With a roar, I slammed my fists against the bars. Nothing made sense. Not Blackhole’s actions, nor my current predicament. Thousands of questions raced through my mind, but only one answer. Something was behind all this. Some deeper purpose that I was unaware of.
And I needed to find out what it was.
***
Yuan
It was common for our makers to give us mundane tasks every now and then in order to remind us who held true power. I was not immune to the resentment and humiliation my fellow royals experienced when such times came, but we were all intelligent enough to swallow our pride and obey. This was the way of things, so there was no pointing in fighting or complaining.
Ariadna, however, had a far different opinion when it came to the latter.
“Ridiculous, humiliating…any youngster with half a brain could very well deliver a Chaos wand…Radella, how can take such humiliation without a word?!”
Radella spared Ariadna a glance, her eyes burning with her usual icy fire. “Unless something can be gained by directing my words toward my maker apart from my imminent death, I see no point in uttering them.” Her eyes narrowed further. “Your complaints irritate me, sister. Kindly keep them to yourself or take them out on a Harijan.”
Ariadna’s expression cheered slightly. “Taking out my rage on a Harijan. The satisfaction of that is never empty. I think that is just what I will do.”
“I would advise caution,” I said. “Remember that the possibility remains that a Harijan has been blessed by Lord Chaos.”
“Precisely. It is merely a possibility,” Ariadna said with a sneer. “And that possibility is irrelevant. He has failed in his duty to protect that human scrap. Lord Chaos will condemn him to the darkest of hells, past blessings or not.”
I did not reply for a while. Eventually, I voiced an opinion I had been intending to voice ever since the blessed one was taken by the dragon king.
“We should have given Harijan Shadow more aid in his search.”
“How can you say such a thing, brother?” Radella said sharply. “He failed in his duty to Lord Chaos. If he is to redeem himself, then he must do so on his own.”
“But this is not merely about Harijan Shadow,” I reminded her. “This is also about the fact that the dragon king stole a blessed one from us and she needs to be rescued. Harijan Shadow shares a deep bond with her, and say what you will about Harijans, but he is particularly resourceful.”
“And reckless and suicidal,” Ariadna pointed out. “You know how many times he provoked the elites. If he ever got the opportunity, I know for a fact he would not have hesitated to provoke any one of us.”
“But he is not that way anymore,” Radella said with a dry smile. “His love for the human girl has changed him drastically.”
“His change in personality is not the issue,” I said. “We could have done far more to aid him in his search and if he found the blessed one, Lord Chaos would still judge him for his previous failure. The sacred brother would know that we too did everything we could to find her, even giving aid to a Harijan.”
Radella’s eyes widened. Even Ariadna looked slightly worried.
“He may be dead now,” Radella said after a while. “Thousands of our people have just perished.”
“Harijan Shadow has not,” I said. “I firmly believe that.”
“Then perhaps it is not too late to correct our error,” Radella said. “While the portal is being created, we will summon him.”
“But let us be sure not to give him too much aid.” Ariadna said. “I told him that if he carried out the will of Lord Chaos, he would be granted the rank of Kshatriya.”
“I take it that is a promise you regret making?” I asked coolly.
“He is a Harijan. A former serpent-worshipper. There is no way that Lord Chaos could ever truly favor him.” She grinned maliciously. “If I am ever forced to do as I promised, it will be an empty victory for him. He may possess the rank of a warrior, but he will always be remembered by all vampires as a Harijan. No Kshatriya will accept him. His past fellow Outcasts will ostracize him in their jealousy. No, my brother, I do not regret making this promise at all.”
***
Mercedes
Eulathrin’s response had been disturbing, but unsurprising. Much as I liked her, she never struck me as the overly compassionate type. While it turned my stomach to judge an entire species based on one individual, something told me that the sirens’ first priority was their own well-being. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but there was a difference between self-preservation and self-centeredness. Eulathrin had completely written off the dragons like they were nothing.
I couldn’t give up, though. I had dedicated my life to helping people and the dragons were no different. I couldn’t challenge a god, but I could at least warn Tarasque if the sirens wouldn’t. My hand touched my neck as I remembered what happened the last time I warned him, but it was a risk I had to take. I couldn’t write off an entire race of people. I would rather die.
I flinched when I heard something behind me, but I wasn’t surprised at the sight of Blackhole. Rushing over to him, I immediately embraced his hard body.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He made an impatient sound. Never mind me. Are you—?
A low, ominous growl emitted from him, and I understood when I saw that his seemingly eyeless face was pointed directly at my neck.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Blackhole, you…”
I trailed off with a gasp when his thick gray tongue emerged to lick my neck. The sensations were a bit rough at first, but it wasn’t long before they became soothing. When he finished, the pain in my neck and throat was completely gone.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I felt him flinch in my arms. Don’t mention it. And do not be afraid. He won’t ever hurt you again.
My eyes narrowed on their own accord. “Is that what Tezcatlipoca said?”
Yes.
“And you believe him?”
I have no choice.
I sighed. “Blackhole, what’s going on? Are the vampires and the dragons still fighting?”
No. Father received his sacrifice. The dragon warriors are all dead.
