Sacrifices of the Siren [Sirens and Sailors 6] (Siren Publishing Allure) (22 page)

“That’s it! You’re
definitely
making your own from now on!” Ademia chuckled with mock indignation, as she gave him a friendly punch in the arm.

Melantho loved hearing their banter, and they all laughed.

She breathed in the scent of the flowers, the grass and the sea as she walked up to her little hut. The smell of freshly made griddle scones welcomed her into her home, and a large plate of them sat on her little table next to a jug full of white flowers. Sapphire had been busy making sure the hut was clean and tidy for their arrival.

“Do you want to see your room, Owen?” Blandon asked as he pushed open the door to what used to be Sapphire’s room.

Melantho followed the little boy in and her heart leaped. The large bed had been removed and in its place was a little one, made of a wooden block with piles of thick Elmwood leaves covering it. On top of the leaves was a soft, blue knitted blanket. There was a small table in one corner and beside it was a tiny chair with a blue cushion on it. A small trunk stood at the foot of the bed and it had been left open to reveal wooden building blocks and a spinning top, which the sailors had made for him to play with. An Elmwood leaf served as a play mat next to the box. A large wicker basket stood against one wall and on top of it were little knitted jumpers in different colors and simple cotton shorts and T-shaped tops with appliquéd images of fish and sailing boats. There was even a small cotton hat.

“Everyone’s been busy,” Blandon informed Melantho as tears threatened her eyes. “Pallas taught the girls in the sewing bee how to knit as well as make these. Kally and Ligia did the cooking and some of the guys made the furniture and toys. Sapphire, Marinos, and Delmer arranged all the furniture.” He beamed at her as she watched Owen pull some wooden bricks from his toy chest.

“Oh, Blandon!” She felt herself grow hot as the tears trickled down her cheeks. “Everyone’s been so kind.”

“They love you, and so do I,” he murmured into her ear as he held her tight. “And they love this little one, too,” he added, patting Owen on the head, causing him to giggle.

“Blandon, I’m so happy,” she said as he took her in his arms. Owen sat on the soft leaf playing with his bricks, chattering away to himself while they enjoyed a passionate embrace.

“Now, off to bed with you,” Blandon instructed her when they finally broke their kiss. “I’ll look after the rascal. And by the way, there’s a latch on the front door so he can’t leave the house without one of us, so no worrying.”

Melantho grinned. The islanders had thought of everything. She kissed Owen’s head and went to her room. She had a fuzzy feeling in her stomach when she saw all of Blandon’s belongings already in there. Sapphire’s bed had been dragged through to make her own into a double, thus accommodating Blandon without any trouble. She pulled out the photographs of her son and placed them on the nightstand. Her hand ran over the hair clasp which she had left behind, and she picked it up and squeezed it in her hand. As she drifted into a contented sleep she couldn’t remember a time when she had been so happy.

* * * *

The next couple of days were filled with love and laughter. Melantho couldn’t bear to be parted from her little boy at night, so he had slept in her bed with them since they had returned to the island.

“We need to get him into a routine. He will have slept in his own bed at the orphanage,” Blandon suggested as his morning wood dug into her back on their third day home.

She giggled, jumping out of bed to follow Owen who had already crawled out of their bed and gone to play in his room. “Tonight, I promise,” she told him as she pulled on a clean bikini.

“I’ll hold you to that. I can’t wait any longer.” He chortled.

“I know,” she assured him and disappeared to find her son.

She watched him playing quietly with his bricks and realized that he would probably prefer to spend more time in his own room, anyway. She secretly chided herself for being selfish and went over to pull open the shutters at his window. “Shall we go for a swim this morning?” she asked him.

Owen’s face lit up and he grinned at her.

“Teeth first,” she insisted and prepared his toothbrush before fetching her own. They cleaned their teeth together and then all three headed off to the beach. The sun was already on its way up and its warm rays welcomed them.

