“No!” His mother’s voice was sharp. “Don’t leave the room. I swear, Thomas, I’ll explain everything when I get there. The important thing right now is that you are okay and that you stay alone—”
“Mom, I mean — Are you bringing an antidote or something? I’m freaking out.”
“Listen, it’s not exactly … It’s not — Please just stay inside, alone, for another half-hour until I get there. It will be a lot easier to explain in person. And I’ll be a lot more—” she paused, “comfortable when I can see you. Promise me you’ll just hang tight.”
Thomas sighed. “Okay, Mom. Okay.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.” His mother hung up. She must have taken a private jet; chartered flights were the only thing flying in and out of Santa Monica. Thomas couldn’t imagine the expense. But something about his mother’s tone alleviated his frantic fear. Everything would be all right.
And he had survived. Unlike Jarl Georg, who failed his father, his mother had not spared a single moment in rushing to his rescue. Because of his idiotic desire to see Bon Jovi, he’d cost her everything. Well, almost everything. She still had Cordy and him, he supposed; and his sons, Kevin and Jason. And there was Lilly, Jason’s mother, who owed her life to his mother, too.
It had been his transition that caused her to become a fanatic. He knew she’d been a writer when they were little — how could he not? But she’d explained she was writing instruction manuals. You know, like for the dishwasher and washer/dryer. Once he transitioned and she gave him her book, he realized what a different kind of manual she’d been writing. And once they had sorted out how he had transitioned, they went back to the sperm bank to start the multi-year paper chase to find all his children. He had created twenty-one children who were scattered across the U.S., including three born sirens. It had been almost impossible to find the boys, and they were too late to save his daughter.
The pain ate at him still, and Thomas shied away from the agony. Her loss was a phantom ache that he had to escape. Still wet from the shower, Thomas pulled on his swimsuit to find his surcease in the Atlantic’s embrace. He was about to walk out when his cell rang again. Another blocked number. Thomas sighed. He hadn’t spoken to Kevin in almost a year; twice in one day was too much.
“Olá?”
“Thomas, do you remember me?” a soft voice asked in English.
“Kyoko,” he breathed.
The contribution of fae magick and genetic content makes sirens unique among all mage constructs. While mage magick is predominant, fae magick runs through the siren spell as well. This combination of powers makes the siren spell unique, with sometimes unexpected side effects. For example, the absolute were immunity to mage magick is partially negated by the fae origins of the siren spell. During the Fourth Mage War, it was discovered that sirenic magick could strongly affect weres when either party had contact with the sea.
– Sirens: An Overview for the Newly-Transitioned, 3rd ed. (2015), by Mira Bant de Atlantic, p. 115.
Chapter 19
“Thomas, I need your help. I need to get out of Rio.” Kyoko’s voice felt like rain running down a window: a soft patter that thrummed relentlessly on Thomas’ skin.
“Now? Where? What do you need?”
“I’m at the Sugar Loaf. But it will be dark soon. I need to be gone before night falls and she wakes up. I didn’t know who else to call.” Kyoko’s voice faded, as if she worried that she had overstepped.
“Of course you called me. I will get you out. Kyoko, everything will be all right.” Thomas thought for a moment. “There’s a helipad on the Sugar Loaf. I know someone who runs a tourist program. Let me call him and arrange a flight for you from there to the airport. Can I call you back? What number do you have?”
“I think this phone will work a little longer,” Kyoko replied. She gave him the number and Thomas hung up.
In a few minutes, Thomas had spoken with his acquaintance and arranged for Kyoko to be taken to Vitoria by helicopter. It would cost a fortune in both money and favors; he was bouncing some German tourists off their “Rio by Night” tour in order to take Kyoko the two hundred and fifty miles or so to the port city.
Thomas looked at the clock on his phone. It was a little after four o’clock. The helicopter would be refueled and on the Sugar Loaf by five. He’d meet her in Vitoria. Thomas was already dialing Marcia to arrange his flight there. He could feel his pulse thrumming. What was it about Kyoko? He felt pulled to her almost as if he were the fertile human, and she the siren. The attraction was instant, visceral. His heart had actually skipped a beat when he had recognized her voice on the phone, and he had grown light-headed. When thinking of her (as he had every day since they had met), his heart beat faster.
