The Siren

by Petra Landon

  Jason spelled it out succinctly. “Turmoil.”

  Tasia couldn’t see his expression, but the Guardian sounded resigned.

  “The usual?” Duncan clarified.

  “Hard to be sure, Duncan. Plenty of whispers about ElThor’s displeasure and rumblings of the usual discontent with the First Wizard. However, for once, Lady Esmeralda is sanguine about her equation with the GCW, which is good news.”

  Sienna glanced up from her book. “Any news about a full Guardian assembly, Jason?” she asked.

  Tasia wondered at the question. From what she knew, the GCW rarely asked all Guardians to come in for a full assembly.

  Jason turned around to meet Sienna’s gaze. “My understanding is that it’s on hold for now. The GCW is rethinking the option.”

  Sienna looked unaccountably relieved by the news.

  As time trudged on, Tasia’s mind wandered, pondering the vagaries and mysteries of the Oracle’s foretelling of the future. A novice at prophecies and their interpretation, Tasia ruminated on whether the Seer’s notes about his prediction was par for the course. The Oracle was clinical in describing the main players, but skimpy on the details of the actual events. His hints about the custodian and the champion should help narrow the field. His clues about the sisters, ambiguous and sparse as they were, might prove useful too. Tasia guessed that the sister who reviled the Chosen was the one they’d failed to track down so far. To her, neither Nandini nor Sienna seemed to match the description.

  She made desultory conversation with Hawk and ate a sandwich, pleased that vegetarian options had been included. In New York, she disembarked to stretch her legs, part of a small group to do so. On the tarmac, Elisabetta joined them to make small talk with Hawk, Sienna, and her, catching Tasia by surprise again. The gorgeous Were-Alpha was inexplicably softening towards her usual targets. But it only made Tasia more wary of Elisabetta. When they reboarded to cross the Atlantic, the lights in the cabin were dimmed. Duncan announced that he was making the documentation on The Prophecy available in the stateroom. Soon, Tasia and Hawk made their way to the room to find Luis, Jason and Duncan perusing the document in turns.

  For the first time, Tasia had the chance to hold the Seer’s interpretation in her hand. To her astonishment, the note was handwritten, in a flowing, cursive but legible sprawl. Otherwise neat, there were a few instances of scribbles and cross-outs and even a tiny doodle in the left column. As she looked it over, it struck Tasia that the document had not been a hasty job. Rather, it had been crafted carefully, with attention to detail. The neatness and brevity of his notes signaled that the Oracle had put a lot of thought into the hints and clues he’d sprinkled in his explanation. It suggested that every word in the interpretation was pertinent and consequential. In a strange way, the realization allowed Tasia to breathe a little easier. If every word was significant, then the bit about the custodian’s heart guiding her to make her choice hinted that the rainmaker, whoever she was, would not plunge their world into darkness. Because otherwise, the chetariki had Tasia seriously perturbed, for the description by the Oracle fit Lady Bethesda to a tee.

  Eventually, the Alpha, accompanied by Atsá and Roman, sauntered into the stateroom. And suddenly, the room seemed uncomfortably crowded. Though decently sized, the stateroom was dominated by a queen bed which made it difficult to move around easily.

  “Shall we take this outside?” Luis suggested.

  Roman chuckled. “Luis, my man, some of us don’t have night sight like you Wyrs.”

  The Shifter’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Lesser Chosen will be shown the light, Ancient Lord.”

  Roman grinned to acknowledge the hit. And, as was his wont, Duncan offered a practical solution without fuss. “The plane has enough seats in the back and we could turn the lights on there without disturbing the others. Might need a few minutes to rearrange the luggage though. Stefan stored it in the back.”

  Jason and a few Shifters stepped out to assist with the luggage, leaving the stateroom uncrowded again. Hawk took the opportunity to peruse the sheet of paper at the center of the furor. Tasia read it over his shoulder for the second time, trying to make sense of the cryptic clues and tenuous connections.

  When Hawk was done, he passed the document over to Atsá and met Tasia’s eyes. “It’s super vague.”

  Much like the others, Hawk had assumed that with the Seer’s interpretation in their possession, The Prophecy as well as the path forward to check Lady Bethesda would be clear. Instead, he was left with more questions than before.

