by J G Barber
Lorelei transforms into goat-woman, prancing around the room. Next, serpent-woman slithers around the equipment, flicking her tongue onto Leucosia’s face. Eagle-woman flaps her massive wings to take flight and soar in a circle around the room before landing. She morphs back into her human form as her talons hit the floor. “Great Mother,” is all she can say.
Paul descends from the gallery to the invisible edge of the spiral ramp, remaining out of sight once he sees Narmaya in the foyer. He hears Leucosia’s call to her. Jalpari, join us in the lab. Paul waits until Narmaya enters the lab and then heads down the spiral ramp toward the water entrance.
Leucosia takes Lorelei’s hand and leads her to Narmaya. “Jiao will join me next. Take sister Lorelei to the gallery and gather our records.”
“Yes, my Queen.” Seeing something is different in Lorelei, Narmaya studies her. Monica’s spirit has been replaced by the full presence of Lorelei’s spirit. “The prophecy comes to pass.”
“Indeed it does, sister,” Lorelei says. “Let us uncover the next piece our destiny together.” Narmaya takes her hand and they exit the lab to head up to the gallery.
Chapter Twenty-Five
As Paul descends the corridor, he steels himself to face the blood and bodies surrounding the water entrance. He marches through the bloody water, dons his scuba gear, and dives into the water. Paul swims through the cloud of blood, pushing the dead cartel divers aside until he comes to Sorcerer’s body. He searches the body and surroundings for the watertight bag with the container full of C4. No luck. Paul continues searching. Next, he finds his buddy Clive. I am sorry, my friend. Paul swims face to face with Alexei. He considers what Alexei would have wanted him to do with their bodies.
He takes the time to pull the bodies out through the passageway and through the two rocks that gate the underwater entrance. One by one, he secures their bodies to the rocks. I will return to give you a burial befitting siren hunters.
Paul swims back into the pyramid, finding the C4 bag resting on the rocky floor below the platform. He emerges from the water. As he removes his gear, he’s startled to see his skin and clothes tinted red from the blood in the water. Paul grabs the C4 bag and a semi-automatic rifle. He ascends the ramp, pausing out of sight at the invisible edge that provides a line of sight to the foyer outside the lab.
He finds Mami, Maraja, Jiao and Sirena in their goat-woman forms, prancing and jumping around as goats do. Their unrestrained glee moves Paul. The outer lab door opens. Suvanna, seeing her goat-sisters playing together, morphs herself and joins in on the fun. Leucosia breaks up the goat-woman celebration. “Sisters!” The sirens morph back into their human forms and follow her up the ramp, following the ouroboros symbols toward the gallery.
Once the sirens leave, Paul enters the foyer and steps up to the outer door, holding the container of C4 behind him. He wonders if the scanner will detect it or if the door will open for him as it did in his dream. A light scans his face and eyes. The door opens. He passes through the inner doors into the lab.
The crystal columns pulsate with energy as Paul opens the C4 container to examine its contents: dozens of rectangular packages wrapped in plastic, a matching set of blasting caps, wiring, and two remote detonators, one wired and one wireless. He realizes that during the siren hunters’ many pyramid assault strategy sessions, he did not prepare for the last man standing scenario. He studies the lab in search of a way he can set the charges, exit the room, and trigger the explosion.
An unfamiliar mind reaches out to him. Jason? His son transmits the panic Laura feels. Paul feels it in his emotional body. His mind fights through the intense emotion as he breathes to center himself. He finds a moment of perfect clarity. Only a siren song can trigger the C4. And the only way to stop the sirens is to have the control codes myself.
In the gallery, Lorelei and Narmaya store the holographic crystals in a velvet-lined compartment built into a steel carrying case. Narmaya holds up the one crystal she withheld from the collection and points to a small, portable playback device. Leucosia motions to the seven sisters to circle around the device.
Narmaya places the last crystal into the device. “This still works, after all this time. We have the means to carry our history with us.”
“An original Sirenian gossip survives,” Leucosia announces to the seven sisters. The sirens watch the chronicle of the Sirenians’ migration and their simple life on the forbidden island. It moves them to tears.
