Sirens and Scales

by Kellie McAllen

  At least, she was alive.

  He noted that although her whole body was covered in blood, her face hadn’t been touched. Long cuts had been inflicted all over her body, indicating she’d been thoroughly tortured.

  He shut his eyes for a moment as he clenched his jaw, unable to believe that someone, even a demon, would be capable of such horrible treatment of another. He wanted to scream and beat the shit out of that demon all over again.

  Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. He needed to get Tirvu out of here, get her to safety. What if she needed stitches? There wasn’t enough antiseptic in the backpack he’d dropped half way down the mountain.

  He’d figure it all out later. He had to get her out of here.

  But how would he carry her and the Moonstone?

  Tirvu was a big woman, but he was certain he could handle her. He worried about managing both her and the relic.

  As he gathered her in his arms, she groaned. He hated that he hurt her, but considered it a good sign. He placed the Moonstone in the cradle of her legs and stomach, then stood. It was then that he realized she had holes in her hands, and his throat clenched with rage. What else had they done to her? The light from the rock began to fade, and he was once again in complete darkness.

  When he turned around, he kept his eye on the dim glow ahead of him. He hoped the vampires and wolves had won the battle and he could leave the cave with relative ease.

  As he drew closer, he realized there was very little noise coming from the mouth of the cave, a direct contradiction to the cries of the paranormal entities before.

  Instead, he heard steady breathing, as if a lot of beings all inhaled and exhaled in unison. It was an eerie sound, one that caused him to pause and listen. A ball of terror settled in his gut as he moved toward the wall and gently set Tirvu down. She turned toward the rock face and cradled the Moonstone against her, as if to protect it.

  He ventured closer to the light, and finally was able to see what the outcome of the fight had been.

  There wasn’t a wolf or vampire in sight, as if they’d never been there. Instead, a wall of demons stood before him, far more that had been here when he’d arrived.

  Where had they come from?

  One of the demons shifted and became an attractive woman with black hair and blue eyes. Dressed in a business suit, she sashayed toward him a small smile on her face.

  “It seems as though you’ve come to take what is mine,” she purred.

  He slowly took a step back, his mind reeling with ideas on how he would get him and Tirvu out of the cave alive, but none came. He was outnumbered and definitely out-powered. His stupid bat would be completely useless against the sheer numbers.

  “It’s really not yours, though, is it?” he asked, hoping to keep her talking. As long as she was talking, she wasn’t torturing him or Tirvu, and obviously, that was a good thing.

  “But it is. Humans have a saying that I used to love when I was one. “Finders keepers … I’m sure you know the rest. We found it, and it is ours. Just like the girl is, as well. We were having fun with her, until you and your little party of idiots showed up.”

  “You were obviously having some problems with me and my friends, or you wouldn’t have called in reinforcements. Where did they all come from, anyway?”

  Yes, he had to keep her talking. Somehow, some way, he’d find a way out.

  “We’ve got a portal directly to Hell in the cave. It’s really quite convenient.”

  A portal? If she had a portal, why hadn’t they taken all the artifacts down to Satan? Not that he really cared, but it kept the conversation going.

  “Why keep all the religious symbols up here?” he asked. “I’m sure you’re collecting them for Satan, right? Why not show him what you’ve got?”

  The weight of his words wasn’t lost on him. Just mere days ago, he hadn’t believed in Heaven or Hell, and now, he talked to a demon about her buddy, Satan.

  How he wished he were trapped in some type of nightmare and he could go back to his blissful ignorance of other worlds and paranormal entities.

  Except for Tirvu. He wouldn’t trade meeting her for the world.

  “We like keeping them here because there is always some stupid human who ventures in here looking for the treasure that is rumored to be in the cave. We like the company.”

  Considering he didn’t see any other humans around, he could only guess that they’d met their demise.

  She advanced on him once again, the army of demons behind her slowly following her.

