Heart of Siren (Merworld Book 1) Page 11

  She was as beautiful as an angel. Maybe he was dying and going to heaven, and this was just a dream. But then he felt Jo’s cool hands on his face.

  “Blood everywhere … you need to start your healing process right now.”

  “You okay?” He cupped her face. “At times I thought if I couldn’t find you, I’d never go back to Eudaiz… Are you okay?”

  “You’ve already asked, and I said yes. Now you need to rest and regain your power.” She took him to a stone bench and laid him down.

  “Are you okay?” he asked again.

  “Yes, Tadgh.”

  He felt safe enough to drift away. Just for a few seconds. That was all he needed. Soon his vision and consciousness returned. He could feel his surroundings. That was when the eudqi accelerated the healing process. He felt Jo’s hands in his. He felt her skin against his. But in the darkest corner of his mind, when everything was quiet, something was telling him the worst was yet to come. The peace, the love, and everything and everyone he cared for might be taken away from him. Then what he had left was the darkness, just like what was in his mind now.

  He sat up abruptly, and his senses reverted back to the reality of Nepolymbus. But he calmed down instantly when Jo’s beautiful face appeared in his vision. She smiled. “Welcome back, warrior. Next time, when you plan to take high-voltage shock waves into your system, alternate the body parts that take the hit.”

  “It wasn’t planned. We need to leave here. More guards are coming …”

  “Relax. When you were out, I checked. No one’s left here. We can stay in this building a little longer.”

  He traced the bruise on her forehead with his thumb and then pulled her into his arms, kissed her bruise, and held her tight. “Can you stay in my arms and let me hold you for a few seconds?”

  “Sure.”

  “I want to ask who hurt you, but that would upset me too much, and there’s nothing I can do about what happened. Can we go back to Eudaiz and then talk things out?”

  “No objection here.”

  Tadgh breathed in the scent of his wife and squeezed her a bit harder.

  “If you squeeze any harder, I’ll pop like a pimple.”

  “You’re such a sentimental woman, Jo.” He smiled and released her.

  He heard a giggle behind them, and his mind swung back to reality. “Tamari!”

  Tamari came out from behind a column and smiled at him. “I like Jo. She can be my foster mother.”

  He scrambled up to his feet and said to Jo, “Oh no! I can explain this. I’ve never said anything to lead her to think that.”

  Tamari teared up. “You don’t want me. I know my parents abandoned me because I’m a risk to Nepolymbus. But it wasn’t my fault.”

  “You don’t understand, Tamari. The politics here have nothing to do with you, or with me not accepting you as a foster daughter. I never said that, and never had that intention. Jo—”

  Jo cut in. “I understand, Tadgh. It’s fine. I like Tamari.” She looked at the little girl and said, “A lot. She took the last hit and didn’t leave you. She’s just like you!”

  “She can’t be like me, and that’s beside the point …”

  “Is it because of my mother?” Tears rolled down Tamari’s face.

  Jo approached and wiped the tears off the little girl’s cheeks. “I don’t know who your mother is, but I am more than happy to take care of you if you need me. Tadgh is a lot better with children than I am, but he’s a little weird about it. So let’s just give him some time, shall we?”

  Tamari nodded and smiled at Jo.

  Tadgh paced back and forth. “This is a disaster,” he muttered then became silent when he saw a tall man step out from behind the same column Tamari had hidden behind. Tadgh reached for his gun.

  “No, no, Tadgh! That’s Clines,” Jo said.

  Clines lifted his hands in the air, seeking a truce, and then grinned. “I have to agree with Jo—you’re good with children. Tamari has been held against her will here for a long time, and nobody could get her out.”

  “And how do you know that? Who are you?”

  “I’m the deputy commander here at the rebel camp,” said Clines. “And don’t reach for your gun. I’m with Jo—I mean, I helped her escape from her cell.”

  “He’s telling the truth, Tadgh.”

  “All right,” Tadgh said and put his gun away. “Then I should thank you for doing what I should have done.”

