34. The Stale Air

Chapter 34

The Stale Air

The Siren

I shouldn't have given in to his words, but I could recall the way his hold had felt and the heat of his breath as it grazed my skin, and he'd been right. All of this would be over soon, and sirens were lustful by nature. Enjoying this man couldn't be all bad, could it?

The last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon as the moon lifted into the sky. Waiting until nightfall hadn't been our intention, but the light of the sun wouldn't reach where we headed anyway. We crossed the rest of the beach in silence, the waves lashing violently against the stones that led to the entrance of Scylla's cave. The sharpened points glittered like bits of magic beneath the silver moonlight, a stark contrast to what I knew we'd find inside.

We followed the rocky path until it turned into narrow steps that descended to the bottom of the cave. The high tide met the entrance, coating the smooth stone stairway and making it slick. One wrong step and we'd find ourselves tumbling down the rock steps until we found ourselves splayed out in a bruised mess at the bottom.

Neither of us spoke as we traveled downward, knowing our voices would echo throughout the cave. When we came to the bottom of the narrow steps, our feet landed in water that lifted to our knees, creating a splash that traveled the length of the cavern. I felt the itch as my scales burned through my skin, my legs threatening to transform into my tail having sensed the saltwater we stood in. I clamped my jaw tight, denying the transformation as we moved through the shallow water.

Looking sideways at Kipp, his gaze seemed fixed ahead, concentrating on searching for the infamous creature who lived within this cavern when she wasn't guarding the narrow Strait of Messina. As we walked on in silence, it occurred to me that surprising her would not be the wisest idea. The odds were against us either way.

Scylla was known for not caring who you were. As soon as she realized she'd been disturbed, she'd bash you into the rocks like a boneless eel, or she'd drown you as she laughed down at your writhing form, watching the life as it faded from your eyes. Even sirens knew to avoid this area. Yet, one thing might see us through this with our lives intact.

As we pressed forward, I sang. A soulful song that told the story of the monster, of Scylla, who had once been an ocean nymph who had been turned into this vile form she'd been trapped within even now. My siren call lifted around us as I sang the story of how Scylla had fallen in love with a sea god, how the sea witch had become jealous of that love, and how she'd turned Scylla into this hideous monster so that she could keep Glaucus all to herself. I turned the song around, telling her how the sirens had been cursed as well, and how our pasts entwined our futures, painting a tale of revenge and redemption as I called for her help claiming it all.

Every step took us deeper, the water level dropping as the cave traveled at a slight incline through the cliffside. The moonlight faded at our backs, and both of us, creatures of the darkness, easily saw through the shadows as our eyes adjusted. Still, as my gaze searched the depths ahead, I couldn't see her. It wasn't until we'd taken the final step out of the water onto a platform of dry rock that she appeared, whipping out of the shadows to tower over us as she barked and snarled at our approach.

"Scylla," I called out, no longer singing. "We have come to help you."

My chin tilted toward the ceiling of the cavern as I stared wide-eyed up at her. She stood at least twelve feet tall, and she'd retained at least some of her original form as she glared down upon us with a somewhat normal face. Though her eyes were oversized and entirely black, like bottomless pits that only saw foes. The snarling yapping jaws of six vicious dog heads ringed her waist, all of them chomping at the air between us as if they could taste my blood on the stale air. In lieu of legs, massive sickly gray tentacles writhed beneath her. She studied us as dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, layered over her naked flesh while six massive snake heads rose behind her, each attached to her spine and hissing as they bared rows of sharpened teeth.

Scylla ignored my words, and with a low, guttural growl that twisted her lips into a snarl, one of her tentacles shot out before I could react, slamming my body into a pool of stagnant sea water. She turned from me, her movements far too quick for her monstrous size. I leapt from the water, its stench and slime coating me as I placed myself in front of Kipp. Two of her closest dog heads snapped at my throat, and I felt the sting of sharp viper teeth piercing the skin of my shoulder. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

"Don't you want revenge?" Kipp yelled as he sidestepped from behind me, his hands lifted into the air as if he weren't a threat.