  Tasia agreed with him. “Almost deliberately so, Hawk” she said quietly.

  At her words, Atsá shot her a penetrating glance, before returning to his examination of the document.

  When they trooped out to congregate to the back of the plane, déjà vu washed over Tasia. The flight back to San Francisco after the ransacking of Wizard Headquarters was still vivid for her. She could remember clearly how disturbed she’d been from the echoes of a nightmare, as well as her attempt to banish the blues by observing the dynamics between the disparate group to make a stand against the Guardians. She could also recall the collective consternation and shock at the Alpha’s bombshell about his past. To her, it had been one more revelation about the man behind the mask, and yet another clue to solving the riddle of Raoul Merceau.

  Elisabetta joined them as the Seer’s document was passed from one to the next. Jason sprang to his feet.

  “If anyone can interpret this for us, it’s Sienna. These are her father’s words” he averred.

  Sensing general consensus with his sentiments, Jason ambled to the front of the plane to return with a bleary-eyed but alert Sienna. She took a seat, unusually quiet since reading her father’s depiction of his prophecy.

  The Alpha was the first to break the silence. “Faoladh joins us in Corfu” he announced.

  As the others looked startled, Elisabetta exclaimed with a hint of puzzlement. “To meet ElDarZin’s friend?”

  Raoul shook his head. “He’s interested in The Prophecy. I was to send Faoladh the Seer’s interpretation once we had it in our possession. However, since we promised the Guardian to not make copies, he’s decided to come to us. To accommodate Faoladh’s schedule, we might spend an additional day on the island before we leave for Belize.”

  Tasia was taken aback by Faoladh’s interest in the Seer’s notes. He’d interfered little in the investigation thus far, from what she knew. She wondered at his newfound enthusiasm for the records. For a Shifter, Faoladh broke the mold. He was a globalist — while his first concern would always be the welfare of the Wyrs, he did not ignore the larger quest of Chosen security and prosperity. But at the end of the day, he was a Shifter and they were not known to believe in prophecies or Forebearer’s legends or any other future portends.

  Atsá redirected the conversation. “You’ve said very little about the Seer’s explanation, Alpha” he observed.

  Raoul directed his attention to the Were-Alpha, the gold eyes thoughtful. “Trying to keep an open mind, Atsá. If the Oracle intended to lay out a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow, he would have. Instead, he chose to leave behind veiled clues about critical events and significant Chosen. He’s done this for a reason. Until his motives become clear, the interpretation gets us no further than before.”

  Elisabetta did not hide her frustration. “So, after everything, we’re back to square one.”

  For the Shifters, this cryptic, obscure and vague interpretation was just another bit of theatre to match the Spell Caster stereotype they were all too familiar with. First, a Seer’s mysterious and perplexing foretelling had been locked up tight by the Guardians as if to suggest that the records were akin to state secrets. To compound the hypocrisy, the GCW had made the Shifters jump through hoops for the documents without ever intending to release them. In the end, the Alpha’s threats and Sienna’s connections had secured them a copy. But to no avail, for there was nothing in the Seer’s notes to help further their
investigation.

  “Not to square one, Elisabetta” Raoul countered. “He’s left us clues galore, even though we can’t make sense of them. Not yet anyway. But we have a map to guide us now, a blueprint with the crucial bits of his prophecy. As we dig deeper and events unfold, the blueprint will come into sharper focus and help us understand the big picture.”

  Roman chimed in. “Also, for the first time, we can distinguish between what was foretold and how Lady B interprets it. This we lacked before, Elisabetta, and it hampered us. All this while, the Lady had an advantage over us. The Seer’s document finally negates that.”

  Raoul glanced at Atsá. “You’re familiar with prophecies. How unusual is this interpretation?”

  “It is shorter than usual” the Were-Alpha conceded. “Under other circumstances, I might say it indicates an unfinished prediction, one the Seer was not confident enough to interpret or foretell. But the Oracle was an experienced Seer, some say the best in generations. If he took the time to add his notes to the official records, he would not leave out any detail he considered critical.”

