“Saul is dead,” Natalia informed them as she bent to examine Jordan. Jade watched anxiously as Natalia looked the unconscious hunter over quickly, turning his head from one side to the other, opening his eyes. She looked up at Cameron and gestured for him to help her. He seemed to understand and looked quite able to carry Jordan all by himself.
Shanna looked around and saw Hunter leaning over Saul’s mutilated body, shaking slightly. She went over to him and placed a comforting hand on his back, unsure of what else to do. He wouldn’t be able to hear anything she said.
He looked back at her with a grateful smile and with one more quick look at Saul, stood up and awaited their next move.
“These girls are whack,” Brett said, a little bruised and bloody, but no worse for the wear. “They could make him hurt himself…just by telling him to. It was some fucked-up shit. These girls, they...they are just fucked up. Like, Lupe fucked-up.”
“It’s all the pretty ones,” Shanna said with a smile as she handed him a pair of earplugs to put into his ears.
Brett accepted them gratefully. “Since Cameron can’t hear this, I’ll just say it’s not all the pretty ones.” He winked at her, and she walked away, slightly flattered despite herself.
“Alright, let’s get out of here, huh?” Jade said. “I know the way. Follow me.”
They all filed out of the room, Ligeia watching all of this transpire quietly from her cell until the last of them had gone. Raidne walked back into the room after a moment and cracked her neck to the side. “I say we kill them all,” Raidne muttered.
Ligeia nodded as she bent the bars of the cell wide enough to slip through with little effort. “I agree.”
“As do I,” Alsa said, appearing behind them. “Let’s end this cat-and-mouse game. I tire of it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The singing restarted behind them as they made their way down the hall. Shanna couldn’t help but sneak a glance at each of the men in turn, to gauge their reactions, but none of them seemed to hear it, even so close to the source.
“Maybe we should find a place to stash the boys while we fight,” Amelia suggested. “They’re a liability at this point. They can’t do us any good.”
“They can still fight without their ears,” Jade retorted. “If you were in their shoes, you’d want to fight to, wouldn’t you?”
“I think we need to protect the men,” Shanna spoke up. “If the sirens found them, they would just rip them to shreds without hesitation.”
“That’s quite enough,” Natalia said sharply. “There will be no separating, and no fighting. We have what we came for. We’re all free and on the correct plane. We go to the tower to retrieve the others and then we leave.”
“But -” Jade began.
“No buts. The sirens are too powerful. We get out of here as soon as we can, end of story. Any problems with that?” Natalia looked back at them with something of daring in her eyes, but no one argued. “Good.”
“I can’t believe we’re being chased by the sirens, of all things,” Amelia muttered as they continued along the passageway. “Does anyone remember how they’re supposed to die?”
“They’re not,” Jade told her. She paused and looked at Natalia. “Are they?”
Natalia looked at Shanna expectantly, who’d been holding her tongue.
Shanna shook her head. “It's not the popular theory, but they supposedly threw themselves into the sea when Odysseus didn't heed their call. But, obviously, the sirens are, you know, here.”
“Well, there must be a way. There’s always a way.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
Quite suddenly, the hunters found themselves out in the open, in the midst of the ruins, having come out of an ancient doorway, hidden haphazardly by debris. The rain had started while they’d been underground, the wind slamming the drops into the ancient stone and scattered grasses unrelentingly. The sky roared overhead, as if pledging to make their trek as difficult as possible.
“So what, we run like hell to the tower?” Jade demanded, careful to keep out of the downpour.
Shanna looked around at the buildings, the sweeping staircases, obscured behind the sheets of rain. It all looked the same in every direction. She couldn’t tell where they were. The sirens would probably be able to find them in no time while they were stumbling around looking for familiar landmarks.
“I can’t tell where we are,” Jade voiced what Shanna was thinking. “I thought I was bringing us out the same way…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Amelia said. “The air can direct me to the sea. We head toward the beach and follow that to familiar territory.”
“Good. Good plan.”
“You plan to run away?” a voice asked in shock. Raidne suddenly appeared among them.
