“Thanks for the advice,” I said. But I felt to make sure I had the magic lamp on me, just in case we needed to be bailed out. Lamprey still served me, though I never called him unless the need was dire.
“I hear them!” the sailor said as he rowed. “Don’t you?”
“Of course we do,” Sinbad said gruffly. “But we are resisting the lure.”
The truth was all we heard was a monotonous ululation. I realized that the sailor was proving to be more useful than we had thought, because the Sirens would assume that all of us were as fascinated as he was. But I wondered: just what did the Sirens do with the men of the ships that wrecked? Because as far as I knew, no sailor had ever returned from any ship caught by the Sirens. I was glad I had my scimitar handy.
The ululation increased in intensity. It sounded like nothing so much as dismal wailing. This caused captains to wreck their ships?
“I’m coming!” the sailor said. “I love you!”
I was almost sorry I couldn’t hear the tune. It must be quite compelling. “Remember,” I said. “Our best bet is to treat them with contempt. Get them riled so they don’t think straight.”
Then a head appeared by the boat. We saw the lovely face and bosom of a swimming mermaid. The sailor and I stopped rowing. We were evidently there.
“Here to meee,” the Siren sang.
The sailor leaped out of the boat to join her. So much for contempt. She threw her arms about him, kissed him, and drew him under the surface of the sea. Just like that they were gone.
“Did I mention how we appreciate your magic?” I asked Duban.
He didn’t answer. He was staring at the next mermaid. She was a truly luscious creature, with flowing blond hair, a face like the fabled Helen of Troy, and a torso that wavered tantalizingly in the ripples of the water. “Come to meeee,” she sang to him.
“I think not,” Duban said. “But you certainly are pretty.”
Pretty? That was the understatement of the year.
The mermaid frowned, as well she might. She did not realize that both Duban’s magic and his youth prevented him from being instantly enraptured by her voice and aspect. “Not?”
I interposed. “We are here to negotiate, fishtail.”
She looked at me, plainly annoyed. “Why are you not already in the water seeking my embrace?”
“Well, we don’t care to get wet. Why don’t you come aboard and we’ll talk.”
Her mouth worked for a moment without making a sound. She simply did not know what to make of this impudence.
More Sirens appeared around the boat. “Come to meee,” they chorused.
“We have come to negotiate with the Sirens,” Sinbad said. “But a Siren is part woman and part bird. You look like routine mermaids to me. We’ll not join you.”
The creatures exchanged frustrated glances. Then their evident leader spoke. She was a black haired beauty whose imposing breasts needed no song enhancement to make them fascinating. “There are different species of Sirens. We are sea dwellers. Why are you not hopelessly fascinated by our song?”
“I’m sure it’s a nice song,” I said in the manner of an adult complimenting a child. “But my son Duban plays a better melody on the lyre.” I frowned. “Now let’s get down to business. We are here to take your treasure. We will spare any who lead us to it. The others we will slay.” I touched the hilt of my scimitar.
The head Siren swelled up until her bosom threatened to float right out of the water. “We will overturn your boat, dump you in the water, and drown you, you disreputable oaf!”
I made a beckoning gesture. “Welcome to try, honey. We’ll lop the arms off any who try to grab this boat. Now are you going to come here and sit your pert posterior on my lap, so we can talk while I fondle your doubtlessly adequate body?”
I thought she was going to rise the rest of the way out of the water, so steamed was her expression. Then she changed her approach. “Perhaps that would be nice.” She put her arms up to me so that I could catch hold and draw her up onto me.
I hesitated. Would she really do it, or was this a ploy to try to kill me?
One way to find out. I knew Sinbad and Duban were on guard. I caught her arms and lifted her. She wriggled her tail to boost herself, and flopped up against me. As her tail left the water it shimmered and shifted, becoming a truly fine pair of legs. Indeed, her body was marvelously fit throughout. Gloriously nude, she sat on my lap. She wasn’t even wet. She brought her face close to mine, puckered for a kiss.
“You do realize, of course,” I said calmly, “that if you try to bite me I will promptly cut your silly head off?”
“I realize,” she said, and delivered a wonderfully sweet kiss. “Now shall we talk before or after I seduce you?”
For perhaps the first time in my life, I was glad for my impotence with strange women. It had become a secret weapon. “Before.”
“Before,” she agreed. “Now what’s this about your taking our treasure?”
Now our dialogue should get interesting.
Chapter Ten
Duban was looking at me with darkened eyes.
I didn’t need to be a seer to know what he was thinking: he didn’t approve of me cavorting with any woman other than his mother. And, quite, frankly, he probably didn’t approve of me cavorting with his mother either. If I wasn’t careful, my negotiating skills might be misconstrued as something less than honorable. Although I was a sovereign king and had access to concubines and mistresses, and fathers veritably shoved their daughters onto me, I had had no such interest in pursuing such dalliances. Jewel was truly the woman for me, not to mention the only woman who awakened a passion that had lain dormant for so many years. For that I was grateful...and faithful.
Truly, I loved Jewel, and I loved our physical relationship. I would not want to lose that under any circumstances.
