Dark Siren (35 page)

Rozzy waved her hand in the air dismissively and climbed up the stairs. “Your plans take an hour. Mine are going to last all night. I’ll babysit until you get back. And then Max is all yours. I’ll even pay you.”

“How much?”

“Ten bucks.”

During their childhood, Kali had fallen for such a ridiculous offer many times over. Once, Rozzy was given ten dollars to mow the lawn while Lisa went to the supermarket. Lisa left, and Rozzy convinced ten-year-old Kali to do all the work for a whopping one dollar and fifty cent payoff. Kali’s math skills had come a long way since then. She snorted. “That’s like eighty cents an hour.”

“Whatever. Help me out here. Please?”

“Give me twenty, and I’ll think about it.”

“Twenty bucks?”

“Yep. I’m saving for college. You remember college, don’t you? It’s that place you’re supposed to be and Tim will never leave.”

“You’re not half as pretty when you’re jealous.” Rozzy smiled nastily from the second floor landing. “Hurry up and go so you can get back.”

Chapter 48

Wesley returned to the offices of Mack Ventures directly after leaving the Metts’ residence. Little time remained with much to be prepared. At least, it was what he liked to tell himself. In truth, he had done all he could and much more than he should have. Other Builders would call him weak for experiencing these human sentiments of longing and regret.

We’ve taken so much
.
But it was for the greater good
. S
o
that everyone else might be saved.

The shredder grabbed a steady stream of documents, devouring them hungrily. Every piece of evidence involving the deal for The Siren’s Heart had to be destroyed. After the hard copies were done, he would move on to the computers, wiping all information from the software. Others knew the real artifact was still out there and soon would come looking for it. The Siren’s Heart could not fall into the wrong hands. If it did, then all of this would have been for nothing.

The phone buzzed. Wes snatched it up before the first ring had ended. The voice on the other end was flat, devoid of feeling. Builders did not show emotion.

“You were not to interfere.”

Over the years, responding with genuine emptiness had become an increasingly difficult task. There was once a time when it had come as naturally to him as it had to the others. But, caring for Kalista had filled those hollow parts of him. “Using The Siren’s Heart to lure and sell her to Reapers was an act of interference. Leading them to the cavern restored balance.” Wes concentrated on keeping his voice without inflection.

“It was a test. If he is not strong enough, our plan against the Faction will never succeed.”

“The ability of Banewolf was tested in the woods and at the theater.” His knuckles turned white as his hand gripped the telephone harder. Wes found it difficult, blocking the anger from his voice. “She has been endangered enough. Gabriel should not have been released.”

“Who will follow our rules if we do not? Everything must be as it was.”

“Tsai, he could taint her. We mustn’t do something that cannot be undone.”

“We cannot control Blight. Must I remind you that if it returns, this precious world will die? We started this course. We must finish it.”

Wes held his tongue. Only silence could mask his indignation. He spoke when he felt sufficient control. “Who has the statue?”

“It is safe.”

“You were using it as bait, trying to force a confrontation.”

“One of them has to be dominant. One of them must claim her.”

“She belongs to Banewolf.”

“He must prove that he deserves her.”

Again, Wes was silent.

“Have you found the child?” Tsai asked.

“It continues to elude capture.”

“It is imperative that you find it.”

“There may not be time.” Wes stopped, listened. “I have to go. Someone is here.”

“Join us soon.”

Returning the phone to its cradle, he turned to face the man who had entered the office unannounced. “I wondered when you would find enough pieces to see me in the puzzle.”

“Four people from this office knew the location of the deal for The Siren’s Heart. One is dead. The other has experienced a sudden onset of madness. The third is a seventeen-year-old kid who barely escaped from Gabriel and his Reaper horde.” Rhane closed the door behind him. “And you are the fourth.”

“Have you guessed what I am?”

“You are an arrogant being whose god-complex seeded an unending war.”

Wes smiled sadly. “There is more truth in your statement than even I care to admit.”

“Why was Gabriel awakened?”

“For the same reason Kalista was created, for the same reason your race has fought so bravely for centuries--because we are slaves who wish to be free.”

“Slaves?” Rhane neither sounded nor looked as if he believed him. “Who could enslave the master race?”

Wes hesitated. Now wasn’t the time to tell the warrior everything. Too much truth could jeopardize the objective. “A long time ago, Gabriel discovered truths that were not his to know. For it he was severely punished. But now that sentence has been fulfilled.”

Rhane’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What truths?”

Wes shook his head. “At this time, they are not yours to know.” He tried to gauge the reaction of the other man before continuing. “But I can tell you this. Until the massacre, Warekin had warred to subdue increasing numbers of Rogue and Kindred kind for centuries. The siren freed your race from a cycle of servitude.”

Rhane’s eyes snapped dangerously. “She did not kill my people.”

Even after four hundred years of suffering without the one whom he suffered for, the warlord spoke with unshakable conviction. Wes didn’t have to but wanted to give Rhane that much. “No. Kali didn’t.”

“Why did you take her?”

“Your loss served a greater cause. The siren could not have died at the hands of the Warekin. She was our only hope. A battle is coming—one that will put this world in peril.”

“But why—why is she a teenager?”

“Such a powerful creature was never meant to be confined to a human body. But we managed to fuse two life forms, making them compatible symbiotes for a limited time.”

“How limited?”

“The siren and a human child mature simultaneously. When the siren’s need to feed on life-energy reemerges, the host must act to satisfy its hunger. But feeding the siren increases its impulses and strength, thereby eroding the stability of the human vessel. As the host vessel deteriorates, blackouts, memory loss, and uncontrolled manifestations of power become increasingly evident if the siren is not moved into another body.”

