The Silver Siren (36 page)

“
Thalia, how…are you…can
you?” Sevril took a few hesitant steps back and watched me
expectantly.

My head hurt. It was hard to
concentrate. My body ached all over and I just wanted to close my
eyes and sleep. I was weak, like a newborn child. I was in no
condition to save anyone. I tried to step forward to meet him but I
couldn’t. I crashed into the wooden table bruising my
hip.

“
Oh no! We have to get you
out of here until you have time to recover,” Sevril grabbed for my
arm and pulled it around his shoulders. Footsteps sounded on the
stairs, so much closer than before. He hurried and dragged me
across the room toward another smaller door hidden in the floor
under a rug. I stood propped against the wall while Sevril
struggled, pulling on the ring in the stone block.

There was yelling and screaming. I
looked up in alarm as Tomac ran down the stairs into the room. He
was bleeding from numerous wounds and had a murderous look in his
eye. I cringed. I was not expecting to be cut down by the prince’s
own brother.

Tomac began to babble nonsense.
“Death, death. No one can outrun death. And destiny does not play
favorites.”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the
sword that Tomac held in his hand. The tip was covered in blood,
and I couldn’t help but wonder whose blood it was.

A black form slid silently out of the
shadowed stairwell and flew into the room. The pain in my mind was
so intense, I cried out, but I was overjoyed, because I knew who it
was—Kael.

Kael entered like hurricane, a sword
in one hand and a smaller knife in the other, spinning and dancing.
His face was a mask of unreadable expressions as he gave Tomac a
wide berth. Even with the distance between them, his eyes never
left Tomac. He stalked his prey, looking for an opening in which to
try and kill him.

I couldn’t drag my gaze from him—his
tall muscled form, the dark hair that fell slightly into his face
obscuring his vision. His eyes were an intense, stormy blue that
changed to a darker color when he was angry, like now. His chin
wasn’t smooth but showed a few days worth of growth, and his skin
had a sallow tint to it. His expression was fierce. Quite a few
rips and tears marred his shirt and blood dripped down, almost
indiscernible among the black fabric.

I waited for him to look at me, to
catch my gaze. But he was intent on trying to get Tomac away from
us. He feinted, trying to get Tomac to attack him, but Tomac stood
firm. Tomac stood rooted in front of us, leaving us his back and
refusing to rise to Kael’s baiting.

Stone scraped against stone as Sevril
slid the door over to the side. I heard the rushing of water and
couldn’t help but look down into the dark hole. The thunderous
sound grew louder and my heart froze. Sevril put his arms under my
armpits and scooted me toward the door.

“
No!” I squealed and tried
to kick.

But he kept pulling.

Kael’s head snapped to me and I called
out his name. He darted to the right around Tomac. A second later,
his hand went into his vest and a knife sliced through the air at
me.

Sevril yelled and yanked me to the
left. The knife clattered on the floor, just beyond the spot where
I had stood.

“
Kael?” I asked in
confusion. That’s when I caught his dead expression. His head bent
at an odd angle and I whimpered in realization. I looked carefully
and could make out the dark purple thread controlling
him.

That wasn’t Kael.

And I couldn’t
believe
Tomac
was
protecting us from
him
. Tomac, who now babbled even louder, saw the intent of
Kael’s throw and screamed in fury. He lashed out right and left
with his sword, attacking the SwordBrother and sending him on the
defensive.

Kael was backed into a corner. For all
of his intense battle skills, there was no training against a mad
man that follows no pattern.

Another knife appeared between Kael’s
fingers. Seconds later, Tomac grunted and slid to one knee, the
knife buried in his shoulder. Tomac’s shaking hands reached up and
pulled out the knife, grunting as a fresh flow of blood poured
forth. He staggered to his knees, gripped his sword in the right,
the knife in the left and backed up.

Once again, Tomac put himself between
the SwordBrother and me.

“
Run!” Tomac hollered over
his shoulder at us. “For all that is holy, run.”