I watched her gaze track his movements; saw the way she licked her lips as if his bones would make a fine toothpick. I reacted before I even knew what I was doing, my palms splayed against the brow of her closest dog as I shoved hard and fast, using every ounce of strength until her back slammed into the cave wall. I dodged away from the snake heads before they could close their maws around me, leaving them hissing at the air in my wake.

Scylla's roar thundered around us, the cave floor vibrating beneath our feet from the sheer force of it. "Who are you, boy, to school me on revenge?" Her voice sounded like stone grating on stone, as if it hadn't been used in a very long time. I doubted many had visited her with the intention of holding a conversation. Everyone I knew avoided her completely.

"How long have you been like this?" I asked. The story changed depending on who told it, and while many knew why she'd been cursed and how, the when always differed. My fingers pressed against my shoulder, coming away with crimson fingertips. "Let us help you. You tasted my blood; you should know that I can help."

She frowned, turning toward the snake head that had tasted my blood. A silent exchange seemed to take place, as if they were separate creatures having an inner discussion. Her dark eyes snapped back to me as she stalked forward.

"You can't help me," she said, growling as she slammed her tentacle into me. Another wrapped around my throat, lifting my body from the ground by my neck. "You are just as cursed as I am."

Kipp rushed forward, unsheathing his sword as he stood defensively between Scylla's massive body and where I fought for breath in the air behind him. "Let her go! I don't want to hurt you!"

A sinister laugh fell from her, but she didn't even bother looking at him as her gaze fastened onto mine, her tentacles tightening around my throat while she'd bound my hands to my hip with another tentacle's hold. I couldn't use my powers bound as I was, and I couldn't pull in breath within her grip.

"How does it feel to be helpless?" she hissed, inspecting me as the beasts that were part of her continued to snap at me. All heads watched me, a deadly intent flickering within each of their gazes.

I used the last of my breath to gasp out, "We are going to Circe." I felt my skin vibrate as I struggled to remain conscious. "We will find a way to help you."

She shook her head. "But you can't promise me. None of you came. None of you cared. You all left me like…" Her voice broke, and she looked away as emotion hung heavy around us both. "…like this."

None of us could have done anything to help her, but she hadn't known that. In all the years since she'd been cursed, no one had told her the truth of her curse. That only Glaucus could save her, her one true love. To break the curse, he'd need to love her as she was now, and I would need to break her heart to let her know.

"We…" I tried to spit out, but my voice failed me. My head began to loll, the loss of breath too great as my vision began to fade. Then she adjusted her grip, and I pulled in air like knives into my empty lungs. Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes as I breathed deep. "We couldn't?—"

"—No!" she screamed, interrupting me with a roar as she shook me. "You wouldn't!"

The ground rushed up at me as she slammed me into the stone, my head smacking into the hard rock with a resounding thud that shook my brain. A sharp throbbing tore through my head, but I gritted my teeth against the call of unconsciousness as I watched Kipp fall to his knees as his hand pressed against his head. I clenched my fingers into fists, my claws puncturing into my palms as I held my power back. If I unleashed myself now, I would kill her, and then we'd be no closer to finding Circe and breaking the curses.

I lifted myself to my knees, sitting back on my haunches as I stared up at her. "The only way to break your curse is to bring you Glaucus. It is his love for you in this form," I said, my hand gesturing to her where she towered above me. "…that will break your curse."

Kipp lifted himself to his feet. "Let her go," he said, walking closer to us both. "Or I'll make sure you never get the chance to try." He raised his blade again, aiming for her throat.

His threat went unheeded as she roared, the sound ear-piercing as the pebbles on the ground shook from the sound. A tentacle wrapped around my left leg, and she spun, whipping my body in a circle until I slammed into Kipp. The force of my body hitting his sent us flying into the wall at our backs. His sword fell from his grip as we tumbled through the air, landing several feet away.

Scylla's grip reached for Kipp, but I moved quicker, intercepting her as I shoved at her tentacle with my open palms. "If you hurt him, you will take from me what Circe took from you!" I shouted, standing between her and Kipp. "You know who I belong to."