Narmaya freezes the hologram on a view of the forbidden island. “At university, I studied the locations of aboriginal human tribes that survive today on islands and in remote jungles around the world. Like them, our sisters have survived the invasions of modern humans!” She gestures across the holographic recording, rewinding it to a view of the lush trees and bright blue waters surrounding the island and its rocky, forested interior. “I recognize this terrain. This island is in the Indian Ocean.”
The sirens stand in a long silence, exchanging looks and processing the deep feelings evoked by this revelation. Leucosia breaks the silence. “If primitive humans survived these many centuries of madness, our Sirenian sisters would have found a way. Sirenian females have many gifts. They must have created a veil with their minds, to prevent their detection. Even I could not penetrate it.”
“How does this change our plan?” Jiao asks.
“It does not,” Leucosia says. “It is only a matter of time before the invasive humans use their advanced technologies to find our sisters. Or, they will poison them with their pollution. Or extinct their food sources. Let us proceed with our plan.” She marches out of the gallery, leading the seven sisters up the spiral ramp to the main entrance. The sisters race to follow Leucosia. Narmaya scrambles to store the holographic crystal and the player in the steel case and catch up with them.
The sirens emerge from the main entrance to find El Aniquilador waiting with Laura, Jason and Ellen. “There they are,” El Aniquilador says. “The queen and princesses of my new kingdom.”
Leucosia steps forward to confront him. “You fulfilled your part of the bargain. Now I shall fulfill mine.” She sings a song that confuses the guards into a state of puzzled inaction and motivates the potentials to organize into two groups on the opposite corners of the pyramid base. “We claim the ones on the right. Yours are on the left.”
“No. You all belong to me.” El Aniquilador steps into Leucosia’s personal space. “Bind Leucosia,” he says in the ancient Atlantean tongue. Leucosia’s eyes roll back in her head.
The six sisters move into ready stances around Lorelei, prepared to transform and fight. He issues another Atlantean command. “Disable all.” Leucosia and the seven sisters stand ready to receive El Aniquilador’s command, the way Tristan stood ready for the Atlantean Citizen Council at the command of Lord Memphis twelve millennia ago.
El Aniquilador circles the seven sisters, pausing at each one to admire them head to toe, testing the weight and firmness of their breasts, and inspecting between their legs with his palm and fingers. He stops at Leucosia. “Leucosia, instruct all them to submit their wills to me. Sing!”
Leucosia sings on command. The song causes the potentials and the rejects to stand ready in unison, ready to receive his command. El Aniquilador walks up to each of the seven sisters, repeating, “El Aniquilador is your king. Leucosia is my queen, and she obeys my commands. You all are my wives, and you serve my will.”
Ellen leans in to whisper to Laura. “What the fuck is he doing?”
“Taking control,” Laura replies, squeezing her hands over Jason’s ears until he cries.
“Translate commands.” El Aniquilador continues in English as he walks among both groups of women. “I am your lord and master. You obey my commands without question or resistance. You are the servants of Cartel Nuevo Ciglo, instruments of our global expansion. Remove your clothes,” he shouts. His voice resonates around the circle.
The women obey his command. The guards stare dumbfounded at the t
wo hundred naked women surrounding them. El Aniquilador returns to Leucosia. “Stop,” he says in the Atlantean tongue. She stops singing. He walks over to Laura, reaching for Jason.
Laura meets his eyes with a warrior’s fierceness. “You will not touch my child.” The armed guards point their gun barrels at her head and Jason’s reminding her El Aniquilador gave her a command.
“I should kill you where you sit.” El Aniquilador feigns a look of benevolent authority. “But I will not. A child needs his mother. Especially a child who will grow up to father my children.” He pries Jason out of her hands, assisted by the guards pulling back her arms, as Ellen fights to break free from her chair bindings. “I can see why El Jefazo wants you as his own,” he says to Ellen. He waves off the guard poised to knock Ellen out with his rifle butt. “Let her fight. She cannot escape.”
El Aniquilador hands Jason to Leucosia. “Take him to the lab.”
