by J. E. Taylor
I searched every room on the boat except the bathroom where Alex was chained looking for another damn first aid kit and came up empty. I stopped in front of the bathroom and took a deep breath. When I threw the door open, his flailing and carrying on abruptly ceased. His entire body stiffened when my fingers grazed the front of his face. I pulled down one of the strips covering his eyes, leaving a bloody streak on the gauze.
“What the hell happened out there?” he asked.
It took me a minute to realize the red on the side of his head wasn’t from my hand. I nearly ripped the gauze off his head in one sweeping motion. He winced as I pulled the headphones off. I stared at the welt cutting through his ear and followed the trajectory to the wall behind his head. A hole the size of a bullet met my gaze.
I sat down hard on the floor. A stray bullet from the shootout had torn through the gauze and must have knocked the headphones off enough for him to hear part of what happened. My good hand covered my mouth as I met his glare.
“What happened?” he snarled.
I found my wits and stood, putting some distance between us while I addressed my mangled hand with water from the sink.
“I used my voice and made them shoot each other. Unfortunately, there was a deaf one with them who lived.” I clenched my teeth against the burn of clean water and glanced at Alex. “Your kicking and carrying on saved me.”
He gave a huff and nodded towards my hand. “It certainly doesn’t look like I saved you.”
I bit my lip and slowly wrapped my hand in gauze. What I really needed was the ocean water and its healing properties. Instead, I poured some hydrogen peroxide on a towel and dabbed the cut along Alex’s head and part of his cheekbone.
He winced away from my touch.
“Sit still.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning your gunshot wound.” I stopped and glanced at him. “We both got lucky today. You’ve just got a flesh wound.”
If the bullet had been even a half an inch to the left, he would have died. My hands shook as I cleaned the wound. The blood had already clotted, but he would have a visible scar on his cheek for a while.
I stepped back and leaned against the door. “I tried to secure the headphones with the gauze. That’s why you couldn’t see, and as much as I know you don’t want me to do that again, I have to.”
He went to argue, but I splayed my fingers at him, stopping whatever rant he was about to launch.
“I can’t deal with you right now. I need to take care of the hole in my hand first.” I turned and went to the helm to shut the engine off. I needed the ocean. I needed the warm waters of the Mediterranean. I needed the magic of home.
I dropped anchor and went to the bow of the boat. The deck was a god-awful mess. I knew I’d have to climb up that way, but for now, I needed a clean view of the sea, not one marred with death.
I dove off the bow, bracing myself for the pain of the water hitting my hand. It did not disappoint and I gasped, nearly sucking in a lungful of water. I surfaced, coughing and sputtering. Forcing the water I inhaled out of my throat kept my mind off the debilitating agony gripping my hand. I slowly moved towards the stern, taking small strokes to stay afloat.
By the time I reached the back of the boat, the pain eased to a dull throb. I reached for the rail and held on a moment, bringing my injured hand into view. The bones had already been reconstructed, and the skin was just beginning to thatch back together. I squashed the urge to itch it and dunked it back under the surface.
This was one of the curses of my existence. The ocean had always healed what ailed me. Cuts, bruises, and breaks all disappeared after a dip in the sea. It revitalized me, but there were limitations. I was sure death was one of them, but I was never dumb enough to play out that curiosity.
I glanced down at the only other limitation that I was aware of. The only wounds that hadn’t healed were those delivered by another siren. Cuts still traversed my stomach, and the wound in my shoulder still oozed. My stomach held red welts, but that shoulder wound needed addressing.
I climbed out of the water, taking as much care as possible to avoid the blood streaks on the deck, but it was nearly impossible. When I stepped back into the bathroom, Alex’s eyes widened.
I glanced in the mirror at my unmarred neck. The bruises on my face were gone as well, and my hand, while itching to high heaven, didn’t show any signs of a bullet shattering it.
