The Lost Soul

  "Yet she has no influence upon you, I hear."

  "No... it seems her effects do not stretch to the paranormal community."

  "Aah, I see. Well I can tell you now that this woman, Calliope, is not one of us. We have no Siren that goes by the name of Calliope."

  "But, could she be from another country, perhaps?"

  "No, Carmelo. I am familiar with all of the sirens, worldwide. Plus... our kind could quite easily captivate even the paranormal community should we so desire," she breathed. "All it would take is for me to sing you a song, Carmelo, and you would be putty in my hands," she laughed softly.

  "Erm, right then. Thank you... oh, I didn't get your name?" he asked.

  "That's because I didn't give it to you... but I will just in case you ever want to... contact... me again. My name is Leilah. Goodbye Carmelo."

  "Thank you, Leilah and if y....." but before he could continue, she was gone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  After he had been reached by December, he could not get rid of the grin that spread across his face. The transformation had not only happened to him, but it had finally happened to the rest of his family too. It was a miracle, one which made the bond between them even stronger. He wished so badly he would be able to get home and soon.

  Because of his eagerness to find their way back, he and Zalea had climbed back on to the raft soon afterwards with a renewed vigour to accomplish their journey. They took all of the delicious fruit from the Meliam tree with them.

  Juice dripped down their chins as they pushed themselves through the water while they chatted, laughed and sang until they were too tired to continue.

  That night they fell asleep effortlessly. The warm atmosphere enveloped them as they dreamed of their families, safe and well as they curled around each other, not for warmth this time, but for comfort.

  They were woken by a huge explosion, a sound that shook the very ground beneath them.

  "What was that?" shrieked Zalea, clinging to her companion.

  "I don't know," Jack replied, jumping up and scouring the surrounding area.

  "What's that smell?" she asked and he shook his head for the second time, "It smells like, like... burning. Something is really hot."

  "It's beneath us, Jack. The ground is getting warmer."

  Sure enough, the ground was heating up and fast.

  "Quick, get on the raft," he instructed as they both ran, hopping aboard before he undid the rope and pushed them away from dry land. There was a sudden eruption right where they had been sleeping and glowing lava began to pour out of the crack in the earth.

  "Our oars...we left our oars behind," whispered Zalea as she watched them be devoured by the moulting liquid in a matter of seconds. "Will we be safe in the water, Jack?"

  "I hope so," he leaned forward and tentatively dipped his fingers into what had been cool water just the day before. "It's warm, but not too hot. Hopefully, it won't heat up any further."

  The two sat crossed legged staring out at the oozing lava as it covered the land beside them.

  "We could try and get to the opposite riverbank," said Jack, but as he spoke, a gentle rumbling could be heard before another eruption occurred on the other side.

  "I guess we'll just have to stay here and let the current take us. At least it's taking us in the right direction."

  #

  Several hours had past and the lava continued to pour from beneath the ground, flowing in the same direction as the river. Jack and Zalea lay on the raft carefully watching their surroundings, occasionally dipping their fingers or toes into the water to check the temperature which had risen a little since they'd first set off.

  But as the water took them towards their destination, around a bend in the river, they were greeted by an altogether different scenario. The sound of falling water filled their ears. Sitting up quickly, both their heads turned towards it together.

  "On no," said Jack, "It's a waterfall."

  "But I don't see one."

  "That's because we're about to fall in it."

  They had two choices: face the waterfall head on or try and get to the riverside and risk their lives in the hot lava. There was no contest, they would have to hold on to the raft as hard as they could and go with the falling water.

  Terrified, they sat for a few minutes while they drifted calmly along. When it began to get a little choppy, Jack pulled Zalea towards him. "Lie down," he said before he gently laid himself over her and gripped the sides of the raft.

  "Jack, save yourself. You can fly... please...."

  He smiled at her and shook his head. As they approached the falls, all other sounds were drowned out by the enormity of the falling water. It was deafening.

  "Take a deep breath and hold on!" shouted Jack as they bobbed around on top of the water before they plummeted with the falling water below.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  "So we're back to square one again?" asked Lilly, pacing up and down the living room while many of the others were out checking out the pyramid.

  She missed Oliver. God only knew what he was going through. Although, she thought, he's clearly enjoying himself, she seethed. Well, I'm not, she told herself.

  "What do we do now?"

  "We wait for everybody to get back and see what they've found out," reassured Meredith who was looking decidedly more bright eyed.

  "Meredith's right, Lilly. You need to chill out," added December, handing her a cup of tea.

  "How can I chill out when that... that... woman has got my boyfriend dressed like some kind of Egyptian slave in the middle of February and goodness knows what she's doing to him. And every other man in Powell River for that matter," she screeched, almost spilling her tea all over the carpet.

  "Lilly dear. We understand you're suffering but there are others who are suffering too," said Rose as she eyed Crystal who was sitting silently in the corner of the room, wrapped in a blanket with her fingers holding a hot drink.

  "I know. I'm sorry. I just wish we could do something."

  "I know dear."

