Chapter 13
Eventually we came to an old staircase that ascended for what looked like forever. Two thousand and fifty steps later we entered a cave with a water pool. I could tell from the salty smell that the underwater tunnel led to the ocean.
“This is it.” Padrick turned to me. “Let me tell you about sirens. You do not want to piss one off—in fact, it’s best if you just stay far away from them. They don’t like other magical creatures. However, the queen of the sirens owes me a favor.”
The water shifted in the pool and bubbled as if it was a glass of champagne. Suddenly, three female faces emerged from the water. Their shoulders followed, but their bottom halves stayed submerged.
“What is this about owing you something?” the one in the middle asked. “I owe no one anything.”
Her hair was as green as the grass I had grown for the mountain sheep. Her eyes matched her hair and sparkled like two shiny emeralds. The girl to her right had vibrant, fire engine red hair and ruby eyes. The girl to the left had blue hair and sapphire eyes.
Mermaids. Holy shit.
All three of the girls turned their eyes to me. The two on the sides hissed and showed me their glistening, sharp teeth. Their beauty quickly turned to something out of a nightmare, as their mouths opened too wide.
“Why have you brought a bloodsucker to our sacred space?” the girl in the middle hissed at Padrick. “I can barely tolerate you, elf, and you know how I feel about these ungodly creatures.”
“Now, now, Zafora, she is a friend of mine, and I trust her with my life,” Padrick began.
All three hissed louder. From the top of my pack, Argo reared his head up and roared back at them, sending tongues of fire into the air. Storm joined the hiss fest and added her feline growl to the mix. But Argo had stolen the show. The moment he showed himself to the women, their mouths shut, and their eyes grew wide.
“It can’t be,” Zafora spoke in awe. “There hasn’t been a dragon since Zara died. Even Nostafaru didn’t live long after she died.”
Argo leapt off my pack and landed on the ground by the water’s edge with a gentle thump. He inched closer to the pool, and Zafora swam to him. He lowered his head so she could touch his sparkly scales. She ran a hand over the side of his head and closed her eyes. Argo closed his eyes too. They stood in this position for a few moments.
I tried to listen in and hear what they were talking about, but I hit a solid black wall. Either Argo or the siren was blocking their conversation from curious minds such as mine. That didn’t seem fair.
“You’ll learn how to do this too,” Padrick assured me. “But first, we need to cross the sea to the Drage øy.”
Argo and the siren finished their conversation and then broke contact.
“She can’t read minds, but she can communicate through touch. I had to tell her we were safe,” Argo explained. “You’re being tracked energetically.”
“I will grant you passage this once, elf.” Zafora turned her head in my direction. “I still don’t trust you, and I have to break the bond you have with your lover. You’re being tracked.” Disgust dripped off her words.
“No.”
“How do you think that witch and those wraiths were able to find you?” Padrick asked. “I agree, you need to break that bond, before you get us all killed.”
This was not what I expected. My bond to Traian was the only thing connecting me to him and keeping me from losing my mind. If that was severed, how would I know what was happening to him? How would I get into my father’s facility? Yet the siren and Padrick had a solid point. That bitch hadn’t shown up until after I had dream walked to Traian.
But I didn’t actually dream walk.
The whole interaction had been odd. Even Traian had acted weird in his spirit form. He had told me to not come back because Octavian planned to capture my spirit, but what if that wasn’t the real reason? What if that was just a smokescreen for one of Octavian’s witches to try to latch onto my spirit right then and track me?
I looked at Argo and Storm, hoping they would give me some words of wisdom. Now I’m relying on a newly hatched dragon and a cat for advice? What a strange world I lived in.
“You really need to do this,” Storm said.
“Agreed,” Argo added.
“You won’t be able to focus on training Argo, and Octavian will find us.” Padrick chimed in. “This doesn’t mean that you won’t see the fiend again. It means we need to stay hidden before we make it to the island, so your father cannot track us.”