“You never wondered why I used to go swimming at odd hours of the night?” I picked up the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and dumped a healthy amount into the wound on my shoulder. It bubbled and continued to ooze as I searched the cabinets for something more convenient than a strip of gauze, and bigger than a Band-Aid.
“Why didn’t that heal?” he asked, nodding towards my shoulder.
“Because it’s from another siren.” I didn’t go farther into the lore with him. Instead, I found a larger bandage and pressed it over the wound.
“So... if you died, all I would have to do is dump your body in the ocean and you’d come back to life?”
I rolled my eyes at him and turned to leave.
“I’m asking a serious question.”
“The dead don’t rise.” I stared at him for a moment, and that hopeful glint in his eyes faded. “I need to find another pair of earphones for you.”
“Why?”
I stopped in the doorway and hung my head before I glanced back at him. “My voice is the only thing that will get me close enough to my brother to use this.” I flicked the trident charm on my bracelet.
“I’m already doomed,” he said. “I’d really like to hear your voice in my head.”
“Killing my brother will break the spell on you.”
His eyebrow rose.
“And anyone else still afflicted with the siren sickness.”
I left him to noodle on that while I started the tedious work of cleaning the cabin, including getting rid of the last body. There was only so much I could do, even with the strong cleaners I found in the staff quarters. I had no idea how long I scrubbed, but I couldn’t get it all clean. There was too much blood on the fabric. Luckily I was able to get the floors clean, and at least Alex had been quiet while I cleaned the cabin and deck. I had left the bathroom door open so he wouldn’t feel so isolated.
When I finished, I grabbed the headphones along with earbuds that had been downstairs in the captain’s quarters. He had an iPod in the charging station, and I plucked it from the base before heading back to Alex. He glared at me when I stepped into the room. “There’s no chance you’ll let me out of here, is there?”
“Afraid not.”
He lashed out with his foot, and I caught it with my free hand before it connected.
“Do I need to tie your legs up, too?”
The angry grimace transitioned into a playful smile. “Is that what you’d like to do?”
“Not particularly,” I answered and slid to the side of the toilet where his legs couldn’t reach. “I would really like my Alex back, because I think I might have fallen in love with him at some point during the flight over here.”
He blinked up at me and didn’t fight as I fit the ear buds in and then placed the headphones over his ears. I chanced a quick peck on his lips before setting the iPod to shuffle and hitting play. I stepped away.
“I think I’ve been in love with you for a couple of years now,” he whispered.
I paused in the doorway and met his gaze. For a moment, a shadow passed over his eyes like I wasn’t supposed to hear what he’d just said. I gave him a nod and made my way to the newly-cleaned helm. I lifted anchor and turned over the engine, letting it idle while I checked the historical coordinates.
The nice thing about this vessel was it had a log of wherever the boat engaged the anchor. I set course for the first anchor of our journey.
Chapter 14
There really is no easy way to prepare yourself for killing someone. Let alone someone you love. No m
atter how many times I rolled it over in my head, I still came back to the option of talking sense into him. Logically, it sounded like a valid plan, but I knew better. Even if I looked like I had the day we escaped from hell, I’d still have a hard time convincing him of who I was.
“Damn it,” I muttered, shaking the thought out of my head.
If one lived, the other died. My gaze traveled to the bathroom as the twilight created long shadows across the cabin. Alex had broken out in song a few times when something familiar came across the tunes I had on continuous shuffle. He was as tone-deaf as they came, and it was so endearing that tears sprang to my eyes.
The navigator beeped, and I glanced at the coordinates. This was where we were anchored the last time my brother struck. I shut the boat down, dropping the anchor.
Waiting was never my strong suit. Alex’s intermittent singing pulled my attention away from detecting the siren song enough times for me to become truly annoyed.
I stood and that was when I felt the tilt of the boat. The stern dipped, and I moved so I could see the deck.
Jeremiah climbed the step, his legs still forming, so his steps weren’t steady yet. I glanced towards the bathroom. Alex had gone unusually quiet. Maybe he felt the disturbance, too.