There’s a reason the heart is the symbol of love. Because even though he didn’t know her — not really — not at all even — his body knew that he loved her. Thomas’ mind caught up with his body and he stumbled over the truth of it: he loved Kyoko. And he wasn’t sure whether he was scared or excited to find out why.
“Óla, Marcia,” Thomas called out in Portuguese as he approached the Cessna, which was in the process of being refueled. “Thank you so much.”
Marcia Santos came out of the plane and down towards the runway to greet him. She was a tall woman with a broad face and dark, deep-set eyes. “It’s no problem, Thomas! Of course, we owe a few favors to Joao, who moved us way up in the departure queue, but next month is his wife’s birthday and I told him we’d take them out on a private boat tour.”
“I owe you,” Thomas said, but she just laughed and pulled him into a hug.
“You could never owe me anything. Get on board; I need to complete the preflight checks. Also, you shouldn’t be on the runway while we’re refueling. Someone might get annoyed.” Though Marcia smiled when she said it.
Thomas started dialing the number Kyoko had given him as he climbed up the few stairs to the open hatch. “How long do you think it will be until we arrive?” Thomas asked.
“I’ll know better when we take off, but I estimate between a quarter to seven and seven.”
“Thanks,” Thomas said to Marcia, pulling the phone up to his ear while it rang through. Kyoko picked up on the second ring. “It’s me,” Thomas said, coughing a little to clear the lump in his throat that had suddenly appeared when the ringing stopped, and he heard her on the line.
“Thomas,” Kyoko said. “Thank you.” Kyoko spoke in English, even though Thomas had addressed her in Portuguese. He could hear the wind behind her.
“The copter will be there very soon. The pilot’s name is Luiz Ferreira. He’s going to bring you to Vitoria, and I’m flying out to meet you now. We’ll arrive around six forty-five or so. Tell Luiz to bring you to—” Thomas paused and put his hand over the phone. “What gate are we going to arrive at?” He called to Marcia.
“There’s only one for private planes. You walk out to the hanger behind the main terminal.”
“She’s coming in by helicopter,” Thomas said, “Is it the same area we’ll land at? Is there someplace she can wait?”
“Yeah, have her wait in the hanger. Then you can go get her when we land,” Marcia responded.
“Tell Luiz that I’m picking you up by the private plane landing area and ask him to wait with you in the hanger until we arrive,” Thomas responded to Kyoko in English. He hesitated. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay. I’ll … be okay.”
Thomas wondered if Kyoko’s heart was beating as fast as his. He wondered why she had called him, of all the people she could have called. He wondered if Gerel was going to wake up at sunset and come after them. He wondered how fast a vampire really was. But most of all, Thomas wondered if Kyoko felt anything at all for him, or if he were the one ensnared in a net of unreciprocated adoration this time. Wouldn’t that be a horrible kind of justice for a siren?
“I know you have questions.” Kyoko sounded fainter than she had before. “I promise to tell you every
thing. But I’m just so tired.”
“Rest. Wait. Luiz will be there soon. Are you at the helipad?”
“Yes.” It was almost five o’clock now.
“Do you want me to wait on the line until Luiz arrives?” Thomas hoped she would say yes. She sounded so exhausted. Talking to her now was somehow even more unreal than his dreams had been. Their one actual encounter had only lasted perhaps fifteen minutes, but he had held her hand and she had danced through his mind. He used to think love at first sight was a fae illusion. But this was inexplicably real, like the magick that he couldn’t see, yet knew was there.
“Please stay with me,” Kyoko asked quietly.
“All right then.” Thomas felt that she just wanted to know he was there, and said nothing more until he heard the sound of the helicopter over the line.
“That must be Luiz. Don’t hang up until you’re in the air.”
“I won’t.” Kyoko’s voice was almost unintelligible over the noise of the helicopter.
Thomas heard the whirr of the helicopter, and the line went dead. She was on her way.