Amelia tossed her hand up and Raidne covered her eyes from the stinging rain that flew at her with the angry gust of wind she’d summoned.
“Ah, Jeez!” Raidne screeched. “Cut it-” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as the wind suddenly carried her away, over the nearby ruins and out of sight.
“We need to move,” Amelia said. “Now.”
They picked up their pace as they headed quickly toward the beach, but were nonetheless slowed by Cameron’s progress, carrying a heavy Jordan in his arms.
“This isn’t going to work,” Jade voiced. “We’re going too slow. They’re going to catch up in no time.”
“We have to make a stand and fight, at least some of us do while the rest of us can get a head start,” Amelia concurred. “It’s the only way.”
“So fight,” Raidne ordered, suddenly reappearing behind Amelia.
Amelia turned to look at her only to be greeted by her fist, which knocked the hunter to the ground.
“Not so tough without your tricks, girl,” Raidne hissed vehemently.
“No, I would say not,” Alsa agreed as she came down an alley with Ligeia. “Not so tough at all.” She turned to her comrades and smiled. “Collect the men.”
Raidne and Ligeia nodded and headed for the available men, the female hunters inevitably stepping into their paths.
“You’re mine,” Natalia told Alsa, hitting her in the side of the face with her billy club.
Alsa laughed as she licked the blood that formed from a gash at the side of her cheek. She laughed even harder at Natalia’s face as the wound quickly healed itself.
“Oh, shit,” Jade muttered from behind her.
Alsa’s fingers grew to sharp points with a mere whisper and she lashed out at Natalia, who quickly danced out of range.
Natalia swiftly moved in for another hit from her club, the weapon whistling in the air with the attempted strike, and narrowly missed another slashing herself.
“This is not going well,” Shanna observed as she watched Jade fight Ligeia, and Amelia fight Raidne.
“I’m leading the guys out of here,” Shanna called out suddenly. “We’ll get to the tower as quickly as we can. Save some for me!”
Ligeia seemed to find this funny and laughed mid-swing.
The men were looking on uncomfortably, unsure of how to proceed. Shanna had to make frantic gestures to get them to follow her as she lead them away from the temples and toward the beach.
“All you have to do is help us,” Raidne reminded Amelia, swiping at the hunter with razor nails.
“And I won’t be a part of your psychotic vision,” Amelia countered, landing a blow with her knife, and subsequently getting her own arm slashed for the effort. “Aw!”
“There’s more where that came from,” Raidne promised. “Much more.”
“Enough of this,” Alsa cried out. “Finish these mortals off, once and for all!”
“Looks who’s talking,” Natalia taunted her as her fist connected with Alsa’s stomach. “You haven’t touched me once. And I haven’t even broken a sweat.”
“It’s early yet.”
; Natalia grinned in response.
Jade toppled over a statue suddenly, but rolled and was on her feet before Ligeia could take advantage of the situation. “I don’t know, you guys. I’m kind of having fun. I’m all for a tumble with a hot exotic woman, after all.”
Ligeia froze and almost smiled. “Thank you.” Then she hit Jade with a powerful slap across the cheek.
***
Shanna let her guard down a notch as the sound of battle began to fade behind the force of the downpour, but she didn’t slow. The moment the men were safe in the tower, she was returning for her friends to finish this, never mind that the sirens were impossibly strong. They would find a way.
Meanwhile, she was getting soaked, the rain having drenched her clothes already, which clung to her relentlessly, her skin growing clammy and cold underneath. Her hair was also drenched with rivulets of water falling into her face, forcing her to swipe her hair back periodically to see where she was leading them. But for all its tenacity, she would not be slowed down.
“Shanna!” Damien was suddenly at her side, Krystal looking awkward in his arms. “We found you!”
“Damien!” Shanna couldn’t help the smile from splitting her face. “I’m happy to see you.”
He shook his head and gestured to his ears, which contained earplugs.