As Leucosia receives him, an energy cocoon forms around the child. Jason’s body lights up from the inside out. The cocoon oscillates across the color spectrum as the light penetrates his body and stabilizes the energy field. The oscillation ends as the green light of protection surrounds Jason.
“What is this?” El Aniquilador shouts at El Jefazo, who offers no explanation, spoken or non-verbal, to what is happening. Laura’s and Ellen’s reactions of awe and disbelief also tell him nothing.
The child’s body moves into a standing position, supported by the energy cocoon. Jason’s conscious eyes drill into El Aniquilador’s eyes, informing him that a trip to the lab is not happening, nor is it needed. Jason’s father has transformed and transferred the effects of the lab to his son.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The outer door of the lab opens as horse-man Paul gallops out and up the spiral ramp to the main entrance, the sound of his hooves echoing in the passageway. As he exits the main entrance, he leaps into the air and morphs into an eagle-man, emanating the green light of protection.
Total chaos breaks out on the ground as the sight of bird-man Paul snaps the cartel guards out of their stupor. The guards collide and stumble through the mass of naked women to set up firing positions. Paul flaps his massive wings, gliding in a circular pattern high above the circular earth cone. The cartel guards open fire, snapping the potentials and rejects out of their collective trance. The women scramble to dress themselves as hundreds of bullets bounce off the green light surrounding Paul and rain down on them.
“Override. Surround Jason. Protect,” Paul commands in the ancient Atlantean tongue. The cocoon surrounding Jason merges with the seven sisters’ green light of protection, enveloping Laura and Ellen. Paul lands between them and El Aniquilador. He morphs into his human form.
El Aniquilador raises his arm, directing his guards to holster their weapons. He steps forward, toe-to-toe with Paul. “I should have suspected.”
“You have two choices,” Paul says. “Withdraw, or die.”
El Aniquilador scoffs at the suggestion. He sneers at Paul. “I am in control here. Disable Paul. Submit.” The ancient Atlantean commands have no effect.
“Enable Leucosia,” Paul counters. “Attack.” She morphs into her Melusine form—the dragon siren with two tails and winds—and launches at El Aniquilador, decapitating and disemboweling him with a few hyper-speed swipes of her tail and claws. The guards stand frozen in horror as she devours his flesh. El Jefazo is the first to recover. He signals the men to raise their weapons.
Paul looks at Leucosia again. “Protect.” Leucosia morphs into her human form and joins the seven sisters in their collective field of green light, with Laura, Jason and Ellen in the center. The large cocoon of energy surrounding them shifts to a dark purple hue.
El Jefazo runs for it. He disappears inside the main entrance as Paul sings a powerful, disruptive tone.
Paul’s cocoon of protection shifts to dark purple as the sound builds in resonance. It cycles through the cone, amplified by the pyramid, until the sheer violence of the sound disintegrates the bodies of all the women and the guards. Weapons fall to the ground. Liquefied remains of over two hundred and fifty humans pools on the ground.
Jason’s energy cocoon retracts into his body and disappears. The sirens and siren hunters survey the massive puddle of human goo surrounding them. “Whoa,” Ellen says.
“What just happened?” Laura asks as Paul searches through El Aniquilador’s remains to find the keys to release Laura and Ellen from their bindings. He finds them and sets them free. Laura checks out Jason from head to toe as the mass of human goo seeps in their direction.
Leucosia opens her palms to Paul in a show of respect and admiration, as she explains to the others what transpired. “The Atlanteans transformed Sirenian males into sonic weapons. Paul has become one of them.”
“Leucosia. Lorelei. Jalpari. Mami. Jaio. Sirena. Suvanna. Restore original Sirenian program,” Paul says in the ancient tongue. “Let us end this once and for all, Queen Leucosia,” he says in English. “Continue your lives as mermaids. Go find your lost gossip. Rebuild the Sirenian nation in the original ways of peace.”
Leucosia kneels and bows to him. “Thank you.” The seven sisters emulate her. Paul takes in the moment of humility from the sirens. Leucosia stands first, and seven sisters return to their feet.
Lorelei steps forward. She places Paul’s hands on her belly. “Our Sirenian son needs a father.”
