Page 77 of The Seer

“Teleport!”

Bless her, she reacted swiftly. Latched onto Eoin and Creed, she vanished just as the first note of Odessa’s screech rang out. There was no time to be grateful for Taryn’s fast action. He barely had time to brace as the cavern wall behind him rumbled.

Odessa, the clever bitch, had learned to weaponize sound. With surgical precision, she directed her voice to collapse the grotto ceiling.

As the first stalactite plummeted, Ardghal dove deep. His merman body could survive for hours beneath the water, but he hoped like hell someone survived the Succubus and came to dig him out.

* * *

“I have to go back!”Taryn cried. “Ardghal, he?—”

“Ardghal? Who the hell is?—”

“Fintan’s Siren,” she said, cutting Creed off.

“Fuck that!” Eoin said. “Past experience has taught me to let the Sullivan’s fight that shite out. We’re no match for those bleedin’ creatures.”

“You don’t understand, Eoin. Ardghal’s trapped! I can feel it.”

“Trapped?”

“Aye,” Peter said, appearing beside her. “There was a cave-in.”

“Jaysus!” Eoin grabbed his chest. “I’ll be askin’ ya to stop doing that, man. Me feckin’ heart can’t take it.”

Creed fisted his hands, and probably would’ve grabbed the wiry old ghost if he could. “Cave-in? What about Narissa and Brenna?”

“Nah, just the ceilin’ above the pool. Me sister’s monster is a wily one, able to use her voice as a weapon.”

Taryn clutched her head as Ardghal’s pain-filled thoughts clouded her mind. “He’s pinned under the weight, injured. Guys, I think his fin is crushed.”

“You have a direct line to Fintan’s Siren now?” Creed asked sharply.

She nodded. “But he’s not speaking. It’s more like sensation, and he’s in so much pain.”

“Those rocks weigh a ton.” Turning to Eoin, he said, “Do you have the same ability? To speak to Brenna’s?”

“I’ve never tried, though Brenna and I do share a thought-bond.”

“Maybe ours is stronger because Ardghal was the first of his kind?”

“Not the first Siren, those existed centuries before him. But he’s the first Siren hybrid,” Peter corrected. “Feckin’ Odessa is intent on killing the man, but she doesn’t understand she can’t. Not in the way she thinks.”

“I don’t understand.” Taryn shook her head. “He can die. He told me Elizabeth took the amulet and left him in the grotto.”

“Aye, but he willed it. His heart was broken.” Peter waved a ghostly hand. “None of that’s important, girl. The truth of the matter is Bloodstone’s necklace isn’t for Odessa. It isn’t for anyone but Fintan. It’s come home to the one who owns it and can only be operated by him.”

“So all of the fighting is for nothing?” Taryn’s frustration was at a boiling point. That crazy-ass bitch would kill them all for a useless cause. “Why is she doing this?”

“Sure, and if I had to guess, it’s because she’s afraid of dyin’ and goin’ to the Netherworld. Me sister has a lot to answer for.”

“Sounds like it makes her even more dangerous,” Creed said grimly.

“Yes. Okay, I may know how to get the necklace.”

Eoin conjured a tray of drinks. “We’re all ears, love. But ya best make it quick, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She downed the whiskey in a single gulp and slammed the glass down with a gasping cough. The burn centered her for what was to come, what she needed to do, and what she might lose.

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