Dark Siren

by Ashley, Eden

  “Do you see that?” Kali wasn’t sure why she was whispering.

  “Yeah.” Rhane sounded wary.

  “Up here,” York called.

  Rhane touched her arm. “Wait here.”

  York pointed to an area in the floor when Rhane reached him. “There are impressions. Like someone stood in this exact spot pretty often.”

  Rhane crouched down to take a closer look. Kali stood on tiptoe, wanting badly to see what they were looking at. She risked moving closer. War glanced in her direction but didn’t try to stop her. The impression was a pair of footprints. Nothing was miraculous about them. It was only that they were worn permanently into the floor. Rhane straightened. With a measured look at York, he stepped into the impressions. Kali heard a faint click. And then the walls came to life.

  Powered by some unseen source, light flooded the cavern. Pictures materialized on every walled surface, surrounding them with a 360 degree view of a projected painting. A faint humming filled the room. Kali took in a startled breath when the pictures began to move. Above their heads, the ceiling erupted in a brilliance of red and orange as if it were on fire. Light from it grew brighter and brighter, and became so blinding that it hurt to look at. The faint hum built to a dull but painful roar.

  The roof of the cave seemed to move toward her. Kali threw up both hands, shielding her eyes from the light. She stifled a scream, mentally reassuring herself that it wasn’t real. There was no way Armageddon would start a hundred feet below the surface in an old, manmade cave.

  The fire that engulfed the ceiling shifted to the walls, transforming into a massive fireball that hurtled through the sky much like an asteroid en route to earth. It impacted the ground, violently foot printing its presence with a huge crater. The flames died, and a foreign-looking object was revealed in the settling dust. Kali wasn’t sure what to call it. Nothing she’d ever seen in sci-fi movies came close to replicating the structure. For lack of a better word to describe it, her mind labeled it a pod. The pod was immense. It towered above every tree that had survived the destruction of its arrival. Strange blue symbols illuminated metallic surfaces, glowing for a short while and then disappearing. Animals emerged from one of three spirals that sprouted from a spherical core. Fearsome teeth and claws identified the creatures as predators. Fur in colors ranging from white to black, with every shade of grey and brown in between covered their hides. They ran on all fours, assimilating into the surrounding habitat. A second group of animals came forth. These were horrible monstrosities. Some ran on all fours like the ones that preceded them, while others ran on two legs. And as the sunlight touched them, the creatures appeared to writhe in pain. Stronger than the agony was the will to be free. Hides smoking under the merciless sun, they streaked away from the downed vessel, finding cover in the shadows.

  The scene shifted, faded to a darkness that didn’t last long. The images that surfaced next were even more disturbing than the last. An all-out war raged. Soldiers in gold and black armor battled shadowy figures that shifted their forms, alternating between men and grotesque troll-beasts. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Blood soaked the battleground. More beasts poured onto the scene, joining the gruesome fray. It was horrible to watch. Some died as men. Others died as monsters. Kali wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t. She had to see what happened next.

  Despite the climbing death toll, the number of participants embroiled in the war continued to grow. The masses increased until only a weird mixture of human and inhuman faces filled the walls with expressions of rage, triumph, defeat, and regret. The faces began to disintegrate. The scene changed, gradually dimming to nothing as darkness reentered the cavern.

  Sometime during the extraordinary barrage of moving images, the torches had died out. Or maybe War and York had deliberately snuffed them to limit any possible interference. Kali was pondering the thought when a strange fluttering sound reached her ears. It was like the noise of a bird’s feathers beating the air but amplified times a thousand. And it was growing louder. And closer. Kali looked up. And screamed.

  A goliath had descended upon them, carried upon enormous wings that touched either side of the cavern walls. Red and black scales patterned its skin. Yellow eyes, as big as a compact car, were split in horizontal halves by black slits. The monster opened its mouth. A spark ignited, and fire materialized in its jaws. Kali screamed again and staggered backward.

