When Sirens Screech: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (Bedlam in Bethlehem Book 3)

by Nicole Zoltack

  Immediately, I drive back to the nearest drop, which had been near the Fahy Bridge. Down underneath the bridge, I find it.

  A bomb.

  Oh, my God.

  There are one hundred and eleven bombs all around Bethlehem.

  And that’s just from two silver-eyed victims. If others all had the same number of bombs too, who knows how many there are around the city?

  Immediately, a certain number springs to mine.

  Let’s say there are ten other silver-eyed victims or five more pairs of duos. That would mean five hundred and fifty-five more bombs. Overall, that would leave six hundred and sixty-six bombs littered in the city.

  Six hundred and sixty-six.

  The number of the devil.

  I know the siren’s plan.

  She wants to level Bethlehem.

  The city won’t just be in bedlam then. Oh, no. It will be devastated until there’s nothing left.

  Chapter 29

  I can’t risk calling the lieutenant because Kat might be with him still. Hell, she most likely is. But I can’t do this alone.

  I call it in. I lay out all of the locations I have.

  But that’s not enough. We have to do more. We need bomb-sniffing dogs.

  Not that we have enough to be able to cover the entire city.

  Unless…

  I have no idea how Calliope will take this favor, this request. Actually, I have a pretty good idea.

  “We aren’t dogs!” she said before.

  But this is different. This affects her hometown. Our hometown. We have a common enemy here. We need to work together.

  Humans and wolves.

  Forget the vamps. I don’t trust them. Not even Jace. They’re too much of a liability at this point.

  So, with trembling fingers and dread and anxiety warring in my stomach, I call up Calliope.

  “What do you need?” she answers with.

  Immediately, a sense of calm and peace washes over me. Maybe we can do this. Maybe we can accomplish the impossible.

  I’ve actually never seen the Mission Impossible movies, not one of them, but the theme song still runs through my head.

  “Is there any chance at all that you and your pack can sniff out bombs? I know it’s a stretch, and it’s asking a lot, but I’m desperate. So desperate here. I know where over one hundred bombs are throughout the city, but I’m afraid there are a ton more than that. We can really use your help canvassing the city. You say that this is your home, that you want to live in peace here. This will go a long way toward proving that.” I say all of this without taking a breath and wait and hope she won’t take offense.

  She’s quiet for a long moment.

  “Calliope, are you there?”

  “I’m here. Who would do such a thing? Who set up these bombs? Are they all set to detonate?”

  I look down at the bomb. There’s a timer, but it’s not ticking down.

  Kinda good.

  Kinda bad.

  Because the timer is only set for thirty seconds.

  “We’ll do it,” she says and hangs up before I can express my undying gratitude.

  I shove my phone into my pocket. Hopefully, the lieutenant is all right. I still can’t shake the feeling that it’s not a good idea to contact him yet. We can’t risk letting the siren know through her minions that we’re onto her plan.

  And yet, a sinking feeling forms in my stomach. A fog of despair and dread clings to me like a shadow.

  What if the siren wanted us to run around the city like chickens with our heads chopped off? What if this is just a ploy to distract us?

  What if she has something even bigger planned?

  Ugh! If I could just talk to her, question her, learn what she is after…

  A bomb squad arrives, and I’m shuffling backward, giving them space. I’ve done my part here. I can’t do anything to help with bomb removal.

  But there is another way I can help.

  The lieutenant really isn’t gonna like my next plan. Not at all.

  Oh, well. It’s not like he can fire me again.

  I’ve been sitting up the block from the lieutenant’s house for five minutes now. I’m so anxious and uneasy I can almost puke. His car is here, but hers isn’t.

  Maybe they went to her place. Maybe she brought him to the siren. Maybe the lieutenant’s a silver-eyed goon.

  I can’t take the uncertainty!

  I’m looking up the number for St. Luke’s to bully someone into telling me Kat’s home address when her car finally turns onto the street. She parks at his house. The lieutenant gets out, wobbling a bit like he’s uneasy on his feet. He stumbles around to her door and opens it like some kind of drunken gentleman.