Ten thousand vampires were dead along with all of Tarasque’s warriors. The senseless loss of life clawed at me.
“How did the vampires manage to kill them?” I asked when I could speak again.
Blackhole went still in my arms. They have powerful weapons. But my kind did most of it by their order.
My throat went dry. “The Evanescence killed them?”
Yes. Our masters have been breeding us for generations.
I couldn’t talk for a while after that. My nightmares had tormented me with unspeakable horror after unspeakable horror before and after the battle began, but I knew my puny imagination could not even begin to comprehend an army of Evanescence devouring the dragons. If I ever did comprehend it, the price would be my sanity.
Night fell and I gazed out the window, thinking. After the Evanescence devoured his warriors, I wanted to believe that a part of Tarasque knew what I had told him was true. Or at least he had to know Tezcatlipoca intended to destroy the dragons. Maybe not kill them, but I knew what the dark god had in mind was a fate worse than death.
Tarasque can’t even collect the corpses of his warriors, I thought. Has that knocked some sense into him? Is that what it’ll take for him to listen to reason?
Blackhole let me be while I watched the sky. I absentmindedly petted him and let his purrs soothe my emotionally battered mind. As the sky continued to darken, my thoughts turned to my love again.
“Blackhole, where’s Shadow?”
He’s here.
Incredulity flooded me. “He’s…here? By here you mean in the siren kingdom?!”
He needs to be kept safe.
My grip on the Evanescence tightened. “Where is he? Where can I find him?”
You can ask your siren f
riend tomorrow. She will know. Inform her I told you and she will let you see him.
Elation making my fingers tingle I felt myself smile so hard it was painful, but I didn’t care. My love was safe. I would see him tomorrow.
“Can I talk to him?” I asked breathlessly. My hand brushed away my hair to reveal the area where Shadow marked me. “Blackhole, I know you’re the reason I was able to talk to him those last two times. It was because you touched my mark. Can you do it again?”
He emitted a pathetic whine. I’m sorry.
I was disappointed, but only for a moment. “That’s okay. So long as I’ll get to see him tomorrow…” It was all I could do not to jump up and try to find Eulathrin right then and there. “Blackhole, can you tell me if anything else is going on?”
Father intends to win. That is all I can say.
I nodded. “Then can you tell me how you were able to forge a telepathic link between myself and Shadow through my mark?”
He shifted in my arms and I loosened my hold, curious to see what he was trying to do. He flipped himself over onto his back, exposing his belly. The skin there was as black and shining as the rest of his body, but even in the dim light I could make out the X and the dragon heads on it. I blinked when it suddenly began to glow white and an even brighter black.
Our masters call it the slave mark, Blackhole said. It is a brand of loyalty.
“I suspected as much,” I said bitterly. While it made me feel dirty that the mark that enabled Shadow to call me was nothing more than a cattle brand, I forced myself to get over it. I was anything but cattle to Shadow. Also I found myself feeling a new sort of kinship with this Evanescence upon seeing his mark and began to trace it gently with my fingertip. I barely registered the fact that Blackhole’s stomach skin felt noticeably softer when he squirmed in my arms and made a yipping sound.
I smiled. “Tickles?”
Yes!
I continued to trace the mark. He continued to squirm and make that yipping sound. I laughed along with him. After a few minutes, he gently tackled me onto me back and began to lick my neck without mercy.
“Okay, okay!” I struggled to speak through my laughter. “You got me!”
He growled smugly. I smiled and stroked the sides of his head.
“What was your kind like before?” I asked quietly. “How different were you?”
He made a sound, but I couldn’t detect any emotions in it. It’s not our place to ask or to know.
I nodded. Shadow had told me that Blackhole had been born into slavery. How could he know about the past of his ancestors? I imagined that the only one privy to that knowledge was Tezcatlipoca.
“Do you want to know?” I asked.
He was silent for a long moment. What would I do if I knew? What difference would it make?
“Blackhole, we all need to know where we came from,” I said. “A lot of times it can help us find out who we really are.”
I am a servant to the vampires, and I obey the will of my father. That is the way it will always be. He shifted uncomfortably in my arms. Please stop talking about this.
My hand ran down his back. “Okay.”
I should go now.
Despite his words, he remained in my arms, making no move to leave them. I smiled at him.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
He made a growling sound and I could detect a good deal of relief and gratitude in it. I didn’t bother to get into the bed. Blackhole’s gentle purring lulled my exhausted my mind and body into a much needed slumber.
***
Eulathrin
My next trip to the palace confirmed what I already knew: Smoking Mirror had returned. He was not after the sirens, but he had returned. And Father was not here to protect us from his wrath. We could only protect ourselves.
And we will, I thought as I was led into the queen’s chambers. Smoking Mirror will not get the better of us, nor his disgusting spawn.
The massive doors swung open revealing chambers so large, a small dragon could easily fit in them. I looked up and saw the queen was meditating on the branch of the stone Tabula Rasa tree. The tree where all of siren royalty heard the voice of Father of the Morning Star. Folding my wings, I bowed my head and waited.
She did not keep me waiting long. Within minutes, I heard the whisper of wings and a soft, graceful landing in front of me.
