The Silver Siren (10 page)

“
Wait…what?” Kael wasn’t
dead? My befuddled brain instantly cleared and recalled the words
she’d been yelling at me.

“
Get up. Kael’s still
alive.”

She stared at me, shook her head, and
then whistled. A few seconds later, the large rope dropped down
into the pit, followed by a second one that landed next to me. Gwen
reached for one and wrapped it around her arm and foot. I walked
over to the second and watched.

She smirked. “Pull!” she called. One
second she was there; the next, Gwen disappeared, pulled
upward.

Taking a deep breath, I mirrored her
actions with the rope. My stomach dropped as I too was hauled
upward. The sun hit my face, and I had to blink to adjust to the
brightness. I pulled myself over the ledge and dusted off my hands.
The two SwordBrothers that had pulled me up were winding the
rope.

Alek was there, watching us come out
of the pit. He reached over and gently touched Gwen’s swollen lip,
and he looked at me not with disdain, but respect.

“
Where’s Kael?” I
demanded.

“
In the infirmary,” he
answered and turned to walk away.

I ran forward and followed behind him.
Apparently, Kael’s abrupt attitude and lack of small talk was a
family trait.

Every part of my being wanted to ask
annoying questions, just to see if he was as calm as his brother. I
followed Alek into a plain building that was similar in
architecture to the rest of the village. Curtains closed off a
wing. Alek pulled the white material to the side, and we ran into
Alba just as she was leaving. She leaned over and whispered
something to Alek who nodded his head in understanding.

Alba’s piercing gaze caught mine, but
I was unable to read her expression as the small woman left us
alone.

The room wasn’t fancy. It was filled
with brown cots and a small table with a pitcher of water, a bowl,
and a lone stool. There were no others in the wing that we were in,
and for that I was grateful.

Kael was sleeping on the cot. A white
blanket covered him, and he looked so helpless and young. I was
taken aback and stared at him for a few minutes just taking him in,
trying to figure out what was different.

He wasn’t in his normal black attire,
but a simple white robe, which made his tan skin seem pale against
his dark hair. I slowly sat down on the wooden stool, being careful
to not disturb his sleep. It was odd, I finally decided, to see him
so unadorned and without a single weapon. His eyelids flickered and
he turned restlessly. Kael was dreaming. I watched him sleep,
fascinated by the turn of events. For once, I was able to watch
over him.

His strong chin showed just the
lightest bit of stubble, and I studied his profile silently,
noticing a small scar. I followed the hollow of his neck down to
the exposed part of his chest—the part that the shirt didn’t cover
up. I’d never been able to see it before, the pale criss-crossing
of scars long healed. His body was covered with them. To have so
many and still be so young! Some of the scars looked to be years
old.

I turned to Alek who was still behind
me watching my actions with interest. “How old are these
scars?

“
Oh, that long one there
is probably a few decades old. That was an accident during weapons
training. The small moon shaped one is from two years ago where I
knicked him during a small scuffle over a game of cards.” Alek
answered matter of factly.

“
But that can’t be. Wait
how old is Kael?”

Alek let forth a loud laugh as if my
question surprised and delighted him. “What? Has my brother never
told you?”

“
No, I never asked because
he only looked to be a few years older than me. But these scars on
his body!” I reached out to touch Kael’s bare chest and my hand was
enveloped by Kael’s large warm one.

“
Don’t,” Kael warned.
“That tickles.” His deep blue eyes were opened and they were
focused on me. His hand had caught mine and pulled it away from his
scars. He turned his gaze on his brother and with a firm look
warned, “And don’t
you
tell her.”

By now Alek was coughing as he tried
to stop his laughter abruptly. I was slightly annoyed by both of
their antics, and by Kael’s sudden burst of energy, and all because
of his never telling me his age.

“
What’s the big deal?” I
asked.

Alek answered, “Apparently, it’s not
just women that lie about their age but SwordBrothers as
well.”