  Thunder rumbled. The ground began to shift, the quaking intense enough to make the walls and earth blur in sight. She lost her footing, thrown by the force of the disturbance. Something solid stopped her from falling, but then the floor itself gave way, crumbling from beneath her feet, leaving only air to support her. Kali started to free fall into darkness, but was abruptly jerked to a midair stop. A chaos of rocks and dirt rained down into the gaping hole that had been the ground only seconds before.

  She looked up. The walls were glowing again, but the moving images had stopped. The goliath was gone. Did I imagine it? If she didn’t stop having crazy hallucinations, Kali was going to commit herself to the loony bin.

  Past the hand holding on to her, she met York’s affable grin. “Don’t worry. I won’t let go.”

  How he could be so cavalier in present circumstances was beyond her. As she was about to breath her thanks, the situation got way worse.

  Unseen water announced its presence, rushing in like it had breached a flooded levee. A moment later, thousands of gallons of water poured into the cavern. Unstoppable in force, the torrent pummeled everything in its path. It rose rapidly, too rapidly. Even a skilled swimmer like Kali would not survive. She would be ultimately crushed beneath the surging weight. She looked down at the dark, angry waters and then back up at the only person standing between her and certain death. “Please, don’t let go.”

  “Get ready.”

  “What?” Fear squeezed her chest. Certainly he wasn’t thinking about dropping her into that. Upward momentum followed, erasing the premature panic she felt. York was pulling her up. Suddenly at eye level with the big man, she scrambled against the rock in search of solid footholds. His hand was steadfast until she found them. “You saved my life.”

  York looked down and cringed. “Not…yet.”

  Kali’s eyes widened in confusion and then dread. Ice cold water encircled her feet, and showed no signs of stopping. The level reached her hips. Pretty soon, her shoulders were submerged. Kali gasped from the shock of the freezing temperature. Then her body promptly acclimated and warmth filled her. From her head and down to her toes, she was protected against even the slightest chill. Kali let go of the wall. The water had slowed enough to make treading in it barely a danger. But the cavern was still filling. The ceiling was only ten feet away from her head. If something didn’t happen fast, they were going to drown.

  Chapter 44

  “York!”

  “I know.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Don’t freak out.”

  “Too late!”

  Reaching up, Kali could have touched the cavern roof. She was trying very hard not to hyperventilate. Even York looked worried.

  Maybe there’s a way out. I can swim to the bottom and find it. This water has to be coming from somewhere.

  When she barely had room enough to hold her mouth above the water, it finally stopped rising. York floated on his back to keep breathing air. “Well…that was intense,” he said.

  With the immediate danger diminished, Kali’s mind could stretch beyond thoughts of self-preservation. She looked around. Only their two heads floated above the rippled surface. “Where’s Rhane?”

  “That’s a good question.” York’s mouth quirked. “Maybe you’ve noticed that Rhane hates being underground. He doesn’t care much for large quantities of water either.” He actually laughed. “This must be one helluva combo for him.”

  She thought back to their date at Ridge Lake and realized York was right. Though he’d hidden it well, Rhane hadn’t been very excited to sw
im in the lake, and was almost relieved when they’d left. “But he’s okay, right? He has to be okay.”

  “Shhh--”

  “Why?”

  York turned on his side, bringing an ear out of the water. Flipping over again, he shouted, “Kalista, go now! Swim!”

  Responding to the urgency in his tone, she dived beneath the water and kicked as hard as her legs knew how. Large pieces of rock hurtled past as the ceiling buckled, and then collapsed into a thousand deadly projectiles. She cut her speed in order to dodge the debris. Even a graze by one of the larger chunks could have broken a bone. She had done so well thus far surviving the night. She didn’t want things to end with her drowning while in excruciating pain.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw a huge rock careening directly toward her. There wasn’t enough time to move from its course. Kali tensed, waiting for the painful impact—but York was suddenly there, shoving her clear, placing himself in the path of the boulder. His body jerked as the rock hit him. The muffled thud reached her ears even underwater. York swam a few more strokes and went limp.

