by Emma Hamm
Lyra hadn’t ever thought she’d want that in her life. Sirens weren’t a settle down with one person type of creature and neither was she. Her thoughts had been straying lately though.
She got up to follow the others and stuck her tongue out at Jasper when he reached out for her.
“Excuse you,” she chided.
“I’m just seeing if you’re all right.”
“Mom. I’m fine.”
“I’m not your mother,” Jasper grumbled.
“No, you’re my annoying big brother, and you’re smothering me with worry.”
“Young man,” Crone warbled. “The big one.”
Jasper looked down at Lyra with a questioning arch of his brow before he turned to look at the old woman. “Yes?”
“You be careful.”
“I always am, darling.”
“No, I mean when you meet her.”
The entire team stopped to stare at the scene before them. Her? Jasper was a solitary man. He had never expressed interest in any woman. At least not when he was around them. Already he was turning bright red.
“Her?”
“My warning to you is that she was created to destroy. When she arrives in your life, she will come violently and without control. You must learn to control her. Otherwise, you will only hold a monster on a leash.”
Lyra watched Jasper’s face turn white. She leaned forward to take his arm in her hand. “Jasper?”
“What is she talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
Crone cackled. “You’ll find out soon enough, handsome man. One of these days, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Is she a prophetess?” Lyra asked.
Laughter was her answer. Crone’s voice seemed to vibrate. The sound was soon joined by that of Mother and Maiden. Three tones melded together until they were one sound that grew louder and louder until everything around them dissolved.
The house and everything in it was simply not there anymore. Lyra was staring at a tangled bed of roots that were attached to weeping willow that had nearly been ripped from the ground. All four of them were now standing in the swamp alone.
Her feet tapped against the stones that now made a clear path out of the swamp. They were large enough for three people to stand upon and an easy distance to leap between. She would have liked to have seen these earlier.
She swallowed hard. “Well that was odd.”
A muscle in Jasper’s jaw ticked. “No kidding.”
“Did we get everything we needed here?”
“Yes.”
“Are we going home now?”
Jasper looked down at his hands and flexed them. “I’m working up to that.”
“You burn yourself out getting us here?”
“Not burned out, just tired.”
Lyra patted him on the shoulder. “Take a rest, big guy. We’ll relax for a bit without the terrible three getting creepy on us.”
They were used to allowing Jasper time to refill. He was the only way for them to get places like this as quickly as they managed. Pushing him would only result in them waiting longer and for something even more important.
She turned to look around the swamp one last time. This entire afternoon would be an adventurous story to tell to Wolfgang. He would be very interested in all the things she had seen, especially if he knew the Trinity. Maybe he could even help her find that third person.
Something moved at the edge of her vision.
Cocking her head to the side, Lyra turned fully away from the others to look in the water. She had yet to see any fish in these waters. But if there were, then she was curious.
Another movement revealed something pale underneath the thick pond scum. Interesting. Perhaps some of the fish were albino then. It wouldn’t surprise her considering that so many other creatures had been affected by magic.
Lyra didn’t know she had traveled far away from the people on her team. She had her knives and felt a sense of overconfidence because of the blades. Not to mention, she was a Siren. Water was basically her home.
Her eyes narrowed as the water again rippled. She couldn’t see into the water past her own reflection, the layer of algae was so thick.
“What in the world?”
She had only moments to whisper the words before hands slapped down on the rock she stood upon. Then more reached out from the depths to grab at her ankles. She let loose a loud scream as she was pulled from the safety of the stone and into the water.
Lyra knew what this was. These weren’t dead bodies underneath lily pads. These were hands sent directly from Bones to drag her back to his home to serve her sentence. She had so easily forgotten that even water itself was reflective.
She struggled against the pull of the hands, which now could not be seen. Somewhere there was likely a portal. All they needed to do was pull her towards it. Or maybe she was already in the portal.
Her mouth gaped open as her lungs screamed for breath. She did not have the luxury of gills like the Nixies that Wolfgang had helped. The surface of the water so far away. The light barely filtered down to her, which likely meant that the portal was close. Maybe she simply needed to pass out for Bones to finally snag her.
She didn’t want to be a slave. She didn’t want to be “safe” in his home. She wanted her life that she had built and would give away all the things Bones taught her to stay where she was.
She didn’t want to give up. Those words weren’t really in her vocabulary. But every muscle in her body was becoming heavy, and she was tired of fighting. She was tired of being afraid around every corner.
The hands on her ankles gentled. As though simply the mere thought of acceptance meant they would be kinder. For that, she was grateful.
A spark of light caught her attention. It crawled sluggishly from between her breasts and out of her shirt. Tiny and bright blue, once it hit the water it zipped away from her. It took a moment to circle her and the invisible hands before she swore it shook with anger.
