Siren Sight

Chapter 7

“You have to take them and leave," the man ordered as he began to race around the room, picking up anything in the room that would be used by a child.

They were trying to hide anything that could be traced back to Gair, Neivayka realized disturbed.

Iola grabbed Neivayka's hand. “Come with us, now."

Neivayka hesitated. “What's going on? Who is Lorimer? Why are we running? Where are we going?"

“I promise, I'll explain everything once we are on the other side of the portal," Iola swore, desperately pulling at Neivayka.

“The portal? To the Light World? But I can't go! I'm not one of the Light Folk!" Neivayka insisted, waving a hand down her distinctly non-sparkly body.

Neivayka wouldn't call herself simple, not with her jet-black hair that hung straight down her back. It was very thick, but she always pulled it back in a braid or a ponytail, and her bright hazel eyes stood out vibrantly against her pale skin.

No, she definitely wasn't a light person. However, she was not simple either.

Iola smiled softly, even in the panic of the situation. “Neivayka, trust me when I say you are of the Light Folk. And you were just as lost to us as we were to you. But you are no longer, and we will rejoice in your return. But, for now, we must leave immediately."

The man was peeking out the blinds when he suddenly stiffened and back away from the window with a horrified look.

“It's too late," he whispered.

Iola sprang into action.

She ripped down a picture of a glorious, pearl white castle perched high on top of rocky cliffs and brought the brown hand-carved frames to her lips. She whispered into it, Neivayka could see her mouth moving, but the words were too low for her to understand.

Right in front of her eyes, the picture began to move like Iola had pressed play. Neivayka was transfixed as the waves crashed against the gray cliffs and white birds soared through the crystal-clear blue sky. An invisible breeze gently blew through the emerald, chartreuse, and olive-colored trees that were peeking out on either side of the castle lining the cliffs.

Iola reached over and grabbed Gair's hands, pulling them towards the moving picture.

“No! Mommy! I don't want to leave without you!" Gair shouted and fought to get away from her.

“Shhh," Iola whispered, hugging her son tightly to her with tears streaming down her face. “You know what you must do. Go! Find our people! Hide! I love you!"

No match for his mother's strength, Gair's heart-wrenching screams echoed through the room as he fell into the painting and disappeared from the room.

Iola wept as she tore the painting to shreds then swept the scrapes under the coffee table. Her tear-filled bloodshot eyes pinned Neivayka to the couch with the power of her agony and anger.

“Do not speak. Keep your eyes on the ground, and no matter what you hear, do not move or look up. Do you understand?"

In response to the desperation in Iola's voice, Neivayka sank even further into the couch and dropped her gaze to the ground. The door opened once again, and she felt a cold breeze waft into the room encompassing her body. With a shiver, she wondered if she could make a break for the front door before anyone could stop her.

On the frozen breeze, a shadow drifted into the room darkening it as effectively as a moonless night would.

She knew her thoughts of escape were fruitless. The darkness shadowed every streak of light in the house and sent a shiver of complete terror down her spine.

“Lorimer," she heard the man's voice say in greeting.

It was a neutral greeting. Not happy, not upset, just blank, still different from the panic and fear that had coated the man's voice earlier.

“Terry," a deep smooth voice greeted back.

It was the kind of voice that could hypnotize a person and make them want to listen to it all day. Although, there was an underlying tone that made the hair on the back of Neivayka's head stand up and grated on her nerves to the point that she had to grit her teeth to keep from telling him to be quiet. It was like the Sirens song outside beautiful, but ugly at the same time.

All at once, Neivayka understood that the shadow and darkness were emanating from the mysterious figure.

“Iola," the deep voice greeted her warmly.

“Lorimer," Iola answered back with the same blandness as Terry had.

“What happened here?" Lorimer questioned with concern.

Even his concern sounded more like suspicion, Neivayka thought to herself. She cautiously peeked up to see a strong, pale hand holding one shred of the picture that Iola must have forgotten to pick up.

“A spell mishap. I thought you would enjoy having a portal closer to you once you got here. They seem to be getting harder and harder for me to build the longer I'm away from my world," Iola commented carelessly.

It seemed as if the mistake was something Iola had done before.

Her world? Neivayka thought, confused. It dawned on her slowly that everything about Iola fit perfectly into the story that she had told Neivayka. Well, of course, this woman was of the Light Folk. Neivayka had seen her shimmering with her own eyes.

“I can imagine. I know it's a terrible thing to be banished to this world. You understand why I did. Your silly rebellions were getting tedious and wasting the lives of my minions," Lorimer joked with a callous chuckle. “I am glad that you finally surrendered and came around to my way of thinking."

Iola stiffened next to her for a moment, but only a moment before relaxing once again.

“Yes, very fortunate," Iola stated dryly.