  Training from two summers working as a lifeguard made Kali react without thinking. She kicked hard. Reaching York, she grabbed his collar and pulled at his sinking form. The boulder’s tow was strong, but Kali’s will was as powerful as her swimming.

  York was safe, but she didn’t know where to go next. To surface was not an option. Going down wasn’t a great idea either. The cavern was massive; she might swim in circles for an hour without knowing it and never find the way out.

  Some detail nudged for her attention. She was missing something. Think.

  Kali swam to avoid more chunks of falling rock. Holding onto to York was getting tougher. And fear was setting in, trying to paralyze. What am I missing? Think!

  Then she understood why holding York had become so difficult. His body was being tugged by a current. The current meant the water was escaping somewhere. She could have sobbed in relief.

  She swam into the current, keeping a sure grip on York. The deeper she went, the darker it got. But there was less rock and therefore, less danger. They were drawn into a conduit of some sort where the walls were much closer, forming a narrow passage. Kali felt her shoes scrape the bottom more than once. She hoped the exit wasn’t much further.

  Her heart sank when she caught site of the canal’s source. What used to be the large entrance to a tunnel had caved in with the quake. Only a small opening remained. It was big enough for her to squeeze around, but no way could she maneuver a man of York’s size through. She shoved at the blockage with her free hand, hoping some part of it would dislodge. Her lungs started to feel the strain for air. She was running out of time.

  Kicking the rock in frustration, Kali kept pushing, praying for something to give. She wanted to cry. She couldn’t leave York. She just couldn’t. Think.

  She closed her eyes, and was startled when something cold grazed her cheek and then grabbed her wrist, yanking her to the side. Kali opened her eyes. It was Rhane. Bracing himself with invisible footholds, he latched onto the large rock blocking the opening. Gradually, the stone moved like the slowest gears on a turning clock. And the tunnel was opened!

  Kali swam through and pulled York with her, guessing the direction to reach the surface. Her need for air was reaching critical, and York had to be near drowned. Her head broke free of the water, letting the night air caress her face. The moon and stars twinkled, winking as if they knew how glad she was to see them. Smiling up at the sky, she looked around. Her refuge was a small pool no more than six feet in circumference. A tiny waterhole in a barren desert, it gave no hint of the labyrinth over a hundred feet below.

  The pool was actually more like a well. There were no shallow borders. Climbing out was going to be a problem. Then Kali spied Warren at the edge of the shore, waiting with an outstretched hand. The red ball cap somehow still rested snugly on his head. After hauling York out of the water, he reached for Kali. She shook her head.

  “Rhane,” she gasped.

  “He’s coming. Take my hand.”

  “How can you know that?”

  “I can hear him.”

  She eyed the young man suspiciously, making no move to exit the water. Yeah, the night had been a weird one, but Kali wasn’t ready to believe that Warren could hear someone swimming fifty to a hundred feet below the surface. Rhane had been under way too long. If he didn’t come up soon, it would mean he had passed out, possibly drowned. And if she got out of the water, she knew Warren would not let her go back to help Rhane.

  “Kali, trust me.”

  Trust. It was such a simple word loaded with nuances of meaning. Rhane had asked her to trust him and to trust his friends. But what if Rhane was counting on her to come back for him? Kali treaded water, unsure of what to do.

  “The more we argue about this, the longer I can’t pound the water out of York’s chest. And I really like hitting him.”

  Kali decided to go back. She opened her mouth to apologize before ducking under, but then Rhane’s head bobbed up. Water poured from his hair into a pair of eyes that were a little too wide. Shoving his hair aside, he glided toward the shore. Kali shivered when his hand pressed into the small of her back, pushing her forward with him. Warren reached for her again, and this time, she took his hand. He lifted her as if she weighed as much as a feather. Rhane followed, climbing out on his own. Warren redirected his focus to York.