"Daughter of the one true siren queen," she said, a wicked grin lifting the corner of her lips as she spoke. "Nothing will be taken from you if you're both in the underworld."

She moved to crush me beneath her thick tentacle, but I said, "But then you will not be long for this world, and you will never reunite with Glaucus again." I stared at her, willing her to understand what we offered her.

She pulled back, halting her assault on us. "Why did he not come?" she asked. Her need for answers overpowered her wrathful desire if only for a moment.

I knew our fates depended on my answer. "I don't know," I answered honestly. "I will help you if you can help us. I swear by Horkos, the god of oaths and promises."

Slicing my palm with a claw, I held it out to her as my blood dripped to the stones at our feet. "I swear by Horkos." A sizzling feeling began on my inner wrist, where the blood dripped as I turned it over, seeing the tattoo form along my skin. The symbol of Horkos taking shape in dark ink. A scythe and a sword crossed equally along my wrist.

If I broke my promise now, I would die. Horkos would claim me.

Scylla's tentacles and snakes writhed endlessly around her hideous form, and I braced myself for another attack. Her curiosity, however, seemed to get the best of her as she broke the tense silence with a question. "What information are you seeking?"

"I need to know how to find Circe," I replied, watching her closely.

"I'm bound to this place, what makes you think I know where she is now?"

"You knew it once. You once lived there. I know that her island moves. We just need to know how to get to it." I moved closer, slowly, cautiously.

Kipp moved to stand in front of me, but I held my hand up to him, stilling him.

Scylla's gaze flickered between us. He sees the monster in you? she asked, using the mind link of the sea.

I nodded.

And he does not care? she questioned.

He has his own inner monster, I shared with her.

I'd hesitated before I'd answered, and she watched me, her mind probing mine. His inner darkness had drawn me in, but it had also repelled me. We were both caught in a tangled web of emotions that we fought, though we seemed to be losing more than we won. All my thoughts were laid bare for her, and she easily saw through the fa?ade.

Don't make the same mistake that I did, she said, her shoulders drooping as she looked at us both. At the way he stood next to me, his hand gripping the sword he'd reclaimed as he watched for any sign of malicious intent as if he would die to protect me. I did not tell Glaucus. He did not know.

Scylla faced the entrance, a longingness to her gaze as she said, "Travel by night toward the moon but against the wind. Go west from this island." She swung her attention toward Kipp, looking down at him. "When the sun is just about to dawn in the sky, use the compass. It will guide you the rest of the way."

My brow lifted as I turned to Kipp. "What compass?"

Kipp's fingers dipped into the pocket of his trousers, his movements slow and shock painted across his features as he pulled a brass device from his pocket. "This won't work," he said, his voice uncertain as he stared down at the spinning arrow. "I've tried it before. It was only meant to lead me to her."

Scylla smiled. "That's one of the fates' objects. It led you to what you needed most at the time. When you are beneath the moon and west of here, let her hold it. The power of the compass within her hold will take you the rest of the way."

I stared down at the device, knowing I'd seen it before but seeing it for the first time truly now. It had been by that device that he'd known exactly where to find me. It had started us on this quest together, and it would lead us to the end of it.

"Thank you," I said to Scylla, my arm wrapping around Kipp's waist as he dropped the compass back into his pocket. It was a long walk back to where we'd left the ship.

"Sail safe. I am trusting you to bring Glaucus back to me safely. These times seem to be shifting," she said with a frown, her gaze shifting to the exit of her cavernous abode. "Zeus has been interfering with matters of the sea as of late," she added as she turned her attention back to me, a curious look behind her eyes. "I'm not sure what that means for the rest of us."

A chill traveled down my spine, but I remained tall in my stance as I replied, "We will," before turning toward the exit, Kipp still at my side.

Tell him. Admit what you feel to yourself before it is too late. You do not want to end up like me, I heard her whisper into my mind as we slipped away into the darkness, leaving her behind… for now.