  “Can I talk to you for a sec, Tadgh?” Jo tugged at his elbow, pulling him to a far corner.

  “What’s the matter, Jo?”

  “The reason there are no more rebels left in this building is that Clines killed most of them, including his superior, to save me.”

  Tadgh nodded. “Understood. We owe him. I’ll see to it that he is compensated accordingly.”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that. Don’t you notice his manner? How he’s acting?”

  Tadgh frowned. “Yes, but I figured I’m still a bit dazed by my injuries.”

  “That’s not it.”

  Tadgh inhaled and then exhaled. He lowered his voice. “He’s acting like he’s your—”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Just to confirm my assumption is correct… you converted him into a Eudaizian without his consent?”

  Jo nodded. “Partly correct. He sort of consented to it.”

  “Jo, either he agreed, or he didn’t.”

  “He was injured while helping me. He was going to die. What was I supposed to do?”

  “That’s not the point, Jo. The point is whether you converted him without consent. Give me an answer to that question, and then we’ll figure this out.”

  “I manipulated him into agreeing. He kind of said yes under a bit of influence.”

  “I’ll ask how you did that later. But for now, it will be accepted as consent.”

  “But there’s still another problem.”

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “All right, let’s hear it.”

  “He doesn’t know what happened. He’s not aware that he accepted the Eudaizian energy and agreed to be my apprentice. He certainly doesn’t know he can no longer act as a rebel in Nepolymbus. If he doesn’t go with us to Eudaiz, he’ll die when the temporary energy runs out. Just like Tamari forced you to accept her as your foster daughter, I, in a way, forced him to be mine.”

  “Great!”

  Chapter 28

  Saiyan rose from a pool of his own flesh and blood on the floor. He looked down at his body and saw the mortal wound, a hole in his chest that could have killed him instantly. But why was he standing?

  He looked at his surroundings. He wasn’t in the cell where he had held Jo captive. He recalled the incident now. He’d almost had her. Stubborn little bitch fought tooth and nail to get out of here. But still, how? Where is this place?

  “A gesture of appreciation would be appropriate,” said a female voice that seemed to echo in from a distance.

  He whirled around. “Who’s that?”

  “All you need to know is that I saved your soul.”

  “Am I dead?”

  “No, a soul needed a host body to function and do what I need. Your body was mortally wounded but salvageable, so I saved it, too.”

  Saiyan looked around. He thought he was either in a cave or a low-ceiling condo made of mud. He had seen caves before in Nepolymbus, mostly in abandoned domes. The air here felt different—thinner and fresher with a hint of vegetation.

  From a dark corner of the cave, a tall woman in a long black cloak stepped out. Underneath the dark makeup, he was sure she had a pretty face. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

  She smiled at him. “I’m The Collector from the Black Mountain. You can call me The Collector.” She pointed her finger at the far end of the cave and a torch lit up.

  “You’re a sea witch?”

  “Your knowledge about the witch business is quite limited. No, I’m not a witch, and certainly not a sea creature.
You’re at Black Mountain, the magical land of the un-goded.”

  “Un-goded? Is that a word?”

  The woman raised an eyebrow.

  “I guess it is. And I guess I’m on land. May I ask why I’ve been chosen? Am I one of the items you collect?”

  The woman smiled. “You’re quite smart for a sea creature. And yes, I collect rare items from all kinds of creatures. Sometimes I keep them for personal enjoyment, but most of the time, I trade them for what I want. Consider yourself lucky if I keep something from you for the collection.”

  “What did you take from me?”

  “In return for saving your life, I kept your light.” She placed a crystal jar on the stone bench. Inside, light blue particles floated around, hovering in a circle.

  “Why? That’s my only superpower.”

  “Your superpower is useless if you are dead, isn’t it? I find the ability to use the light shield against weapons incredibly interesting. So I’m going to keep it for now. If you give me what I want, you can have your light back. I think I’m being more than fair.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you to bring me Faye, alive.”