  Has he really imbibed? Or is it the after effects of some kind of sleeping pill?

  Either way, he seems to be all right, and that’s really all that matters.

  Kat climbs out of the car and glances around. Her eyes flash silver. Why are some eyes silver all the time and others only now and then? Does that mean she’s fighting the influence? That the siren only has control at certain times?

  The two of them go into the house. Lights flick on throughout as they make their way to the kitchen. Maybe he’s trying to keep her awake.

  I dart out of my car, don’t bother to lock it, and slip around the side of the house. If a neighbor sees me, they’ll call the cops. I have to look like a thief. I snort. Call the cops on an ex-cop who is trying to help the lieutenant.

  If the situation weren’t so serious, I’d shake my head and roll my eyes.

  “You only have vanilla and chocolate?” Kat’s voice filters through the window. “How boring.”

  “At least I have cherries.”

  “But no whipped cream. You promised me a sundae.”

  Now I do roll my eyes. She sounds like a pouty kid. I sure hope that’s the silver eyes talking. Maybe she needs him out of the house?

  “It’s after ten. The Cup has closed already. I’ll take you tomorrow if you don’t mind waiting.”

  Screw this. She seems to be all right, silver eyes or not. I don’t dare risk her hurting herself, but waiting around and listening isn’t going to solve anything.

  I march to the front of the house and bang on the door.

  The lieutenant opens it.

  For a second, we stare at each other. His face goes from shock to fury to worried and back to surprise.

  “Kat?” he calls over his shoulder. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

  “Good idea?” I whisper to him, hardly moving my lips.

  “Too late now,” he returns.

  Kat exits the kitchen. She’s wearing a silver sweater and jeans. The trench coat is hung up next to the door. Her eyes are definitely not silver at the moment.

  I feel almost guilty for trying to see if it’s her or the siren. It’s not her fault she’s been possessed or influenced or whatever it is. I hate feeling so powerless. Actually, I feel guiltier about Kat being a victim. She’s innocent. The siren should be going after me, not my loved ones or the loved ones of my friends!

  “Hi. You’re Clarissa, right?” Kat asks. “I remember you from the hospital.”

  We shake hands.

  “Yeah. You did a great job nursing this one back to health.” I jerk my thumb toward the lieutenant.

  Kat blushes. “That wasn’t me. And it wasn’t the doctors either. You’re the one who pushed the heavy antibiotics and anti-virals. The lab never did get a chance to check out your blood, come to think of it. We have no idea what went on with you.” She frowns.

  I lift an eyebrow. Did the lieutenant have his blood stolen from the hospital lab so they couldn’t run any tests on it? That’s a sly, slick move but also illegal.

  “What’s the smirk for?” the lieutenant grumbles. “What brings you here so late?”

  I ignore him and focus on Kat. “I want to meet a friend of yours if that’s all right.”

  The lieutenant slides over to stand between us like h
e’s breaking up a fist fight. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he growls.

  Geez. He’s almost sounding like a werewolf.

  “Dorcas, come on now. Be nice.”

  I almost choke. Lieutenant Reynolds’ first name is Dorcas? No wonder he doesn’t let anyone know what it is!

  His facial expression is priceless, complete horror and fierce anger.

  Geared toward me and not Kat, of course.

  “Which friend?” Kat asks.

  Oh, man. She really is nice and sweet. Kind of motherly in a way. If anyone can soften the rough edges of the lieutenant, it’s her.

  Nothing can happen to her.

  How can I bring out the silver eyes without her turning against herself?

  I so didn’t think this through. And that’s my problem. I’m reckless and impulsive. Yes, bottom line, I always get results. I get done what needs to get done. But I risk others.

  That’s why I’m not the head of the department.

  That’s why I’m not even on the police force.

