“Don’t you just love it when she takes charge?” Rachel mused as everyone stood up.
“It is oddly comforting,” Shanna agreed. She snuck a look at Cameron, who was avoiding eye contact with her.
“Don’t take it personally,” Rachel whispered.
Shanna nodded, but found it hard to follow her advice.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“So, I don’t get why the lighthouse was trashed by the sirens,” Amelia said, turning to Hunter, who sat next to her behind a crumbled wall not fifty feet from the beach.
Hunter glanced over at Amelia, surprised to hear her address him for the first time in the two hours they’d been sitting together. He cleared his throat and shifted his seating position before he answered, his hand brushing over a vine that had creeped over the rubble of the wall, covering it like a fishermen’s net. “It’s hard to say, really. But the sirens were known for calling men to recklessly crash their ships into the rocks that surrounded their island. Lighthouses were created as quite the opposite of this nature: to offer caution to ships so that they would stay safely away. If they saw the lighthouse as simply offensive, they would certainly have had no problem with tearing it down, with the power that they most certainly wield. It may have been a mere afterthought, or something that struck them as funny.”
“I can see that,” Amelia nodded. “The more power you have, the easier it is to simply use it. It would become second nature. The idea that destroying the lighthouse may cause a few ships to crash was probably just too amusing for them to pass up.”
“Perhaps,” Hunter agreed. “They seem to be very instinctual from what I’ve read.”
Amelia glanced over the wall at the beach, the waves crashing lazily against the shore as the clouds began to gather again, as if the sliver of sunshine they had bestowed upon the town that afternoon had been more than enough, and they would just as quickly demonstrate their ability to take it away. The air whispered to Amelia that a storm was imminent. “From what you’ve read…doesn’t all that reading make you want to go out and do something? You read about these monsters and what they do to people, and…you just keep reading about it.”
“It’s more than reading. Visum et Repertum compiles very important information, interprets prophecy and lore, identifies patterns and movement…we pass this information along in hopes that it will find itself in the hands of people capable and willing to do something about it. If we did it ourselves, we would have less time for study. Our time would be divided between training for fighting, and research, and would make us half as good at each. Having two separate bodies to carry out these different functions that work for the same end is just more…efficient.”
“You don’t feel cowardly then, hiding in your dark rooms with musty books?”
Hunter smirked. “I’m very sorry for how we met, Amelia. I wish things had gone differently. Even with all of our studying, we’ll still make mistakes. Just as you and yours will make mistakes in the field.”
“I know,” Amelia sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you. I just haven’t felt that…helpless…for a very long time.”
Hunter nodded and together, they silently stared out at the beach.
***
Jade stretched and stifled a yawn with her knuckles. She hated waiting around like this. She’d rather search for where the sirens were lying low - at least then she’d feel like she was doing something. Presently, she was just getting a numb ass. She shifted and glanced around at the crumbled walls about her, trying to push away the feeling of isolation that washed over her, like she was on a desert island. While she couldn’t see any of the others from where she was positioned, she knew that if she called out, they’d come running. Peeking around a boulder, she found her thermos and a backpack containing some of their provisions. She unzipped a compartment and pulled out an apple, then sat back down and took a bite, trying to keep her mind on anything but Jordan.
“You know, you could end this if you wanted to,” a voice informed her from her right.
Startled, Jade jumped and dropped her apple, quickly unsheathing a handgun and holding it point blank in Ligeia’s face.
“Don’t you think that I could have killed you already if I’d wanted to?” Ligeia asked in a low voice. “You were helpless as a lamb moments ago, completely oblivious to your surroundings.”
“What do you want?” Jade demanded. “Where’s my brother?” She felt the gun shake in her hand, more from surprise than anything. Adrenaline was coursing through her body. She forced herself to calm down and steady her grip.
“Sshhh,” Ligeia put a finger to her lips. “It would be very unfortunate if one of your comrades overheard us. Your brother is quite alright, at the moment. But…I need to ask you for a favor.”