  “Which suggests that we have everything we need” Duncan murmured. “It is now a matter of perception and insight.”

  “I’d say so, Duncan” Atsá agreed.

  “At least, this levels the playing field” Jason pointed out. “What Roman said — we know as much as Lady Bethesda about The Prophecy now.”

  They were better off than before, Raoul mused. Whatever else was going on, the Seer would not jot his thoughts down on paper but leave anything significant out. He was in agreement with Atsá about that. It was more likely that blinded by fury, greed and lust, Lady Bethesda had misinterpreted her husband’s words, deluding herself into believing that his version of the future was meant to further her ambitions. The Oracle had asked the First Wizard to include him in the Guardian contingent for Chicago because he hoped to get through to his wife. To Raoul, it suggested that the Seer believed his wife had lost her way, not that she was playing a role fate had written for her and he had predicted.

  “What now?” Elisabetta asked.

  “We use the Seer’s words to go over what we have” the Alpha responded. “In essence, take stock of what we think we know in light of the new information.”

  “What about the three sisters?” Luis prompted. “If we are to believe Lady Bethesda, the Oracle confirmed that her daughters would play crucial roles. But are we sure the Seer’s words point to Sienna and the others?”

  “What do you think, Sienna?” Hawk asked the silent Wizard. “Do his words ring true for you?”

  “Yes” Sienna affirmed, without hesitation. “The part about a family legacy shaping one sister’s actions and steering her to keep her distance from her kind is about me.”

  Puzzled by the reference, the others stared at her. Roman asked the question. “What family legacy, Sienna?”

  The Wizard hesitated, as if struggling for the right words. “My mother’s actions cast a long shadow on me all my life, Roman” Sienna admitted, meeting his gaze candidly. “Today, the Wizards respect the McAlister name because of my father. But in school, I was the girl whose mother had murdered ten Guardians and most of a Wizard Registry. The wounds were raw and my Wizard classmates found it hard to forget. Those early experiences shaped me enormously, drawing me to a life independent of San Diego and the Wizards.”

  As a heavy silence descended on the group, Tasia was reminded of Sienna’s early days with them. Every ounce of Sienna’s vivaciousness would drain away whenever Lady Bethesda was discussed. She’d been better lately and more resilient since Nandini had joined them. But now, the old wounds were being scraped raw again and Tasia’s heart went out to her.

  Jason, as affected by Lady Bethesda’s actions as her daughter, studied Sienna with an unreadable look on his face. “I can attest that Sienna’s time in San Diego was not easy” he offered quietly.

  But this time, Tasia frowned. Something did not add up for her. Why would the Oracle invoke his wife’s crimes and call them a family legacy, she wondered? Perhaps, an overwrought Sienna was misinterpreting the Seer’s words. She glanced around her. The document lay slack in Luis’ hand while he listened to the discussion. Tasia held out her hand for it and the Shifter passed it to her.

  “I wonder if Nandini recognizes herself in the Seer’s depiction, like you do, Sienna” Duncan remarked, adroitly diverting the conversation.

  Tasia scanned the words Sienna attributed to refer to her, only to note that something had been crossed out before the term ‘family legacy’. She peered more closely at the document. But she could only make out the letter v. It had her concede that perhaps, Sienna had it right. Maybe, family legacy was the most delicate term the Seer could find for Lady Bethesda’s crimes. To the rest of them, the Oracle was a stranger. An accomplished, respected and feted Chosen, but a stranger, nonetheless. To Sienna, he was more. Much more.

  “Nandini has a twin” Roman pronounced abruptly.

  Something in his voice, a peculiar note of constraint, had Tasia looking up from the document in her hand.

  “Yes” a perplexed Hawk corroborated. “The brother who leads the Naga.”

  The others seemed to share the young Shifter’s confusion in varying degrees. But Roman remained silent, despite Hawk’s inquiring glance at him.

  It was Atsá who proffered an explanation. “No one knows why the Chosen beget so many twin children. It is a mystery we have no explanation for. But given the Chosen’s struggles with procreation, twins are usually welcomed with great joy. However, history has shown us that twins often presage bloodshed and strife in some older sects where the position of leader is hereditary. In such cases, the birth of twins signifies an eventual fight for the succession.”

