Siren’s Song

by Juliana Haygert

  That’s it.

  Stay safe. Be happy.

  With love,

  Your father

  * * *

  I gasped and dropped the letter as if it had burned me. No, this couldn’t be. It wasn’t true. My father? Sending me a letter? Now? Why?

  My mother had never uttered a word about my father to me. I didn’t know his name, where he lived, even if he was still alive. I didn’t even know if they had been madly in love, or married, or just dating when I came to be.

  But there was one thing I knew now. My father lived in Willow Harbor.

  I heard some noise coming from the kitchen and looked that way. My mother was probably starting lunch. The wheels in my mind began spinning.

  I took off my jacket, placed it on the stairs with the letter hidden inside, and then grabbed the stack of mail and marched to the back of the house.

  “The mailman just stopped by,” I said, entering the kitchen.

  My mother looked up from the chop board and the carrots. In some ways, we looked a lot alike. I had gotten the thick, long hair from her, though hers was a shade or two lighter. I also inherited her high cheekbones, her fair skin, and her lean figure. But the similarities ended there. “Today? After all that snow? I didn’t expect him to come for a few days.”

  “I know, right?” I placed the stack of mail on the small kitchen island. Like everything in this house, the kitchen was small and old. My mother was a simple bank clerk after all. We had never had a lot of money to afford new or big things. “Want help?” I asked, wondering how to broach the subject. If I knew us well, an argument was about to ensue.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “You want to help me?”

  I shrugged. “There’s nothing better to do.”

  “I don’t have a lot to do,” she said. She pointed the knife to the cabinet behind her. “You can set the table, I guess.”

  I walked past her and grabbed two plates. “So, Mom, hm … I wanted to ask you something.”

  “I knew there was something more to this.” She stopped what she was doing and stared at me, her gray eyes annoyed and her mouth set into a thin line. “What?”

  I opened my mouth, but the words got stuck on my throat.

  Damn, how did I ask this? “Hey, Mom, can you tell me about my father?” or “What was my father’s name?” or “Why didn’t you tell me my father lived in Willow Harbor?”

  None of those sounded like a good conversation opener.

  I sighed. “I was just wondering if you would be mad at me if I went back to school a couple of days early? My friends are planning a party.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t care.” She looked down at her carrots and forgot about me.

  As usual.

  I ignored the painful lump lodged in my chest at her dismissal.

  Two

  Nathan

  I had dreamed about her again last night. I didn’t know why, but ever since meeting her at the beach years ago and saving that guy from drowning, I dreamed about her at least once a month. Lately though, it was more like once a week.

  In my dreams, she was a little older and even more beautiful. Entranced, I watched her while she walked down the beach in the cold weather and jumped into the ocean, clothes and all. I raced after her, but before I even made to the water, she emerged, laughing out loud, happy to be in the water. Batting her long lashes at me, she smiled and danced around, stomping her feet and splashing water on me.

  And I fell under her spell.

  “What else can I get you boys?” Drifter asked, pulling me out of my dream. On the bar, he placed a glass of whiskey for me and a beer bottle for Aidan.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Thanks.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me, then at Aidan. “I don’t want any trouble here.”

  “Don’t worry,” Aidan said. “We’re here just killing time.”

  “We’ll leave soon,” I reassured Drifter.

  The old man humphed and walked away to serve his usual clientele. The bar, Drifter’s, was a hole in the wall, with creaking floors, a few tables and chairs, and in need of a deep cleaning. I had no idea how Drifter could afford to kept it up. “I hope we catch them tonight,” Aidan said.

  Usually, the cases I worked on—that all hunters from the Sanctum of the Seven did—were fast and messy. We researched the case, found the demon, killed it, and then moved on to another case.

  However, Willow Harbor being a town full of supernaturals, the Sanctum of the Seven had to play police sometimes.

  And this was one of those times.

  I took a long swallow of my whiskey. The liquid burned down my throat, just the way I liked it. “Me too. I’m tired of chasing dead ends.”

  “Exactly. We’ve been working on this for almost three months. And it’s not even demon related.”

  “But it’s supernatural.”

  “I know, I know.” He paused, looking around. Then he turned back to me. “Maybe we should bring Selena back in and ask her questions.”

  I shook my head. “She already told us all she knows.”

  “How do you know?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t. I’m trying to believe her.”

  “She’s a siren, Nathan. She can easily spell us and tell us whatever she wants.”

  “I know, but you saw how much she has changed these past couple of months. She never complained when we wanted more information.”

  “Oh, she complained.”

  He was right. She did complain, but she always ended up spewing everything. This time, though, I didn’t think there was any more information she could share with us. “She’s trying.”

  “It could be just another game.”

  “I agree, but we know where to find her. If something seems fishy—” Aidan snorted over my intentional pun. “—we can always bring her in again.” Selena was a siren who for many years ran a forbidden potions smuggling operation right here in Willow Harbor. Until recently, we hadn’t known who she was or how she did it, but now that we had apprehended her, we thought the operation would die. “Whoever took over knows how to play this game.”

  Aidan nodded. “They are smart, staying off our radar for so long. I have to say, that’s probably not easy.”