“I hope the water’s cold,” Blandon said with a grin, and Melantho noticed that he was carrying the towels in front of his body as he walked down the sand.

They were laughing as Blandon dived into the waves, and Melantho and Owen splashed around joyfully in the shallows. They hadn’t been there long when the waves became rougher and colder. Fish were swimming right up close to the shore and something could be seen heading toward them. Melantho’s heart hammered as she scooped up her little boy and made for the shore. She wrapped him in a towel and lifted him into her arms just as Blandon appeared at her side. There were several other swimmers this morning, who also came shouting out of the water. People were running down to the beach from all over the island.

“Poseidon!” Rechavia yelled as he and Kalliope came up behind Melantho, closely followed by Aitan and Ligia.

“Do you want to hide Owen in our hut?” Ligia offered, cooing at the little boy who clung tightly to his mother.

“I think it might be too late for that,” Farris said, appearing beside them.

“D’you think he knows?” Melantho suddenly felt sick as she saw the dolphins which preceded his arrival. They were dancing joyously in the waves, weaving in and out ceremoniously as four beautiful golden-maned horses pulled the huge golden chariot nobly behind them. Poseidon was standing up majestically, wielding a golden whip in one hand while the other guided the horses to a halt in front of the waiting throng. The chariot gleamed in the bright sunshine.

Dr. Jay nodded. “I’d say that’s why he’s here.”

Everyone was silent as the huge giant stood before them. His eyes were fixed on Owen, and Melantho squirmed as she held him tight.

“What is the meaning of this?” the sea-god bellowed.

Rechavia took a step in front of Melantho. He was a large man and was only wearing shorts, revealing his bulging muscles as he moved. There was a collective gasp as it appeared that the whole island had come out to see the kerfuffle.

“Poseidon, I was hoping you would deign to speak to us,” Rechavia replied defiantly. “We wanted to discuss with you the fact that Melantho has a son who will be living on the island with us.”

The giant’s face went red with indignant rage and he reared up in his chariot. “We
did
discuss the matter and I told you this was no place for a child,” he roared.

“No, sir. As I remember, you didn’t
discuss
it with us, you just
told
us that you wouldn’t allow him to live here as Refrainia is no place for a child.” Rechavia’s jaw jutted out as he spoke and Melantho held Owen even tighter. The little boy turned in her arms and gazed at the sight before him.

“I have not changed my mind.” Poseidon was visibly outraged.

“Neither have we,” Rechavia went on. “These girls lived under your rules and in doing so Melantho became pregnant. She should not be punished or ostracized because of it. If you can condone Hermandine’s actions in treating her so cruelly and separating her and her son then you cannot possibly claim to have the girls’ interests at heart. In fact, surely to separate a mother and her baby must be the most heartless act imaginable.”

“Refrainia is no place to bring up a child!” Poseidon bellowed and the sky grew dark.

“Maybe Refrainia
was
no place to bring up a child when it was a hive of prostitution and murder, but surely you can see that it has changed. These are decent people living decent lives. They are all hardworking and would work hard to ensure that the child has everything he needs. What better environment to bring up a child?” Rechavia continued, seemingly unperturbed by the giant’s wrath.

The air was still and Poseidon looked a little taken aback. “But there are no facilities here for a child.”

“We have a doctor on the island with a well-equipped surgery. We have a state-of-the-art ship to take us to the mainland whenever we need anything, day or night. We have enough skills between us to teach the child anything he could wish to learn. Look at him. How healthy does he look? In the couple of days he’s been here he’s already learned to swim, he has a golden glow to his skin and he’s probably run and walked more miles that he had ever covered in his life before!”

“I made my decision.” The giant folded his massive arms obstinately.

“Horsee!” Owen’s little voice split the silence as he pointed to the animals in the sea.

Melantho was horrified for a second and squeezed him, afraid of a reprisal from their god. She glanced over at the huge man, and was astonished to see the look of amazement on his face.