Paul allows his hands to linger as he makes the decision that will define their lives going forward. He reaches for Jason and takes him into his arms. “Jason needs his father and mother together. Achelous belongs to you. He will learn the Sirenian ways of peace and find his own way.”
Leucosia steps forward, looking at Paul and Laura, asking sincerely for the first time. “Please. Join us.”
“No,” Paul says. “I am the insurance for humanity. If you resume your campaign of vengeance, I will use my abilities to destroy you. Do not test me.”
Leucosia directs the seven sisters to board the helicopter. Mami takes the pilot’s seat as the others help Lorelei on board. Leucosia holds a hand over her heart as she waves to Paul. Mami starts the motor. Leucosia boards and straps in, taking the steel carrying case from Narmaya as the helicopter lifts off.
Once over the deep middle of the lake, Leucosia withdraws the holographic crystal containing the record of the surviving original Sirenians, and the portable playback device, and hands them to Jiao. Leucosia removes the other crystals and throws them overboard into the lake. “Today we release the burden of our past suffering. Let us create a new story, rooted in the ways our Sirenian sisters have kept safe for us.” The seven sisters nod agreement as the helicopter flies back toward the sirens’ island facility.
Paul, Laura and Ellen watch as the helicopter sound dissipates. Paul connects with his son for the first time. He studies Jason’s eyes, enjoying his love, taking in all his characteristics. The Atlantean gene is dominant in him, Paul observes. He will not become a shapeshifter.
Ellen looks around in a panic as the human goo surrounds them. “We’d better get out here.”
Paul hands Jason back to Laura. He points at the remaining helicopter. “Can you fly this?”
She grins with delight. “Yes. Alexei taught me how to fly planes and helicopters.” Ellen takes the cockpit.
Paul lifts Laura’s wheelchair into the helicopter as if it weighed nothing. She looks at her husband sideways. The resonant power of Paul’s voice cuts through the propeller noise. “Take Laura and Jason to the villa. I’ll meet you there.” It takes the two sisters a moment to digest the fact that Paul will fly back to the villa himself.
After the helicopter disappears across the lake, Paul morphs into the eagle-man and circles the pyramid to confirm no one remains. He sings a call to the local wildlife. Birds scatter and fly away. El Jefazo, soaking wet from his underwater escape from the pyramid, runs from the lakeshore into the highland forest along with the animals.
Paul swoops over the mai
n entrance of the pyramid, projecting a violent tone into the passageway. He banks and flies away as the ground rumbles. The pyramid shakes. A vortex of energy consumes it from the inside out and radiates around the cone of earth, vaporizing the human goo and scorching the ground. Water from the south entrance rushes in from below ground to fill the hole where the pyramid once stood.
Morphing into a merman, Paul dives into the water to retrieve the bodies of his siren hunter friends. He finds the water near the two rocks has become unbearably hot. Paul can see the siren hunters’ bodies. The water rushing in to fill the hole sucked them in. Goodbye, my dear friends. Enjoy your travels in the other dimensions.
Paul launches out of the water, morphing again into the eagle-man. With powerful strokes of his wings, he flies across the lake to return to the villa and his human family.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Paul lands at the siren hunters’ Jeep at the far end of the lake and morphs back into human form. He stands by the lakeshore for a long time, grieving the loss of his friends. As the grief dissipates, he digests the horrible truth that he just murdered several hundred people. His mind races with the consequences, from police action to cartel retribution to a lifetime of post-traumatic stress disorder making him worthless to Jason and Laura.
The peaceful song of original Sirenians fills his mind and heart. Paul breathes, embracing the effect of their song. He steps into the lake water, allowing it to serve as an emotional poultice. The water draws the grief and fear out of his mind and body.
Feeling restored, he returns to shore and searches the Jeep for fresh clothes. Once he’s dressed, he returns to the lakeshore one last time. Maybe now we can find peace. He hops in the Jeep and rumbles away to return to the villa.
Paul finds the villa gate open when he arrives. Hearing the Jeep’s engine, Ellen wheels Laura and Jason out to the driveway to greet him.
