Escape to Sirens Gate: Sirens Gate Books 1-3

by M. L. Bullock

  Chapter Four—Nik

  Springer’s Return

  “Ramara, pick up the phone. I know you can hear me. I think…I think Cruise is beginning to remember what happened. I hate asking, but I need your help.” I hung up the phone feeling aggravated. The bell on the front door jingled, and I faked a smile for the shoppers. The place was filling up—it looked like today would be a good day. Maybe I wouldn’t close for lunch…the thought of food made me queasy, anyway. Who knew what this day would bring?

  “Hi, miss?”

  “Yes? May I help you?”

  “My daughter is looking for a mermaid, but we haven’t found any yet. Do you have a mermaid?” The young woman’s words pierced my heart.

  No, I don’t have a mermaid. I let her die.

  Pull it together, Thessalonike. I froze and stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of me.

  “Heliope?” I asked her in a whisper. Could it be I didn’t recognize her? She’d fooled me before my last Awakening, and now I couldn’t be sure.

  “No, my name is Mandy, and this is my daughter, Jewel. Have we met?”

  I blushed and shook my head. “Sorry. You reminded me of someone. Um, yes, I do have some mermaids. Are you looking for a collectible figurine or something to cuddle?”

  The child fell in love with a plush mermaid pillow, and she and her mother left my store with smiles. I didn’t have much time to think about Heliope again, between ringing up sales and helping customers. This was a nice change from the normal dead quiet. I thought about Jack and how he always loved this time of year. Knowing that he’d kept my secret, kept me safe, proved to me that he had truly loved me. But time had stolen him from me.

  As I wrapped figurines and stuffed them in brown gift bags and refilled bins in between flurries of customers, I thought about the people I’d loved. Unlike some sirens, I didn’t take a husband every chance I got. I’d been very selective in the past because facing the inevitable heartache of death was too difficult. But no one did I love and miss as much as my own sons.

  Yes, I had been called “mother” once. How I missed hearing that! Had that really happened? But now I would not think of their names or their sweet faces. These memories were the most tender, and I kept them buried away until I felt ready to immerse myself in them.

  In those long-ago days, it was not unusual to start a family early. You didn’t have much choice in that if you were the daughter of a king—and sister to Alexander the Great. Suitors had been streaming through the gates of our palace in Pella as far back as I could remember. It had been a part of life then. Modern teens didn’t know how good they had it. So much angst for so little reason. Imagine being sent away from home to marry a man ten—or twenty or thirty—years older than you! The girl in front of me passed me a crumpled $20 bill in exchange for a shark sign for her school locker. I learned her plans for it as I plundered through her mind unintentionally. Hmm…she must have some supe DNA. I handed her the change, stuffed the metal placard in the bag and gave her a searching smile. No, there was nothing there. No awareness of who she was or where she came from. I sighed as I watched her drive away.

  I glanced up at the clock and realized I’d worked clear past lunch. No callbacks from Ramara and no reminder texts from Cruise. As if by magic, the shop phone rang. Nobody much used it, so I confidently answered, “Better late than never.”

  “That seems an inappropriate way to answer your phone. Unless that’s the name of your store. And if that’s the case, you might want to retool your marketing plan,” Lily’s authoritative voice replied.

  “I thought you were someone else. What can I help you with?”

  “Calling to let you know the meeting is tonight at 10 at the Isle of Dauphine. Don’t bring your cop friend. No humans, please.”

  “He’s not—I mean, okay. See you there.”

  I didn’t have long to ponder what tonight’s meeting would entail, other than teaching us how to stake a vampire, as the customers continued to pour in.

  By the time six o’clock came along, I was dead tired. I hopped on my bike, Old Betsy, stopped by Spinner’s for a salad to go and headed home. I loved making the curve and seeing my pink and blue house. It was home. At least for this century. Hopping off the bike, I grabbed my mail and wheeled Old Betsy to the back door.

  I shoved the key in the lock but paused when I heard a sound coming from inside. It was out of place but not unfamiliar.

  “Hello?”

