Lucy put the knife down and stared at me for one hard second. “What do you mean weird?” I noticed that her hand was bleeding.
“Lucy? You’re bleeding. Didn’t you notice that you cut yourself?”
“Oh, crap.” She grabbed a bar towel and pressed on the cut. It was tiny, but it was bleeding like she’d been shot. I closed the beer case and went to take a look. “No,” she rasped, “I can handle this.” She popped her finger in her mouth and sucked it until it stopped bleeding. When it stopped she said, “Tell me what you saw.”
Then I realized if I told her what I had seen, I would have to explain why I was hanging out on Chaumont and why I paused in the middle of the road. “Never mind. Like you say, just being a cop, I guess. Anyway, Helen had an accent, but I couldn’t place it. Says she’s not related to Jack, so I’m thinking she’s from Nik’s mother’s side of the family. Weren’t they foreign or something?” I finally took a small sip of the drink and immediately regretted it. I’d have to rush home soon and take an allergy pill. I was probably the only person on the planet allergic to alcoholic drinks to this degree.
“Excuse me a second. Be right back.”
Without another word, Lucy walked outside behind her cousins, or whoever they were and left me to break out in a rash by myself. Lloyd Joshua, the island’s postmaster, sat on a stool and looked at me with a nervous smile. “I’ll have whatever you are having. You’ve been lucky enough to talk to Lucy. Dream come true for me. She’s never so much as smiled at me before. I wonder if today is my lucky day.”
“Oh, what the hell,” I said as I offered him my drink after replacing the fat red straw with a fresh one. Just for show, I topped it off with soda from the soda gun, and he gave me money. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I tucked it in the tips jar. I’d only had one sip, but I could tell I was going to break out into a terrific rash. It wasn’t like anyone cared. One sip couldn’t kill me, right?
I waited around a minute for Lucy, but she never came back. The two other patrons didn’t start a riot. Ray Lott, the current owner of the bar, took care of the customers and wandered down the bar to me. Ray was short and always wore pointy-toed boots, even when it was 100 degrees out. He was quiet and had a record. I knew that because I had to check him out when he reapplied for his liquor license six months ago. He didn’t like me none, but it wasn’t anything personal. Just doing my job, as I told him then.
“Did you arrest my bartender, Officer Castille?”
“No way, Ray. I think Lucy would kick my ass if I tried. She stepped outside for a minute. Some kind of family trouble, I guess. Listen, I don’t know what I’m doing, and one’s my limit, Ray. See you around.” With a grunt he took my place and ignored me as I grabbed my keys from the basket and walked outside. No one was in the parking lot. Lucy’s old white convertible was gone. Must have been a real emergency for her to leave like that. Why did I get the feeling that I was the last to know what was going on around here? I considered calling to check on her, but she’d seemed in no mood for my input tonight.
Feeling lightheaded, I tossed the keys in the air and tried to catch them. I missed and decided to walk home instead of taking the car. I’d had only a sip, but why take a chance. It was a weird night. All I needed was for Belloc to see me swerve just once. He’d take my badge in a heartbeat. I wondered how I’d even gotten the job to begin with. The guy hated me.
My duplex apartment was only two blocks away, an easy walk on a quiet island. I locked my car up and slid the keys in my pocket. The skin on my neck and arms began to itch from the alcohol—or something. I felt sure by the time I made it home I’d be more clearheaded.
Might as well call it a night. Or that’s what I thought when I opened the door of my apartment.
Chapter Six—Ramara
Blue Wings
I always felt empty when I left the presence of one who belonged to the Order, and today was no different. Faydra’s dark eyes bored into mine searching for hidden things, things I wanted to keep from even myself, before she sent me on my way. Funny place to meet, in a jail cell. Perhaps she was trying to remind me that I was her prisoner or nothing more than a slave of the Order.
Who knew, really? Who could understand the ways of the Order? Were we all their slaves?