“With respect, sir, you also made another decision. That was to turn Refrainia into a democracy. I think you will find that each and every one of the islanders wants Melantho and Owen to live here. You put several of us in charge of ensuring that this rule was kept, and that is exactly what we are attempting to do.” Rechavia spoke eloquently.

Poseidon listened intently to Rechavia’s words, although he had not taken his eyes off the little boy, who was now grinning at him, with his arms outstretched. Slowly the huge man stepped down from his chariot and waded through the water toward the shore.

Owen’s hands clenched and stretched like stars and he chuckled excitedly as the giant got closer. The little boy was straining to clamber out of his mother’s arms but Melantho held him tight.

“Bring him to me,” Poseidon instructed in a low, gentle voice.

Melantho was terrified, but obeyed her god. Slowly she walked over to him, clutching her son. “Please. I love him,” she whispered to the huge man as she neared him. “He needs me.” Tears blurred her vision and she could hear her own heart thumping in her ears.

Poseidon held his hands out and Owen leaned over, trying to clamber into his massive arms.

“Please,” Melantho begged.

Poseidon smiled kindly down at her. His blue eyes twinkled in the bright sunshine, giving him an air of mirth and curiosity. “Won’t you introduce me to your son?”

“Owen. His name’s Owen.” Her voice was weak.

“Owen. Young warrior.” The giant smiled. “You chose his name well, Melantho. May I hold him?”

Something in his eyes told Melantho that he wasn’t going to hurt her boy, and she lifted him, as the man’s muscular arms reached over and took the child from her. Poseidon’s face lit up and he smiled as Owen tugged at his long beard, babbling cheerfully to the old man.

It was evident that the little boy was winning over the huge giant with his chattering and his soft touches. Owen stroked Poseidon’s wrinkled face, and gazed into his deep blue eyes. Poseidon stared back at the toddler, a look of mesmerized astonishment in his craggy features. The sea-god’s expression softened and it was obvious he was immensely warming to the delightful child in his arms. He caressed Owen’s velvety skin, making the young lad giggle in amusement. Poseidon smiled into the boy’s beautiful face and his expression changed, as if he was looking into the past, or the future, maybe. The giant was certainly seeing more than the mere flesh of the beautiful baby in his arms. He had a far-away look in his bright, blue eyes, and a thoughtful, almost sad demeanor. Owen’s podgy little fingers swept over the old man’s eyes, almost as if he was trying to wipe away a deep sadness which he could detect there. The lad gurgled in his own secret language, but the ancient giant appeared to understand every nuance.

The air was silent save the chuckling of the little boy. Then there was a chortle from deep within Poseidon’s throat and he held the little lad up to show him off. “Behold Owen. The first child of Refrainia. The son of the Siren.”

The islanders erupted into shouts and laughter and Melantho fell to her knees in happy relief.

“The only thing this child lacks is peers,” Poseidon announced when the cheers eventually died down.

“Amaranda and Eban have promised to visit soon. They can introduce him to their little boy, Lamech,” Rechavia suggested.

Poseidon nodded. “That would be a good temporary solution. And Ligia, you can provide a permanent one.” His eyes twinkled as he smiled at the pretty redhead.

“What? You mean…?” Ligia looked astonished and Aitan grabbed her and swung her into the air triumphantly.

She laughed and held her stomach as he set her gently back on the sand. “I thought I was just eating too much,” she admitted happily.

“Thank you so much,” Melantho whispered to the giant man as he handed back her baby.

“Thank
you
, Melantho,” he murmured to her. “I have made a lot of mistakes, for which I am truly sorry. Thank you for not letting me make even more.” He pulled her to her feet gently and held her and her son in his colossal arms, hugging them close.

Owen waved to the enormous man as he sped away again on his chariot, with dolphins and fish somersaulting in the waters all around him.

The islanders were patting Aitan on the back and hugging Ligia excitedly. Ligia beamed.