  Yes, there it was again. That familiar clickety-clicking sound, like an animal was walking around my house. I glanced down and saw that the doggie door was indeed slightly ajar. All I could think was Mrs. Bannister’s blasted cats were now using my home as a day spa or a flophouse.

  “Great!” I said trying to balance my purse, salad, keys and mail. “All right, varmint! You can’t stay. Time to go! No freeloaders!” I dropped everything on the counter to my right and nearly passed out as the familiar clicking of toenails headed my way from the hallway.

  “It can’t be. Springer? Is that you?”

  I fell to my knees and watched as my dog—my dead dog—cleared the corner and padded toward me. Same scruffy blond hair, brown eyes and worn red collar.

  “Springer?” He sat down in front of me and nudged my hand with his head. “How in the heck?” Spontaneously I rubbed his fur and let him crawl up and lick my face furiously. “Where have you been? How is this even possible?”

  The kisses were real. The stinky, I-need-a-bath smell was real. The big eyes and the absolute devotion to licking me were real. But this couldn’t be right. I reached for his collar and slid it around to read the metal tag. This had to be someone else’s dog. Maybe a relative or something.

  I read both sides of the heart-shaped tag.

  Springer

  653 Chaumont Avenue

  Dauphin Island, AL

  “Boy? Is that really you?” How could that be?

  Jack and I had picked him out together when we first got married. In 1967! He’d been our only child, our fur baby. When he died ten years later, it broke our hearts. We swore we’d never replace him, and we hadn’t. I remembered driving the wooden cross in the ground as a marker of remembrance. Wiping the tears away. Hugging Jack.

  And now here he was—ready to play.

  Although it didn’t make a bit of sense, it appeared that Springer was back from the dead.

  Chapter Five—Lily

  The Ghost

  Like everyone who came to tonight’s meeting, I traveled quickly and avoided drawing attention to myself. I was pretty good at blending in. I’d been doing it for centuries, and the island was full of both humans and supes this weekend. That made it a bit easier. But just to make sure I did blend in, I sported my purple plastic eyeglasses and my favorite Vera Bradley backpack, also purple. Yes, I would always be a slave to fashion. From Hera’s golden sandals to my favorite Forever 21 dress, I adored popular culture. I liked posing as a college student here for a weekend of fun in the sun.

  I paced quickly down Cadillac and turned on Middle Street in favor of traveling in darkness. I could ‘feel’ the others traveling that way too. And naturally, Ramara flew invisibly above us, aloof and innately seductive. Thessalonike trailed behind us—I could feel her a mile away, literally. Like a stream of ants, two dozen of us stepped through the darkened open door of the Isle of Dauphine Golf Club. In its heyday, which would have been sometime in the 1950s, this would have been a happening place. I sensed a mixture of ‘vibes’ here, the remnants of strong human emotions across the spectrum. I even detected a ghost, a young ghost with vacant eyes and tousled brown hair. He wore a yellow slicker and one rubber boot. He quickly sailed away from us, frightened and confused by our presence.

  As the attendees streamed in, I greeted them politely. “Hello, I’m Liliana. Greetings from the Order.” As expected, most supes weren’t interested in socializing—with the exception of a trio of graces who were always prepared to charm the pants off of you. Graces always traveled in t
hrees and were usually sisters. There was also a tritoni named Targetti, a fury and one of the koronides who introduced himself as Pallas. He and the fury weren’t Oceanids, but they were peaceful residents as far as I could tell, and we welcomed them as such. The rest of the gathering chose to remain anonymous; many of them were hybrids, I noted sadly, and they made it clear they were not here to make Facebook friends. Like many hybrids, they were churlish and sulking. Always had a chip on their shoulders. Some things never changed.

  Finally Thessalonike slipped in, and Ramara was not far behind her. Probably checked the perimeter as eloi liked to do. From the looks between the two of them, the eloi had taken my hint about his cozy relationship but the Macedonian princess did not understand.

  So what? What do I care? I haven’t been in love for hundreds of years! Why should Thessalonike have another lover? Besides, this was a nice place. Why not claim it—and Ramara—for myself? I could have him if I wanted him.