Thomas had never watched anyone sleep before. It wasn’t boring in the least; he actually found it almost as peaceful and clarifying as swimming. Kyoko lay in his bed, while he sat next to her on his puffy chair. Thomas told himself that putting her in his bed made sense, because the escape tunnel was accessible from his closet. But truthfully, he liked seeing her there.
Kyoko had fallen asleep practically the moment he arrived, and hadn’t even woken when he’d carried her into the waiting car and then into his house. It was almost as if she had been waiting for the safety of his presence, and her trust felt like a precious gift.
Dark circles like bruises shone beneath her eyes against the translucence of her skin. Thomas hoped it was only exhaustion. She had been sleeping the entire day, and he was loath to wake her. He watched her chest rise and fall evenly; he studied the light fluttering of her eyelids. He had heard that mages sometimes went into a kind of hibernation after a major working; perhaps this was what that looked like. He decided to let her sleep until at least sundown; surely by then she would need to eat or drink something.
His security team was on high alert; he didn’t know whether Gerel would be coming to reclaim her escaped mage, but assumed she would. Still, Thomas didn’t feel worried. He just watched Kyoko sleep.
“Kyoko-sama,” Thomas whispered later, holding Kyoko’s hand lightly. She stirred, but did not open her eyes. “Kyoko-chan?” he asked again lightly stroking her forehead.
Kyoko’s eyes fluttered open. “I am dreaming,” she said in Japanese.
“No,” Thomas replied.
“It doesn’t feel real. I’ve been dead for so long, but now I feel almost alive. I must be dreaming of a time before. But you are here, so perhaps it is true, and I am finally free,” Kyoko slowly shifted her body up to sit on the bed. “I am here,” she said, “with you.”
“You are here with me. A thousand miles away from Rio. You’re safe with me,” Thomas promised, sitting next to Kyoko on the bed. He hadn’t shifted his eyes from her face. Her gaze flickered down to their linked hands. She closed her eyes.
“I’m here with you. Free.” Kyoko whispered the last word in English.
“Can I call a doctor? Should I call a doctor?” Thomas asked. He pulled the sense of responsibility around him like a winter coat, heavy but warm.
“No. At least, I don’t think so. I think I just need to rest a little more. I’m still very tired.”
Thomas wanted to ask what had happened; what did she mean that she was free? But he didn’t. “Can I get you something to drink or eat? It’s been more than twenty-four hours since you called me, and I don’t think you’ve had anything.”
“Maybe some fruit juice or water?” Kyoko asked. “Then I think should sleep for another few hours. I don’t know. I just need another day. Another day with you.”
“Of course.” Thomas left and quickly returned with a glass of juice. He marveled at his energy, his newfound clarity. Kyoko said she felt alive, and that was it. Now, he too finally felt alive. Truly, this was love.
Now that he had spoken with Kyoko, Thomas was able to bring himself to leave her side. He put his headset back on and checked in with security; so far, they had seen nothing. He again warned the guards that they could be facing a vampire-led attack. Juliane again assured him that they were prepared. They had called in Maria Eduarda, even though it was her day off. She had grown up in the favelas of São Paolo. Maria Eduarda knew what a vampire was and how they attacked; she had advised all of them. They were all as prepared as they could be. Yes, blessed bullets would be effective. Thomas clicked his mike off and paced for a moment. Then he opened the gun safe next to his closet and selected the M4 carbine.
Neatly labeled boxes were in the lower drawer. Thomas found the one with bullets blessed by the Order of Our Lady of the Good Death and began meticulously reloading several magazines, while reciting the same prayers he had said in his dorm room thirty years before; his faith seemed only to emerge in a time of crisis.
His younger self may have expected safety, but his current self expected attack. Kadu often warned that Thomas’ worries would be a self-fulfilling prophesy: if you always expect the worst from people, you will be sure to encounter it. But Thomas’ optimism had been burned up after the fourth attempt on his life had sent him scurrying for the safety of Jarl Georg’s court.