Jade blinked. “I can’t convince her.”
“Oh? You’re a mind reader now, are you?” Ligeia walked calmly out of the path of Jade’s gun and sat down nearby, watching patiently as Jade lowered the weapon and turned to face her.
“What…can I do?”
“It’s simple really. I’m taking you captive now, whether you come quietly or not. I would prefer the former.”
Jade’s grip on her gun grew tighter.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Ligeia advised. “Sirens can move quite fast. And I can cut off a scream with a hole through your throat before you take sufficient breath. You simply can’t beat me.”
“Okay…why do you want me?”
“To show that we’re serious. That it’s not just the men’s lives that are in danger here. When you think about it, I’m really doing you a service, reuniting you with your twin, putting your mind at ease that he’s well taken care of.”
“How generous of you.”
Ligeia smiled. “Ultimately, you will all be our prisoners, ear plugs or no ear plugs. Then your witch will show us where the power source is located, if we have to kill every man among you to convince her. The women…are less enjoyable to do away with. We are comrades-in-arms in this man’s world, after all. But casualties are inevitable in war.”
“War,” Jade smirked. “At least we’re in agreement there.” She looked up to see the siren watching her, the small amount of sun left glistening in her hair, a twinkling in her jeweled eyes that was ethereal. Inhuman. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
“Okay. Take me to my brother.”
***
“What the fuck did you do to him?” Brett demanded, rattling the bars of his prison threateningly. “Answer me, Bitch!” He looked past the prison cells that lined one side of the narrow room with their rusted metal bars running from stone ceiling to stone floor. Tuning out the smell of dampness and mold that surrounded him, and the uneven black rock walls that were moist to the touch and glistened lightly by the torches in sconces along the other side of the room, he sent all of the rage he could muster toward where two women looked back at him with passing interest. They stood in front of a pair of stone benches, lengths of chain on either side of them, bolted to the wall. It was like a medieval dungeon carved into a cave. And these hot chicks were the jailers. How ironic.
“What a pig,” the red head sighed. “Goddess, I want to kill him now.”
“Oh, can’t we?” the brunette asked, suddenly eager. “I know just what to do.”
“No, no. We must wait. They are instruments to get to the power source. Patience, Raidne.”
Brett stared daggers at Raidne, who, for every movement and word that came from her mouth, reminded him of Lupe, the psychotic were-chick who’d bruised him pretty bad last month. She wore a low-cut blue dress with the top of her breasts holding it up, and knee-high leather boots that left about an inch of flesh exposed before her dress ended. Complete skank-wear.
Raidne seemed to notice him staring and turned to smile at him, her hoop earrings swinging amid the hair she teased every minute or so with a free hand. “Like what you see?”
; “I have taste,” Brett replied, smiling at the glower he got in response.
“Fiery,” the red-head smirked. “I used to like fiery. Then it began to annoy me. Centuries ago. I think we will kill him first. If need be.”
“It wouldn’t be much fun, if it needn’t be,” Raidne pouted, flopping down on a bench in front of the row upon row of prison cells.
Brett looked away, down at Jordan in the cell next to him, still unconscious, a bruise on his head, his mouth open, where a small amount of blood had trickled out. Jordan was the only one of the hunters who’d ever really treated him very well. At least after Rachel had grown cold toward him. He was a good guy, played the Wii with him, drank beers, chilled. He had some weird artsy taste in movies, but he was still cool. If these girls had hurt him…god, he wanted to smack the grins off their faces.
“Help!” a timid cry escaped from the cell next to Jordan’s. Then louder: “Help! HELP! HELP US! SOMEONE, PLEASE!!!”
“Saul, shut the fuck up, Man” Brett muttered under his breath.
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WE’RE HERE! DOWN HERE!!!”
“Alsa,” Raidne whined. “Make him stop. He keeps doing that.”