“Unfold your wings, faithful half-daughter and let our eyes meet.”
I obeyed. Queen Persephone’s hard, lined, but still lovely face softened slightly at me.
“Do you have something to report?”
“Yes, my lady. It concerns the human girl king Tarasque requested us to look after. Not only is she an ally of Smoking Mirror’s spawn, she claims to have heard his voice directly.”
Persephone’s face darkened.
“And you will pledge your life to this fact?”
“I do. Her species is not nearly as resilient as ours. If she were lying, her body language would have betrayed her immediately.”
“Is she an ally of Smoking Mirror?”
“No. She is a compassionate creature. Despite King Tarasque’s treatment of her, she wishes to save the dragons from their inevitable fate. I will pledge my life to the fact that she despises Smoking Mirror.”
“But is she a tool of Smoking Mirror?”
I grimaced. “Yes, but an unwilling one.”
Persephone raised an elegant eyebrow. “Have you grown fond of your charge, Eulathrin?”
“I respect her. She is honorable and her commitment to the truth is as great as any siren’s.” I paused, then relented, “Yes, I am fond of her.”
“Well, so long as she possesses admirable qualities.” Hazel eyes narrowed at me. “Eulathrin, you know Smoking Mirror would never directly address any living creature unless said creature was of great value to his plans.”
“I am aware of this,” I said.
“Have you told her anything?” the queen asked.
“She is still an outsider,” I said. “I have not revealed to her anything other than what she already knows.”
“We cannot kill her and attempting to use her would inevitably bring Smoking Mirror’s wrath on us. But let us keep her so long as he permits it. Continue to question her, but if he demands we give her up to his spawn, you will do so.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“You have not heard, but one of our fallen brothers delivered a vampire directly to our prison guards.”
“What?” I asked, astonished.
“He claimed we must keep this creature safe or risk Smoking Mirror’s wrath.” Persephone’s voice was bitter. “Also, our dragon spies have informed me that King Tarasque’s attack on the vampires has failed. Apparently, his warriors were slaughtered by an army of our fallen brothers at the vampires' command.”
My heart raced in my chest. “The vampires possess an army strong enough to defeat fully trained dragon warriors!?”
“Siren intelligence is second to none, but I doubt we will ever truly know what foul powers Smoking Mirror bestowed on our fallen brothers,” Persephone said.
“And who knows what foul powers Smoking Mirror will give the dragons…” I whispered.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Mercedes. The human girl,” I clarified. “She claims Smoking Mirror himself told her that he plans to twist the dragons as he did our fallen brothers. He intends to make them slaves of the vampires as well!”
The queen’s amber skin went white. She clenched her teeth and let out a hiss of fury.
“My lady, we could be next…”
“That is mere speculation right now,” Persephone snapped. “The dragons are paying for their arrogance, and we will not get involved. I will not be known as the queen who provoked Smoking Mirror into destroying us all. Or worse, twisting us with his vile magic.”
“What can we do, my lady?” I whispered.
Persephone turned away from me. “I must pray from da
wn until dusk, and hope Father of the Morning Star returns.” Her wings spread. “You are dismissed, Eulathrin.”
Because I was a siren, I continued to carry myself with pride and dignity after my meeting with the queen. Inwardly, I was deeply troubled. After Smoking Mirror was through with the dragons, I would be greatly surprised if he did not target the sirens next. Unfortunately, as the queen said, there was nothing we could do. Not without Father.
I paused in my step as I approached Mercedes’ room with breakfast in hand. The queen was correct regarding my feelings for the human girl. Despite my species’ xenophobic nature, I had developed a genuine fondness for her during her short stay here. She was polite, well-mannered, and honorable. But what caused me to have such deep respect for her was that she never lied. Sirens abhorred liars. The truth was the most sacred thing in existence. It was a sin to defile it.
I entered her room and was surprised to see her fast asleep with her back propped up against the bed. Her arms engulfed her stomach as if she had been holding something. Putting her breakfast on a table, I made to walk away and let her rest but stopped when I heard her voice.
“Mmm. Eulathrin?”
I turned around. She rubbed her eyes and blinked them several times. I could not help but be relieved when I saw that they had lost most of their redness. Then suddenly they bulged and she stood with a speed and grace that astounded me.
“Shadow,” she said breathlessly. “It’s Shadow. He’s here!”
Shadow. That was the name of her vampire mate. And the queen had just informed me…
“Eulathrin!” She ran up to me, radiating eagerness and joy. “Eulathrin, Shadow’s here in the siren kingdom. Please, can you take me to him?”
“How do you know this?” I whispered. “How did you know a vampire was here, let alone your mate?”
Her grin faded slightly. “Blackhole told me.”
“And who is Blackhole?”
“An Evanescence and Shadow’s friend. Eulathrin, please, can you take me to him?”
An Evanescence. The name the vampires had bestowed on our fallen brothers.
This human girl could definitely not be trusted. If one of our fallen brothers was not only in contact with her but shared valuable information with her, then she was a vital tool to Smoking Mirror. Her hatred of him was merely a point in her favor.
“Eulathrin?”