  Rhane stumbled a few feet away and dropped slowly to kneel on all fours. Kali went to him. He had yet to make a sound and it worried her. Panting or profuse coughing was expected after a swim like that. It was the first step to breathing normally. But Rhane wasn’t doing any of that. He was silent. Sitting next to him, Kali rested a hand on his back. She was surprised when her hand began to shake. His entire body was seized with tremors. She lowered her face to his and looked closer. His eyes were squeezed shut. Every line of his face was tense. And his fingers dug into the sand spasmodically.

  “Breathe,” she whispered into his ear. Rhane obediently dragged in that first gasp of air. “Breathe,” she repeated again and again, until the rise and fall of his chest came at regular intervals. Kali relaxed, releasing a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

  Oxygen flow restored, Rhane finished recovering speedily. He pushed back to rest on his heels, and offered Kali a tight smile. “Thanks.” Behind them, York made a sputtering return to the land of the living. Rhane glanced in his direction but didn’t move.

  Kali touched the sleeve of his drenched jacket. “Are you okay? York told me that you…” She stopped, not sure if continuing would embarrass him.

  “He did, huh?”

  Rhane’s tone was casual, but Kali didn’t miss the way his face closed. She bit her lip and waited.

  “Bad stuff always happens near water. I drowned as a kid. Twice.” He shook his head at the memory. “I wasn’t expecting this here. Didn’t have time to adapt.”

  Kali mustered a tentative smile. “A raging underground river in the middle of the Gobi desert, that’s a new one.”

  Rhane didn’t exactly smile. But his expression became less severe. He pushed to his feet. “It’s just an excuse.”

  Kali stood as well. Staying close to him and his friends felt like the safest bet. So, until she was out of this god-forsaken desert, she was going to do precisely that even if it meant being glued to Rhane’s elbow. There would be time later to freak out about her hallucinations of fire breathing monsters and the boy traveling with them who possibly led a double life as a disturbingly large wolf. And to be fair, Kali wasn’t the poster child for normal herself.

  She slipped her hand into Rhane’s, surprised by how good it felt when his fingers curled around hers. She responded in kind, gently squeezing his hand. “Hey, it’s nice to know that something scares you. I was beginning to think you weren’t human.”

  Chapter 45

  “You know what I don’t get?” It was a rhetorical question, one York was rea
dy to answer. “I got hit in the back with a rock the size of a Volvo. So why is my chest the only thing that’s bruised?”

  Rhane sat at the edge of the king-sized bed, watching Kalista while listening to the conversation between War and York hastily deteriorate into an argument. The hotel room in Beijing had a lot to offer after their arduous trek in the desert—hot water, soft beds, coffee, and food. But after taking a shower and changing clothes, Rhane still smelled the stench of Reapers and their blood on him.

  The walk out of the desert was a long one. Kalista had been completely spent two hours in. She was out cold but still on her feet when Rhane had lifted her into his arms. For the next several miles, he and York alternated turns carrying her. War, in wolf skin, traveled alongside them, battle ready for trouble that never came. Once they’d reached a trading outpost, Rhane hired a driver smart enough to not ask questions. Twelve hours later, it was well into morning, he hadn’t slept in three nights, and the end of this day was nowhere in sight.

  “Don’t sell yourself short.” War smirked, making no attempt to hide the satisfaction he got out of being the cause of the big guy’s discomfort. “I think your ego may have gotten bruised too, being that Kalista had to save your butt and all.”

  “Hey, I’m a real man. I got no problem with being rescued by a hot girl.”

  “Hotness would be relevant had you sealed the deal on the resuscitation part. And that’s why you’re bruised, by the way. My mouth wasn’t about to touch your ugly mug. So I pounded on your chest until you breathed again. It worked. You’re welcome.”

  York growled in annoyance. His ego had suffered a hit, having to be saved first by Kalista, a teenage girl, and then by War who wasn’t even half his age. And from the smug grin plastered on his face, War also knew how much it bothered him. “Don’t be sore,” he said.

  “The next time we train, I’ll show you who’s sore.”

  “Bring it on, old man.”

  Rhane decided it was a good time to step in. Those two could go at it all day. “We need to get out of here.”