Alsa sighed. “It is rather obnoxious. It’s like he has no sense of dignity. Not like the more muscled one.”
Brett perked up and looked at the red-head, noticing how her eyes drank him in then, like…she wanted to eat him. God…did she want to eat him? What were they?
“Alright, ALRIGHT!” Raidne shrieked.
“GOD! GOD, PLEASE!” Saul only screamed louder.
“Hush little baby, don’t say a word,” Alsa sang suddenly, in a sweet voice. “Momma’s gonna buy you a mocking bird. And if that mocking bird don’t sing…Momma’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…”
Saul had stopped shouting as soon as she’d begun to sing, but Brett barely noticed himself. He was suddenly completely enthralled by the voice. He found he was sweating, his body reacting to the voice against his will, moving closer to the prison bars, longing to touch the creature that cooed such finery. He grew hard, despite himself. His entire body was conspiring against him, completely out of his control. Not that his mind was that far behind…
“Well, if you want to go about it the easy way…” Raidne muttered as she watched Alsa saunter slowly over to Saul’s prison before abruptly ceasing her song.
Saul stared at her, shaking away his infatuation, suddenly petrified.
“Honeys, I’m home!” a voice called out, entering the room.
Brett tore his gaze from Alsa to the speaker. Ligeia. She winked at him as she strode into the room, all aglow. And behind her… “Jade?”
Jade caught his look and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Brett. I was forced…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed the other two girls. Then her eyes wandered to her brother. “Jordan? Jordan!?” She ran over to his cell, which Ligeia saw fit to open for her, and immediately close and lock behind her. “What did you do to him?”
“I think I hit him a bit harder than I intended,” Ligeia admitted sheepishly. “But he’ll be alright. I’ve hit much harder than that.”
Looking up quickly, Jade cursed the siren. Then she ran her hands through her twin’s hair and began to weep as more blood trailed out from his mouth. “Oh, god…Jordan.”
Brett watched her silently, feeling utterly useless and worried for his friend. He looked up and glared at Ligeia, who merely smiled back triumphantly.
“What do you want?” Saul asked suddenly, sinking to his knees.
“To eviscerate all men?” Raidne helped.
“Why?” Jade wondered, turning her head slightly in her direction.
Raidne cocked her head. “Because they’re deceitful, violent vile maggots, that’s why.”
“Long ago, a man took our queen,” Alsa added. “Persephone was raped and dragged into hell by a man. By Hades. If a male god is responsible for such actions, mortal men are only worse. We’ve seen the men of your governments and religions rape and plunder and murder in the name of gods and the greater good, and it is all we can stand.”
“But…women can be just as bad.”
“Women are caged. Should they be freed, their instincts, their grounded emotions, would inevitably lead them to a peace the Earth has never known, men submissive and groveling at their feet. But ultimately, it is the crime of Hades we seek to avenge.”
“To what end?”
Alsa sighed and walked over to Jade and Jordan’s prison. “When Hades took Persephone for his queen, Demeter 'punished' Persephone’s handmaidens for their negligence. But it was hardly punishment. The handmaidens were loyal, and it was not in their power to overthrow a god. What she did was give them a gift. She made them immortal, gracing them with unfathomable powers, and set them on a quest to search for her daughter. And later on, when Hades’ treachery was revealed, Demeter charged them with the task of freeing fair Persephone from the prison she found herself in for too long each year, and to punish Hades’ fellow man until such a day would come to pass. We are yet loyal to both Persephone and Demeter and follow their every instruction. And we will find a power capable of freeing our lady from treacherous Hades, where she must dwell in filth and soot for months on end. We will seek it out until we finally outmaneuver the foul man.”
Jade blinked. “So, one man does something bad and…”
“They’re all bad,” Ligeia insisted.
“Well, my brother’s not. He’s the best person in the world. And if you’ve done anything to hurt him, I’ll kill you myself in all of my submissive female glory. Got it?”