Thomas adjusted the wooden blinds over the window in his bedroom and sat back in the chair next to his bed to wait. Cordelia used to tell him to relax, mocking his worrying as needless anxiety. When he ignored her, she tried to convince him that there were costs to his endless preparation: missed opportunities, wasted time. But she didn’t get it. She hadn’t experienced the real world like he had.
If nothing happened, he would feel relieved, as opposed to chagrined at “wasting” his time. Thomas might only be the last line of defense behind his gates and his guards, but even Cordelia would have to concede that in this case, his precautions were justified … though she’d probably also call him insane for harboring a mage-escapee from the vampire who ruled Rio. Thomas rested the M4 lightly on his knees and adjusted the volume controls on his headset to better hear his guards’ vocal traffic.
Kyoko woke to the sound of birds and the ocean. She sat up, but the clarity of the colors in the room were disorienting, and she immediately lay back down and shut her eyes to the dizziness.
“You’re awake,” Thomas said, coming to Kyoko’s side.
“What time is it?” she asked, closing her eyes again.
“It’s around noon. Is it too bright?”
“A little,” Kyoko said, her eyes still shut. “I think I just need to get accustomed to the brightness a little more slowly.”
Thomas closed the interior wooden shutters so that only a dim light prevailed in the room. “Better?”
Kyoko opened her eyes slowly and blinked. Her pupils dilated, then contracted. “Much better.” She turned to look at Thomas. “Thank you.”
Thomas handed her a glass of water and Kyoko sipped slowly. They just looked at each other for a heartbeat, then Kyoko noticed the M4 carbine on his chair. “Has there been any trouble?” Kyoko spoke hesitantly.
“No,” Thomas moved back to pick up the rifle to holster it in his shoulder harness. “I just believe in being prepared.” He paused. “I don’t want to push you…”
“I’m feeling better. Much better.”
“Good. Do you think you can stand up? Get something to eat?” Thomas moved to the side of the bed and offered Kyoko his hand.
“Yes. That would be good.” Thomas escorted Kyoko slowly downstairs, settling her at the table before drawing the blinds and laying out a simple meal for them. Cold meats, fruit, bread and cheese.
Kyoko watched him, and he watched her watching him. The silence in the room seemed somehow warm and inviting simply by the feel of her gaze on him. By tacit agreement, neither of them s
poke until they had both eaten. Despite her obvious exhaustion, she was beautiful.
“I thought my feeling of lightness was due to the great working, or hunger,” Kyoko broke the silence. “But I think this is just the feeling of freedom. It’s been so long since I was handcuffed to Gerel that I had forgotten how heavy the chains were.”
“The great working?” Thomas asked.
“I broke my indenture,” Kyoko said. “I had only one year left. But…” Her voice trailed off. Thomas waited. “But mages indentured to vampires don’t often survive beyond the term of their indentures,” she whispered.
“Was it a standard term?” Thomas asked. Mages were ordinarily indentured as apprentices to a more senior mage for seven to ten years, depending on their talent and the anticipated challenge of their initial training. Most mages were bound in their mid-to-late teens. Kyoko looked older than a twenty-something, but Thomas suspected that was due to the draining nature of working for a vampire; literally, perhaps.
“No. My parents bound me for a double term to guarantee our family’s safety.” She must have seen the expression on Thomas’ face, because she added hastily, “I agreed. Insisted even. I was more of a romantic then, and had no idea of what kind of ‘heroic’ sacrifice I was really making. I don’t think they knew either.”
Thomas was unconvinced; he would never sacrifice a member of his family like that.
“I’m not mage-born. I know it’s rare. But my parents are mundane, and they themselves had been vassals to Gerel for years. They wouldn’t have known which mage could be trusted or which had the right skill. Better the evil you know, right?”
Kyoko could defend them, Thomas thought. He would defend her. “You’ve been bound as an apprentice for more than a decade?” Thomas asked, a bit surprised. Apprentice indentures were known to be uncomfortable at best, and he could only imagine how hard it must have been for her.
“Almost two.” Kyoko closed her eyes and stretched her head back, as if feeling the release afresh. Thomas loved the sound of her voice, and didn’t mind that she was telling the story at her own pace.
Sirens Unbound Page 23