“Oh,” Shanna nodded that she understood and quickly remembered herself, chancing a look at Cameron, who met her gaze with a stiff frown. She blushed and looked away.
Valor and Rachel were suddenly there as well, demanding to know what had transpired and where the others were. After a brief explanation, they were off in the direction Shanna indicated.
“Is everyone alright?” Krystal asked, concerned. “I feel…a lot of death.”
“Saul’s dead.”
Krystal nodded. “So’s Todd. And the tower is…rubble.”
Shanna opened her mouth and closed it. “Oh. I’m…I’m not sure what to do. I thought we could get the men there. I thought they’d be safe.”
Snorting, Krystal shook her head. “One blow from Ligeia’s perfectly-manicured hand and that dream was shattered. Rather literally.”
Shanna bit her lip and looked around her at the men, who were watching her in turn. Hunter was anxious, Cameron was wary, Damien and Brett both alert. Should they return to the battle? How were they going to get away if they didn’t stop the sirens? The monsters didn’t seem like they were going to just let the hunters leave.
“Oh,” Krystal smiled. “That would be ironic.”
“What?” Shanna looked at her sideways.
“I have an idea.”
***
“Ugh,” Amelia stumbled under a blow from Raidne.
“You didn’t take long to tire,” Raidne observed. “Not so powerful after all. Very disappointing.”
Amelia growled under her breath and launched herself at the siren anew.
The siren easily sidestepped her, but cried out nonetheless.
Amelia stared in wonder as she turned back to Raidne to see Rachel slash her with a dagger.
“Don’t mind if I cut in, do you?” Rachel teased with a wink at Amelia.
“God, I’m glad to see you,” Amelia breathed. “I never thought I’d say that.”
Rachel stuck up a middle finger for a second before dodging an attack.
Bending over, Amelia dragged oxygen into her lungs as she watched Valor join Jade in her battle against Ligeia. Things were looking up.
Suddenly, Amelia tensed as she felt pressure against her neck. Cold steal. Obviously a dagger. A whisper tickled her ear as she recognized Serene’s voice. “I’m so sorry.”
Amelia’s mouth dropped open as she readied herself for the steal to cut a hole in her neck. But the hand wavered.
“Stop it!” Serene suddenly called out. “Everyone, stop or the witch dies!”
Everyone did stop. They turned to see Serene hovering over Amelia, surprised expressions written over each and every face. All was still, save the rain falling around them and pouring down the sides of the ruins.
Then Alsa smirked. “Hunters, throw down your weapons. You’ve lost.”
The hunters looked at each other, unsure of what to do until Valor dropped a knife to the ground with a clang that resounded in the courtyard.
Amelia swallowed hard, hating herself for having been caught by surprise and causing this sudden turn of events.
Serene lightened her grasp on Amelia, but she could feel the strength behind the girl’s hands and decided not to make any sudden movements that might startle her. She closed her eyes as she saw the other hunters follow Valor’s lead until they were all unarmed.
“Good,” Alsa said. “Now kill her, Serene.”
Serene gasped and everyone froze, waiting for Serene’s move.
Amelia could feel the siren shaking again as she edged the knife closer and closer to her throat.
Suddenly a rumble resounded from around them. All around them. It sounded like an earthquake was edging its way toward them, building to a deafening thunder. Everyone looked around wildly, expecting the sound to be a result of the storm.
Then they were upon them. Scores and scores of the undead. Skeletons picked clean of blood and flesh, others with gristle hanging from their ribcages and ears. They swarmed them by the hundreds and quickly overtook each of the sirens in turn until Amelia felt Serene suddenly disappear from her side, and instead felt the brush of bone against her cheek. She sat there, dumbstruck, as a broken Saul passed her on his way toward a screaming Ligeia. “What…?”
Someone grabbed her arm and before she knew it, she was clear of the siege of the undead, the smell of rotting meat and blood disappearing behind her. She doubted that she would ever forget that scene, despite all that she’d seen.
“You okay?” Rachel asked her, pulling her along behind the others as they sprinted through the temples and courtyards.