Lyra suddenly realized what this was. A tiny blue light to look over her while she wasn’t at his side. Wolfgang was genius. Although she was going to have to argue with him about how right it was to put a little bug on her.
The light expanded in great shaking bursts until it was about the size of her head. Then it unleashed tiny bolts of lightning that zapped hand after hand off of her. A splash above her suggested someone was looking for her.
Hurry Wolfgang, she thought. They can’t know you’re here.
The magic finally finished its job. The blue light bolted towards her and pressed against her mouth. A great puff of air expanded her lungs and tasted faintly like cherry and cigar smoke. She was then shoved towards the surface as the light disappeared.
A firm arm curled around her waist and swam with her until she was able to gulp in mouthfuls of air Jasper shoved her onto the stone and pulled himself up beside her. Like a dog, he shook his large body as he immediately started scolding her.
“Are you kidding me? How are you falling into water? You know better than that!”
She immediately began to cough swamp water. Though it should have tasted foul, all she could taste was the lingering effects of Wolfgang’s magic.
“Lyra! Listen to me. Don’t you ever do that again. Do you hear me?”
She nodded.
“And you’re listening? Actually listening to me?”
Burke’s boot stepped into her line of vision. He leaned down to place a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She nodded again.
“Can you talk?”
Shaking her head was the best response she could give them as swamp water made snot leak out of her nose like a fountain. She would never live this one down with the team. The teases were already playing through her head.
“Jasper, we need to get her home.”
Her extra large brotherly figure was grumbling. “Foolish woman. Absolutely ridiculous. And no thank you that I saved her.”
/> But he leaned down and hefted her into his arms.
“Thank you,” she coughed.
“Saved your life again you know.”
She kept her mouth shut on that one. Jasper could have his moment of glory, but she knew who had really saved her life. Wolfgang.
The next time she saw him, she planned on asking him where the taste of cherries came from.
“I need you to put this on,” Wolfgang remarked. He was holding a fine ribbon of black velvet towards her.
“I don’t think so.”
“Lyra, please don’t be difficult.”
She raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t being difficult. She was being smart. A blindfold? Here? She understood that he considered his home to be safe, but they were in a graveyard after all. Dead things were walking around them, and he wanted to tie her up like a turkey dinner.
“Uh, still no,” she said sarcastically.
The ribbon flowed through his fingers like water as he drew it from one hand to the other. “You won’t get your surprise unless you put this on.”
“Since when were we comfortable enough with each other for you to be bringing up kinky stuff like this?” She couldn’t help but ask him, although she did reach out for the band.
“Since you decided you wanted to have dinner with me.”
Again, she couldn’t help but stare at him in disbelief. The blindfold was brandished at him. “This is for dinner?”
“Of course.”
“You want me to not see the food?”
“I want you to not see me,” he muttered before stepping forward. His hands reached for hers, and he pulled the blindfold from her grasp.
“That’s ridiculous.” She couldn’t help but argue as he reached around her to tie a knot at the back of her head. “You eating can’t be any worse than watching a hydra eat. They have two heads you know.”
“Not anymore.” His fingers were gentle at the back of her skull. He spent long moments making certain that no hair was caught in his knot. Though he wasn’t a very strong man, she could appreciate the delicacy with which he handled her.
He was obviously trying not to snap any strand of her hair. Lyra’s lips curved into a smile when she realized this. No other man would have wanted to preserve her beauty quite as much as this one.
“You obviously haven’t met any Hydras if you think the multiple heads aren’t happening anymore,” she said.
“I take it you have been spending time with these creatures?”
“More than you want to know.”
The memories attached to that sentence were black. There were no words that could accurately describe the sense of complete and utter self loathing she felt when she remembered her time as an escort. A child. She had just been a child who thought she was a woman. Her Hydra boss should have seen that and sent her packing the instant her shadow darkened his door.
But the past could not be changed, nor would she have wished it to. Without her experiences in the Black Market, Lyra would not have become the strong woman she was today. She likely would have been a spoiled rich brat still hating the creature inside of her.
At least she still had that going for her. Of course, none of this meant that it wasn’t still infinitely difficult to remember those black thoughts.
His knuckle curved underneath her chin. She could see nothing but darkness, and yet he was still vividly bright in her mind’s eyes. They had only met a few times. There was no logical reason why she knew what expression was on his face. But she knew.
Wolfgang’s brows would be drawn down in disapproval. Not of her, he would never disapprove of her, but of the words she had said. His lips would disappear almost entirely as he ground them together. Pale cheekbones would blush red as unknown gears turned in his head.
Cold from his hand sunk into her skin and reminded her how truly distorted this man was. No one would ever claim he was handsome. They wouldn’t claim he was even average.
He was ugly. He looked like he had just been put to rest in a coffin. He was startling, uncomfortable, uncanny, all the words that would describe someone who should likely wander the streets only at night.