“We’re wasting time. Let’s get this done,” Zafora said impatiently. “Come here.” She waved at me.
I took a deep breath and approached her with slight trepidation. I closed my eyes and observed her with my witch eye. Her green aura sparkled against the blue water, a different hue than Padrick’s emerald shimmer. She had more of an aqua shade.
“Witch, come kneel here so I can touch your thoughts.”
I heard her loud and clear, but I checked again with Argo and Storm.
“Go!” both shouted at me.
“Okay, okay.”
I held my hands up and pulled off my backpack before kneeling at the water’s edge, where Argo had been moments ago. I lowered my head so it was within her reach.
Cool, wet hands cradled the sides of my forehead, her thumbs gently brushing my third eye. I twitched at the energy ripple that her touch produced.
“Hold steady, witch. I’m only seeking the bond to sever it.” Zafora prodded with her mind. “Aha. My goddess, you have a strong bond. This will take a moment.”
It felt like her fingers had reached into my mind through my third eye. I could feel her digging around inside my head. This felt more invasive and violating than being touched by that witch bitch in the tunnels. My skin crawled. I didn’t think I could take any more people inside my body or touching me.
“There. Found the spirit tracker,” she proclaimed as, with her long fingers, she pulled a black and silver cord from the middle of my chest.
I watched with my third eye, but my spirit felt the energy being drawn out of my body, and tiny strings tugged and snapped with each pull. The cord disappeared in her hands as she moved away. The process wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t comfortable either.
Then there was resistance.
Zafora couldn’t get the last bit to budge. The other two sirens flanked her and pulled too, but something was tugging me back. I glanced around to make sure Argo or Padrick weren’t behind me, but both were at a safe distance.
Then I felt the knife stab me in the center of my chest. I looked down to make sure a blade wasn’t sticking out.
“That bottom-feeding sack of rotting testicles knows you’re severing the connection with your lover. He’s trying to get to you one last time.” Zafora spoke through gritted teeth as she continued to pull. “Sorry, you’re going for a swim.”
I didn’t have time to react before I fell forward—a perfect belly flop into the bubbling pool of water. Both the red and blue sirens came over and held my shoulders back as Zafora yanked the cord clean off. The silver and black tendrils floated about and then dissolved, as did the pain in my chest.
Then I felt part of my spirit being ripped away.
The water stilled around me as the three sirens circled slowly. I stood suspended, unable to move. Through my witch’s eye, I could see their auras shimmering through the water.
What have I done? I could feel tears filling my physical eyes. A sense of hopelessness set in. Will Traian hate me for doing this?
“Enough with the pity party, witch.” Zafora slapped my cheek. “You’ve got a job to do.”
My witch’s eye closed and my physical eyes opened. I could feel my hands tingling even in the water. I let the energy build in both hands, even the one with the rhodochrosite ring from Traian.
“Save it for the bad guys. We need to get you to the north isles.” Zafora gave a bored shrug and pushed toward the surface as did the other two sirens.
Everything was happening too fast. The scions, the witch, these sirens, my body being invaded, the connection being broken… I couldn’t bear to think about not being able to travel and visit Traian.
What will they do to him?
And then there was my dragon. I had severed my bond to Traian to protect Argo, because we needed him too.
“I’m right here.” Argo’s voice sent a wave of calmness through my body. “Come up when you’re ready, but don’t wait too long. We need you, too.”
I smiled and sent all the energy inside my hands downward. The blast propelled me up through the water until I surfaced. My body did a flip in the air, and then I landed next to where I’d left my pack with a loud, squishy thump from my water-logged boots. It wasn’t a graceful, superhero-like landing, but I kept my body upright even though I felt like a drowned rat. When I inspected my bare midriff, the words the black witch had cut into my skin had healed.
“It’s time,” Zafora said.
Her two sidekicks rose from the water and formed a circle with their leader, joining hands over their heads. And then they sang.