My brother let out a soft scale of notes, as if he were testing the ship. I unclipped the trident and held it in my fist. The tongs singed my skin, but I ignored the discomfort, holding tighter instead.
When he stepped through what used to be the doorway, his eyes narrowed in my direction.
“You really shouldn’t have used your voice again, Jeremiah,” I said, my voice full of sadness.
He paused. I couldn’t bring myself to utter the incantation that would bring the trident to full form. The resistance to killing my little brother kicked in. This was the boy I used to rock to sleep in my arms after our mother abandoned us. This was the kid I used to play hide-and-seek with in the coral reefs. This was my brother.
He hissed at me in such a way that I took a step back. “Why aren’t you affected by my song,” he growled.
“Because I once swam in this sea and sang alongside you luring humans to their death. Then the angels came and sentenced us to an eternity in hell.”
He bellowed with rage and charged. I stood my ground, pivoting at the last moment. He sailed past me and slid to a stop, spinning back in my direction to launch at me. This time I wasn’t fast enough. His backhand caught my cheek, sending me falling to the side. I used the inertia to roll back on my feet.
Anger welled up inside me, exploding to the surface in the form of a roar. “Why? Why did you break our pact?”
“The only pact I ever made was with my sister, and she is dead!” He moved towards me.
I tried to dodge to the side, but he still caught me, slicing across the same shoulder he injured before. I screamed and spun out of a direct hit. The look in his eyes was far beyond reason. He was going to tear me apart piece by piece if he had his way. Even knowing this didn’t bring forth my self-preservation. I couldn’t kill him to save my own soul.
He closed the distance and shoved with his palms. I flew into the wall next to the bathroom entrance. The impact dazed me, but not enough for me to lose my grip on the trident. I glanced to my right and met Alex’s wide-eyed stare.
The next moment, Jeremiah had his hand wrapped around my neck. He lifted me off my feet, slamming me back into the wall.
“No!” Alex yelled.
Jeremiah’s attention jerked to the bathroom and the clear view of Alex tied to the toilet. “What have we here?”
His grip constricted my voice so I couldn’t say the incantation to make the trident big. I couldn’t defend myself either. Struggling in his grip, I kicked out, but my human form was no match for Jeremiah. He was going to kill me in front of Alex.
“Hoc maior gratia!” Alex cried from the bathroom, using the same words I used to make the mace grow in my living room.
My right wrist grew heavy, and I realized just what Alex had done. I twisted my hand and gripped the handle of the mace, bringing the spiked ball straight up between my brother’s legs.
His breath came out in an ‘oof,’ and then his grip on my throat disappeared as both his hands grabbed his private parts. I swung the mace like a bat while I had a moment of reprieve. It connected with his temple, knocking him to the ground. My bracelet snapped when I dropped the mace. I gave Alex a quick nod of thanks before moving out of Jeremiah’s reach.
His glare lifted to me as blood dripped from the side of his face. The damage the supernatural tools I wielded were always significant no matter the creature. It was as if the weapons were charmed in some fashion, and it was no different against Jeremiah. I could hurt him with any number of weapons, but only one would kill him.
He let out a growl as he climbed to his feet. Instead of coming after me like I assumed, he turned towards Alex like a predator cornering his prey.
Hot venom filled my veins, and my protective instincts flared. My voice rose from the depths of my soul, singing a lullaby that I used to sing to Jeremiah when he was little.
His head whipped in my direction, and jaw dropped. He stopped dead in his tracks, turning towards me. I continued singing, and every fiber of my being screamed at the injustice of this moment. My skin burned with it, along with an ache in my chest that would overwhelm me if I let it.
He stepped towards me like he was in a dream, lulled by my song. My voice hitched. He swam in my vision and I blinked. Hot paths traced my cheeks. They did not stop, even as the song smoothed out in my throat.
Between verses, I whispered Neptune’s incantation. “Deaus Neptunus in mari nascuntur tridentem istum mihi,” and the trident grew to full height.