And because he heard the discomfort in her voice, he tucked only a finger under her chin and banished her nightmares. Lyra sighed in pure bliss. The man was a shield between her and the rest of the world.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” he asked her.
“Is it dinner?”
“How did you guess?”
His hand slid down her neck, trailed down her arm, and tucked itself into the crook of her elbow. With the barest pressure, he guided her from their room and into the unknown.
Being blind was not something she particularly enjoyed. Sirens liked to look out into the world and see the pretty things. Mostly herself. She disliked feeling clumsy.
The third time she tripped, she paused the both of them. Frustration made her foolish. She reached for the blindfold while angrily snapping, “This is ridiculous. I’m taking this off.”
Her hand was snatched out of the air by his. Thin fingers curled around the back of her hand and tapped against her palm. “Why?”
“Because I can’t see!”
“Why is that frustrating to you?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” She huffed out a breath. “I can’t see where I’m walking. I feel like a Giant tromping through a town. And you’re likely guiding me to my death, let’s be honest.”
Wolfgang’s chuckle made a shiver dance down her spine. He could raise the dead with just his voice sometimes. “Do you really think I’m leading you towards your grave?”
The blindfold was still on her face. He couldn’t see the glare she speared towards him, but she hoped that he could feel it. “We’re always in a grave.”
“Metaphorically, my dear. Surely you don’t think for even a moment I would dare deprive the earth of your presence?”
“I think you’d do that.”
A finger danced over the blindfold. He traced the hollows of her eyes through the soft fabric and down the slope of her delicate nose. “I may deprive the world of you, but I would always keep you for myself.”
She would never understand his fascination with her. He was intense in moments like this. Not the kind of intense her customers used to be. Wolfgang was in a league entirely of his own.
He made her body heat with pink blushes and confusing thoughts. He made her mind dance towards long nights tangled in sand and wine. He made her taste cherries.
“Cherries?” Wolfgang asked.
Apparently, she had been speaking out loud. She was grateful he couldn’t see the peaks of blush staining her cheeks. “Why do you taste of cherries?”
He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t aware you had tasted me.”
Awkward. Silence.
This time, it was Lyra who cleared her throat. “I mean, your magic. When I was drowning, you blew air into my lungs, and all I could taste was cherries.”
“Ah.” He didn’t seem to know what to say. He stuttered for a few moments before managing to cough out. “Everyone’s magic is different.”
She was going to have to save this conversation herself then. The nervous energy coming off of him was enough to make her skin crawl. “Where are we going?”
“I had hoped you would entertain the idea of dinner with me.”
“You had to blindfold me to do that?”
“Really, Lyra. Is it truly so bad to not be able to see?”
She grit her teeth. “I’m not complaining just because I like to complain.”
His hand trailed down the curve of her spine. The slow slide of a single finger was felt all the more strongly because she couldn’t see him at all. “The other senses you have at your disposal are just as strong as sight. Use them. And discover the world anew.”
Her lips parted to exhale a slow controlled breath. “I don’t know how.”
“Learn.”
She wanted to respond with a smart ass remark about him being a horrible teacher.
But she understood that he was trying to tell her something. Lyra didn’t rightly understand what the point was, but there was something he wasn’t saying.
Curious now, she realized they were moving once more. She hadn’t even noticed the gentle push he had given her. She mulled over her thoughts until he placed a hand against her sternum and pushed her backwards.
Her arms pinwheeled. This was it. She really had underestimated him. He was going to kill her after all.
But it was not a lake or some magical brew she was pushed towards. A chair was beneath her. The breath whooshed out of her lungs as she none too gently slumped onto the hard wood.
“Really Wolfgang?” Lyra sputtered. “Was that necessary?”
“You haven’t learned how to trust me.”
“Have you earned that trust yet? I’m sorry, maybe you had another conversation with me. I just wasn’t present for it.”
“No need to be so angry.” He chuckled.
She could hear him shuffling around in the room but couldn’t understand what he was doing. Her fingers itched to rip the blindfold off. But there was a meaning to everything he did. She wasn’t quite ready to ruin this moment yet.
A soft creaking sound accompanied Wolfgang’s slow movements every now and then. The noise abraded her ears and distracted her from figuring out what he was doing. She couldn’t quite connect the sounds with anything she had heard before.
The creaking noise made her jump when it was much closer than it had been before.
“Charlie?” she asked.
The creaking immediately stopped.
Wolfgang chuckled again. “Good. You’re using your hearing more then.”
“The blindfold is coming off,” she replied crossly.
“No, it’s not.”
Lyra had never been very good at following orders. He could tell her what to do all night, and she wasn’t going to follow it. She reached up to yank the velvet off but paused when she realized there wasn’t a knot at the back of her head anymore.
The fabric had knit itself together into one smooth headband. She tried pushing it up, but it was so tightly wrapped that she couldn’t get it to budge.
“Wolfgang.”
“There’s a point to all of this, you know.”