Silencing the Siren

by J. E. Taylor

  He stared at my note and then met my gaze. “You heard the song?”

  Both of us nodded.

  His expression hardened. “You killed the crew members of that boat?”

  We both shook our heads.

  “The crew attacked Kylee.” Alex looked at the ground and closed his eyes. “I did, too. She defended herself pretty well considering four men were on the attack, but neither of us killed the crew. She did her best to keep us from harming her or each other. I guess that thing wasn’t satisfied with how things were playing out and decided to take things into its own hands.”

  The commander glanced at me, his eyes narrowing. “You were not affected?”

  I shook my head and grabbed another piece of paper. No, not in the same way the men were. I tied the captain and Alex up to keep them safe. That creature snapped the necks of the other two and then let the captain loose with instructions to kill me. Alex was already unconscious. When I nearly knocked the Captain out, that thing got angry, broke the captain’s neck, and came after me. Just before he did the same to me, another ship came into the vicinity.

  I stopped writing and looked up at the commander. My heart sunk. It was his ship that made it so my life was spared. I handed him the paper as tears welled up in my eyes. Six crew members paid the price instead of me.

  He read my words and then met my gaze. I pointed a shaky finger at him and twirled it around to indicate the ship. The truth of it all slammed home, and I buried my face in my hands. If I had only killed Jeremiah that first time, the commander’s ship wouldn’t have been influenced by the siren.

  Commander Angelis knelt down in front of me and pulled my hands from my face. I met his gaze through prisms of tears. The hardness in his features softened.

  “I think that may have been us, and to know our arrival saved two people from death is more than I could have hoped for.”

  I glanced at Alex, and he squeezed me to his side.

  “Thank you,” Alex said. He relayed the depth of my gratitude with those two words.

  The commander gave a nod, climbed to his feet, and left us alone.

  “I’m sorry, Kylee,” Alex said softly and pressed his lips to the side of my head.

  I wasn’t sure why he was apologizing, but I accepted his warm condolences.

  THE COMMANDER AND CREW let us be for the remainder of the trip. Neither Alex nor I got any rest, and we didn’t talk. I just leaned into him, thankful for his warmth and quiet strength. Numbness settled into my bones, taking any discomfort from my injuries.

  We arrived in Athens just as the sun kissed the surface of the sea.

  “Miss?” an ensign said, sticking his head in the room we sat in.

  I met his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

  “We have medics waiting on shore to take a look at you.”

  I glanced at Alex. I just wanted to go home.

  “You need to get your back looked at before we get on a plane,” he said as if he read my mind.

  I sighed and nodded. I climbed to my feet and took an unsteady step. Alex grabbed my elbow, steadying me before he grabbed our backpack. The minute we climbed onto the dock, a medic swept in and escorted both of us into the nearest building on the base.

  I was given a johnny to put on. They tried to remove Alex from the room, but I kept his hand in mine and shook my head.

  “I’m staying,” he said.

  “We need to check you out too,” the medic said.

  I pointed to the floor in the room, still clasping his hand.

  “She wants me to stay. I don’t have an issue if you check me out in front of her. And if I’m reading her correctly, she feels the same.”

  I nodded, thankful for his accurate interpretation of my actions.

  “Fine.” The medic handed Alex a johnny as well. “Get changed and the doctor will be in momentarily.”

  Alex helped me out of my shirt and into the garment, then he traded his shirt for the johnny and took a seat next to me on the bench. He didn’t bother asking if I was okay. I thought by then he knew better, so instead, he took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

  I returned the motion as the doctor walked in the room. She was a beautiful dark haired Greek woman, and she gave me a soft smile.

  “Hello, I’m Doctor Romanov. I understand you haven’t spoken since the attack,” she said, looking at some notes scribbled on the clipboard she held. It was strange not seeing a doctor with a tablet like in the states, but perhaps they weren’t quite as advanced as that here on the coast guard base.