  Hawk blinked, clearly taken aback. “Nandini is no threat to her brother’s leadership” he rebutted incredulously. “She talks to him every night, no matter where she is. Anyone can tell that she’s crazy about him. It’s like suggesting that Sara’s plotting to dethrone me. Absolutely ridiculous!”

  “Neither Nandini nor her brother might look upon her as a threat to his position, Hawk” Roman explained gravely, his expression somber. “But Atsá is correct. Historically, sects have been plunged into chaos and civil war whenever the leadership is in doubt. If Nandini is close to her twin, she’d be careful to allow no such questions to be raised.”

  “She’s upholding Naga tradition by allowing the first-born to lead unencumbered” Sienna murmured, echoing the Seer’s depiction. “Thus, embracing her destiny by distancing herself for love.”

  “If that be the case, I’d say the Oracle’s words fit Nandini to a tee” Duncan asserted.

  “That leaves the third sister” Jason adjured, pleased to note that the discussion, about the tight-rope Nandini would walk all her life for a beloved sibling, had roused Sienna from whatever doldrums assailed her. “Who The Prophecy hints has very strong feelings about the Chosen.”

  “If I was under Monseigneur’s thumb, I’d revile the Chosen and try to alter my destiny too” Roman retorted.

  Sienna looked alarmed. “Do we believe she’s a prisoner of the Vampires?” It was one thing to believe that her half-sister had been brought up in the bosom of the Lombardis, it was another to discover that she was a hostage of the Clan.

  “She seized her chance to escape them, Sienna” the Alpha reminded her. “At the very least, she’s not a fan.”

  Sienna subsided. “We have to find her. Because if Lady Bethesda gets to her first, it won’t matter if she’s the custodian or not.”

  “We will” Raoul assured her. “Finding her and rousing the Chosen to the threat we face are our priorities. Everything else goes on the back burner.”

  “Do we think Lady B is the rainmaker?” Roman asked bluntly. “I gotta admit, I’m having a hard time with the Seer’s characterization of the custodian. Isolated and estranged from the Wizards, with a tough, almost impossible, road to legitimacy in Chosen eyes — this is an unca
nnily accurate depiction of the Lady. The only contradictory reference is the White Mage. Lady B was thwarted in her ambitions of leading the Wizards once. Of course, she might yet succeed at it, if the GCW can’t get its act together. Otherwise, I’m not sure how the term White Mage applies to her.”

  Jason blanched at his words. It had Roman apologizing contritely. “That was a tad brutal, Jason. I’m sorry.”

  The Guardian shook his head. “Not the time to mince words, Roman. We’ll get nowhere unless we look under every rock and consider every possibility, no matter how unpalatable the truth might be.”

  “You’re the best man to answer this” Duncan queried the Guardian. “What if Lady Bethesda came back from the dead and somehow, miraculously convinced the Chosen to forgive her past crimes, would the Wizards be willing to have her lead them?”

  Jason did not hesitate. “It is possible” he admitted heavily. “The GCW holds absolute sway over the Wizards. And given their confusion and disharmony, I could see someone like her exploiting the chaos by promising to lead the Guardians back to their former glory. Assuming, of course, that she’s able to persuade them that she’s not responsible for blowing up ten of their own in Chicago.”

  “In short, given the Seer’s depiction, we should not discount Lady Bethesda as the rainmaker” Atsá summarized precisely.

  “It would be a mistake to” Jason seconded strongly.

  “I can offer an alternative theory” Sienna said abruptly, startling the others.

  Elisabetta’s brows drew together. “What?” she asked curiously.

  Tasia spoke up. She’d come to the same conclusion as Sienna a few hours ago while mulling over the Seer’s description of the custodian. “Everything that points to Lady Bethesda applies equally to her twin.”

  “Exactly” Sienna affirmed eagerly. “She has a lot of magic, leads the Wizards and finds herself isolated because the GCW refuses to share power. Essentially, estranged from the Wizards by circumstances. And frankly, if we talk about the antithesis to the Black Mage, Aunt Minnie fits the bill a damn sight better than her sister.”