  He smiled. “With pleasure. Dead or alive, I’ll bring her to you.”

  “I don’t want you to misconstrue your position here. We are not allies. You owe me. I’m keeping your light, and you can only have it back if you bring me Faye, perfectly undamaged, physically and spiritually. I know you suspect her loyalty to the rebels, but I’m not interested in Nepolymbus politics. So if you let your political agenda damage Faye in any way, don’t even think about getting your power back.”

  “Understood. But may I ask why?”

  The woman smiled graciously. “No.”

  Saiyan stepped forward, and a beam of fire cut across the air between himself and The Collector.

  “I control this magical land. Don’t approach me. Don’t talk about me or even think about me. Because if you do, it will cost you one way or another. People think about me when they need a favor. The kind they can’t get anywhere else. Usually that’s the last card before mortal death. And once they’ve made a deal with me, they can never ever default.”

  “I didn’t ask for you. I didn’t even know you exist.”

  “That’s why I only keep your light as a pre-payment. Now if you’d like, I can return you to being dead, with your full power.”

  “Of course that’s not what I want, and I’m grateful that you saved me, The Collector. I have spent a significant amount of time and resources to find out who Faye really is. I haven’t had any evidence to inform my superior. Otherwise, I would have gotten her …”

  “I told you I don’t care about the politics of Nepolymbus.”

  “Please, let me finish. The reason I couldn’t get Faye is because I suspect she has a connection to the magical world. She isn’t just a scientist as she claims. Because I have no connection to the magical world, I am at a disadvantage. I couldn’t capture her before, and there is no way I can do it now without having a leg up.”

  The woman twirled her finger in the air. A large silver goblet appeared in her hand. She sipped a thick, dark-colored drink from it. She contemplated for a short moment and looked at Saiyan. “All right, I won’t reveal to you who Faye is. But I know she has a weakness, and that weakness is her hunter protector.”

  “Kai. That’s hardly a secret.”

  “When Faye was a child, she traded with me once, and I gave her a wish. She used it to save Kai. But his heart was so damaged that I had to replace it with a human heart.” She looked at Saiyan. “A beating human heart.”

  Saiyan’s eyes widened. “You ripped someone’s heart out and gave it to him?”

  The Collector smiled. “That blood debt is on Faye, because Kai didn’t know exactly what had been done to him. It was a high-price item—and Faye defaulted on it. She never returned what she promised me. So I need you to get her to interact with me.”

  “But knowing Kai has a human heart can’t give a significant advantage over Faye.”

  “Are you bargaining with me?”

  “No … I dare not. But is there anything else you can give me … anything at all?”

  “That is all I’ll give you. I thought you were smart. Figure it out.”

  She turned, walked toward the dark corner from where she came, and vanished like smoke.

  Saiyan exited the cave. As soon as he stepped outside, a giant wave of seawater crashed on him from thin air. It wrapped around him and pulled him back down to his familiar environment—Nepolymbus.

  Chapter 29

  Jo observed Tadgh carefully as he drove the vehicle Nepolymbians called a shell back to the dome he said Lavinia had taken him previously. He wasn’t angry, which was good. He was impulsive but rarely lost his temper. Whenever he did, however, he made irrational decisions.

  She had no doubt they would sort out the dilemma with Tamari and Clines. But she had no clue in which direction the result would swing.

  The only thing that was crystal clear to her at the moment was that they had to go back to the surface, and from there, back to Eudaiz. She thought it was strange the way they had ended up down here. It was plausible Ciaran had asked Tadgh to verify the Key of Pisces. But that conversation had happened before she sent the talisman away, when no one knew whether it was the Key of Pisces. So if that were the case, then why were they down here?

  “Can I take a look at your wrist unit again, Tadgh?”

  He concentrated on his driving and said nothing, but slid the unit across the shell’s dashboard toward her. Her unit was broken beyond salvation. She knew that because she’d done it herself to make sure no Nepolymbian creature would have a chance to access the data in it. Tadgh was right—no signals from Eudaiz could be detected here. They needed to be on land to reconnect.