I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but the melody was both haunting and hypnotic. Each note sent shivers down my spine. I could feel my skin turning into gooseflesh underneath my jeans and leather jacket. This was what the legends spoke of. The siren song that leads the wayward sailor to his death.
If vampires, elves, shapeshifters, and dragons exist, why not sirens too?
Their song grew in volume with each note. Then it stopped. At the center of their circle was a large bubble of water. One girl released her hand, and from there, a watery walkway opened to the edge of the pool.
“You may enter our vortex,” the girl with red hair said.
“Vortex?” I turned to Padrick.
“It’s the fastest way to get to Drage øy without being detected by your father.” He stepped forward to the edge of the rock.
“What are you doing? You can’t honestly think you can walk on water.” I grabbed his arm.
“Watch me.” He stepped out of my reach, right onto the water staircase.
Sure enough, he reached the center of their circle, where he entered the open water bubble. Storm, who sat on his pack, didn’t seem fazed by this. I found that odd, as she is a cat, and cats rarely get along with water.
“Come on. It’s not that bad,” she coaxed me while licking her paw.
Argo didn’t even hesitate. He bounced down the steps into the vortex as if he was ready for some epic adventure. I followed him, even though everything in my body screamed, “Don’t do it.”
Once I stepped inside the opening, the redheaded girl clasped hands with Zafora, and the vortex closed, sealing us in the water bubble.
“Here we go. Hang on tight.” The girl in blue smiled mischievously.
She wasn’t kidding. Suddenly we plunged deep toward the bottom of the pool and through a tunnel that led us to the open sea. But instead of going up to the surface, we continued further down to the ocean bed and then moved forward.
My body thrashed about at the quick direction change. The little bubble felt like a transparent submarine with flexible sides. We shot through the water like a torpedo, but twenty times faster.
We traveled at this speed for maybe an hour. I couldn’t tell the exact time because we were going so fast, and all the sea creatures and structures underwater zoomed past us so quickly. The waters were dark, and there was not much to see, anyway. Eventually, the sirens slowed, and we rose to the surface.
When we came out of the water, the top of our little bubble popped, allowing us to breathe the cold air of the northern sea. Straight ahead rose snow-covered mountains right out of the ocean. I could make out some puffins and a few seals lying on the icy shoreline.
“Welcome to Drage øy.” Padrick stretched his arm forward. “Where I get to freeze my ass off while I attempt to protect you as you figure out how to train your dragon. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
The longer this journey took, the crankier Padrick seemed to get. I couldn’t tell what his issue was, but it reminded me of his ‘Professor Perry’ days.
“You know, you don’t have to come with us. I think I can manage on my own. Argo has a lot of knowledge, and I have Storm.”
“I know nothing of dragon-rearing.” She gave me a glare. “Might as well put up with a grumpy elf for a while.”
“I heard that,” Padrick said through gritted teeth.
“Aren’t you four a delightful group?” Zafora mused. “Some days, I miss being around creatures outside of the sea, but then I meet you all and think ‘thank goodness I don’t have to put up with that nonsense’.”
I hurried off the vortex as quickly as I could when we reached the shore. I moved so fast, I slipped on the ice and fell on my ass. After scrambling up and gathering the small bit of dignity I had left, I turned to the sirens.
“Thank you for bringing us to our destination safely. Your kindness won’t be forgotten.” I gave Zafora a small bow. “I owe you one.”
Zafora curled her lip in a snarl. “You owe us nothing. Stay away from my people, and we won’t go near yours. As for you, elf, consider my favor paid.”
The three mermaids dove into the frigid water and disappeared underneath the darkened surface. On the eastern horizon, I could see the stirring of dawn. I needed to find shelter soon, but I stood frozen in place, pondering the display of hostility the sirens had shown me.
What did I do to make them hate me so? They don’t know me.