I couldn’t look away as Tomac engaged
Kael again, in an effort to help our escape. Never would I have
imagined that I would see Tomac sane, nor that he would become my
ally and Kael my enemy. It must’ve been the fighting and deadly
battle that cleared his Siren mind. For once, he was being
useful.

Sevril pulled me back toward the hole,
my feet now dangling in front of me into the darkness. “It’s an
underground aqueduct. It leads out of the castle and into the
river. It is the only way out.”

“
I can help. I can fight.”
I tried to get up but fell again.

“
No, our only chance is
for you to escape, to heal, and to return and save us,” he
argued.

I could tell from the way he kept
looking over his shoulder that he wasn’t going to come with me. He
was only partially paying attention to me. The rest of his focus
was on Tomac’s struggle to protect us.

“
Come with me?” I
begged.

He shook his head. “Tomac was right.
Our destiny has come, our time is now. This is our home to protect,
not yours. It’s not your time yet. You’ll know when it is. Our kind
know when our end has come.”

He was saying goodbye.

“
He’s a SwordBrother, and
he won’t stop,” I whispered, glancing over to Kael. He winced as
Tomac’s knife found purchase and stabbed him deep in the side. Kael
growled out in pain but continued to fight, backing Tomac toward
the wall. “I love him, and he’s bound to me so he can’t be
killed.”

Sevril bit his lip and his eyes
crinkled in worry. “Well, that doesn’t look like it’s going to stop
him.” He quit arguing with me and pushed me into the
hole.

I fell forward and screamed. My
fingers grabbed the edge as I dangled in the darkness. “No, pull me
up. Let me help. I can fight him,” I cried out, my voice echoing
around me. The rushing water sounded from far below.

“
You can’t take him like
this.” Sevril turned back and his face paled. I couldn’t see, but I
heard a curdling cry of pain and I knew that Tomac had lost. “Go!”
Sevril demanded. He kicked at my hands and I lost my grip. I
screamed, fingers burning, as I fell into the dark
abyss.

I landed with a splash and was
surrounded by cold darkness. I kicked in the direction that I
thought was up, but it was hard to tell. All I knew was cold, dark,
and stinging pain all over my body.

An eternity later, I surfaced with a
gasp, as lovely air filled my lungs. I tried to fight the current
and swim back to where I could see the light from overhead, but I
was tired and sore. I hardly had enough strength to keep me
afloat.

I looked up toward the light just as
it began to disappear.

Sevril closed up the hole and I was
swept away with the water.

Chapter 34

I
awoke choking and coughing. Light blinded my eyes and my stomach
started to spasm. I rolled over as water expelled itself from my
lungs. My body heaved until there was nothing left to purge. I
settled onto my back and stared at the stars overhead, each
twinkling brighter than the next—so large in the sky they looked
like they were only feet away.

My hand reached forth and I tried to
catch one, but it danced away. I watched as my burning stars
morphed into reality—lightning bugs. I couldn’t move but continued
to lie there on the river bank in a small inlet away from the
rushing river. My very breath, each and every one, felt like a
glorious miracle. And I savored them—because I was
alive.

When the coldness wore off and feeling
returned to each of my toes, I pulled myself into a sitting
position, then a kneeling one. Minutes later I stood and stared at
my reflection in the water from the moon lit sky.

I was unrecognizable. My eyes were
still silver, but my hair had lost its luscious darkness and was
now a silvery white which only made my complexion seem paler. My
skin no longer had the spattering of a few freckles. It seemed to
glimmer and glow with power.

Which I hoped would wear
off.

My hands seemed to be constantly
buzzing. I reached forward and touched the water. Without any
effort at all—with only the thought of cold—the water crackled and
froze into a solid sheet of ice. My body hummed in response, eager
and pleased with itself. Curious as to what else I could do, I
reached toward a small plant and touched it. I was able to make it
grow three feet in a few seconds. With a change in thought, I made
the plant wither and die, crumbling to the ground. I now had both
extremes of the gifts, healing and death. The power was both
intoxicating and infuriating. I wanted to scream out my frustration
to the only person listening—the woman in the moon, but I knew she
probably wouldn’t hear my pleas. This was too much power for one
girl, and it scared me.