Those weren’t really Faydra’s eyes, but rather the eyes of a weak-minded vessel who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I shivered knowing that Faydra’s power would leave the human and take her memory of the event—and maybe her life—with it. It was always that way, but that was not my concern, I reminded myself. Visits from the Order were rare, and when they occurred one had a duty to obey. Or face the consequences. I had been summoned, and I would answer the call.
“Winged One, took you long enough. Must be getting too old to fly.”
“Not too old to perform my task and receive my reward. What is it you request, Faydra?”
She chuckled, low and cold. “Always the mercenary, Ramara. I knew you were the one for this.”
I waited patiently for the details. Then I heard something I had not heard in my entire existence. I heard Faydra cough. She coughed and growled as if she were struggling for control of the borrowed body. I didn’t offer to help her. Eventually she continued her instructions. “Roxana has landed on these shores. She has the bones and no doubt has found the Sirens Gate—the last portal into the supernatural world.”
“She’ll need blood, then. Is that why you summoned me?”
Faydra didn’t offer any clues. She either didn’t know or didn’t want to divulge what she knew. She continued, “Roxana’s powers have grown. Thessalonike has awakened but is still weak. She will need your protection for a little while. The bigger concern is the gate. You must keep Roxana from it at any cost.” Faydra’s human host whimpered in protest of the intrusion into her body and mind, but Faydra soon regained control and continued her speech. Her voice sounded as strong as ever, but the words flowed together in a hard-to-decipher stream. I tried not to grin. The human she had selected was stronger than Faydra believed. How amusing that she would make such a miscalculation!
“What is my reward?”
“You shall have another hundred years.”
“Is that all?” I frowned at her. I grew weary of life. Eternity seemed a poor reward for someone destined to remain alone.
“What is it you want, then? You cannot have what it is you seek.”
My hands on my hips, I peered down at the dark-skinned woman with Faydra’s eyes. “I want my revenge.”
“Nemesis has been punished, Winged One. Her sentence is not yet complete. What you ask is impossible.”
“Impossible? For the Order?” I snorted derisively. “Hardly, lady. I want my revenge.”
“Such a human response, Ramara. This is beneath you.”
I jutted out my chin. “You can stop the name-calling. I at least want to see that she is being punished.”
Faydra began to cackle, and the woman’s body rocked back and forth. “Very well. Perform your task, and I shall grant you what you ask. You will be permitted to view her, but you shall not speak to her or approach her.” I nodded in agreement. My blood raced at the thought of seeing Nemesis in chains. “This is an untried gate, Ramara. It has never been breached. Assess the gate and protect the girl, but remember the gate is more precious than anything. It is the last one of its kind.”
“Yes, Faydra. I will keep them both intact.”
“You will. And remember, Alexander’s sister is not for you.” She coughed and tried to add something to her command, but I could not make it out. Something about “not permitted,” and I had a pretty good idea what she was talking about.
Happy that I had managed to get what I wanted, I accepted my assignment and walked out of the jail. Under the protection of the Order, nobody much noticed me. “Remember your oath, Ramara,” Faydra purred a warning. I paused at the door. The disembodied voice filled my ears, but I did not turn back to see the body Fay
dra would leave behind. Senseless death nauseated me.
Instead I wondered what Alexander would think about all this. He’d been dead for a millennium or two, yet his wife held on to his bones like he was a pet dog. The man I knew in life would not have wanted that. Alexander had been fierce, but he had been no match for the machinations of his beautiful wife, Roxana. I remained convinced that she had been his total and irrevocable undoing. Once I envied him his beautiful wife, his illustrious name—and the victories that he held! His name was upon the lips of the world. How quickly it had all been undone. I envied him no more, for I understood the truth—women made men weak. The old warriors believed that too, but the young never listened. I had been a fool, just like Alexander, but I was alive and he was not. It was the weakness of men—and some eloi or angels, as we are sometimes called—to burn for women in spite of the danger.
