by J G Barber
“My heart calls me to them. I have so many questions.” Leucosia connects soul-to-soul with Narmaya. “Jalpari, I cannot ask this of the others. Should we abort our plan here and search for them?”
Narmaya rests her hands on Leucosia’s hips. “You visited this gallery from the mental plane, correct? You did not experience it in the flesh.”
Leucosia restrains herself from kissing Narmaya. “Correct.”
Narmaya feels the desire build between them. She pulls away, shy to express it, afraid the powerful feelings will consume her. “We must go there together to experience this truth. Perhaps the chamber contains a clue we can only access in the physical realm.”
“I have reached the same conclusion.” Leucosia circles the conference table. The physical distance from Narmaya enables her to think. “There is a danger. Paul knows how to access the pyramid.”
Narmaya scoffs at the idea. “Paul identifies with humanity.” She circles the table in the opposite direction as she reconsiders. “However, he said no to fucking me. Only one man before has ever refused me, my human friend Warren. Paul’s will is too strong to be human.”
Leucosia’s path meets with hers. This time, Narmaya does not shy away. “He possesses both the Atlantean and Sirenian genes, as we do,” Leucosia reminds her. “We underestimated him in Seattle. And again during our ocean journey to this place.” She moves in closer until their breasts touch. “You saw what Paul can do. Each time we underestimated him, we paid a terrible price. We cannot afford to pay the price again.”
Narmaya meets her eyes of desire. “I will see to it, my Queen.” Leucosia gives her a deep, passionate kiss.
The kiss ignites their passion. They undress each other, caressing and kissing each other’s skin as they expose it. The contrasting white and brown colors of their bodies and the red and black colors of their hair entangle to create a work of art. When neither can hold back any longer, they climb onto the table to make love.
Chapter Twenty
Paul and Ellen help Laura climb onto the back bench of the Jeep. El Anciano takes the front passenger seat as Sorcerer fires the engine. Ellen joins her in back and checks Laura’s seat belt before strapping herself in back.
“Be safe.” Paul kisses Laura’s hand. “I love you.”
Laura checks her feelings. “I love you too.” It’s been a long time since we’ve said that. Yeah, I still do, after all this. “I admire you. You’re a man of peace and a seeker of truth.”
Paul holds onto her hand. “That’s why I always come back to you, Laura.”
Clive opens the garage door, checks the surrounding for observers, and then gives the all clear signal. The Jeep backs out and drives out of town. He stops Paul from closing the garage. “I’m thirsty. Think I’ll head into town for a pint and a bite. Care to join me?”
Paul checks the sky. Still early. “Is there any place open?” Clive shrugs. Paul grabs the garage door again. “I’ll hang here. Be careful.”
“Will do, mate.” Clive heads out on foot. Paul watches until Clive is out of sight. He locks the garage and walks toward the marina.
Paul steers the Allison SUB toward a rocky beach below Leucosia’s meditation spot. He guides the boat into a sliver of beach, jumps onto shore, and ties off on the rocks. He climbs up, finding Leucosia waiting for him. “Sister Lorelei is right. You are incapable of staying away from us.”
Paul joins her on the meditation rock. “I came to talk to you about our shared memories.”
Leucosia assesses him. The thought occurs to her to transform and kill him on the spot. Her memory of the green light of protection stops her. She makes a mental note of Narmaya’s ability to penetrate the green energy cocoon, as she has seen no one else capable of doing that in her lifetime. She responds with a pained laugh. “Why would I be interested in discussing memories with a hunter? I remember twelve millennia of your kind murdering my beloved sisters and brothers. Talking does nothing to change what you have done.”
“We must change.” Paul searches her eyes for any sign of agreement. He doesn’t see it. He continues, hoping he can change her mind. “The madness stops when we refuse to continue it. It’s ours to do to break out of the ancestral blueprint of destruction and pain. Look at me, I’m living proof. I’m no longer the victim of the curse Erik visited upon me. I changed.”
Leucosia scoffs. “We are enemies. You made our relationship that way.”
“In my memories, we’re brother and sister.” He pauses for emphasis. “We shouldn’t be enemies.”
