Page 104 of Liar Witch

“Keep an eye on her. I have to free the others,” I say, keeping my tone neutral as I reach for the abandoned keys from earlier.

It goes slower without him melting the locks off, but it’s clear from his star-struck expression that Rossiter won’t be leaving Cassie’s side. Unfortunately, the guards did a good job of reducing the number of prisoners in this cavern, so I manage to get the remaining handful of sirens out of their cells fairly quickly. Very few of them are better off than the ones in the other cavern.

I’d hoped at least one or two would be capable of leading the others to safety down Galen’s tunnel.

All my soft words seem to be doing is forcing them further into their shells.

“Look at me!” I grunt, catching one by the elbow before she can dive back into her cell. “Justlookat me. I’m not a human. I’m a witch. All the guards aredead. You’re free, dammit, and I need you all to snap out of this. You’re sirens. Warrior women. Grit your teeth and get ready to swim out of this place.”

A few of them perk up, but the difference is barely noticeable.

“Rossiter, how long until your brother is ready?”

The salamander shifter’s eyes snap up, but he doesn’t move from his position, crouched around Cassie like a protective cage. The siren has woken up again in the time it’s taken me to break the others out, but she doesn’t look much better than before. Her gaunt cheeks are softened slightly by the gentle expression she’s wearing as she stares blindly up at her mate, fingers gently tracing his jawline as if committing it to memory.

It’s an unexpectedly intimate moment in the bowels of this hideous place, made stranger by the fact that both of them are naked. For a second, I have the absurd urge to turn away to give them their privacy.

“A few minutes, maybe less,” the salamander finally replies.

Cassie swallows at the news, then squares her shoulders as she turns to regard the group of frightened sirens in the corner. My eyes widen when she pushes at Rossiter’s arms, wobbles to her feet, then immediately stumbles. Her white eyes flare in panic, but her salamander’s already there, steadying her.

The Seer’s skin is ghost-pale and glistens with water under the dim lights as she takes a deep breath.

There’s no time for me to prepare for what comes next. No warning before she opens her mouth and lets out a loud, shrieking cry.

I clamp my hands over my ears. My head rings and my eyes water as I desperately try to shut out the sound.

The other sirens don’t seem to have the same problem. Many of them look up, mouths opening in a cacophony which rattles my bones.

Opal groans in my mind, trying desperately to cover her own, more sensitive ears, as she hides behind my legs. I feel a pang of sympathy for her, but it’s buried under curiosity about what’s happening before us.

The delicate sirenae princess is almost vibrating with the power of whatever she’s doing. Her face twists with pain as she continues her savage war cry.

Cassandra isn’t a warrior, but looking at her now, she could be a general, mustering her troops to battle.

Behind her, Rossiter is staring with abject adoration. His eyes are just as spellbound as the rest as Cassandra keeps on singing that awful song.

I have no idea what’s happening, but whatever she’s doing, Cassie is getting through to the others. The sirens are losing their fearful expressions. Their weeping tapers off, and their brows furrow as their backs straighten as they screech along.

It’s almost like the dreadful wailing is waking them up from a bad dream. Like that one sound is reminding them of who they are. Bringing their broken souls out of the dark cells where they were crushed and into the light.

It takes a full minute or so for the noise to fade away. Another for me to feel safe to remove my hands.

“We will swim,” Cassie announces, her voice shaking.

The hushed murmurs which rise at that declaration are more of a response than I’ve managed to drag out of the sirens so far. Cassie’s tactic seems to have worked.

If only it wasn’t quite so loud. I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to force away the headache I can feel coming on.

“My brothers are here,” Rossiter murmurs, and again, I wonder what kind of magic allows these salamanders to talk mind-to-mind.

Can leviathans do the same thing? Can all shifters? Surely someone would have documented it?

The wall next to us caves in, cutting off my train of thought. The collapse sends a cloud of dust sprawling into the air, making the figures beyond blurry for a second before it clears.

The other sirens come through first. They move slowly, hesitating to step out into the light until Cassie starts up that awful screech again, and I’m forced to slap my hands over my ears once more.

Their song seems to last longer the second time, yet the effects are the same. When they finish, the herd of despondent sirens is staring at Cassie, their posture slightly less slouched. Even their eyes seem to have regained a little of the spark of life.