Brett grinned.
Alsa also grinned. “You’ll try. And you’ll fail.” She turned to Raidne. “I forgot to mention that it’s also very fun killing men. Kill the loud one?”
Raidne brightened.
Saul didn’t seem to register what was going on until he realized that he was no longer alone in his cell. Very shortly after, he began to scream louder than ever.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“You’re sure that this Jade and Todd are the only ones capable of fixing the device?” Alsa asked.
Serene nodded. “I am sure.”
“And without the device, they are stuck in their current condition?”
“Yes.”
Alsa smiled. “Perfect. Now that we have Jade, we need only acquire Todd. Then the witch will hardly be able to refuse helping us find the power source. We may be free to walk between dimensions as we please, just as the gods do, but these humans are trapped with their pathetically limited bodies.”
Serene didn’t smile, but watched Alsa as she contemplated.
“All right. Todd is alone in the tower with just the one hunter?”
“There is another. A teenage girl.”
“Is she of any consequence?”
“No. I believe she is a bystander.”
“Can I count on you to secure Todd with minimal injury to the women?”
Serene hesitated.
“You try my patience, Serene. As the years proceed, your devotion seems to waver ever more. We are a family. You have duties to your sisters and your gods. You’d do best to remember that.”
“I…I know, Alsa. There’s just…we’re harming so many women…I don’t…I don’t understand what we’re doing anymore.”
“It isn’t your place to understand. That is your queen’s duty. She will think for you.” Alsa sighed. “I will have Ligeia secure Todd. We will have words when this is over. Back up Raidne and myself if it comes to it.”
“Yes…my queen.” Bowing her head, Serene watched Alsa leave the room, then glanced into the adjacent room, where a man was writhing, convulsing, various cuts riddling his body that was already missing a good amount of flesh. Raidne was laughing. Ligeia was watching with glee on her face. Serene put a hand to her head and turned away as the screaming began anew. She didn’t have the stomach for this. But she wo
uld soldier on. She knew nothing else, after all.
***
A gull screeched somewhere overhead. Cameron threw the pebble in his hand and looked up at the sky that was thick with clouds, searching for the bird’s gliding form. He bristled as he noted that the clouds were darkening, and frowned when an even darker shadow fell over his face. “Shanna.” He looked away, a flush creeping into his face. Guilt and anger tugged at him as she sat down beside him hesitantly and played with the hem of her shirt distractedly.
“I think we need to talk,” Shanna said after a moment. “You’ve been quiet since last night. I feel like you’re avoiding me. Maybe mad at me? I don’t know. Maybe…did I do something?” She snuck a look up at him before focusing on her hem again.
Cameron sighed and leaned back, running his hands up through his curly hair, trying to come up with the words to express his feelings. “I’m sorry I’ve been acting out. I…yes, I’m sort of mad. It’s not something that you can really do anything about, though. It’s…it’s irrational anger. I know that, but…love isn’t rational, you know?” He looked up and smiled at her, before growing serious again. “I was…upset when I overheard Damien speaking with Valor.”
Shanna flinched. “Oh. What…did he say?”
“Things…” Cameron shook his head. “Things that I did not want to know. I got really jealous and…maybe a little resentful? I mean, we’d just had this talk about sharing everything with one another and then…this comes out of nowhere. You outing the hunters and something about you being special? I don’t know.”
Blushing, Shanna opened her mouth to speak, but Cameron interrupted her.
“Then I found out that you let Damien drink some of your blood. That really pissed me off.” He turned to her. “What were you thinking? Why would you let a vampire drink your blood? They’re monsters. Cold and vicious monsters.”
“It’s…it’s not that simple, Cameron. And I…don’t know. That happened before we were together, though. What does it matter?”
“I don’t know. It just does. It makes me jealous and upset. I’m sorry. I don’t like Damien. Or Hunter. They both…I don’t know. I feel threatened by them.”