  Tadgh parked outside an abandoned dome and took Tamari inside. Clines followed. Jo looked around to ensure they hadn’t been followed and then entered the dome.

  Tadgh put his hand out, indicating he wanted his unit back.

  “Give me one more sec,” Jo said as she flicked through messages and historical data. “Tadgh, is this the message you received before we got into the water to come down here?” She showed him the message asking Tadgh to seek verification about the Key of Pisces.

  He looked at the message. “Yes.”

  “It’s not from Ciaran.”

  “It says Sender: Ciaran.”

  “But this isn’t Ciaran’s digital print. I understand you wouldn’t recognize his print, but I know it well.”

  “You’re saying someone manipulated us into coming here, knowing that we would be disconnected from Eudaiz? Lavinia was surprised because she didn’t expect us. That might mean it wasn’t the royals.”

  “Nor was it the rebels. I can assure you of that,” Clines said.

  “That leaves the Independents,” Tadgh muttered.

  “That’s not what I’m worried about.” Jo shook her head. “Whoever inserted the message into your system has more advanced technology than Eudaiz.”

  She saw Tadgh turn several shades paler. It was rare he had such a strong reaction. “They manipulated us into coming to Nepolymbus, and they knew we would be disconnected from Eudaiz. Nepolymbus is in the middle of a civil war. We’re caught in the middle.”

  “Everyone wants us here,” Jo muttered.

  Tadgh continued. “In the best-case scenario, they capture us because they want to be allied with Eudaiz. In the worst-case scenario, they use us as a ransom to get Ciaran to send troops and resources down here so they can gain an advantage in their civil war.”

  “Guilty!” Clines stuck his hand up and grinned. Then he frowned as if he didn’t understand why he had just revealed the rebels’ plan.

  Tadgh and Jo looked at him. Then Tadgh whispered into her ear, “You’re going to have to let him know his condition sooner rather than later.”

  “We have more urgent matters to tend to.”

  �
��I’m just saying, Jo. He followed you like a loyal puppy, and once he turns against you, we’ll get bitten in our backside.”

  “Point taken, Tadgh. Let’s deal with that later.”

  Tadgh nodded. “In that worst-case scenario, they keep us down here, stir up a civil war, and then infiltrate the system again, sending an SOS signal from us to Ciaran. Then Ciaran will go to war to get us out.”

  Jo understood what Tadgh wasn’t saying. Ciaran’s weakness was his family. He and Tadgh were brothers, and as Madeline’s best friend, Jo knew Ciaran saw her as family too. When it came to his family, Ciaran didn’t always make the wisest decisions.

  “So you think they want Eudaiz? They want to create chaos to weaken Eudaiz’s defense?”

  Tadgh shook his head. “No, I have a feeling what they want is much bigger than what a universe can offer. They want a multiversal war.”

  “So we must surface at all costs,” Jo said.

  “What about me?” Tamari asked.

  “We’ll drop you back at your dome and then go,” Tadgh said.

  “Do you think they’ll let us leave after you drop off Tamari?”

  “I’ll take her home,” Clines said, and then he frowned again as if he didn’t understand why he made the offer.

  Tadgh whispered into her ear again. “You need to tell him if he doesn’t come with us, he’ll die. He’s no longer a Nepolymbian.”

  “I can’t. Can we just leave this dome now? We’ll talk in the shell, Tadgh. We can’t afford to stay too long in one spot.”

  “It’s too late, Jo.” Tadgh tilted his chin, indication the far end of the large black rock they were standing next to. A small troop of soldiers marched toward them.

  “We can beat them, but we can’t protect Tamari at the same time,” she said then looked at Clines. “Are they the rebels?”

  Clines shook his head. “No, they’re the Independents.”

  “Great,” Tadgh muttered.

  “Can you take Tamari back to her parents? You’ll do that for me, right?” Jo asked Clines.

  “Of course.” He picked up Tamari, but she wriggled out of his arms.