  The siren knows me enough that she managed to get me fired. Even though I don’t have silver eyes myself, she’s still pulling my strings.

  Her eyes flash silver by themselves.

  I swallow hard. Uh oh.

  “Clarissa Tempest. A storm is coming. Are you prepared?”

  Her voice.

  She’s using the siren’s voice.

  “Damn.” I snap my fingers. “Left my rain boots at home.”

  The lieutenant backs up a step. “What…”

  “Get out!” I snap at him.

  But he doesn’t listen to me, pulls something small out of his pocket, and shoves them inside of his ears.

  “You want to see me, Clarissa? You need to find me.”

  I stomp my foot. “Not playing your games. Come and talk. Note what I said. Talk. Not sing.”

  She laughs. The sound is like twinkling bells.

  “Do you only think a temper tantrum is going to make me come running? You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of.”

  It’s so strange to be talking to the siren through Kat, but my plan worked, in theory at least. I wanted to lure out the siren. I’m talking to her, even if she isn’t bodily present.

  Yeah, I’m totally counting that as a win.

  “I know you’re a siren. So I don’t know your name. I don’t really think that’s too much of a big deal.” I shrug. “As for what you’re capable of, you can turn humans into your goons. Vamps and wolves don’t listen to you, do they? Only to a certain extent. They’re a liability, aren’t they? A threat.”

  As I’ve been talking, I’ve been circling her, but now I stop, halting, my churning feverishly.

  The war between the vamps and the wolves has been a little tempered back as of the past day or two. Why? Because of her? Because they have regained control of their sirened buddies? Maybe we can combine forces with them to take down the siren!

  “You don’t like threats, do you?” I ask, resuming my circle around her. “Want to take them out for me?”

  “I would never do you a favor,” she snaps.

  Even when haughty and arrogant, she still sounds melodious. I sound like a banshee when I yell. Not a nice sound.

  Oh, man. Banshees aren’t real. If I hear wailing in the middle of the night, I’m moving out of the state. I swear I am. I don’t want to hear when I’m gonna die.

  At this rate, I’m gonna die soon anyhow. Between vamps, wolves, Amarok, the siren, who knows what’s gonna end me. Maybe I won’t even reach the big three-oh.

  “Not even if it helps you?” I ask innocently. “Might be worth it to wipe them out.”

  “You who make deals with vampires and werewolves when it suits you would want them all killed.” She snaps her fingers to mock me. “Just like that?”

  It’s strange. The more Kat talks with the siren’s voice, the more I see the siren rather than the nurse.

  “How perfectly evil of you,” she continues.

  I bristle with anger and try to calm down. She wants to play on my emotions. She wants me agitated and anxious. I am not evil! Okay, so using others to suit my purposes isn’t exactly nice. And, yeah, trying to justify terrible means because of a good outcome isn’t good either. I’m just doing the best that I can.

  Maybe my best isn’t good enough.

  I glance at the lieutenant. He hasn’t moved a muscle. Can he hear us at all? The siren through Kat is ignoring him, so that’s a good sign.

  I hope.

  “If I’m evil,” I counter, “what does that make you?”

  She smiles wickedly. “Oh, darling, you really don’t want to know.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You do evil and badness and all of that. Why?”

  The siren has Kat put a hand on her hip. “Do you really think you can dupe me with words? They’re mine to command, to wield, to turn into weapons. Do you want to hear a song?”

  My heart hammers in my chest. I hope that I won’t be affected, but the lieutenant very well might be. Plugging his ears might not be enough to save him.

  She opens her mouth.

  Panic overwhelms me, and I blurt out, “We know your plan. Death. Destruction. Leveling the city. Why? Why bother to go to those lengths?”

  She appraises me, silently, watching. Her silver eyes blink eerily.

  “You can’t sing to me. You can’t siren me,” I claim.

  Is it true? Who knows? And if it is, boy, oh boy, what am I?

  I really think I’m better off not knowing.