Leucosia searches his eyes for any sign of deception. She’s not convinced his intent is pure. “Sister Jalpari is right. You are conflicted. You struggle to understand your ancestral memories.”
“Correct. I am struggling to understand.” He steps closer, taking care not to encroach on her space. She allows him to do so without taking defensive action. “I know two things, Leucosia. One, you exist because my ancestor and your mother loved each other. And two, you aren’t a true Sirenian. You’re a hybrid creature created by their love and changed in a laboratory against your will.” Paul looks into her eyes with great compassion. “You only need to change your heart, as I have.”
Leucosia knows this, but Paul’s compassion for her suffering has an impact. “You speak of times long past.” She reflects on the holographic genes from the times of the inquisitions. “The Europeans destroyed any chance for us to return to the old ways. I can never change.”
Paul reads the impact his words in her body language, hoping to drive her inner conflict to the surface. “You have become like them.”
“Those with the Sirenian gene will be spared. You will survive.” She catches herself before saying more. His body language gives away a clue. Leucosia looks Paul in the eyes, studying his soul’s intent. “What do you know of our plans?”
He stares her down. “Stop playing games with me. My son—”
“Our son does not belong to you!” She takes an aggressive pose and sings an inaudible call.
Paul catches the first glimpse of her eyes changing form. In the distance, he sees the seven sisters gathering outside the facility. “We both know El Aniquilador has plans for you and all the sirens. How do you plan to stop him?”
“He is a fool!” She turns away and heads toward her waiting sisters.
Paul follows her. “Is he? You underestimate his resourcefulness. He’s built a global empire from the splintered factions of his predecessor’s cartel. We have to consider he holds the advantage over all of us.”
Leucosia stops to consider what Paul is saying. She turns to face him, lowering her guard for a moment. “I do not understand your motive. Why do you persist?”
He attempts one last time to connect with her soul-to-soul. “I don’t want to kill you. Any of you. And I don’t want you to kill us. Can we forge a partnership to prevent the cartel from destroying us all?”
She sees the sincerity in his eyes. “Do you speak for all the siren hunters?”
Paul looks down. “Only myself at the moment. They don’t believe you would agree.”
Leucosia’s eyes turn to steel. “They are correct.”
Paul takes Leucosia’s hands. “You have a right to exist on this planet and so do we.” His eyes try to penetrate her steel will. “We spend our energies on negativity instead of merging our collective strengths to fight the real battle, the battle for all life on this planet. Let us end this conflict.”
Leucosia pulls her hands away. “Humanity is a virus. Eradicating your kind is the only way to save what life remains on this planet.” She marches back toward the seven sisters.
He runs ahead and stands in her path. “You’re wrong about us. Yes, we’re damaged and dysfunctional. And we’ve suffered the same madness and persecution as the Sirenians. Most of us want peace. You can’t punish an entire race for the sins of a few.”
“We did not sin at all!” She steps into his personal space. “We brought only peace and love and wisdom. You turned us into y
our killers and hunted us down to the brink of extinction. Your crimes are unforgivable!”
Paul matches her intensity. “The Atlantean military did that! The perpetrators of this crime are extinct!”
Leucosia can no longer contain her rage. “Their gene lives on! Your kind is a scourge. You murder, consume, and poison all life. We must cleanse you from this Earth.”
“My dear sister.” Paul attempts to embraces her.
She pushes him away, violence in her eyes. “Leave this place now before I devour your flesh!” She transforms into the snake-woman and swipes a clawed hand at him. The seven sisters surround her.
Paul stands in front of them, emanating the green light of protection. “You cannot harm me. I choose peace.”
“Choose again.” Leucosia’s mind reaches out to Narmaya to command her to penetrate Paul’s energy cocoon.
Monica-Lorelei intervenes, blocking Narmaya and resting a hand on Leucosia’s shoulder to remind her that murdering Paul will reveal her ability to transform to El Aniquilador. Paul belongs with us, Lorelei reminds her.
Leucosia transforms back to her human form. “There will be no peace between us and the siren hunters.”