  “So, now that you’re here, you’re our guest. Don’t worry, we’ll have a good time.”

  He stepped toward Tirvu and bent down to grab his bat. He’d defend her until his last breath. They’d have to kill him to get to her.

  “You think you can win this fight?” the woman asked.

  He shook his head. “No, but I’m going to take out as many of you as I can before I go down.”

  She laughed and shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You foolish boy. Has anyone ever told you how stupid you are? See, demons don’t die. It doesn’t matter what you do to us. We will go back to Hell and rejuvenate, then come back here to do what we do best—cause trouble, kill, possess the innocent … you know.”

  He tried to push aside the pit of helplessness that had formed in his soul. His plan had gone terribly wrong somewhere, or he’d been abandoned by those he’d considered his allies. Now, he’d die at the hands of a bunch of evil demons.

  As he waited for the stroke of genius that would get them out of the cave, the demons slowly moved in closer until he was surrounded on both sides with Tirvu lying behind him mere feet away. His eyes watered, and he coughed at their stench, making it difficult to track them all. When they got within range, he started swinging, connecting with a few of them. Despite his efforts being an exercise in futility, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  Suddenly, he heard a new sound, and it appeared the demons did, as well, as they stopped their advance on him. The whoosh reminded him of a fan going, or a large bird flying overhead. He glanced at the pretty woman with the black hair and blue eyes, and her head exploded, sending black blood everywhere. As she sank to the ground, he noted the golden arrow that fell with her.

  He looked upward to see a female angel dressed in white, her large wings maneuvering close to the low ceiling. She carried a golden bucket and dipped her fingers into it, then began sprinkling the clear liquid on the demons. It caused them to howl, as if they were being burned alive. Smoke rose from their skin as they reached for her, their claws grasping at nothing but air. More golden arrows flew by, most meeting their targets. In his peripheral vision, a large, black wolf he recognized as Celestria jumped on a demon and ripped at its throat. Almost immediately afterward, an angel flew over the demon and shot a golden arrow into its heart, causing the body to explode.

  A slow smile crept across his face as he moved back toward Tirvu. He sat down next to her and placed her head in his lap. As he stroked her hair, tears welled in his eyes. With a long sigh, he realized they would be okay. For now, he just had to let the others with more power than him do their jobs, then he’d be able to move Tirvu to safety.

  When Celestria had said she had another part of the plan that required her to go into town, he’d had no idea she was going to gather the angels. In retrospect, it had been a brilliant idea. Could there be a better way to fight Hellish evil than with Heavenly good?

  The demon had said that they couldn’t be killed. However, from his view, it looked as if they were being destroyed. The clear liquid being sprayed down on them must have been holy water, and the arrows being used must be laced with something that killed them. Perhaps a vampire or a wolf couldn’t destroy them, but it looked to him like the angels were doing an excellent job.

  The war raged on. He kept his bat close by, only using it when a demon got too close to him and Tirvu. Otherwise, he tried to remain as quiet as possible.

&
nbsp; He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the cave suddenly went very quiet. An angel walked over to him, his pristine, white gown smattered in black demon blood.

  “My name is Michael,” he said, his voice holding an almost melodic sound. “I’m here to help your friend.”

  For a second, he thought about turning the angel down, but then decided against it. If he couldn’t trust someone directly from Heaven, who could he trust?

  He got to his feet, then bent down and gathered Tirvu and the Moonstone in his arms.

  “Are you going to walk with me down the mountain?” Eric asked.

  The angel grinned, then shook his head. “No. I’ll transport you down there, though, and we can take her back to her world so she can get the help she needs.”

  As his wings unfurled, he stepped closer to Eric.

  Just as he was about to protest, Michael wrapped him and Tirvu with his wings, giving him a feeling of being in a safe cocoon.