  “Why won’t you go after me?” I ask. “Why don’t you sing that song? You know you can’t control me. Why won’t you leave everyone else alone and just face me?”

  My old standby. Going at it alone. The lieutenant has forced me to be a one-woman team.

  No. The siren did. Maybe I really should go back to recruiting one.

  Damn it! I need to stop second-guessing myself!

  She laughs and laughs. “You have no idea what you’re saying. And you honestly have no idea what you are, do you?”

  “What am I?” I challenge, but I have no hope that she’ll give me a direct answer.

  Or if she does answer, I have no faith that it’ll be the truth.

  She taps her fingers together. “Your father, well, he’s not one to cross, but I will say this.” Now, she points at me, directly at my heart. “If you keep trying to stop me, there are ways to harm you without touching your body. I already took your job. What should I take next? Or rather, who?”

  Just like that, the silver eyes from Kat blink away. Any appearance of hers that looked like the siren vanishes. Then Kat collapses.

  Chapter 30

  I hardly catch Kat in time. Awkwardly, I drag her to the couch.

  The lieutenant still stands there, not moving. Clapping my hands, yelling, and having a hand in front of his face doesn’t help either.

  Finally, and this is kinda gross, but I remove the ear plugs from his ears.

  Then he blinks and shakes his head. “What just happened?” he demands.

  He glances around wildly and startles when he sees Kat on the couch.

  “What did you do?” he growls as he rushes over to her unconscious form.

  “I talked to the siren through her,” I explain. “She threatened me. End of story.”

  “Did you learn more about her plan at least?”

  “Not exactly,” I admit, rubbing my arms.

  “You really need to work on your interrogation techniques,” he mutters.

  “Do you have any idea what it’s like to talk to one?”

  “No, but it doesn’t matter. Questioning a suspect is an art. Once you’ve mastered the techniques properly, you can learn what you want without even getting an answer out of them.”

  I smirk and cross my arms. “Big words for someone who went into a trance when the siren appeared.”

  “You told me about there being a siren. I choose to believe you and thought that ear plugs would be my biggest ass
et against her.”

  “Not much of a weapon,” I point out.

  “No, but at least it kept me from becoming her slave.”

  “True enough, but being in a trance in her presence doesn’t strike me as the smartest idea ever.”

  “A trance? What exactly did you do?”

  “The Chicken Dance.”

  “Tempest! Don’t you dare lie to me.”

  “Well, all right. Fine. I never knew you learned how to do the Cupid Shuffle.”

  “Because it makes sense for a person in a trance to start dancing. Damn it, Tempest. You’re screwing around is destroying my last nerve. I am not going to tolerate this insubordination!”

  “Maybe you should save your voice some. It’s cracking a bit. Yell at someone who still works for you.”

  The lieutenant narrows his eyes. “You’re enjoying this entirely too much. And at my expense.” He grumbles under his breath.

  I shrug and offer, “I have to crack jokes or else I’m afraid I’ll just crack.”

  Shit. My eyes are tearing up. Why the Hell are they doing that now?

  Still muttering, the lieutenant picks up Kat so that he can sit and have her head in his lap.

  “Be careful,” I warn. “The siren might come back in her.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “Did she…” I hesitate. “Did she doctor your drink?”

  “Yeah, I took an unscheduled nap. I woke up just as the credits rolled. Kat was there when I stirred, laughing at me, so I assume she did her task like a good little minion and then came back?”

  “Oh, yeah. She was a busy little beaver.”

  He frowns and jostles a bit to pat his pocket. “My phone’s gone.”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m not surprised. She probably swiped it. I’m sure your mailbox has been blowing up.”

  The lieutenant grits his teeth. “What did she do?”

  “Dorcas?” Kat whispers. “What happened? How did we get here?”

  “Kat!” he exclaims.

  Her eyes aren’t silver, but that doesn’t mean flashes won’t come back. As much as I want them to have a happy reunion, I jerk my head toward the front porch. Kat’s too busy staring at her boyfriend to notice me.