Surrounded by tall trees and dense
thickets, I found it impossible to know where to go other than to
follow the large orange glow in the sky, which had to be
Sinnendor’s castle. One of my boots was gone, lost in the aqueduct.
I quickly unlaced and rid myself of the other so I could run toward
the castle.

And toward the enemy.

I was quickly out of breath and out of
energy, but I continued on and tried not to think of everyone I was
losing. I tried not to think of Joss and Kael. The only way to save
both of them was to kill Cirrus and Queen Lilyana. They were my
mark, they were my focus.

I almost walked right into the enemy
camp before I heard or saw anyone. I ducked behind a bush as a
small patrol of guards wearing the emblem of the Septori walked
past me. I was right at the edge.

I was close to Raven.

Silently, I crept forward until I saw
an outcropping of tents. It appeared that after the battle had
begun, the Raven retired to her quarters to rest. It must’ve been
grueling work controlling an army of Denai. It was easy to spot the
largest of the tents—the one that was heavily guarded. Patiently, I
waited and watched as someone moved past a lantern inside, a sign
that it was indeed occupied.

Reaching down to the ground, I focused
my power and sent a bolt of fire directly from the tips of my
fingers across the dry and brittle grass to envelope the edges of
the tent in flames. Within seconds, the red fabric caught and smoke
billowed upward. Cursing and yelling came from within, and Cirrus
rushed out followed by Queen Lilyana. Adept Cirrus didn’t waste any
time as he quickly smothered the fire by creating a large bubble
around it and removing all of the oxygen.

My hand went to my throat and I could
imagine that same feeling wrapped around my throat. Cirrus had been
the Denai in the wagon, the one who attacked me. Queen Lilyana
looked around the camp nervously. More of the Septori rushed to
their aid, and everyone began to search the camp for an intruder. I
didn’t try to hide my presence anymore. Besides, it only took
Cirrus a few more seconds to follow the burned trail of grass to
me.

I walked into the middle of camp and
head held high, my hands glowing with power.

Cirrus was awestruck by my presence
and blinked a few times against the darkness. Then he recognized
me.

“
See Lily. She came back.”
He flashed her a charming smile and held his hands wide open to me
in a welcoming gesture. “Our creation came back.”

“
I’m not your creation.” I
seethed, feeling the fury begin to take over. I walked closer to
them, into the ring of light created by the torches. So he could
see what I’d truly become.

“
She’s beautiful,” Lilyana
gasped. “She’s become far more than we ever dreamed. Power
and
beauty. The Denai
will be stronger than ever before. Come Thalia, and we can take it
all away. I can make you human.” She beckoned me toward
her.

“
I have not come to give
you anything. You’ve taken enough from me. I’ve come to make you
stop.”

Queen Lilyana’s pretty brows furrowed,
creating a pinched and ugly look. “You said, if given the choice,
you would give it all up just to be normal. I can make that
happen.” She held her petite hand out to me, inviting me to take
it. Cirrus stood off to the side, his hands clasped in front of
him. He nodded his head in encouragement.

“
That was before I knew
who you really were. Do the rest of the adepts know that you’ve
been lying to them? Does Calandry know that you are behind all of
the missing Denai? And what do you think they will do when they
find out?”

Her face registered a moment of shock,
and I knew that the other adepts couldn’t know. Then her face took
on a haughty expression. “They won’t find out, you idiot child.
Because I’m their queen. All Calandry wants is peace. All the Denai
wanted was peace, but they were dying out. They weren’t interested
in war. I did what I had to do. The answer to their curse lay
within the blood of their enemies. I’m doing them a favor. Ridding
Calandry of their hated neighbors and providing the cure for the
dying out breed. They will grow in power and be safe, and we will
be twice as rich and powerful, because I will peacefully rule both
countries.”