All of which led me to physically remove the buxom young Siren from my lap. Her curves were soft and her flesh taut and any other man on earth would have been tempted beyond reason.
The Siren was clearly not used to this. “Have I fallen already out of favor?” she asked, pouting.
I caught Duban’s approving gaze. How much access the powerful young man had to my thoughts, I did not know, but he surely knew the depth of my love for his mother.
“Of course not,” I said. “I was finding negotiation, ah, difficult with such a fine creature sitting on my lap.”
She nodded, approving of my response. That she was sitting nude in front of two men and a half, she cared not. With each breath, her large breasts reflected the setting sun in ways that I would never, ever forget.
“So tell me, handsome mortal, how are you not affected by our beautiful voices? This has never happened before.”
I opened my mouth to speak but Sinbad jumped in. “We are tone deaf, fair maiden.”
“Tone deaf? What does this mean?”
“It means your music is lost on us,” I said.
She looked carefully at each of us, lingering longer on Duban. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as did his. I wondered if a psychic connection had been made, of the sort I was not privy to.
“And all of you suffer from this unfortunate malady?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said irritably. Her perfect flesh was damn distracting and we had a treasure to find, not to mention Duban’s spell would be wearing off soon. “Now where is—”
“And this has nothing to do with this intriguing young man?” she asked leaning forward, studying Duban.
“Nonsense,” I said, gripping my scimitar. To end such a lovely creature’s life was a crime, until I realized that her beauty could all be an illusion. Or not. Either way, I would not die out here, on this simple boat, at the hands of psychotic immortal vixens.
She leaned back again, although her gaze lingered on Duban. “A most unusual young man.”
“Enough,” I said, raising my voice and pointing my sword. “Now take us to your treasure our lose your beautiful head.”
>
“Nonsense,” she said, “you will not harm me.”
“Why wouldn’t I harm you?” I asked, blinking.
“You need me to take you to our treasure.”
“There are others here who will take me, or they will all be slain—”
“And if they are all slain, then who will take you?”
“I am certain one or two will wish to be spared?”
“And if not, mortal? What if they choose to follow their leader in death?”
“You are their leader?” I asked.
She turned her full gaze onto me and I swallowed hard. By Allah, she was a beautiful woman. Duban was looking at me again, and I focused my thoughts.
“Of course,” she said. “As I have been for eons.”
“Then you have certainly led many a sailor to his death.”
She returned her gaze to me. Something close to pleasure crossed her fine features. “Oh, not all deaths have been catastrophic.”
“What does that mean?”
She grinned again and now Faddy appeared next to me, invisible to everyone but me. And perhaps Duban. I truly did not know the extent of the boy’s considerable power. “They’re using our young sailor as a sex slave, master.”
I merely nodded, not risking speaking, or even sub-vocalizing. I also did not know the extent of the Siren’s powers.
Faddy continued. “He’s being used over and over, draining him of fluid and life. He will be dead soon.”
I could not imagine a better way to go. But I had other problems to focus on. Primarily, our leverage seemed to have been nullified. If the Sirens would risk death rather than forfeit their vast treasure, I had to use another angle.
“What use is the treasure to you, Sea Hag?” I said.
“It is beautiful to look at.”
“And you would risk your life...immortality, before giving up beauty?”
“Perhaps, but you would be foolish to find out first hand.”
We were getting nowhere. “Out with it, Sea Hag. What is that you want?”
She looked at me coolly, her features beautiful and timeless. Her age was nearly impossible to gauge. Then she looked from me to Duban. “The boy.”
I stiffened. “What about the boy?”
“I want him. He seems...amusing.”
“Never—”
“It is okay, Niddala,” said Duban calmly. “They can have me if they so desire.”
“Never!”
And that’s when I felt a calming presence surround me. Months ago, I had experienced powerful telepathy. This feeling was similar, as if someone had nestled close to me. So close that they were, in fact, in my mind. Duban, as far as I was aware, did not have such abilities. Still, he was able to radiate a feeling towards me. A peaceful feeling. I glanced at him sharply and he smiled serenely and the feeling intensified.
Duban might be young in years but he was wise for his age. For any age. He was letting me know that everything was okay, that perhaps he even had a plan.
“Camel dung,” I mumbled under my breath. “Fine. You may have the boy.”
“My lord—er, Nidalla, are you sure?” asked Sinbad, grabbing my arm.
I looked again at Duban and he nodded once. “Yes,” I said weakly, although never had I felt less sure about anything. “I’m sure.”
The wicked sea creature leaped from the boat. “Then come! The water is fine.” She cackled with laughter. “Your treasure awaits. Follow me.”
“But we cannot follow you into the ocean, Sea Witch,” I hissed.
“Oh, it is not very deep at all, mortal. Follow me if you dare. And don’t forget the boy.”
She grinned again, revealing long, curved teeth that I had not seen before. She turned, flashed her backside, and disappeared beneath the waves.
Chapter Eleven
What the Hades.
We hastily stripped off our clothing and dived after her, stroking on the surface. Duban and I weren’t great swimmers, being landlubbers, but Sinbad was fair. She showed up before us, a far better swimmer than we were, and she wasn’t even using her tail. She was swimming right in front of me and I could see her legs flashing together and apart.