  I nodded and lifted my chin to show my neck.

  Dr. Romanov put the clipboard down and crossed to me. Concern displayed in tiny wrinkles around her mouth. She pressed lightly on either side of my Adam’s apple. I winced. She made me stick my tongue out while she flashed a light down my throat, but I knew there was no real indication of damage. Fate had just stolen my ability to speak, and no medical doctor would be able to restore it.

  “Did you cough up blood?” she asked.

  I shook my head and glanced at Alex.

  “No, she didn’t,” he said. “I think her back and shoulder need more attention at the moment than her throat,” he added as the doctor kept tinkering with my neck. “I did my best to patch her up, but I still think stitches are necessary.”

  The doctor glanced at him before returning her gaze to me. “Does it hurt to swallow?”

  I shook my head then shrugged and pointed to the sides of my neck. I signed that the muscles were sore, but not my throat directly.

  “You’re muscles are sore?”

  I nodded. You know sign language?

  She stared at my hands and gave me a nod. “Yes. As far as the muscles in your neck, they will be sore for a while. You sustained some really nasty bruises.” Her glance jumped to Alex in a manner I didn’t like.

  He saved me, I signed. So don’t give him that look. He’s got a head injury, if you hadn’t noticed.

  Dr. Romanov took a long breath. “Okay. Let’s take a look at your back,” she said and walked to the other side of the table. She pulled off the patchwork that Alex had done. “Your boyfriend is right. You are going to need quite a few stitches.”

  I traded a glance with Alex and he shrugged.

  “I told you it wasn’t pretty,” he said and squeezed my hand.

  “I wouldn’t talk, mister. That bruise on your forehead is pretty nasty,” the doctor said, coming around to the front.

  “I’m fine,” Alex said. “I just need about thirty hours of sleep after I eat a four-course meal.”

  His comment brought a smile to my lips. It had the same effect on the doctor as she shined her light in each of his eyes.

  She returned to me and slid the johnny off my shoulder to inspect that wound. When she finished, she met my gaze. “You are one lucky lady. It looks like this missed the tendons and just hit bone. If this had been a half inch in either direction, you wouldn’t have been able to use this arm. At least not enough to keep fighting whatever attacked you two.”

  I shrugged and glanced at Alex. I’m not sure I could have kept fighting if it wasn’t for him, I signed.

  The doctor nodded. “I’ll be back with one of the nurses, and we will get you sewed up.”

  Thank you.

  Dr. Romanov and the nurse who had got us settled in the exam room worked together to stitch up my shoulder and the gouges in my back. They then sent us on our way with enough bandages to get us home to the states. I stopped at the marina store and bought both Alex and me some flip-flops for our feet before we got into the cab that the base had called for us.

  I leaned back in the seat and winced. Any pressure on my back pulled at the stitches. I leaned forward enough so my back didn’t press on the vinyl. Alex slid inside next to me with the backpack.

  “Where to?” he asked softly.

  Airport, I mouthed and made the hand signal for an airplane taking off.

  “The airport, please,” Alex said to the driver without hesitatio
n.

  While he didn’t know formal sign language, he was reading me pretty damn well, and I was thankful for that.

  The cab driver dropped us off and waved away payment, telling us the coast guard had covered the cost before he drove away. Alex and I turned and took in the airport, and I wondered if there was even a flight today.

  When the airline clerk told us there wasn’t anything until tomorrow morning, I almost burst into tears. I nodded and wrote a note to please book us on the earliest flight possible, then I handed over my credit card to cover the charges for both of us.

  “I assume there’s a hotel in connection with the airport?” Alex asked after our tickets were all squared away.

  “Yes,” she said and pointed to our right. “If you go through the doors at the end of this hall, you will come to a passageway that connects with the hotel.”

  “Thank you,” he said and took the tickets and my hand and led me away from the airport terminal.