  Oh goodness! My siren-rage seethed, and if I felt it that strongly, Thessalonike could too. Best to stay on time and end this meeting quickly before all Hades broke loose. Ramara watched us both suspiciously.

  I glanced at my Cara watch and saw that it was indeed ten o’clock. With a clap of my hands, I smiled at everyone. “Thank you all for coming tonight. I have some urgent news to share with you, but first I’d like to welcome Thessalonike back. She had her most recent Awakening just a few weeks ago.” A few people clapped politely, and Thessalonike shuffled her feet and gave a halfhearted wave.

  “Great. For those of you who don’t know me, I am Liliana of Greece. The Order sent me to assess your current situation and to let you know that the tranquility of your island is threatened by an encroaching wave of vampires.”

  The tritoni leaped to his feet, nearly knocking over the round cocktail table next to him. His sudden movement sent the fury bolting for the door, but Ramara quickly calmed the younger man. Targetti was a big man with even bigger hands. His dark eyebrows lifted as he sputtered out his question. “What do you mean wave of vampires? Why would the bloodsuckers come here?”

  Geesh. I’d forgotten that his kind were so fearful. Imagine being the size of a tank yet afraid of everything—including your shadow. I could read him easily enough. He was a fearful being from the top of his head to the soles of his fat feet. Well, I can take him off the list. He’s not willing to fight for anything. Except himself.

  “If you wouldn’t mind, Mr. Targetti, please save your questions for the end of my presentation. Thank you,” I purred pleasantly. “As many of you can remember, we weren’t the first settlers here on the island. A small colony of vampires had been here, feeding on the natives, and they had to be resettled to accommodate our needs. It appears this nest intends to claim Dauphin Island again.”

  Ignoring my request to wait until the end, one of the graces chimed in, “If it is humans they are after, there are plenty of them here. Why bother us with this? We do not approve of this kind of gathering except in times of extreme necessity. The approach of a group of vampires hardly merits a visit from a representative of the Order.”

  I smiled through my lip gloss and waved my hand to calm the crowd. This was quickly getting out of hand. “I know you have questions. I am sensitive to your needs, I assure you. Normally I would never seek to do things this way, but I have no other way to get this information to you. Unlike some of the other groups, we unfortunately haven’t quite mastered the use of social media to share information. The bottom line is this: The vampires have a very specific target in mind. They are after sirens, and they have succeeded to a degree. Two were captured; they were deliberately flipped to become rages, and then there was an attempt to convert them to the vampire race. As many of you know, rage-vampire hybrids are dangerous beyond measure and have no business being introduced into a peaceful population such as yours. The Order believes that these creatures and their leader plan to take back not only the island but all of the Gulf Coast.”

  Another grace raised her hand politely as if she were in school, but her tone was anything but nice. “Again, why bring us here? It sounds to me as if it is you sirens that need to worry about the fangers. We have no fear of them; they cannot drink our blood. Let them try—it would kill them dead.” The other graces laughed scornfully, but I could see that many in the group felt the same way.

  “And where will you go?” Ramara spoke up. Instinctively he stepped closer to Thessalonike, as if he thought of nothing but protecting her. I had to admit the sight made me green with envy. Nobody challenged him, and he continued to pace back and forth in front of her, his wheat-colored hair swinging attractively above his muscular shoulders. He tilted his head to look at each of the gathering. “What will you do when you have an island full of vampires? How will you make your living, Targetti? I hardly think the vamps care about your bike shop.” Ramara snorted in disgust. “And they probably won’t have any tasty garbage for you to plunder.”

  “I knew it was you!” Thessalonike shouted at Targetti, her hands up in karate chop stance as if she’d like to take him down immediately.

  Looking slightly annoyed, Ramara pushed her back and continued his challenge to the others. “And you, graces? What will you do when there’s no one to seduce? Everyone here needs this place. If the world begins to suspect that we’re supernaturates, then what?”

  Targetti poked out his jaw and scowled at the indictment regarding the trash but didn’t bother denying it. I thought I’d smelled something bad in here. I sniffed the air again as he spoke. Others were smelling it too now; I could see the displeasure on their faces.