  A grin pulled at the corner of my mouth. “You’re right.” There was a reason the Sanctum of the Seven was feared and respected. We did our jobs well, very well. Any supernatural being living in Willow Harbor knew what they would have to face if they didn’t follow the rules. And still, this group was proving to be as hard to catch as Selena had been.

  And that infuriated me.

  My phone rang. Knowing who it was, I answered without looking at the screen. “Cole.”

  “They’re on the move,” Cole said. “They are heading to the woods behind the docks.”

  “All right,” I said. “We’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

  Standing up, I slipped my phone back in my pocket.

  “Time to move?” Aidan asked, standing up with me.

  I slapped some cash on the counter. “Time to move.”

  Since we wouldn’t be able to park near the woods, it didn’t make sense to drive there. So Cole and I walked to the end of the boardwalk. If we kept walking, we would end up at the fishermen’s market and the pier, but since Selena had used the docks for her operations for years, we doubted the new leader would do business there. At least for some time. Even so, it was better if we steered clear of the docks, just in case. We turned left, away from the sea, and kept moving at a brisk pace along a back road, toward the woods.

  Up ahead, we found Landon’s Mustang and Cole’s police Dodge Charger parked to the side of the road. Landon and Tessa leaned over the open trunk of the Mustang, gearing up.

  “Hey,” I called, approaching them.

  “Hi,” Landon said, without looking at us.

  Tessa turned and smiled. “Hi, guys.”

  I couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Hey, Tess. Ready to catch some bad guys?”


  She winked at me. “More than ready.”

  Despite the hard life we had, Tessa had been a recent bright change. Her father, Isaac, had been a hunter like us, our leader along with Douglas, but he had been killed by a demon six months ago. When Landon went to tell her about it, she insisted on helping him avenge her father. As if our lives always had a fairy tale ending, they fell in love with each other. At first, it didn’t seem like it would work out. Like most hunters, Landon was quiet and stoic and brooding, while Tessa was happy, bubbly, and contagious. But I guess that was what made it all work out. Since then, she had brought our little family closer together. Almost every weekend, she cooked at least one homemade meal for all us, and shame on the hunter who didn’t show up.

  It sounded a little overboard, but after all we hunters had been through, we quickly learned it was the little things that mattered. Like stopping long enough to have a nice meal together, like talking and sharing and telling each other about our lives, like enjoying being together.

  Tessa reminded us of that.

  I had a gun with extra rounds in a holster across my back and a long dagger strapped to my leg under my pants, but I still reached in the trunk and grabbed a nice set of brass knuckles.

  “Fifty per hour,” Landon said, slipping a dagger on the scabbard at his waist.

  I snorted. “Put it on my tab.”

  Cole approached us. As a police officer, he was covered with guns and tasers and knifes, but we knew that, like us, he had more hidden under his uniform.

  “They should be a mile that way.” He pointed toward the trees.

  Aidan let out a long breath. “Dude, I didn’t bring my hiking boots.” He gestured to his feet, clad with hard combat boots.

  One corner of Cole’s lips tugged up. “As if you had hiking boots.”

  Aidan laughed. “Right! I don’t.”

  Cole shook his head. “All right. Everyone ready?”

  After we all said a quick yes, the five of us set out into the woods.

  On the way, we found two empty glass vials, which told us we were on the right track. We pushed harder, trying to get there faster.

  Even with our endurance and stamina, a mile into the thick of the woods took about thirty minutes.

  Finally, the trees opened and we spied a small clearing. We hid behind bushes and trees and watched out.

  A big wooden crate sat in the middle of the woods.

  “Where are they?” Landon asked.

  Cole stared at the crate, his brows down. “I don’t know. They should be here.”

  “I don’t think we should go check that crate,” Aidan said.

  A feeling of wrongness assaulted me. “I think …”

  “This is a trap,” Tessa said.

  “Not a trap. A distraction,” said a new voice.

  We turned around and found five men standing among the trees, their automatic rifles pointed at us.

  Careful with our movements, we stood and faced our enemies.

  “A distraction for?” Cole asked, his voice strained.

  The big man in the middle grinned at us. “A distraction to send you away from the real action.”

  I glanced between them, trying to find out what they were. Some supernaturals had specific traits, but these men didn’t have anything in common. So far, I thought there was a human, a naga, and a werewolf among them. Not a common combination.

  “You know we can take you, right?” Aidan said. I knew he was eager to show them what a real fight looked like. Aidan could be fun most of the time, but he had a short temper. “Five against five, that’s easy.”

  “Look back here.”

  Shit.

  We glanced back and saw another seven men standing around the clearing, all carrying the same automatic rifles, all pointed at us. This time, I recognized a vampire, a naga, a werewolf, and a fae.

  That was twelve against five. Our odds were down, but we still could take them.

  “Besides,” the man closest to us said. “We’re here to distract you, not to fight.”

  Landon scoffed. “Then you don’t know us.” Lightning fast, he lunged at the guy.

  And a fight started.

  Shots rang loud through the clearing, and we ducked to the ground, getting low.