  I felt like a walking zombie, numb except for the discomfort of my back. I let Alex take charge. He booked us a room and got me settled under the covers before he slid into the bed next to me. I didn’t remember anything beyond his soft peck on my lips and then the shifting of the covers before darkness yanked me under.

  Chapter 17

  Ringing yanked me out of a sound sleep and I rolled, wincing at the pain in my back. I glanced around the room and at the empty spot beside me, disoriented. My attention finally turned back to the nightstand next to me and the buzzing phone. I picked up the receiver and got an automated wake-up message.

  Alex stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and rubbed his wet hair with a second towel. “Hey, sleepy head,” he said and flashed a smile. “Was that our wake-up call?”

  I nodded and tried to stretch, but the movement pulled a silent gasp from my lips.

  “You might want to clean up and change before we go sit on a plane for another eighteen hours.” He sighed and stepped back in the bathroom. “Thank you for having the forethought to grab a change of clothes,” he called from behind the door.

  They had said for me to wait at least twenty-four hours before I took a shower, but I needed to feel clean after everything we had been through. As soon as Alex vacated the bathroom, I slid inside and turned on the shower.

  “They said to wait a full day,” Alex said from the doorway.

  I turned and sent him a glare, daring him to try to stop me. He raised his hands and stepped out of sight. I left the bandages on until I finished cleaning my body and hair. The adhesive peeled off easily, and once I had all the bandages I could reach removed, I wrapped my hair in a towel and loosely draped the other around my body.

  I stepped into the room, and Alex looked up. I pointed at him and then turned so he could remove the last soaking bandage that I couldn’t reach. He pulled the fabric away from my skin, took the towel I held, and blotted the skin in between each cut.

  The man had such a delicate touch that I closed my eyes.

  “Do you need me to put the spare bandages on?” he asked softly in my ear.

  His close proximity stirred a need deep within me. It was the first emotion I’d had since we stepped off the coast guard boat. I nodded, not because I couldn’t patch myself up, but because I just wanted him near me. I needed to feel something more than this vast emptiness that had overtaken me.

  Once my wounds were covered, he handed me my clean clothing. I took them with me back to the bathroom, dressing and finishing the motions of cleaning up. Thankfully, the hotel supplied us with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant, so at least I felt human when I stepped out of the bathroom.

  Neither of us bothered to pick up our dirty clothing. I think we both just wanted to get home and leave all reminders of what had passed behind. I handed him his wallet and his passport from the backpack before pointing at the door.

  “You’re in a rush,” he said and pocketed his documents before hooking his thumb at the cart of food behind him. “Didn’t you want something to eat?”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t hungry. I hadn’t been since the numbness took hold.

  “You need to eat something.” He picked up the apple and tossed it to me as he folded a pancake and shoved it in his mouth. He wiped his hands on a napkin while chewing and swallowing the pastry. “Ready?”

  I nodded and took a bite of the apple. The juicy sweetness soothed my throat. I knew at some point I’d be thankful he insisted I eat something, but as we left the room, I tossed the half-eaten fruit in the garbage and closed the door. My mood soured with each uncomfortable step.

  As soon as we settled our bill, I headed straight to the airport terminal. I wanted away from this side of the world and the memories that would haunt me for the next thousand millenniums thanks to that demanding bitch. And now I couldn’t even have a decent conversation because of her slanted view of justice.

  Thousands of years had passed since I found joy in destroying a human life, and I had lost all taste for it. In a way, I was glad Fate stole my voice, but it really wasn’t necessary. I would never again engage the siren. Not at the expense of a life. Using it to lull my brother had been enough to kill that urge on the spot.

  Alex tried to engage me in conversation, but I tuned him out, preferring to wallow in what might have been as opposed to the cold reality that I killed Jeremiah. Once we were seated in the plane, I closed my eyes.

  “Kylee?” he whispered. He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “You did the right thing.”

  I took his iPad and typed, I know. But it still doesn’t fix the hole his death left in my heart.

