying tackle, the pair of us hitting the ground with a jarring impact.

I thought I had her, but she managed to pull herself out of my grip and roll away before I could pin her.

I scuttled back, trying to gain my feet, but she was quicker—quick enough to kick me in the ribs as I rose. That hurt. I came to my feet hissing with pain and annoyance, blood gleaming like neon on the surface of glowing skin.

She was on her feet as well. Her expression flickered from startled to grim determination and she moved in to attack.

My eyes shifted into full vampiric hyperfocus. Everything was suddenly so clear. I could see each grain of sand, the pores and flaws in each stone. Adriana’s tiniest muscle movements were grossly exaggerated. I knew what she was going to do almost before she did.

She shifted, throwing a hard punch toward my solar plexus, but I wasn’t there. I’d dropped down and was sweeping her legs out from under her. She went down hard. Her head slammed against the same rock hard enough this time to stun her for a second. In that second I was on her, pinning her body with mine. She started to struggle, turning her head back and forth as she searched for some way of escape. I hissed again, but this time it wasn’t a sound of pain. It wasn’t a human sound at all.

My eyes focused on her neck and the pulse that beat so rapidly, so close to the skin. My sense of self began to fade as the world narrowed to that tiny fragment of flesh. I needed to taste the blood underneath . . . more than I’d ever had to do anything before in my life. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. My mouth opened. Adriana’s eyes went wide and she struggled anew, but the sinews in my arms had turned to iron straps and she couldn’t get away.

The vampire within me started to lunge forward to feed and the siren in me was going to let it happen. Clear victory would allow a taste of flesh. But at that last moment, my human conscience forbade it.

People are not food!

Throwing back my head, I howled in hunger that was so strong it was an actual pain. It ripped through every nerve in my body like an electric shock. Pain. So much pain.

But I had to be human enough to say no: human enough not to do this even though another part of myself demanded it. I might be part vampire and part siren. But I was born human and I never intended to lose that part of myself.

I crawled off of Adriana awkwardly, moving painfully to the opposite side of the ring from where she lay. I had beaten my hunger, but I was going to pay dearly for that victory. Rising to my feet, I shoved through the eerily silent crowd to where Hiwahiwa stood beside Ren. I grabbed my clothing without ceremony and turned to Ren. “Get me the hell out of here. Now.” I spoke aloud. I needed food, now, or someone was going to die.

“But—” She glanced over to Queen Lopaka. The queen was still nodding her assent when I felt the world lurch and I was back on the Mona’s Rival—and in the middle of a battle.