“Only you can satisfy our longing,” Monica says. “Our son needs you. We need you. Join us, Paul.”
“Join us, Paul,” the seven sisters repeat in unison, their voices infused with a siren song.
“The seven sisters have spoken.” She takes in a deep breath before addressing Paul. “There can be peace for you and your family, if it is what you desire. Break ties with the siren hunters. Accept your role as the father of our son. Join both your sons to father the daughters and sons of New Sirenia.” She leans into him with a lustful grin. “There is only one condition. Your wife will become my lover and enjoy the adoration of my sisters. Of course, you may make love to her whenever you wish. Provided she is not in my bed.”
Paul loses his temper. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m capable of destroying you.”
Leucosia laughs. “You will not have the chance.” The seven sisters circle around her. “Choose now. Join us, Paul. Or I will give your family’s location to El Aniquilador.” Narmaya shoots a look to Paul that tells him she knows where they are.
Paul and Leucosia lock eyes, studying each other’s intent, each assessing if the other can deliver on their threats. She sees the killer in his eyes. Leucosia signals to the seven sisters. They retreat into the facility.
Knowing what will happen next, Paul descends the rocks, unties the boat and pushes into the water. He emanates the green light of protection as he starts the engine. The boat speeds away as bullets pepper the water behind it. Paul reaches a safe distance before the cartel guards can land a damaging shot.
Chapter Twenty-One
Paul descends the stairs into the underground base, finding Clive alone with a half-empty bottle of Johnny Walker. They study each other in a long, cold silence. “How was breakfast?” Paul asks to break the ice.
“You were right. Nothing open.” Clive studies him with a suspicious eye. “You went to the island again.” Paul nods as he sits and pours himself a whisky. Clive takes in his disappointed countenance. “They still don’t want peace, I take it. Why do you keep risking your life for this? They are what they are. Nothing you do or say will change them.”
“They’re no threat to me.” Paul states, drawing a curious look. His countenance shifts to fear. “Narmaya knows where Laura is.”
“Narmaya?” Clive slouches in the chair as his heart breaks again.
Paul tells him the whole truth. “She’s their long-lost seventh sister, Jalpari.”
Clive adds more whiskey to his glass. “I wish you hadn’t told me that, mate.” He cradles the glass with both hands and takes a deep drink.
Paul drains his glass in one shot. “My ancestor did Leucosia and humanity a great disservice by setting her free. There’s no way to atone for the sins of our ancestors. This is a fight to the death.”
Clive pours him another. “I was dead serious about running away with Narmaya when this was over. I guess that’s why we call it a curse.”
Paul gets up from the table. He walks a lap around the room to decide if he wants to have this conversation now. “Curses can be broken.”
Clive stands to intercept him. “How?”
Paul meets his challenge. “I did it with Erik.”
Clive scoffs. “Have you? Look at your life, man. You may not have Erik in your head any longer, but his choices defined your life. You still live in his shadow.”
Paul sits and pours them both a refill. “Clive, one or both of my sons could die.”
“I feel your pain. Believe me, I do.” Clive sits. He empties his glass. “Casualties of war, my friend. Casualties of war. It’s not easy.”
They sit in silence for a long while, attempting to drink away the inevitability of the life they chose. Noise up above as the Jeep returns does nothing to change their mood. The two of them are figures in stone when Sorcerer and Alexei join them.
“What’s going on here?” Sorcerer pours himself two fingers to finish the bottle.
“Wallowing in suffering and remorse as we reflect on the siren hunter curse,” Clive says. “Paul took another trip to the sirens’ island and broke my heart when he returned. My one true love is a siren.”
A look from Alexei reminds Sorcerer to contain his anger. “Do you finally accept you cannot persuade them?” Alexei asks.
Paul meets his stern look. “They know where Laura and Jason are.”
Sorcerer sips his whiskey. “They’re lying.”
Paul processes the moment of cognitive dissonance as he tries to reconcile Narmaya’s look of knowing with Sorcerer’s look of certainty. He looks to Alexei for confirmation. Alexei’s body language reassures Paul more that his words. “The location is secure,” Alexei says. “They are safe for now. If the situation changes, they have an escape plan.”