Rhane swallowed. “Those things are already happening.”

“Yes, but these symptoms are not as they could be. Feeding from an immortal, such as yourself, should stabilize the changes. There may be no further need to move the siren.”

Rhane’s expression was steely. “The biological mother of this host knew her daughter had changed. Kalista has suffered greatly because of it.”

“I know.” Wes averted his gaze from the rising anger in Rhane’s eyes. “For that I am truly sorry.”

“Did you kill her parents?”

He offered the warrior a thin smile. “Do you truly wish to know?”

For a moment Rhane was silent. “If what you say is true, now that Kalista is with me, she will be fine. I want no further part in your schemes.”

“You don’t understand. Gabriel is free now. And he is driven by vengeance. He will fight for the siren, hoping to harness her strength to destroy us. He will fail at that. But then he will lead our cause. And Kalista will be his.”

Rhane moved without notice. In the next instant, his body was mere inches from Wes’s. Anger wafted around him in a dark aura, filling the room. The black eyes that burned into the Builder’s were less than human. Four sets of canines gradually lengthened as he spoke. “I have changed.” His voice was calm. It rippled with control. “I smell your fear, Builder. You can be killed. Come for her again and I will end you.”

Wes struggled against the urge to flinch away. “Become our champion. If not for everyone else, then fight for Kalista.”

He thought he saw flashes of white hair at Rhane’s temples not present moments before. Sensing that emotion would help alleviate tensions, Wes allowed his newfound humanity to surface. “I have been there from the beginning…In her life before this one, I cared for Kalista like a daughter. She became special to me.” The violence in Rhane’s eyes receded. “We are not on opposite sides. I wish things could be different. But I am one against many.” Rhane stepped back. His face was a cipher. But Wes hazarded it safe to breathe again. “It would be best if you did not tell her what I am.”

“She deserves to know.”

“There are things about both of us that she deserves to know.”

Rhane raised an eyebrow as darkness revisited his countenance. “So if I don’t tell, you won’t tell?”

“I was merely suggesting that we share a mutual confidence.” Rhane had made no move to rip his head off. Wes took it as progressive sign. Their time together was running out. And there was another pressing issue. “You do not have The Siren’s Heart.”

Rhane shook his head slowly. “It was a fake. Presumably lost in the desert.”

“You must find the real statue.” Wes couldn’t emphasize enough how important that was. “It was not just an item of sentiment between you and the siren. The true Siren’s Heart is a key. And you must recover it.”

“Can’t you give her memories back? Let her return to me.”

“Kill Gabriel, become our champion, and we will return
your
Kalista to just as she was.” Wes closed his eyes and reopened them quickly. “I can do this for you.” He pressed a smooth red stone into Rhane’s hand. “This is a fragment. An imprint of Kalista’s memory from that day… the day she was taken. Let the girl touch it, and she will remember.”

“That could destroy her.”

“It could. But it may also empower her.” Wesley glanced out the window into the fading light. “Trust me. You should go to her now. Go.”

With one final dark look, Rhane turned and left the office. Wes sagged against the desk, stiffly releasing his fingers from the wood. Fear. Love. Trust. He had experienced them all in such quick succession. Human emotion was truly exhilarating.

Chapter 49

The sun sank to the horizon, dragging with it the last of daylight. Now it was dark. Kali was alone. And she couldn’t find Rhane’s dog.

One hour earlier, she had considered making the drive up to the state park and run in more challenging terrain. The view was beautiful up there. This time of year, streambeds often overflowed onto hiking paths, offering a refreshing cool-down for any runner that splashed through. But the state park would have been empty so close to sunset. And after nearly becoming monster chow the last time she was alone, isolation of any kind was not desirable. So, Kali had chosen the responsible, and theoretically safer, route. She took Bailen and went to the community park only ten minutes away.

When the car door opened, the dog jumped out to explore before Kali’s sneakers touched the black top. After being cooped up in the house, Bailen was all energy. Thousands of new scents captured his attention all at once, and he seemed determined to pursue them all. He was almost an indiscernible blur darting about, head low, tail high, and nose to the wind. Kali couldn’t help smiling at his antics.

She laced her cross trainers tighter and pulled her hair back into a loose pony tail. Hitting play on the mp3 player, she was ready to go. The mid-tempo songs helped her settle into an easy run. It had been over a week since her last. Underwater and on the trails was where everything made sense. She emptied her mind and savored the feeling. By the sixth song, it was dark, and Kali couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Bailen. She hoped he hadn’t wandered too far. Combing through the woods to search for a lost dog was the last thing she wanted to do.

She called to Bailen and circled back toward the parking lot, at a slow jog. One of many signs marking the trail confirmed she had run much further than usual in a thirty minute time span. Kali began to feel anxious. Somehow she had reached the most distant end of an eight mile track that looped back on its self. Even at an all-out run, it wasn’t possible to reach the car before dark.

Left of the path, a whisper came from the woods. Kali’s steps faltered. Knowing it wasn’t Bailen, she called to the dog anyway and picked up speed. She heard the noise again. It was like a low whistle, the sound of wind blowing over cut reeds. The blood in her veins chilled. Kali ran.

It was those things from the desert.
Somehow they followed me
. The whistles became more urgent, closer together and closer to her. Then the night erupted as fierce hisses and moans tore through the air. A huge mass of shadows crashed through the low brush and trees. An incongruous popping sounded in rapid succession, loud enough to surpass the fracas. It was enough to set her limbs afire.