The screams of the sirens fighting to break free of the masses of dead resounded in Amelia’s ears, and she forced herself to look away, to focus on where she was going, despite the impossible scene.
“What…what was that?”
Rachel smiled. “That was our little friend Krystal. She’s a necromancer.”
Understanding flickered over Amelia’s features. “Apparently a powerful one.”
“It would seem so.”
“She won’t be able to keep that up for very long, no matter how powerful she is.”
“Then we’d better hurry, huh?”
“Hurry where?” Amelia wondered.
Rachel didn’t answer, but Amelia was happy nonetheless when they’d caught up to Shanna and the men. They were all together, at least.
Jordan was laid out on a stone bench out of the rain just as it began to subside. The stinging drops had become mere sprinkles as the dark clouds seemed to calm overhead.
Amelia felt a pang at seeing Jordan laid out carefully, a pang that became more pronounced as Jade knelt before him and lovingly swept the rainwater from his eyes.
“How do we plan on getting out of here?” Damien quietly asked Valor as he pulled the earplugs out of his ears and set Krystal down near Jordan.
“Well, I called for a team of pilots, but I’m sure the storm has delayed them. With any luck, they’ll be here before the sirens can regroup.”
“Pilots?” Shanna echoed hopefully.
Krystal gasped as she set her leg down in front of her carefully. She looked very pale and clammy. She caught Amelia’s look and sent her an unconvincing smile. “I’m fine. Promise. I’ve just never pushed myself quite that far.”
Amelia nodded and glanced around them, noting that the courtyard they had gathered in looked familiar. Natalia stood nearby, staring up at an unmarked statue that seemed to be the center of the space. Amelia followed her gaze to the woman, recognizing the statue from when she and Rachel had stumbled upon it before, no symbols adorning the statue to give a name to the
figure. And then Amelia suddenly put two and two together, realizing at once that this was Nora of Arta, the woman whose story was related in the ancient scroll she’d retrieved. She watched as Natalia suddenly glanced uneasily over at Shanna. “What is it?"
“Nora of Arta had something the sirens wanted,” Natalia said. “She hid it here on the island before she was turned to stone.”
“The power source,” Amelia whispered.
“If we could find it...” She paused, her gaze still trained on Shanna. “Shanna, do you remember the interview we listened to earlier? The one of Hunter and the demon Rangda?”
“Yes,” Shanna said, suddenly wary, recalling her earlier conversation with Rachel. She looked quickly over at Cameron beside her, who met her attention with a smile. “What of it?”
“Well, something kind of stood out for me. Rangda addressed Hunter by his last name, Kiess, during the interview. And later, when she started to grow a little more incoherent, she said ‘hunt.’”
Shanna frowned. “That’s what Rachel thought too, but…how come everyone picked that up? I’m sure she didn’t mean my last name.”
“Didn’t she?”
“Look, this is all very fascinating,” Rachel interrupted, “But this may not be the best time for this.”
“She said ‘you need to hunt.’” Shanna said, ignoring Rachel.
“No. She said ‘you need to, Hunt...you need to.’ She was talking to you. She was a seer. She knew you’d hear that interview.”
“Okay. Maybe. I guess. But what does that have to do with...?” Shanna let her voice trail off.
Hunt...you need to...ugh, it’s...the stomach...I don’t know why I tell you.
Shanna looked up at the statue, her jaw open. “Oh, my God. It’s in her stomach. She swallowed it! Nora swallowed the damn vial before she was turned to stone!”
Natalia nodded and looked back up at the statue. “That was one brave woman.”
Looking over at Amelia, Shanna hesitated. “Amelia...are you able to…get it out? It might really help us tip the odds in our favor here.”
“We could break the statue,” Natalia said. “She is long dead by now.”
“No, I...I mean, if Amelia can do this, I’d rather retrieve it this way. Just in case we’re wrong.”
“I can do it,” Amelia insisted. “Just give me a second.”
“Uh, guys,” Jade said, pointing back the way they’d come. “I don’t think we have too many seconds left here.”