Staying on course, I walked with purpose toward the bay. I could see the water now. I pulled off my t-shirt and dropped the rag on the ground but left my jeans on. My wing tattoos on my back and arms tingled as I drew closer to the source of my power. I kicked off my shoes and did not pause at the edge of the Mobile Bay. I dove in and swam deep until I felt my wings expand. Power streamed through my veins, and I soared upward, cutting through the salty water like a beacon of light. Up I flew until I was above the rain-heavy clouds that gathered over the county. At moments like this, I wondered how I could have been so foolish. Why would I want to leave this behind? Yet I had been so willing to do so for Nemesis.
And she had betrayed me.
I growled as I flew faster, as if I could leave my shame and frustration behind. Nemesis was gone now. Unfaithful to the end, she’d cuckolded me with a human whom she summarily tricked into his death. What a fool Narcissus had been, but no bigger fool than I. He was human, after all; I was angel-kind and of greater strength and intelligence. I knew the cost and had been too willing to pay it.
Now I had another chance to prove my commitment to the Order. And I wanted my prize. I wanted to see Nemesis suffering as I had suffered. I would not fail.
Chapter Seven—Nike
Swim Free
I hit the water with a thud. It wasn’t a graceful dive from the rocky jetty, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it served the purpose. In the water now, I closed my eyes against the saltiness and paddled deeper, deeper, deeper. When I got to the right depth, I waited, hovering there like a lazy water angel. The seconds turned to minutes as I waited. A normal mortal would have been scratching her way to the top of the water by now, gasping and praying for air, but I was no normal woman.
I was a siren, saved from death by Dionysus who saw me fall from the cliff that day and transformed me before I crashed into the water. I had not been human for many years, more years than I cared to calculate. At least I was sane. Some sirens refused to slumber, and sleep was crucial to stop the madness of loneliness from overtaking our minds. Mad sirens could become creatures called rages, like the fabled Lorelei who dwelt to this day in the Rhine River and was a threat to the anonymity of the Order. Luckily for Lorelei, there was no one yet strong enough to remove her from where she was trapped under the Rock of Dancing. I shuddered at her fate. I did not know her, but she had once been a mortal woman, just as I had been. As all sirens had been. We were not what men called demi-gods or gods. Not at all. But by some magic we had become supernatural beings.
These were the thoughts that filled my mind as the complete Awakening occurred. I had been asleep, happy to stumble through a mortal life, forgetting who I truly was and what had happened to me. That time had ended. Now my secret self had forced me to remember, and that could only mean one thing. Danger was close, danger to me. I had to learn what or who the danger was and quickly. For now, I still hung in the water unmoving, waiting for the complete change. Unraveling the memories, I recalled the truth slowly at first; then it began to unwind faster and faster.
I was Thessalonike—daughter of King Philip of Macedonia and sister of Alexander the Great.
My brother always liked that name, Alexander the Great. Unlike some of the heroes of old, my brother was not a humble man but confident and at times even impudent. But he was also the bravest, strongest man I had ever known. He encouraged the name Great. He believed it—as had we all at one time. I could almost hear the adoring crowds ringing in my ears now as I recalled the day I walked the promenade and watched him take the city of Heliopolis: “Golden Alexander! The Conqueror of the World! May he live forever!” The sound had drawn attention to my brother, attention he had not expected. For he would indeed be offered a chance to live forever, so impressed were the Secret Ones of the Order who watched. He would be offered the Immortal Waters—if he could retrieve them. He would find them, he pledged, and when he did—everything changed. The memories faded as my body began to tremble.
As the waters strengthened me, the power of the rebirth was so strong that it spun me in the water like a tiny top. Water rushed around me, and when I dared to open my eyes, I could see a faint glow of amber light surrounding me. I heard the thinnest whisper of a song. It wrapped around me like a living thing and sent sparks falling down around me. Here was the evidence of my power. My hair spun above me, and I was ready to release my last human breath. At least until I fell asleep again. This sleep had done me good. I no longer felt the creeping madness at the borders of my mind. The weight of a hundred lifetimes before this one did not weigh me down anymore. I remembered the faces of the men I had loved, the children I had during my first life, and did not want to scream.