  When she heard the front door open, Lilly jumped up from her chair so fast that she banged her knee on the coffee, "Ouch!" she exclaimed before she hobbled out to see who had arrived.

  "Chris! What are you doing here?"

  Chris smiled and hugged her, stepping aside to reveal he was not alone. Someone slightly smaller stood closely behind him covered in a long cape that culminated in a long hood, completely hiding the person's identity.

  When the front door was closed, the person turned and removed the hood from her face.

  "Jemima!" Lilly screeched, "What the... what are you doing here? You can't be here. What if someone sees you? What if your parents see you? Chris, you're crazy for bringing her down here. Do you know what could happen if....."

  "Lilly, will you please calm down," said a voice from the living room as December appeared in the doorway.

  "Hi Chris," she said, pecking him on the cheek before turning to Jemima to give her a hug.

  "It's good to see you but Lilly is right, you know."

  Taking the long cape from her back and hanging it up on the clothes horse by the door, she smiled, "I know. But I needed to come down and do something. My family is in danger and I couldn't just sit back and do nothing."

  "I understand and so does Lilly," said December with a roll of her eyes towards her friend, "She's just a bit on edge because Oliver is, you know, under Calliope's spell."

  "Yes, we've heard all about it. We know she's got all the men over there. Do we know anything more yet?"

  Lilly shook her head as they followed her into the living room where everyone stood to say their hellos.

  "Unfortunately we've got nowhere."

  "That's not entirely true," said Crystal, finally, "at least we now know what this woman isn't."

  "So she's not a Siren then?" asked Chris and Crystal shook her head. "So where is everyone?"

  "They've gone down to have a look for themselves,
see if they can work it out. Understand who she is. I just wish we could stop her before someone else dies," answered Lilly.

  #

  Carmelo and his group approached the structure the same way Lilly and her friends had done earlier.

  "Wow... it certainly is impressive," said Jo with a whistle. "How do you think she managed to get this built in so little time?" she asked.

  "Well, with all those men as labourers..."

  "Yes, but Carmelo... that would take weeks, months even."

  "She's some kind of paranormal being, Jo. You should know by now that we can get things done amazingly quick with brute force or with magic. Either way, she's got her own pyramid on the edge of Powell River. Quite a feat? Yes, but impossible? No."

  Jo smiled fondly at her fiancé before they moved at lightning speed to the pyramid's edge to get a closer view.

  Three sides of the structure were solid and closed to the elements but the fourth side, the one facing away from the road, was completely open, revealing the full extent of the pyramid's interior.

  It had two floors, all open plan and the top floor was empty of items, but full of men sleeping on the floor.

  On the lower level there was a huge number of scantily clad men all bustling around as if in a daze. Far to the back of the room were four wide steps, on top of which sat a huge golden throne-like chair complete with intricate carvings.

  Long tall columns were positioned throughout the room, and each one was surrounded by fiercely burning flickering flames shooting shadows across the walls.

  "Do you see her?" whispered Walter from behind them.

  "No, can anyone see her?" asked Carmelo as the group stealthily peered into the strange edifice.

  "I don't think she's here," said Jo, "Look, the men are in a daze, just wandering about. If she was here, they'd probably be clambering to get to her. There's Oliver," she whispered, "Shall we grab him?"

  "No, if she notices anyone has gone, she'll become suspicious. We don't want that. We need to take her completely by surprise."

  "How about some of us men go in...you know, under cover?" asked Walter.

  "Actually, that's not a bad idea. I doubt Rose would agree though."

  "Rose knows I can look after myself," he chuckled.

  "But what about the clothes, we would need to look exactly the same.

  "Hm, yes. Perhaps we can get the witches to help. Jo, can you take some pictures?"

  #

  Later that evening, Walter, Zoltan and Carmelo, dressed in their finest Egyptian outfits, crept up to the pyramid and waited for an opportune time to enter the building.

  "Remember, blend in as much as you can. The more we know about her, the better we'll be prepared to take her down," whispered Carmelo as they split up and began to wander around.

  Calliope was still not seated at her throne so the two vampires and werewolf decided to see if they could find any of their friends.

  It was eerily quiet, nobody said a word, they just wandered around doing very little except stare into space.

  It was as if they didn't know each other, these men who had grown up together and lived in the same town for years. The Chief of Police, the Mayor, old Mr. Daltry who had recently celebrated his 90th birthday, the Mayor's 17 year old son, these were just some examples of people the three recognised as they tried to blend into this bizarre crowd.

  When Zoltan stumbled upon Ben, he expected at least a hint of recognition in his eyes, but Ben appeared to look right through him, continuing to wander through the hall.

  "Ben," whispered Zoltan as he pretended to scratch his mouth, but there was no response. Nada, nothing, zilch.

  Occasionally, the men would gather in front of one of the fires and warm themselves up before they moved away again, blending into the crowd.

  Suddenly the roar of an engine pricked their ears. The three of them grouped together. "It must be her," whispered Zoltan.

  The moment the motorbike came to a standstill and the gentle sound of her boots could be heard tapping on the driveway, all of the men launched themselves forward towards the throne, sitting on their knees and placing their foreheads on the floor, as if in prayer.