  Alex leaned over and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. “If there is anything I can do to ease your pain, please let me know.”

  I stared out the window and then grabbed his iPad back. We need to learn sign language because this typing shit is for the birds.

  “Well, we have close to nineteen hours trapped in this fuselage, and I know neither of us is in the mood for a repeat of the prior trip, so...” He handed me the iPad. “Have at it.”

  Chapter 18

  We walked into my home, and Alex dropped the backpack on the kitchen island. I fished through it and pulled my bracelet out.

  “What are you doing?” Alex asked.

  I yanked the trident off the chain and held it up, meeting his gaze. I need you to say the spell that returns this to normal size, I signed slowly. He had picked up a lot in the nineteen hours we were stuck on the flight, but I still had to go slow enough for him to process it.

  His mouth moved as he translated what my hands were saying. “You need me to say a spell?”

  I nodded and scribbled it down. I hesitated before I handed him the note. I could see him testing out the spell and one or both of us being speared by the trident as a result. But wait until we get upstairs and I tell you to say the spell, okay?

  He nodded. “I’ll wait until you give me the go ahead,” he said, and I handed him the paper.

  Alex studied the words as he followed me up to my weapons arsenal. Thankfully, I didn’t use a voice-controlled code for access. Otherwise, I’d be screwed. As it was, I would need Alex to recount whatever spell was necessary to utilize my tools, or I’d be shit out of luck the next time I had to go take down a monster.

  I pressed the code into the door and positioned myself in front of the scanner. Alex let out a low whistle.

  “Impressive,” he said after the lock disengaged.

  I crossed to the long dresser and laid my hands on the specific spots needed to open the secret cabinet and waited, relishing the heat that flowed into my hands from the scanners. The audible click announced the completion of the process, and I opened the dresser lid. I dropped the trinket in the center of the velvet holder and glanced over my shoulder. Alex stared into the cabinet in appreciation at the array of knives, daggers, and other deadly weapons.

  “Damn, girl,” he said and met my gaze. The utter appreciation reflected in his eyes mad
e me shift. I didn’t deserve idolization.

  I rolled my eyes and tapped the paper in his hand.

  “Oh, yeah.” He cleared his throat and repeated the words on the paper. His pronunciation was off, so nothing happened.

  I bit my lip. Do you remember how I said it on the boat?

  He stared at my hands, and the color in his cheeks faded a notch. He closed his eyes. His lips moved, but no sound came out at first. Then his eyes flew open, and he spoke the exact words I used after he had collapsed. “Deus Neptunus in mari nascuntur tridentem istum mihi.”

  Light flashed over the trident, and we both squinted as it grew to its full glory. Seeing the dried blood covering the forks and the handle sucked the air from my lungs. I plucked the note from Alex’s hand and dropped it into the case before I slammed the top closed.

  I grabbed his hand and literally dragged him from the room, slamming the door behind us. I leaned against it, still trying to draw a full breath, but my lungs didn’t seem to be on the same page.

  “Kylee?”

  I turned and signed, Thank you.

  His goofy, uncomfortable smile appeared. “Any time,” he said. “I guess.”

  We stood staring at each other, and his smile faded. My heart dropped at the seriousness in his expression. It was as if he were seeing me for the first time. I thought it was doubt I glimpsed, but then he moved, pinning me to the door.

  His lips captured mine, and he kissed like a drowning man clawing his way to the surface. It was frantic and full of everything he had held back since my brother died. His hands gripped my arms, harder than I thought he intended. When he finally broke the kiss, the intensity in his gaze reminded me of what he looked like on the boat just before he ravaged me.

  I shivered and kept his stare.

  “I want to do this right this time,” he said, his voice husky with the need so obvious in the hardness now pressed against me.

  I didn’t have a witty response, especially since my hands were down at my sides. I wanted to say something like there was no helm for me to spray, or if he wanted me to bend over. I wanted to say anything to keep this intensity from burning out.