Jeremiah’s gaze moved from me to the weapon I now held, and his eyes widened. I let the last verse roll from my lips, pulling his attention back to my tear-stained face.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered and jabbed the business end of the trident towards his chest.
He parried, but not fast enough to miss the sting of the trident tearing through his arm. He bellowed his anger and grabbed for the staff. I twisted away, cutting his chest with the sharp point on the end opposite the trident fork.
His claws scraped my back, tearing the flesh as I spun. I stumbled back and caught myself before I fell. I aimed the forks at my bother as we circled.
“Kylee!” Alex’s voice barreled from the bathroom.
I didn’t pay any mind to Alex. I couldn’t. Not right now. I was too engaged in this battle to let my attention wane. If Jeremiah got hold of the trident, I was dead.
“You share the same name as my dead sister.” His gaze sharpened now that he was no longer under my siren spell. He jerked towards me.
I flinched, jabbing the weapon. He sidestepped and grabbed one of the trident forks, yanking me off balance with a bellow as the gold burned his skin. The trident slipped from my grasp, and I hit the floor flat out. The trident clattered a few feet away. I scrambled to my feet, diving for it.
The kick in my side sent me flying into the cabinets on the far side of the room. The shock of it left me disoriented until I drew a breath. Air seemed to revive the wild beast twisting my bones inside me. I moaned at the pain searing my left side. I tried to get to my hands and knees, but I couldn’t quite manage it.
My eyes focused to see Jeremiah step into the bathroom out of sight.
“No,” I whispered, but even speaking was painful.
Metal scraped against metal and Alex howled. I forced myself to my hands and knees just as Alex came flying out of the bathroom. He landed on his ass on the floor without headphones, and the cuffs were no longer on his wrists. The impact knocked an ear bud out of his ear.
He scrambled to his feet as Jeremiah stepped in the doorway and pointed towards the discarded trident.
“Kill her,” Jeremiah ordered and began to sing the haunting tune of our ancestors. The one that incited murder in our victims.
Alex’s body
tensed, every muscle vibrating with the curse. He stepped towards the trident as if he wore lead shoes. His singular focus was the weapon, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. If I engaged my voice, Alex would be doomed.
“You bastard,” I whispered, glaring at Jeremiah as I pulled myself to my feet.
He stopped singing, turning his attention to me. “Come on, big sis. Let’s hear that voice of yours. Let’s see what you can do?”
Alex picked up the trident and stared at the tongs and the diamond embedded just above the staff. He twirled it and inspected the sharp point before turning his gaze to mine.
The darkness that lived in his eyes pulled a shiver from me. My Alex was no longer; he was my brother’s puppet now. His movements were smoother as he turned and pointed the deadly dagger at me.
I couldn’t bring myself to stop him no matter how much my brother cajoled. Alex stopped in front of me, holding the trident out in front of him as if he was handling a bo staff in a martial arts class.
Jeremiah stepped behind him and tilted Alex’s hand so the point was in line with my heart. He stepped back and smiled over Alex’s head.
“Kill her,” he said again, this time in a melodic whisper. One Alex couldn’t ignore.
I met Alex’s fogged gaze. “I love you, Alex.”
The mist cleared for a fraction of a second. Just enough for my Alex to make an appearance. He jammed the trident backwards, spinning and lunging at the same time. The forks bit through Jeremiah’s stomach. He let go of the staff as Jeremiah screamed in agony.
My brother’s face transformed into a mask of fury, and he lurched forward, impaling Alex through the right side of his chest. Alex’s cry mixed with my brother’s growling roar as he continued towards me.
I grabbed the tip and muttered the incantation before Jeremiah could impale me. “Neptunus maris deus, fac mihi cessuros trident.”
Alex bellowed his pain and collapsed as the trident staff shrunk.
The minute he hit the floor, I said the magic words again. “Deus Neptunus in mari nascuntur tridentem istum mihi.”