Kael still hadn’t released my hand. It
was now lying wrapped in his on the cot next to him. I could feel
the slight tickle of his thumb rubbing the top of my hand. It was a
heady feeling, making me slightly distracted which was probably his
goal.

“
Well then, fine,” I
answered back tartly. “How old are you Alek? Since you are his
older brother, he can’t be that much younger than you.”

Alek plopped down on the cot next to
Kael’s and leaned back on his arms. “I’ll be two hundred come next
month.”

“
How is that even close?”
I stopped and stared at Alek who had quit laughing and was now
studying me. “Kael, he can’t be…can he? Then how old
are
you?” I turned and
glared at Kael.

Kael’s hand had stopped stroking mine
and he pulled it out of my grip. I felt cold and alone with the
realization. I studied Kael but he wouldn’t meet my
gaze.

“
Kael?” I asked
again.

He stood up and took off the white
shirt, and I stared again at all of the scars that laid an
intricate map across his back. Part of me wished I had time for him
to explain every one to me. Kael picked up a neatly folded black
shirt and donned it. From under the bed he pulled boots, knives,
and more weapons, because he would never be far from a knife. Kael
began to prepare himself for battle, dressing the part of the
SwordBrother once again. Only I knew that it was going to be a
battle of words.

I wouldn’t admit it, but I preferred
him in his black attire.

“
Kael is a hundred and
thirty. Our father was 420 when he passed away. It’s our gift, our
longevity. It’s in our blood, and it’s why we make the best guards.
We’ve been practicing our techniques for over a hundred
years.”

I wanted to kick Kael but settled for
shoving him angrily in the side. “How dare you berate me for not
being as good as you, when you’ve had a century of training on
me?”

I heard a long drawn out sigh from
Kael and then heard him mutter a single word. “Women.”

“
Are you sure he’s not
five? Because he sure is acting like a child right now,” I grumbled
under my breath.

Alek sat up and motioned for me to
follow him out of hearing range from Kael. We stepped just outside
the curtain so Kael could finish dressing without an
audience.

“
Thalia, Kael told us you
know the story about the King of Sinnendor and his SwordBrother
body guards. How he had hundreds bonded to the king.”

“
Yes, Kael told me. There
was a man named Lake that ended the reign of the King by killing
him himself along with all of the SwordBrothers.”

“
Yes, but that was a very
long time ago.”

“
Not for Kael and me. Lake
was our father. Kael was only an infant when our father brought
down the King. The rest of us fled here to live in peace. We are
few, but we live a quiet, peaceful, and a longer-than-normal
life.”

“
Until I came into the
picture,” I spoke softly. Alek turned to look at me and I could see
how pain-filled his eyes were.

“
No, Thalia. He was never
at peace. Even here, in our sanctuary I knew it. Every time someone
looked at him, they commented on how much he looked like our
Father, Lake. I didn’t mean to fall in love with Gwen, but it just
happened. We tried to stop it, but neither Gwen nor I could fight
the feelings. Now add that betrayal onto all of the pressure to be
the best.”

Alek’s words were meant to make me
feel at ease, but all they did was leave a sour feeling in the pit
of my stomach. He didn’t know what we had been through, and I
wasn’t going to be the one to tell him how much Kael had suffered
on my account.

“
He’s risked his life
plenty of times saving mine. But all I did was take his life.” I
turned and sat down on a bench outside Kael’s room. “I still don’t
know how that is possible. Shouldn’t I be dead since I killed
Kael?”

Alek shook his head. “No,
although if you had succeeded you would not be alive much longer.”
Alek’s hand drifted to the knife in his belt as a gentle reminder.
“In the times before, if our charge—the person we were bonded
to—died, the SwordBrother died. Also, a SwordBrother can be killed
in battle with no harm to their charge. By all means, Kael should
have died, but he didn’t. This is something else. Something
different, maybe? All I know Thalia…is that he’s alive
because
you’re
alive.”