  Eric inhaled the smell of lilacs the angel emitted, and his feet left the ground. He increases his grip on Tirvu as thoughts of falling hundreds of feet went through his mind. His head spun, his stomach lurched. He closed his eyes, trying to trust Michael and the process of getting them down the mountain, but he couldn’t stop the panic from welling within him.

  Just as he was about to tell the angel he’d get Tirvu down the mountain himself, Michael released him.

  He opened his eyes to find himself in front of the statue of Peter Saint. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, Michael had delivered him down the mountain and back to the town square, where it had all begun.

  Glancing behind him, he saw the portal where Tirvu had said all the paranormal creatures had emerged from.

  “I’ll take you to her world,” Michael said. “Then, I’ll need to come back and try to return all the religious artifacts to their rightful realms.”

  Eric looked at the black pit again and shook his head. He wasn’t going anywhere. Yes, he wanted Tirvu to be safe and cared for, but he didn’t belong in her world.

  “You can take her,” he replied. “I belong here, not with her. I’m not like her. I’m not one of her kind.”

  Michael grinned, but said nothing. Instead, he opened his wings and pressed them around Eric and Tirvu once more.

  Before he had the chance to argue, he found himself once again traveling through space. This time, he fought to hold on to Tirvu as it felt as if a force pressed against him, and as the energy grew stronger, it would cause him to lose Tirvu and his limbs to detach from his body. It didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable pressure. Closing his eyes again, he fought the urge to scream as his chest clenched in panic.

  The feeling stopped as soon as it had started. When he opened his eyes again, a huge, white dragon loomed before him, its piercing blue eyes staring at him expectantly. It must have been at least ten feet tall, its scales glimmering under the light.

  “Oh, shit,” he whispered as he glanced around. White marble stretched up the walls and in front of him, and he recalled Tirvu’s description of the Grand Dragon’s castle. He met the gaze of the huge beast in front of him.

  He glanced over his shoulder to see Michael standing behind him.

  “We come in peace,” the angel said. “We bring you one of your own who is in need of help.”

  The dragon’s gaze narrowed as it stared down at Tirvu. Eric’s knees quivered as he held her, and he hoped the dragon didn’t think he was the one responsible for her current condition.

  A bright light flashed, and a man with long white hair stood in front of him.

  “What has happened to her?” he asked as he took the Moonstone from her grasp.

  “Demons,” Michael said, and the man nodded as if nothing else needed to be explained.

  “I am the Grand Dragon of the Forest,” he said as he took Tirvu from Eric’s grasp. “And you are Eorricris. I welcome you home.”

  He opened his mouth to explain that he was Eric from Chicago, but then just sighed. His exhaustion, the battle with the demons, and concern for Tirvu had left him with no fight. Maybe another time, he’d be able to set the Grand Dragon straight, but now wouldn’t be the time.

  “I will take her to the Healing Pond,” the Grand Dragon announced. “Eorricris, you will accompany me.”

  Once again, he didn’t bother to argue. He glanced over his shoulder at Michael who nodded at him, encouraging him.

  Eric trailed after the Grand Dragon, barely able to lift one foot in front of the other. His knees hurt, his shoulders ached, and his stomach growled with hunger. As all the stress, fear, and anxiety left him and he knew Tirvu was safe, he found it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open.

  The hallway seemed to go on forever, then they went down a set of marble stairs. At the bottom was a large, jeweled door. A man with white hair and blue eyes stood guard, holding a long spear. His eyes widened when he saw Eric, but said nothing as they passed and left the castle.

  The forest was just as he’d seen in the vision Tirvu had shown him. Black dirt crunched beneath his boots while yellow trees stretched to the purple sky. The air seemed crisper and fresher than on Earth, with just a small scent of something like lavender. The vivid colors took his breath away.

  He followed the Grand Dragon a short distance, noting the guy was also naked, each step causing muscles and tendons to roll beneath his pale skin. They came to a small pond surrounded by the towering yellow trees. The water was so clear and shallow, he could see the grey bottom.