The she-dog! She was deliberately vamping us with her nether flesh. “Remember the boy!” I called to her angrily.
“Ooops,” she agreed ruefully, and her tail reformed. Had she really forgotten? I did not fully trust the nature of her interest in Duban. “Now down.” Her flukes flashed as she dived.
We pursued her as well as we were able. Not far below the surface was the entrance to an underwater cave in the bank leading to an island. We followed her into it. Inside it angled upward and there was air. That was a relief; I could not hold my breath long.
And what a cave it was! I had seen geodes in my treasury, stones cracked open to reveal colorful crystals inside. This entire cave was a huge geode with highly reflective facets. A beam of sunlight angled down through a hole above, and the crystals coruscated where it struck, reflecting a range of colors from the glassy prisms. It was absolutely beautiful, and surely precious beyond description.
“Don’t dawdle,” the Siren chided us. “This is merely the entryway. Onward.” Her flukes flashed again as she dived.
We followed, this time going deeper to a hole in the cave floor, trusting that this too led to a chamber with air. It did, though this one was darker. There was a muted glow from the walls, as of illuminated plants, so that we could see, but that was all. The other sirens were already here, ranged alongside their mistress. We would have trouble fighting them off, if it came to that, because we had foolishly left our weapons in the boat.
When we reached the bank there was another surprise. This chamber was huge, and filled to bursting with gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and works of art: carved jade statuettes, teak and mahogany reliefs, intricate sandalwood boxes, ivory figurines, and ornate alabaster lamps. Even bottles of rare wines, and papyrus scrolls that were surely rarer books. The treasures of countless wrecked ships. A tiny fraction of it would fill the hold of the Fat Chance and make the ship sluggish in the water from the weight.
“What do you think?” the Siren asked with a toothy smile as we clambered onto the dry cave floor.
Duban caught on first. “Your cave is full! You need to clear some of it out to have room for more valuable items hereafter.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “We will give you one shipload for your mission, and on your return, if you wish, another shipload for your merchants. It will be a profitable venture for all concerned.”
“What do you know of our venture?” Sinbad asked suspiciously.
“As much as we care to, Sinbad. It is a noble thing you attempt.”
“You know my name!”
“And the names of your companions, King Aladdin and Magician Duban. Welcome to our humble abode.”
We stared at her. “How—?” I asked.
“Word gets around. We track all ships of the region, so as to know what they contain. Yours is hardly worth harvesting, just some immature ambergris, and we already have more than enough of that. So we left it alone.”
“You saw us coming!” Sinbad said.
“Literally and figuratively,” she agreed.
“Then why—?”
“We wanted the boy, so we let you bring him to us. Why else? It isn’t as though we need more stud service, not that Aladdin can provide that anyway.”
The vixen knew too much. “Then why?” I echoed Sinbad, embarrassed.
“Why threaten to seduce you? It’s a challenge. Ordinary sailors are no challenge at all, but you are. It would be fun to prove that the queen is not unique in that respect.”
Way too much!
“You want me for what?” Duban asked grimly. He now seemed less certain that all was well.
She laughed. “Not that. We have no need to prey on the young. It is your potent magic we want.”
“My magic is not for the likes of you.”
She g
ave him a steady gaze. “Are you sure?”
And, surprisingly, Duban backed down. “No.”
“You have a notion what we want,” the Siren continued. “You know that the deal we proffer is fair. That’s why you agreed to come here.”
“That is not the whole of it,” Duban said tightly.
“Then it is time to present the whole of it. Duban, we are strong in our domain, but there are potential enemies who are stronger. We face serious mischief that we will be powerless to prevent. We don’t know when or what, just that the danger lurks. But with a magician of your caliber on our side, we can perhaps fend it off. So we want an alliance with you. Since you will not betray your father, we must make an alliance with him too.”
“An alliance!” I exclaimed. “Why should I want to have anything to do with you?”
“Because you are sailing into a deadly trap, Aladdin. We can help you. But we want a fair exchange.”
I had received similar warnings before. “A shipload of treasure won’t help me much if I die in a trap.”
“Exactly,” the Siren agreed. “The treasure is merely a pretext. We are trading that for the alliance with Duban. We are trading information for the alliance with you.”
“What trap?” I demanded.
“We do not know the details of it, only that it relates to the woman, Sinbad’s wife. When you ransom her, it will spring. You must be prepared or you are lost. You may be lost anyway.” She turned to face Sinbad. “Your safest course is to give up your quest. We can provide you with a woman as lovely and obliging as your wife, if you wish.”
“Never!” Sinbad said.
“Precisely. We do value loyalty.” She turned back to Duban. “Do we have a deal?”
Duban nodded. “I will help you to the extent I can, when you need it. How will I know when that is?”
“Sylvie will accompany you.” The Siren gestured, and one of the other mermaids swam forward, slender yet voluptuous as they all were.
“I don’t want a girl with me!”
The Siren smiled. “Be not concerned. She will make an oath not to seduce you for three years. Then she will negotiate with Myrrh for an extension if you still don’t want a concubine. You will not be molested.”