I could see Alek’s mind whirling with
wonder and a hint of awe. I had a feeling I knew what he was going
to say, but I was too angry to wait for an answer. “Spit it out,
Alek.”

“
It means, Thalia,” Alek
answered slowly. “Kael will live only as long as you do. He will no
longer have his gift of longevity.”

“
Then undo it!” I gasped
out.

“
Thalia, Kael was a broken
man when he left here. Bitter, angry, hurt, and betrayed by the
ones he loved. I’m not sure how, but you’ve brought him back a
changed man.” Alek tilted his head and gestured to the infirmary,
where an odd gravely noise could be heard coming out of Kael’s
room.

It sounded off pitch and grated on my
nerves. “What is that sound?” I asked.

Alek covered his mouth with his hand.
“Do you see what I mean? He’s humming—my brother is humming.” He
tried to hide his smile.

I couldn’t help the surprised look
that covered my shocked face. Kael did not have a singer’s voice.
The humming was terribly off-key. I “That sounds like cat’s howling
in pain. It’s disturbing,” I whispered. The noise from inside
stopped.

“
Exactly!” Alek said. “He
never hummed before he left.”

Kael pushed the white curtain aside
and spoke up as he stepped out onto the porch fully dressed, “I do
not sound like a cat in pain. Dog, maybe. Cat no.”

My face flushed with embarrassment and
I opened my mouth to apologize, but Gwen came back and asked to
speak with Kael alone. He agreed and followed her down the hallway,
down the wooden steps, and into street so they could talk in
private. Alek and I walked slowly behind, giving them privacy. It
was hard to not let jealous anger consume my thoughts as I watched
them move out of earshot.

“
It doesn’t matter. Can we
reverse what was done? I don’t want to be bonded to him anymore.” I
spoke my mind, since Kael could no longer overhear me. I rubbed my
arms worriedly and couldn’t help but wonder when Kael would be done
talking so we could leave here. I didn’t want to stay any longer
than necessary. “
Can
you reverse it? Take it off, make it go away.” My hands felt
clammy, and I started to wipe at them as if I could wipe away the
bond.

Alek shook his head. “The only way to
break it is by your death. We are still a very young clan, Thalia.
Most of us with the knowledge of bonding died when Lake killed the
king. We are all too young to remember. It’s why the art of bonding
is gone. It’s a mystery to us as it is to you. But maybe with time,
if you stayed with us, we could relearn, reevaluate, and retest
some theories. Maybe over time we could—”

“
No! I won’t stay here.” I
glanced down the street, but Kael and Gwen were gone.

I had to calm my nerves at the thought
of being poked and prodded with needles. I stepped just outside of
the building into the street with no clear direction in mind. I had
no idea where Kael had run off too. He was home, near the woman he
used to love. My body was tense, so I began to pace and think over
everything I had just learned. I needed to escape, to get out of
here and fast.

Alek gently touched my arm. “We need
you. We have no way of understanding what exactly was done without
you. You are the other piece of this puzzle. Kael was reckless in
his decision-making when he left our sanctuary and it came after a
very emotional time for him. He was feeling trapped and
betrayed—justly so.”

“
So you are justifying his
actions?” I steamed.

“
No, it’s in our blood—a
desire to be bonded and to protect the weak. Now we are but a
shadow of what we once were. We have all at one time or another
wished for the glory of the old days and being bonded. He left and
his journey has brought him to you. Now he is the first to be
bonded in many years.” He shrugged his shoulders and I stared at
him.

“
What about me? I have no
desire to be a part of this. And when I do come here what do you
do? You attack me, imprison me, trick me, and throw me in a pit.
Now you want me to stay?” I scoffed.

Alek blinked. I had momentarily
stunned him. He stepped forward and tried to reason with me. “We
are not the enemy, Thalia. It’s been a very long time since we’ve
had outsiders in our camp.”