What?! Neivayka shouted internally before a loud clap made her jump slightly, and she prayed no one saw it.

“Well, enough with the pleasantries. I see with great joy you have what I came to this place for," Lorimer said with glee.

“Yes, unfortunately, her mind is gone. The Siren's took it before we could stop them," Iola said with a disappointed tsk.

Were they talking about me? Neivayka thought as fear began to well up in her. Why would he want her? Why was he looking for her? What the heck was going on!?

“Shame," Lorimer echoed. “Well, as long as she can respond to my commands."

White-hot anger zipped through Neivayka as she heard them speak of her like a dog. She had sensed that Iola had been trying to protect her from whoever this Lorimer was. But this didn't seem right. Did Iola really expect her to 'sit still' and 'be quiet' while they made plans to send her off with this dark and evil man? This was ridiculous!

Neivayka could practically feel Iola's gaze burning into her, begging her to relax and calm down.

“There have been times when I have questioned this family's loyalty to me. But now I see my worries were in vain. You will be greatly rewarded as soon as I take my rightful place as King of Both Worlds," Lorimer touted proudly.

A sense of dread curled in Neivayka's stomach at Lorimer's words. This man was evil. She didn't even have to see him to know the darkness that engulfed him. He should not be the leader of one world much less both.

Neivayka shouldn't sit and listen to this. She should jump off this couch, run out of this house, and never look back. She barely knew these people and wasn't a hundred percent positive that she believed them.

Sure, the idea that a whole world full of magical beings sounded amazing. So, amazing that it couldn't possibly be true. But Neivayka shouldn't trust this house full of strangers and this obviously, stress-induced hallucination.

Yet, she did.

She trusted every word out of Iola's mouth like she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was true. The story Iola had told her had sounded so familiar it felt like she had lived it. Like she had known Iola her whole life and would trust her with her very soul. In the end, she came to one strange conclusion that should have disturbed her more than it did.

Trust Iola.

Neivayka slowly, inch by inch, forced her muscles to relax into the couch.

“Let's go and discuss our reward further," Terry encouraged Lorimer.

Neivayka peeked up just slightly to see Terry's arm stretched out towards a door at the far end of the room. The dark figure followed Terry's direction with a deep victorious chuckle.

“Yes," said Lorimer. “For bringing me my betrothed, you will have your pick of places in my counsel."

As soon as the door closed, Iola jumped into action. She yanked Neivayka off the couch towards the shelf with the shipyard picture on it. It must be another portal, Neivayka realized as she watched the picture begin to move as the other had.

She wanted to spout out the millions of questions that were rolling around in her head. However, one look at Iola's fear-filled face kept her mouth shut. Movement from the other room caused Iola to hesitate for a moment watching the door anxiously.

“You have to save him," Neivayka whispered.

“That is not possible," Iola denied miserably. “We have to get you out of here."

“What about you?" Neivayka whispered back.

“I have to stay and stall Lorimer for as long as we can to help you get away. I'm not sure how long we can, so as soon as you get through, you need to run," she instructed her.

“What will happen to you guys if I leave?" Neivayka asked as fear for them began to bloom.

Neivayka watched her face darken, and fear tinged her eyes once more. Iola refused to say what frightened her, but Neivayka knew instinctively that it was death… or worse.

“No," Neivayka cried in horror.

Iola slapped a hand over Neivayka's mouth.

“Shhh!" Iola shoved into Neivayka's head. “Lorimer will hear you. Don't worry about us. You need to run. You need to survive. That is paramount."

True to Iola's warning, the door to the room flung open, and a very tall, lean man came flying out of it. Neivayka recognized the dark trench coat that she had been able to see from under her eyelids. However, the tall, dark-haired gorgeous man could not be the evil being that she had thought he was. For a moment, she was awe-struck by his beauty. His dark eyes were hypnotic, and his long dark hair fell in straight, shiny locks gently down his broad back. Dressed all in black, his skin was so pale that it was almost translucent. The man seemed not only elegant but vastly intimidating.

“What's going on here?" he demanded angrily.

Out of the corner of Neivayka's eye, she saw Iola straighten and step in front of her to protect her from Lorimer. Neivayka knew she had to stop her before she opened her mouth and got them sent to that horrid dungeon.

Neivayka made a split-second decision that she really hoped she wouldn't come to regret. She shoved Iola to the ground right at Lorimer's feet.

“I will never be your bride!" Neivayka screamed at Lorimer and slammed a hand down on the painting.

Or rather, through the painting. The instant Neivayka touched it, she was sucked into the portal. The last thing she saw was Iola and Terry's shocked faces and a horrific demon creature wearing Lorimer's clothing. A clawed arm reached out towards Neivayka and missed her by inches as she fell into a well of colors.