  The Grand Dragon stepped in and gently lay Tirvu down against the edge, submerging her body.

  “Come,” he said, motioning Eric over. “We must cover her in the mud. Since I am with a mate, you will have to do so as I am not allowed.”

  The thought of the Grand Dragon touching Tirvu in an intimate way just about had his brain exploding. She’d been cut so many times all over her body, there was no way the mud could be applied without intimate contact.

  Eric kicked off his boots and began rolling up his jeans.

  “I can smell your blood, as well. It would be best if you also used the Healing Pond.”

  It would be nice to get clean, but he also knew the water would do nothing but that. His injuries would only mend with time and rest. His chest began to itch again, and with any luck, the water would put an end to that.

  To appease the man, he slipped out of his clothes and walked over to the edge of the pond.

  Stepping in and sitting down next to Tirvu, the tepid water gently lapping at his skin caused his eyes to flutter. He needed to sleep so badly.

  “Apply the mud to her whole body,” the Grand Dragon said. “Like this.”

  He picked up a handful and took Tirvu’s hand from under the water, then packed it around her palm and fingers. He then gently lay her hand back under the water.

  “She’s been tortured in a way I have never seen before,” he murmured. “Demons are a terrible entity. They took our Moonstone, which started our war, and now, what they have done to Tirvu …”

  He shook his head as if disgusted. “Vile creatures.”

  Now that was something he and Eric could agree on.

  “I shall leave you now and return the Moonstone to its proper place. When you are ready, you and Tirvu shall make your appearance to the people, and you may enter your sanctuary then.”

  He furrowed his brow, thoroughly confused. Maybe he was just tired, but it sounded like this guy thought he was staying. “What are you talking about? I’ll be heading home.”

  The Grand Dragon stepped out of the pool and grinned. “Why would you want to leave your people?”

  “Excuse me if this sounds rude, but this isn’t where I belong. I know Tirvu thought I was Eorricris, and I have to admit, it would be nice to think I am someone besides Eric from Chicago. But, I’m not. I’m an unemployed computer programmer who got caught up in this mess and decided to help Tirvu. That’s it.”

  The man crossed his arms over his chest, but his smile never falt
ered.

  “If you are simply Eric from Chicago, how do you explain the sign of our people on your chest?”

  “What?”

  Eric looked down and gasped. The area of his chest that had been itching him for so long now had a large dragon as if tattoo-ed on it. He rubbed at it, but it didn’t come off.

  He’d been branded.

  As the Grand Dragon walked away, he couldn’t stop staring at his chest.

  What the …

  Had Tirvu been right all along? Was he really Eorricris, a dragon shifter?

  He glanced over at Tirvu’s shoulder, where she carried her dragon marking, and he recalled seeing one just like his on the chest of the Grand Dragon, as well as the guard with the spear.

  As he gently packed the mud all over Tirvu’s body, he tried to come up with a simple explanation of why he now had a large tattoo across his chest.

  None came to him.

  21

  Tirvu walked into the Grand Dragon’s private quarters feeling better than she had in days. The Healing Pond, along with a large meal and some water, had been just what she needed. Her body was covered in pink lines from where the knife wounds had been inflicted, and some would scar, but she would live, and her world was finally at peace. That’s all that mattered.

  She hadn’t seen the Moonstone being placed in its rightful spot, but she had witnessed an end to the fighting and everyone coming together in prayer. According to the Grand Dragon, the people had insisted on hearing from her and Eorricris, and she intended to oblige them. But first, the Grand Dragon had summoned her into his private quarters.

  Eric had been very quiet since she’d woken up in the Healing Pond. She’d questioned what had been on his mind, but he hadn’t shared anything. It hadn’t come as a surprise to her when his dragon marking had made its appearance, but it only furthered her belief that he was Eorricris. She just wished he would finally admit to it.

  “My lord,” she said with a bow as she stopped in the doorway of his chambers.

  “Tirvu. Please come.”