“You two need to get your shit together. Eat. Hydrate. Sleep. Technical diving training starts tonight.” Sorcerer finishes his glass, removes his boots, and rolls into his bunk. Alexei does the same. Clive and Paul tap their glasses, empty the contents, and retire to their bunks.
The siren hunters’ Jeep skids to a stop near the shore of a remote lake, completing a two hour drive into the highlands. There are no man-made lights, no residents or campers anywhere along the shore. Moonlight and starlight bathe the campsite as the siren hunters unload their diving gear.
Paul takes in the location as the life force energy of the location revitalizes every cell of his body. “This is really off the grid. What if Laura’s in trouble?”
“She’s close by.” Sorcerer holds up a satellite phone. “We have a clear signal.” He hands the phone to Paul for inspection.
“You guys have every gadget imaginable.” Paul checks the phone signal to confirm. Full strength. He scrolls through the call list to find a single number. Now he knows how to reach Laura.
Sorcerer flashes a three-finger salute with his right hand, palm facing out, and thumb holding his little finger. “Your country has an organization called the Boy Scouts. We’ve adopted their motto. Be prepared. We are always ready to do our duty.”
Paul checks the gear in the back of the Jeep. “Right on. What are we learning today?”
“To avoid detection, we’ll swim deep under water to the pyramid entrance,” Sorcerer explains. “Technical diving is just a term to scare recreational divers into getting proper training before they risk their lives on deep dives. We use special equipment and gas mixtures to enable us to go deeper than 130 feet for extended times. It requires discipline to return safely to the surface.”
Paul lifts a tank and looks to Sorcerer for instructions on what to do with it. “Why do we need to go so deep?”
Sorcerer grabs a tank and motions to Paul to arrange the gear near the water. “The cartel has divers trained to kill underwater. We don’t want to tangle with them.”
“Awesome.” Pau
l looks at Clive. “You’re right, there’s no escaping this curse.”
Clive grabs a tank with each hand and lays them on the ground near the water. “Told ya, mate.”
Alexei grabs the last tank, setting it alongside the other three tanks. Each man collects a scuba suit and lays it out with a tank.
“Finish setting up camp.” Sorcerer sets up a fold-up table and lays out contents from a small cooler and a food box. “When you’re done, fuel up. We have dried salmon, beef jerky, brown rice, spinach, nuts and dried fruit. Small portions. First lesson starts at dawn.” The men set up two tents and then gather at the table to eat.
Paul’s impressed by the spread. He checks out the dried wild salmon from Alaska. “I think I can access the lab. The only reason it didn’t work last time was because Leucosia was already inside.”
Sorcerer dumps a spoon of rice and spinach on his plate, garnishing it with cashews and jerky. “Planting charges inside the lab gives us a better chance of success. Will our trigger penetrate inside?”
Paul nods with delight as he savors a bite of salmon. “No idea. May need to set a timer.”
Clive inspects the meal options. None of them interest him. Off a look from Sorcerer, he takes a small serving of everything. “Who will go with him?”
“I have the Atlantean gene,” Paul says. “You can’t go inside with me. Stand guard.”
Clive likes the dried blueberries. “Great. So looking forward to turning the fucking pyramid into a bomb with a ticking timer, while I’m still in it and caught in the middle of a power grab by sirens and the cartel.”
Sorcerer has had enough of his whining. “Man up!” The others finish their last bites of food and follow Sorcerer to prepare the equipment.
Paul lifts a long, cylindrical object out of the Jeep. It’s a protected propeller, fronted by three connected cylinders, each with fish eyes and teeth. “What’s this new toy?”
Sorcerer grins. “Meet the DiveX Piranha P3 DPV. Diver propulsion vehicle. Runs on power tool batteries.” There are three more DPVs in the rear cargo area of the Jeep. Paul sets them out with the rest of the scuba gear. Sorcerer grabs a small generator and a can of fuel to finish emptying the Jeep. “This will charge the batteries. Ultra quiet.”