  Landon had his guy on the ground with him. After a struggle, he got the man’s rifle and threw it away. I took my dagger from the strap around my shin, and threw it at one of the werewolves. It wasn’t silver or laced with wolfsbane, so it wouldn’t kill him, but it would slow him down. I jumped over a naga, pushing the rifle out of the way. The man shifted, turning into a nasty gray-green serpent. His limbs extended and grew as his fingers elongated into thick, sharp claws. Then he swiped.

  I jumped back but wasn’t fast enough. I let out a howl when his claw sliced through my jacket and cut my upper arm.

  “You piece of shit,” I muttered, taking the dagger from the scabbard on my back.

  I went for him, but he slithered out of my reach.

  A werewolf appeared between us, snapping his big teeth right at my face. Gasping, I took a large step back.

  I bumped into someone. At ready, I spun around, holding my dagger high. A human man grinned at me before fishing out a small vial with blue powder inside. The man threw the vial on the ground. It broke and blue, thick smoke filled the air. Arm raised to my mouth, I coughed and stepped back, sure he would come at me at any moment.

  I turned around in the blue cloud, holding my dagger high.

  Where were they?

  A cold breeze blew and the smoke started dissipating.

  There was only the five of us standing in the middle of the clearing.

  “What happened?” Tessa asked. “What was that?”

  “It was just a smoke potion,” Landon said. “They used it to escape.”

  “I don’t get it,” I said. “Why escape? Why not fight us and kill us?”

  “Maybe they don’t want to kill?” Aidan pondered.

  “But they know we’ll be on their asses again in two minutes. I mean, think about it. You’re the bad guy, and you know I won’t stop until I catch you. Wouldn’t you try to take me out of the equation?”

  Aidan shrugged. “It makes sense.”

  “Then why didn’t they kill us?” Landon asked.

  “I don’t know,” I muttered.

  Cole’s phone rang. He glanced at it, his lips pressed tight. “It’s from the station.” He answered the call, “Yes? They did? Okay. Okay. I’ll be right there.” He turned off the call and he glanced at us.

  “What?” Tessa asked.

  “It really was a distraction,” Cole said. “They kept us busy here while another boat was stolen.”

  “Shit,” I cursed under my breath.

  “This boat stealing thing is getting ridiculous,” Landon said.

  It really was. We didn’t know for sure, but we assumed whoever was behind the smuggling operation now didn’t own any boats. Or didn’t want to. Every time they wanted to take the potions to the ocean, they stole a boat from the docks. And a few days later, the boat mysteriously appeared back at the dock, or bobbing in the ocean, just off shore.

  We had tried putting cameras out on the docks, patrolling the area twenty-four-seven, but somehow they got it done anyway—right underneath our noses.

  Cole put his phone away. “I need to go.”

  Aidan nodded. “Yeah, go. We’ll clean this up and then go back to the manor. We need to regroup and rethink this entire operation.”

  I exhaled through my nose, exasperated. “Understatement of the year.”

  Three

  Brooke

  Twenty-six hours. That was how far Mobridge was from Willow Harbor. I had planned on dividing the trip into two days, but driving thirteen hours straight … I soon found out I couldn’t do it. The first day, I drove for eleven hours. The second day I drove for nine. And today I had been on the road for almost six hours.

  I was bound to arrive in Willow Harbor any minute. The problem w
as my GPS couldn’t find it. I had to direct it to Charleston, South Carolina first, then I tried to follow my hazy memories and drove blindly to Willow Harbor.

  If my mother knew what I was doing, I wasn’t sure she would care. Anyway, it felt like the right thing.

  After receiving my father’s letter, I couldn’t stop this feeling that I had to find him. I had to come say hi face-to-face. I had to meet him. I had to ask him why he didn’t stay with my mother and why he had never come after me before now.

  Since I had no idea when I would be back to South Dakota, I switched two of my classes for online ones and dropped the rest. If I would be back. I tried not to think too much about it, but what if my father was a super cool guy who loved me and wanted me to move in with him? Or at least to stay closer?

  I didn’t think my mother would mind. She didn’t mind when I left two days early, and it never occurred to her to check on me. For all intents and purposes, I was back in college, starting my classes for the semester.

  Another two miles on the road and I felt this pull in my heart, like it recognized this place and it was calling me.

  The open gates and the portico appeared in the distance.

  Welcome to Willow Harbor.

  I smiled, proud of myself for having found it.

  A burst of energy and a sense of purpose filled my veins, and I sat straighter, excited to be finally here. The road went on a little farther, then after a curve, the town came into view.

  Just as I remembered.

  During winter, we had the warm houses, the brownish lawns, the clean sidewalks, the leafless trees. I drove straight down Central Avenue until I arrived at the main square. The majestic willow tree looked exceptionally beautiful today—still proud and big and embracing one entire end of the square, and still very much green, despite being winter. But it had been always like that.

  The wind ruffled the heavy limbs of the tree. I rolled down the windows of my old Corolla and took a deep breath. Chilly, salty air rushed into my lungs. It was like a switch was flipped. All the memories came rushing back to me. No more haze or fog around the images. I remembered everything.