Page 59

Story: The Siren

“You’re getting better every day,” Kian said in an Irish dialect. “Soon, you’ll catch up with me.”

“You think?” Lucienne smiled at him, then turned to King Henry with an icy expression. “If anyone interferes with the gods’ affairs again, the gods won’t be this merciful. Finding the magic box is my mission, and Ashburn Fury is assigned by the gods to assist me. Anyone who touches him or his folks will have to answer to me. Do you understand?” She scanned the royal family and their guards, still in shock.

The prince had wet his pants. A guard escorted him to the bathroom. The queen stared at her son’s figure with concern before shooting Lucienne a venomous look.

Lucienne glanced at Ashburn. The black flame had vanished from his fingertips, his eyes now mercury silver. Lucienne let out an audible sigh of relief. She had managed to contain the lightninginside the bottle. She couldn’t afford to let the world know about Ashburn Fury’s power. His gifts needed to remain classified.

“If the boy didn’t steal the gods’ magic box, how does the Furys house have the gods’ light while no one else does?” Queen Isis asked, loud enough to let the words carry to the islanders gathered outside the door. “The people of Nirvana must know!”

The queen was tightening a noose around Ashburn’s neck.

“The Priestess speaks well!” shouted King Henry. “Ashburn Fury must have stolen the gods’ magic box and fooled Queen Lucienne!”

He was returning the favor by calling her a fool.

Curses and yelling rumbled from the crowd outside, echoing in the Fury house and rattling the windows. Torches moved up and down, casting menacing shadows onto the group through the windows.

If Lucienne couldn’t dissolve this crisis quickly, a riot would break out. Her men would have to open fire on the natives. Blood would be shed, and all her efforts at keeping peace would fall by the wayside. Lucienne rubbed two of her fingers against her temple. “King Henry and Queen Isis,” she addressed, “there’s a scientific explanation. This is the gods’ will—”

“Your Majesty,” Ashburn cut in with a voice loud enough for the mob outside to hear, “when Queen Isis referred to the light in my house, the gods’ message released itself from my locked memory. The gods have a message for all the citizens of Nirvana.”

The crowd became so quiet that even the sound of a leaf fluttering in the wind could be heard. The king and queen shared a dark look.

“I’m the gods’ priestess,” the queen announced. “The gods’ message will come through me, not through an unworthy, lowly boy like you!”

This had gone from bad to worse. Dread churned in Lucienne’s stomach, but she was ready to do what was necessary. She threw Kian a warning look, and he nodded. There was no way out for Ashburn. When the riot broke, she and Kian would hold the royal familyhostage in order to force the mob back off. She knew that her men might have to shoot a few extremists to set an example.

“This message came through me,” Ashburn said. “Otherwise, why would the gods have brought me back? The Book says anyone who crossed Hell Gate hasn’t ever come back alive. But the gods let the outsiders find me, so they could fulfill their obligations to the gods.” His voice boomed louder. “The light in my house is only the first sign. The gods will bring light to the whole kingdom in exactly one minute.”

He was creating a bigger mess. Lucienne looked ruefully at the sheen of sweat appearing on Ashburn’s forehead. She shouldn’t have allowed him to talk in the first place. But then a realization hit her—he might just pull it off.

“If the gods’ light doesn’t return in the next few seconds, you’ll be hanged!” Before the king could finish the last word, the lights inside the Fury house exploded, blinding everyone. As the light in the house dimmed again to accommodate the human eye, outside, lights were flicking on steadily all over town, and soon everything was lit up like a Christmas tree.

The crowd shouted boisterous cheers. Everyone in the Fury house rushed outside, staring in awe at the magnificent light shimmering from every household. Nirvana was bathed in glorious light once again.

Everyone had forgotten about Ashburn, except Lucienne. She removed her gaze from the light and the town and looked at him, and he gazed back. His sculptured beauty made her chest tight with a yearning she didn’t want to feel. It was different than the longing she had for Vladimir. It felt right with Vladimir, and yet they couldn’t have each other, at least for now. The pining toward this new boy felt wrong, but she still couldn’t tear her eyes and thoughts away from him. Her blood rushed; her breath shortened, but Lucienne forced herself to stay where she was, fighting her body’s impulse to diminish the space between them.

Violet had come out of the basement, standing beside Ashburn. She followed his sightline.

In the midst of this miraculous event, Lucienne and Ashburn only had eyes for each other.

“Ash!” Violet cried urgently. “Ash!”

As if breaking the surface of the water, Ashburn rasped. He turned to Violet. “What is it, Violet?” He smiled at her, but it was a troubled one.

Violet whirled Ashburn around and turned his back toward Lucienne. “You fixed it, Ash, just as you promised. You can do anything. We don’t need anyone.”

Lucienne was relieved the redhead had broken the spell. She walked away from them. The snuffed-out torches were piled everywhere. The citizens of Nirvana were laughing and dancing. Their joy was contagious, but Lucienne was in a world of her own.

Then Violet’s voice cried amid the crowd. “Ashburn is blessed! The gods made him walk again.”

Lucienne snapped her head toward Violet, who stood alone atop a stone bench at the border of the front yard.Where is Ashburn?Lucienne looked around.

Violet cupped her hands before her mouth. “The gods let Ash bring back the light! He’s no longer an Extra. He’s a valuable citizen!”

Idiot!Lucienne stormed toward the redhead to stop her. Violet felt so threatened by her that the girl would do anything to prove her worth to her boyfriend, but this was the worst time to bring the volatile mob’s attention to Ashburn.

“The gods’ light went out only when Ashburn the Extra stole the magic box!” the prince screamed to make himself heard, but his objection was drowned out by Violet’s high-pitched voice, “Ashburnisblessed! LET THE GODS BLESS US ALL THROUGH HIM!”