  I continued, “All right, everyone. Let’s not lose our tempers. Yes, Thessalonike and I are sirens, but there’s one thing you are forgetting—we have the last gate for Oceanid-kind. The very last. There will be no others for us. It cannot be a coincidence that the vampires are coming here. What if they have figured out a way to use it?”

  Pallas stood now. “With all due respect—and I am fully aware that I am a guest here—what is so important about this gate? It seems more trouble than it is worth. And I thought only the gods could use the gates. If that’s the case, what’s the point of protecting it? There are no gods here at present.”

  There was a mixed murmur of agreement and disapproval. I opened my mouth to address Pallas’ concerns, but another voice interrupted me. “Oh yes, there are. I’m sorry I am late for this clandestine meeting.”

  “Agrios?”

  “Yes, it is I. I can see how much you missed me,” he purred to Thessalonike. The graces immediately rushed to him, shamelessly snaking their arms around his neck.

  “You are welcome here, Agrios. Do you have anything new to add about our most recent threat?”

  “Now, now, ladies. We can talk later.” He politely and uncharacteristically unhooked himself from the grasping women and walked toward me. I could smell wine on his skin, as if he’d steeped in the stuff before he arrived, but his voice was even and measured. “I suggest that everyone go home. This can wait until morning; in fact, it is better that it should wait until after the sun rises. Please, return home now.”

  “What are you doing, Agrios? You have no authority here.”

  “What are you thinking calling a meeting at this hour, knowing that these night creatures are here even now?!” There were gasps in the room. Even the graces, despite their big talk, seemed panicked.

  “The Order approved this meeting! They sent me—not you.”

  He sneered at me, and I wanted to punch him in his flushed face. “I highly doubt the Order would approve a nighttime meeting about vampires. Who knows if someone is listening to us right now? Please, everyone, go home. We will be in touch with instructions on how to proceed. In the meantime, don’t let strangers into your home. And by all means, stay indoors after sunup. Even if you aren’t susceptible to vampire attack, you could be misconstrued as a collaborator if you are seen speaking with such creatures. Now, go home.”

  I couldn’t be
lieve my ears. Agrios, the tipsy god of bad women and wine, had the gall to dismiss my meeting? He was either drunk or up to no good. I watched in anger as the gathering filed out, grumbling and complaining to one another. Naturally, Targetti was the loudest and least reasonable. Ramara stared at him hard but didn’t follow the tritoni. He and the Macedonian hung back, but I noticed Thessalonike kept her distance. I felt increasingly uncomfortable with her proximity. I didn’t know who to glare at—her or Agrios.

  “You had no right to do such a thing! How dare you undermine me! I will report your behavior tonight. You’ll hear more about this, Agrios,” I growled at him. The anger made my eyes warm, and I didn’t need a mirror to know that they were glowing.

  “It was a poor decision on your part, and you know it. It’s better to meet in a protected area, Liliana. Like a church or hallowed ground, and preferably in sunlight. You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?”

  Thessalonike interrupted, “Listen, as much as I would enjoy watching you two thrash one another, I have to go. I need to let my dog out, and…well, you know, Lily. I can’t stand you right now. Time to put some distance between us.”

  “Fine,” I said with an anger I didn’t really mean.

  The Macedonian headed for the door, and the eloi fell in behind her. “No. I don’t want you near me either. Good night. Someone call me when you figure all this out.”

  Ramara watched her disappear through the darkened doorway and didn’t follow her. He wanted to, that was obvious. The three of us stood in the room together, blinking against the darkness. I waved my hands, feeling the power gather at my fingertips.

  “I hope you have a good reason for doing what you did, Agrios. I’d like to hear what it is.”

  He frowned, and his slightly bulbous eyes closed halfway as he peered at me. “Don’t let your pride get in the way, Lily. I know you want to impress the Order, but you have to think these things out.”

  I could hardly believe he was speaking to me as if I were a human child and he a loving father. Agrios was up to something, but what? Just one more mysterious strand I had to untangle. Before it was too late.