“They have a long history of torture and pain. Humans have hunted them, polluted their waters, and caused sickness amongst their kind.” Argo sat on the ice next to me, looking out to the sea.
“We need to get moving, and you need to hunt,” Padrick called.
He’d already made it further up toward the snow-covered mountain, with Storm still on top of his pack. The island appeared to be devoid of humans, but I could smell traces of their presence, which meant I needed to get moving.
“Coming.” I hurried behind.
As I followed Padrick’s footprints in the snow, I took an inventory of the possible prey. There were numerous herds of deer, several species of seals, polar bears, walruses, and millions of birds. The waters were teeming with fish, dolphins, and many types of whales. We had plenty of food to live off for a whole summer if needed, but life was fragile on this island, and Argo and I would have to be wise in hunt selectively in order to not completely disrupt the ecosystem.
As much as I didn’t want to do it, the larger population of puffins and seals meant we could start there without doing too much damage. First, however, we needed to find a place to stay.
We reached the mountains and climbed up. Argo pranced around in the snow like a jolly puppy, often disappearing in the drifts only to come flying out a few yards later. His joy couldn’t be ignored.
I laughed as he chased his tail before leaping up the side of the mountain. Even Padrick let out a modest chuckle before returning to the scowl he seemed to have worn constantly these last couple of days.
I wonder what is bothering him? Ever since he saved me from Africa, his demeanor had progressively cooled, and now he was just plain grumpy. Did I do something?
“Nothing,” Padrick’s voice echoed in my head.
“Get out of my brain.”
“Then stop focusing your energy on me while you think of me. It’s like you’re yelling in my ear.” Padrick kept hiking about fifty feet ahead of me without stopping or turning in my direction.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re still learning. And you are wise to start with the seals. They are eating the puffins and all the fish, so the rest of the marine mammals can’t get enough food. One seal a day for both you and Argo should be enough. They have lots of fat.”
“Fat! Yum, I’m hungry now,” Argo declared.
“Once we get to our location and set camp, we’ll go hunting together.” I upped my pac
e.
Halfway up the mountain, we came to a vertical crevasse in the ice. It was hidden by a drift of snow and could only be accessed by the side closest to the mountain. We all fit single file just fine, but as Argo grew, the size of the opening would become a problem.
The deeper we went, the walls of ice changed to rock. Eventually, we were in a cave. I wondered about humans. There had to be people somewhere on the island.
“Are you sure we’re safe?” I asked.
Padrick let his pack drop to the floor before turning to face me. “We are perfectly safe. There are humans, but they are living in Svalbard. Occasionally, there are cruise ships and expeditions that will come through here, but we are tucked away in this bay, and they never venture this close to shore. We’ll stay inside during the day, nonetheless.”
I slowly turned and scanned our new home. This cave was about a tenth of the size of the common room in the coven’s lair in Romania, and we didn’t have a dragon then. There had also been lots of other rooms and tunnels to explore.
My time there seemed a lifetime ago.
This cavern had only one entrance and exit—the way we’d come in. It would take getting used to, living here snugly with an elf, a dragon and a cat without having defined spaces for privacy. Regardless, I was happy to be here.
I glanced down at Argo and felt joy radiating off his ever-growing body.
This would be our home for however long it took me to train him and for us to complete our magical bond. At least we weren’t stuck in an underwater outpost. That was a major plus. Something about mountains and the open sky gave me more hope than hiding in a dank cave, deep underwater.
Chapter 14
I sat on the tip of one of the mountain peaks with Argo and Padrick. With summer solstice fast approaching, the sun hovered on the northwestern horizon behind a veil of clouds. I wouldn’t have time to hunt under the shadow of night this far north because of the constant daylight hours. But if I stayed on the south side of the island during “nighttime” I didn’t have to worry about the sun. My mind should have been focusing on finding my meal, but thoughts swirled around in my brain as I tried to make sense of what had happened in the tunnels in Europe.
The Witch's Dragon Page 8