I was calm now. All was calm.
I released the last of the oxygen, and here was the test. If the Order accepted me, if they approved my Awakening, I would live. If they did not, this would be the end of me. With a slight tinge of fear, I released my breath into the water and took the sea into my lungs. At first, I felt the stinging pain, but then it subsided as my gills appeared under my arms. I had passed the test. The Order still wanted me. The knowledge exhilarated me, and I dove deeper now that I could easily handle the water pressure. I did not have the fins of a mermaid, but I had very powerful legs and hands.
I began to sing an old song, one all sirens know intuitively. I sang it loudly but under the water so no man would be harmed for the hearing. That was in my power too. A mermaid’s power was in her tail, in her great beauty. A siren’s power was in her voice and her captivating eyes. I thought of nothing and no one as I swam up now and prepared to breach the surface that waited high above me. I kicked my feet once, then again when suddenly a pale face appeared before me.
Meri!
Her frightened appearance surprised me because I had been so intent on breaking the water, just once! I needed to feel the ocean pass over my body. She shook her head and grabbed my foot, pulling me down to a shipwreck that I just noticed. I tried to pull away, for the excitement of the breach was too great, but she would not relent.
Before I could scold her, she pointed to the surface and sent a wave of fear toward me. She could not speak, not on land or on the water, but she was adept at sharing her feelings. So intense was the fear that I could not ignore her pleading. Obediently, I took her hand and joined her in the shipwreck. I scanned the area for unusual sounds or songs but heard nothing. Whatever it was waiting for us up top, it was not siren-kind. I gave her a questioning look. She shook her head and made a motion with her fingers. A familiar motion. I had seen her use it before and could almost remember it. But what was it?
Fear, fear, fear, her waves of emotion hit me again one after another.
They slapped me, and I waved at her to stop. I understood what you meant the first time, Meri. Stop that.
She smiled at me and hugged me lovingly, and her short blond hair poked out around her triangular face. Without realizing it, she sent me waves of love again. I let them roll through me without making a fuss. If there were some supernatural creature stalking us, it would be easy for it to find us if Meri continued to be so free with her feeling
s. I patted her to remind her to be still. We hovered there side by side, waiting to see what was above.
Then I saw what she saw, what she pointed up to with her glowing white hand. I could tell by the slight bulge in her wide turquoise eyes that she needed air, but I had no oxygen to give her. She would die rather than give away my location. I could not have that on my conscience. I grabbed her hand and swam using my fast feet to remove us from the immediate danger. I swam for the outcropping behind the old fort. There were plenty of places to hide there. I shoved her to the top of the water, and she whooshed up quietly and took in the air she needed. She must have been below for some time, for mermaids needed air only every few hours. Intuitively she kept herself out of the moonlight, for she would glow brighter under the light of the moon. In the half light, I could see Meri’s scales—they certainly looked the worse for wear. I had been gone too long. Mermaids didn’t have owners; they weren’t pets, as some thought. I’ve heard mermaids referred to as “the dogs of the sea,” but Meri was not a pet—she was a true-blue friend.
I liked that human phrase: true-blue. That was an apt description for Meri from her eyes to the scales of her tail. I needed to heal her, but that would have to wait until the danger passed. The use of healing magic would draw the attention of any supernatural creature. I closed my eyes and pushed myself under the water so I could not be seen.
I surreptitiously listened to the activity around me. I could hear Meri’s heart beating fast, even for a mermaid. I heard a pair of dolphins in the nearby shipwreck; one was very young, newly born. Not far away were a group of black-finned sharks, curious about our sounds, but they quickly lost interest and left. There were dozens of hermit crabs crunching their knuckles in their shells; they remained hidden in the sands beneath us. Various forms of sea life scratched and stirred, but none wanted to be noticed. Not now. Then I heard something else. This was definitely a supernatural creature because it had a voice. No, two voices!
Blue Water (The Nike Chronicles Book 1) Page 4
