Page 22 of Song of Lorelei

The siren smiled wistfully. Her hands swished gracefully in the water, a language in motion as beautiful as dance. “After Two-Legger friend finds cure, I will take you.”

Overwhelmed by the promise, Lorelei placed her hand over her heart and inclined her head, but she didn’t accept the offer outright. To enter deep into merfolk territory with only one ally, would be risky. And not just that. Lorelei wasn’t sure she wanted to enter the home of those who ate her crewmates last year. While they had done it under the compulsion of a hunger they could not control—a hunger that ruled them—she wasn’t quite at peace yet with what happened. Especially not with the one-year anniversary looming on the horizon.

In just one short month, it would be a year since The Osprey sank and mermaids devoured its crew. It was too much, too soon. Lorelei wasn’t even sure how she’d handle that date on land.

Something sour and dank clouded the water, thick as an oil spill, making it almost impossible to breathe. Clasping her throat, just beneath her gills, Lorelei gagged, her bioluminescence sparkling frantically.

Nireed darted over. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, she leaned in and blew bubbles against her gills, a soothing, slightly tickling gesture. While the unpleasant scent didn’t go away, Lorelei could breathe a little bit better.

The siren coaxed her out of the cave, where the water was immediately less pungent.

“You’re okay, Shorewalker. Just sad.”

Oh.

Grief had a scent.

“I show you how to sing, and then we go back to shore.” Nireed took Lorelei’s hands and placed them on her throat, then placed her own on Lorelei’s.

Song rumbled from within, an eerie, haunting melody that vibrated against Lorelei’s fingers and down the lengths of her arms. She felt it so keenly, reverberating throughout her body, that matching her own voice to it was easy. Sound erupted from her throat clearer, crisper than ever before. Less dissonant, more fluid and relaxed.

Nireed nodded her approval.

They swam back to Killian’s private cove, and as they neared shore, they heard raised voices above the surface. Lorelei grasped Nireed by the elbow and ducked behind a cluster of rocks. Motioning to Nireed to stay hidden, she peeked her head above the surface and looked around.

Killian and the others were clustered together outside the cottage, arguing with someone by the parked cars. When that person got in Lila’s face, and started pointing, Lorelei’s hackles raised. Nireed hissed quietly beside her. She couldn’t see what was going on, but evidently the water was a conduit for their moods.

From their hiding spot, they were about a hundred yards from the beach, so even with her siren eyes, Lorelei had to squint to make out the intruder’s facial features. It was a woman. Straight, light brown hair, boutique clothes… She dug her claws into the rock, scraping deep crevices into the surface.

“Follow me,” Lorelei commanded.

Nireed didn’t even blink.

They slipped quietly out of the water and into the woods.

Chapter Eleven

KILLIAN

After putting the ribs on the grill, Killian sat down with the rest of the group at the picnic table. Lila tucked into a bowl of potato salad, too hungry to wait for the rest of the food. Walsh pulled a handkerchief from his pants pocket and mopped his forehead. The others sipped cool drinks. While the sea breeze took the edge off the August heat, coastal Maine temperatures still reached into the high 80s.

“So how did you two do it?” Walsh asked. “Get Nireed out without anybody putting up a fuss.”

Lila stabbed a potato chunk with her fork. “It was simple really. Just had to play it cool and act with authority. I sent the folks from my lab home a little early, got Nireed clothes from the gift shop, and just walked her out the front door. No one batted an eye. I did leave a note though for any folks who might come by and find the tank empty. I wrote that she needed a mental health break from all the tests and confined quarters, and that I took her out for a bit of fresh air.”

Walsh’s brow was pinched with worry. “You gonna get in trouble for doing that?”

She gestured to her phone on the table with her fork. It laid face up, so Killian could see all the new notifications popping up—one after another, after another. There wasn’t enough space between them to let the screen go dark, but she’d silenced her phone, so it wasn’t constantly dinging. “Judging by the millions of phone calls and texts I’ve been getting? Big trouble.” She paused and looked out to the ocean. “But it’s worth it. Nireed needed this. They both did. So, believe me when I say I will sleep like a baby tonight.”

Marci rubbed Lila’s back, speaking slowly and gently. “Could you lose your job over this?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Nireed’s not an animal. For Christ’s sake, she signed consent papers, so I am standing on the ethical high ground in this scenario.” Lila sighed. She stabbed through another potato, striking the bottom of her bowl with a cling. “But after seeing how they’re reacting to today’s little field trip, that was probably more to humor me. I have a terrible feeling this will be the first and last time we get away with this.”

Killian leaned forward. “Do you think they’ll ever let her leave? When the study is done, and you’ve found a virophage that works?”

Shoulders slumping, Lila stirred her potato salad around. She suddenly looked so very tired, like the question had sapped all the energy out of her. “You see the thing about biology—and about a new species especially—is the specimen is studied for its entire lifecycle. If I can’t convince my bosses to be decent human beings, and follow ethical code, they’ll keep her until she dies, Killian.”

He swore.

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