  The trio followed suit and waited for Calliope's arrival. They turned their heads slightly and watched as this relatively normal, yet beautiful looking woman walked through the crowd, wearing a set of bright red leathers, black and red biker boots and a matching helmet and gloves.

  When she reached the first step, she took off her gloves and then undid the clasp on her helmet and pulled it away from her head, releasing a mane of thick dark blonde hair.

  "Woah..." whispered Zoltan, "I'd forgotten how gorgeous she was."

  Calliope slowly turned her head towards him and he bowed his head, almost kicking himself for being so stupid.

  But after a few seconds, she looked away and proceeded to remove the biker leathers, revealing a simple black catsuit beneath.

  "Robe," she commanded as a young man in his thirties seemingly appeared from nowhere, carrying a long golden robe which she helped her into and then tied a black sash around her waist.

  She sat back on her throne and held her hand out at arms length, looking at it.

  "Cream," she commanded and another man appeared carrying a pot of lotion he began to gently massage into her hands.

  She sat back, made herself comfortable and closed her eyes.

  Zoltan and Carmelo looked at each other questioningly. Both shook their heads as they waited.

  "Bored," she said suddenly and the men on the floor began to stand. "Entertain me," she commanded.

  The three outsiders crept to the side of the room as she pointed to a middle aged man with greying hair and freckles. "You and... you" she said pointing to a younger man who was carrying a little extra weight.

  The man who had placed the robe on her, appeared with two swords, which the men withdrew from his hands and faced each other.

  Calliope smiled before she flicked her wrist.

  The sound of clinking swords echoed throughout the huge room as the two men began their battle and the others began to chant, "fight, fight, fight, fight, fight..."

  Carmelo watched her face as the fight continued. It was then he noticed her green eyes had a slight feline look to them. He pondered it for a moment before her head suddenly whipped around and she looked directly at him. He turned his gaze away immediately and began to chant with the others.

  But little did he know he was too late. He had given himself away.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  A familiar smell pervaded his nose, which he screwed up in disgust as he opened his eyes but was faced with darkness. A feeling of dread flooded his body.

  "Zalea?" he asked, moving his hand to the side, feeling damp stones around him.

  "Are you there?"

  The sound of sobbing stopped him in tracks, "Zalea, is that you?"

  "Jack...I'm so sorry...."

  Relieved she had survived the waterfall, he tried to reach out but the sound of chains suddenly brought him back to another time. The time when he had been chained up in the caves. He pulled his arms forward but chains prevented him from moving.

  "You could have escaped this if only you'd transformed," she sobbed.

  "It's all right, Zalea, it's all right. We can get through this."

  "But how?"

  "You just gave me an idea."

  Zalea was quiet. She knew what he was doing. So she said nothing while he tried hard not to make a sound as he made efforts to transform within the chains.

  A few involuntary gasps escaped his lips before silence and then, the sound of chains as they dropped to the floor.

  "Did you do it?" she asked eagerly and she was met with a soft squawk in her ear.

  Jack's raven eyesight was near perfect in the dark and he was shocked at what he saw.

  There were at least four of them. Two had been dead for a long time while the third only a few days perhaps. The fourth, however, appeared to be breath
ing but was either sleeping or unconscious. They were all adult men and all four were chained to the walls of the caves.

  "What now?" she asked, knowing full well he couldn't reply. "Will you change back and try and release me?" she asked eagerly and he squawked in response.

  But before he could do that, he checked out their surroundings, trying to find an escape route. Spotting several tunnels that went off in different directions, Jack flew a little down each one before deciding which route to take. Once he had made his decision, he returned to Zalea's side and began his transformation once more.

  It was getting easier.

  "Okay Zalea, I'm back. There's another man here whose still alive. We need to try and release him too."

  Zalea nodded even though he couldn't see her.

  "I'll have to bash your chains with a stone..."

  "What about Gwynethea's dagger? Will that help?" she said, feeling around on the ground where he had been chained.

  "No, it's gone. I must have lost it in the waterfall. Unless... they took it when they brought us here."

  Jack picked up one of the loose heavy stones and very carefully began bashing at the chain until, eventually, it broke, releasing her arm.

  "Here, can you try and break the others while I try and help the man?"

  She took his hand and squeezed it before the sounds of her hitting the chains with the stone reverberated around the cave.

  As Jack approached the other survivor, he held out his arms until he could feel the man's arm.

  "I'm here to help you," he whispered, "Can you hear me. Are you conscious?"

  "I 'eard a bird," whispered the voice. "You ain't a bird?" he said.

  "No, I'm not a bird. My name is Jack. I want to help get you out of here."

  "I ain't 'eard a bird for a long time. What time is it? Is it time for tea yet, me dear?"

  Jack sighed, this wouldn't be easy.

  "Like I said, my name is Jack. You need to focus. You're chained up to these caves. How long have you been here?"

  "Oooh, a long time, me thinks. They feed me though, they do. And they bring me water."